Taking a cue from Swedesplease to focus your attention on Mother of the Forest and his new EP "Ryka i ro", which was recently posted for free download here. As Craig rightfully points out, this is for fans of creative music that takes risks and is far, far more exciting than the typically mediocre guitar rock that gets sent my way. It also helps that it fits in nicely with a lot of the other similarly minded goth/industrial clatter I've been listening to as of late. As for a more direct comparison, Sällskapet comes to mind, though Mother of the Forest is much weirder, taking far more influence from The Bear Quartet's noisier efforts. As if it wasn't obvious by having Matti provide guest vocals. Anyhow, Mother of the Forest is great and the EP is free, so you really can't go wrong. Listen and help spread the word!
Once I settled on the idea of dedicating this week to quiet/mellow-er material for my mp3 posts, I quickly realized I had way too many worthwhile qualifying tracks, but one artist stands head and shoulders above the rest and that is Thåström. Embarrasingly, I am nowhere near as familiar with his back-catalog as I should be, but I made sure snag a copy of the vinyl LP (#348/500, thank you very much) at my first opportunity since I dug Thåström's recent work with Sällskapet so much. I don't regret it one bit either -- "Kärlek är för dom" has been on steady rotation here ever since it showed up a few weeks back. For those unfamiliar with Joakim Thåström and his long career from fronting Ebba Grön to his work with acts such as Imperiet, Peace Love & Pitbulls and so on, I can only describe his current solo work as "industrial blues" though that really doesn't do it justice. Yes, it's bluesy and industrial, but it's so much more. It's funny, my wife has commented multiple times that he sounds almost like he's singing with an Irish brogue when his voice echoes out my office, despite singing in Swedish, though I guess perception from a distance can be funny that way. Regardless, it's not too outlandish a claim to be considered. I can certainly hear it; his voice has a roughness fitting for a damaged poet from anywhere.
It's hard to pick a track to share, though "Linnéa" is a definite standout, the steady pulse of the underlying synthline is so ominous and haunting. The mystery and the darkness, the questions unanswered; it hangs thick like fog. As the vocals strain and stutter, it's emphasized further, even moreso considering the restraint of the arrangement. It's all struggle without resolution. There's just one thing I don't understand: how can something so dark and powerful also be so popular? Life so rarely seems to work out like that. Only in Sweden, I suppose.
01. Tobias Hellkvist - Besviken
02. TALK 1
03. The Deer Tracks - Yes this is my broken shield
04. The Tallest Man On Earth - Pistol dreams
05. White Knives - Death is king of the dancefloor
06. TALK 2
07. Abcess Exil - Kanske du förstår
08. Sällskapet - Nordlicht
09. KTMK - Kalinka
10. The Kid - Transient dance
11. TALK 3
12. Commando M. Pigg - This thing
13. I Are Droid - Sevenfold
14. Johan Heltne - Din alkoholism är ingen alkoholism
15. TALK 4
16. Zeigeist - Wrecked metal (cello version)
17. CMX - Nainen tanssii tangoa
18. Broder Daniel - Love doesn't last
19. TALK 5
Reminder: my show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday.
The playlist for this week's radio show, an all-winter theme:
01. Ricochets - Cold outside
02. TALK 1
03. Shining - Winterreise
04. Britta Persson - Winter tour
05. Svenson - In the snow
06. Weeping Willows - Christmas in prison
07. TALK 2
08. The Tiny - No money (for X-mas)
09. Kompjotr Eplektrika - Blikktztunddonner
10. The Knife - Reindeer
11. TALK 3
12. Hello Saferide - iPod X-mas
13. January Jaunt - Stuck in glaziers
14. Darkthrone - Too old, too cold
15. TALK 4
16. Sällskapet - Nordlicht
17. E.S.T. - Strange place for snow
18. Sort Mel - Det grønne flesket
19. Notre Dame - A scrooge tale
20. TALK 5
21. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - Winter moment
22. Syster Lycklig - Bilden till snöstorm
23. The Book of Daniel - 3rd of December
24. TALK 6
25. Samuraj Cities - Cold feet
26. Amandine - Silver bells
27. Logcabin - View of frost
28. Silverbullit - Winter coat
29. TALK 7
30. In Flames - December flower
31. Viktor Sjöberg - On a winters day
32. The Bear Quartet - Blizzard
33. TALK 8
34. Brick - Gray day
35. Laakso - Merry Christmas
36. Strayfolk - Another year before the mast
37. TALK 9
Don't forget to vote for Sirius Blog Radio at the Plug Awards! Vote here: https://www.plugawards.com/general_vote.php
We are nominated under the category "Media (Obsessive) > Specialty Show Of The Year (Commercial Radio)".
