New Benni Hemm Hemm EP on the way
reports they will be releasing a new Benni Hemm Hemm EP entitled "Retaliate" in March/April on both 10" vinyl and CD. More details and tourdates: http://www.kimirecords.net/news/benni-hemm-hemm-frettir-news/
Country: Iceland
Resident Advisor top picks of the 00s
Electronic music site Resident Advisor has posted their top 100 albums of the 00s and the various Scandinavian entries on the list include Røyksopp - Melody A.M. (#83), Vladislav Delay - Multila (#70), Studio - West coast (#67), Björk - Vespertine (#54), The Field - From here we go sublime (#29), Trentemøller - The last resort (#28), Fever Ray - s/t (#24), Luomo - Vocalcity (#13) and The Knife - Silent shout (#9). Read more: http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature.aspx?1144
Ja Ja Ja
Live @ The Lexington, London, UK 01/21/10
Scandinavian club nights (with or without bands playing) have been a regular feature in London for quite some time now and the new kid on the block is Ja Ja Ja, who started a monthly club night at The Lexington last November. The Lexington is one of London's most exciting venues at the moment, some of the most up-and-coming bands play there, and the bar area downstairs is fantastic. Anyway, since there were three bands playing there was no time to hang out downstairs, but one had to stay upstairs (which is more grimey than downstairs, but still kind of nice in a quirky way). First out were Iceland's Leaves who left me rather bored, reminding me of a dull Radiohead. Next up were Norwegians Simon Says No! who were not as boring as Leaves but even less to my taste. They've been compared to shoegaze mammoths such as Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine, but being no great fan of either of those two bands, I am probably not their target audience. It was not a good start to the evening, but thankfully Icelandic band Sudden Weather Change somehow lived up to their name and put on a brilliant show, sounding like a band from the mid 80s, and thus ending my night on a high. Ja Ja Ja is a great night out though and I'll without a doubt return to it. I'm sure some fantastic bands will end up playing, it's definitely worth keep an eye out for who they've got on the bill.
- Stefan Nilsson
Drowned in Sound's favorite Nordic releases of 2009
Drowned in Sound list their top 10 favorite Nordic albums of 2009: http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4138867-the-view-from-the-north--ten-nordic-releases-from-2009
Dusted reviews Ólöf Arnalds
Dusted reviews the new Ólöf Arnalds album "Við og við": http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/5470
Sudden Weather Change interview at The Line of Best Fit
The Line of Best Fit talks to Ja Ja Ja showcasing act Sudden Weather Change: http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2010/01/ja-ja-ja-sudden-weather-change/
Seabear - Lion face boy
is giving away the new Seabear single "Lion face boy" as a free download: http://www.morrmusic.com/artist/Seabear/fdl/h47r8i2
The band's new album "We built a fire" comes out in March.
What's cooking in Iceland in 2010
The I ♥ Icelandic Music blog runs down a few of the country's anticipated 2010 releases: http://icelandicmusic.blogspot.com/2010/01/icelandic-albums-expected-to-be.html
Benni Hemm Hemm Euro tour in spring
New European dates for Benni Hemm Hemm:
03/24 - Whelans, Dublin (IRL)
03/26 - tba, London (UK)
03/27 - Jericho Tavern, Oxford (UK)
03/28 - Buffalo Bar, Cardiff (UK)
04/05 - Bibelot, Dordrecht (NL)
04/07 - D:qliq, Luxembourg (LUX)
04/08 - Cafe de la Danse (tbc), Paris (FRA)
04/14 - Chelsea, Vienna (AUS)
04/16 - E-Werk, Erlangen (GER)
04/17 - Glashaus, Berlin (GER)
04/18 - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)
Ja Ja Ja November documentary
The folks behind the Ja Ja Ja Scandinavian music showcase in London have made themselves a short doc on the November event featuring guests Kira Kira, I Was A King and TV Off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ffksvr_8oE
All Scandinavian top 20 of 2009
All Scandinavian lists their top 20 albums of 2009: http://allscandinavian.com/2977/the-20-best-albums-of-2009/
Benni Hemm Hemm
Murta St. Calunga
Kimi
"Murta St. Calunga" should have been Benni Hemm Hemm's breakout album. After the song "GítStemm" was featured on the excellent "Fjölskyldualbúm Tilraunaeldhússins" compilation in 2006, they released their sophomore effort "Kajak" to critical acclaim. On "Kajak", you could almost hear singer/songwriter Benedikt Hermannsonn's arrangements maturing, the twinkling list of acoustic guitar and the stutter of his brass canter in increasing symbiosis, interwoven with a distinctly maritime flourish. But while "Murta" upstages the brassy pomp of its predecessors, it struggles to find depth. Too often, as on childish "Whaling in the North Atlantic" and the faux-western "Riotmand", Benni falls short of recreating the sparkling intimacies of "Kajak". Thus, the ineffective melodies and sparse acoustics must be salvaged by the atypical rhythms of their instrumental breaks. The jaunty brass, with its shifting time signatures, continues to be BHH's most potent weapon. Though it elevates the repetitive horns above those that proliferate in today's colorless indie, they are little more than a palliative here, providing temporary respite from "Murta"'s predictable doldrums. The soft, textured horn laments that worked so well on "Kajak" wander aimlessly in the album's sluggish middle, where copycat brass mimics endless iterations of what seems to be one single dim melody.
It's not all bad, though. The Van Morrison rifflets and the faux-metal hammer-ons of "Veiðiljóð" are welcome additions, as is the warmth of "Riotmand", where glockenspiels flutter beautifully above static horns. The formulaic vocals lack the depth or vision of those on "Kajak", but Benni's voice still transmits a blissful Nordic solitude. If I had not been primed me to expect great things from Benni Hemm Hemm, perhaps I would not be so quick to dismiss this album. I'm hopeful that their next will be a return to form, as I'm hesitant to believe that BHH's best music is behind them.
- Nathan Keegan
Farewell to 2009
A few statistics for the year, should you be curious...
Total news items: 3880
Reviews: 77
Mp3s: 235
Top downloads (for tracks posted in 2009):
01. Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco
02. Ison & Fille - Jag skratter idag
03. King Diamond - No presents for Christmas (slightly cheating since I also posted it last year)
04. The Scrags - Psycho cyclone
05. Mercy - Heavy metal warriors
Top search terms:
01. Porno (no surprise, though I suspect most people aren't actually looking for the Swedish rapper)
02. Darkthrone
03. King Diamond
04. Melody Club
05. Black Uniforms
Remember, the mailorder goes on hibernation tomorrow so get your orders in now. Otherwise, I'm hard at work on revamping the site for 2010 and will be back with regular updates next week. Take care and happy New Year!
Top 10 Icelandic albums of 2009
Music blog I ♥ Icelandic Music lists their top albums of 2009: http://icelandicmusic.blogspot.com/2009/12/top-10-icelandic-albums-of-2009.html
Ja Ja Ja #3 lineup
The full lineup for January's Ja Ja Ja Scandinavian showcase show in London on January 21 has been confirmed and will include Simon Says No!, Leaves and Sudden Weather Change. More info: http://www.jajajamusic.com/events.php?id=6