01. Isolation Years - Frosted minds
02. TALK 1
03. Hyacinth House - Lucky stranger
04. Immanu El - Kosmonaut
05. Kamera - Fragile
06. TALK 2
07. Pay TV - Fashion report (clubmix)
08. Fun - I've got a truck
09. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
10. TALK 3
11. Superfamily - Warszawa
12. Majessic Dreams - Still inside
13. The Indecision Alarm - Time for the big guns, baby
14. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Flir
15. TALK 4
16. The Fine Arts Showcase - Modern love
17. Karin Ström - Ordlös
18. Meleeh - Malign
19. TALK 5
20. Kongh - Pushed beyond
21. Baby Woodrose - Let yourself go
22. TALK 6
23. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet (Cat Burgler remix)
24. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Rhythm
25. The Bell - I need nothing
26. September - Satellites
27. TALK 7
28. Piroth - Waltz for prima ballerina
29. Sällskapet - Järnstaden
30. Montt Mardié - Birthday boy (drama)
31. TALK 8
32. CS Nielsen - Bottle for the road
33. Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - Love will tear us apart
34. Voices Break the Silence - Mopo3
35. TALK 9
36. Plain Fade - Blue skies ahead
01. Bogus Blimp - By five o'clock tea 02. TALK 1 03. Sivert Høyem - Smalltown supersound 04. Pluxus - Kinoton 05. Brick - No names 06. TALK 2 07. Hebosagil - Let us go 08. Dialog Cet - Crocodile hunt 09. Hurdy Gurdy - Ynglingen 10. Anja Garbarek - The last trick 11. TALK 3 12. E.S.T. - When god created the coffee break 13. Miss Li - I'm sorry, he's mine 14. Afenginn - Ralli i d-mol 15. Magyar Posse - Whirlpool of terror and tension 16. TALK 4 17. Susanne Sundfør - I resign 18. Sällskapet - Nordlicht 19. Nisse Hellberg - Kärlekens express 20. TALK 5 21. The Spacious Mind - Rider of the woodlands 22. TALK 6 23. Him Kerosene - Ladybugs 24. Svenson - Don't get lost 25. Namur - Marching 26. TALK 7 27. Tellevika + Firefox AK - Eric 28. Carpet People - A girl without a skin 29. Anna Ternheim - Lovers dream (feat. Fyfe Dangerfield) 30. Knife and Ape - No arms no legs 31. TALK 8 32. Brighter Death Now - American tale
Before every gig on Thåström's latest tour, he and his band listened to Italian dark-wave legends Kirilian Camera to get into the right claustrophobic, dark mindset. With that in mind, it's no surprise that his new band Sällskapet (with Pelle Ossler's amazing guitarwork and old PLP-cohort Niklas Hellberg) conjures dark atmospheres, pulsing hypnotic beats and images of worn-down streets in concrete jungles. While it's easy to draw comparisons to both Kirilian Camera and later-day Einstürzende Neubauten, Sällskapet mostly resembles the third album of Thåström's 90s industrial outfit Peace Love and Pitbulls; only slowed down, stripped of metal-riffs and explosions, and turned into infernal electro-blues. The worn down approach makes the songs stronger, setting atmosphere in the front room with half the album being an instrumental soundtrack to feverish city-nightmares. But the best songs are the ones where Thåström (or in one instance, Nina Ramsby) sings, cutting right to the bone of the listener. When the accompanying DVD sets their songs to images of worn down subway trains, cranes in harbours, dark tunnels and rainfilled streets, it almost makes Sällskapet border on parody. But the rusted beauty of the music makes sure they land on the right side of greatness, both on disc and video. - Hanzan
Two days of retail pandering is enough - it's time to change it up. Here's a guestpost from new contributor Hanzan:
A metronome, an echoing lonely piano and over that, Nina Ramsby's voice. It's strange that the best song on the Sällskapet album doesn't even feature Thåström's unique voice. But Nina brings out an utter desolation, capturing a cramp that turns everything to ice. On the album, "Järnstaden" is the song that doesn't hide itself in noises, indirectly giving it the feel of being the centerpiece. The anchor. On its own, it's just achingly beautiful loneliness.
01. The Ark - Prayer for the weekend 02. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden 03. Slagsmålsklubben - Boss for leader 04. Eldkvarn - Svart blogg 05. Jerry Williams - I can jive - Det bästa med Jerry Williams 06. Markoolio - Värsta Plattan 07. Nanne - Jag måste kyssa dig 08. Marie Lindberg - Trying to recall 09. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am 10. Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande 11. Andreas Johnson - The collector 12. Sällskapet - Sällskapet 14. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you 15. Svante Thuresson - Svante Thuresson & vänner 16. Mauro Scocco - Ljudet av tiden som går 17. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me 18. Ingmar Nordströms - Ingmar Nordströms Saxpartyfavoriter 19. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år 20. Björn Rosenström - Ett Jubileum som är sådär....10 1/2 år
01. Eldkvarn - Svart blogg 02. Markoolio - Värsta Plattan 03. Andreas Johnson - The collector 04. Jerry Williams - I can jive - Det bästa med Jerry Williams 05. Marie Lindberg - Trying to recall 06. Sällskapet - Sällskapet 07. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am 08. Mauro Scocco - Ljudet av tiden som går 09. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me 10. Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande 11. Ingmar Nordströms - Ingmar Nordströms Saxpartyfavoriter 12. Svante Thuresson - Svante Thuresson & vänner 14. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006 15. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you 16. Sebastian - The vintage virgin 17. Nanne - Jag måste kyssa dig 18. Tomas Andersson Wij - En introduktion till Tomas Andersson Wij 19. The Concretes - Hey trouble 20. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska
01. Sällskapet - Sällskapet 02. Marie Lindberg - Trying to recall 03. Andreas Johnson - The collector 04. Mauro Scocco - Ljudet av tiden som går 05. Nanne - Jag måste kyssa dig 06. Ingmar Nordströms - Ingmar Nordströms Saxpartyfavoriter 07. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am 08. Tomas Andersson Wij - En introduktion till Tomas Andersson Wij 09. Sophie Zelmani - Memory loves you 10. Timbuktu - Oberoendeframkallande 11. Sebastian - The vintage virgin 12. Jerry Williams - I can jive - Det bästa med Jerry Williams 14. Svante Thuresson - Svante Thuresson & vänner 15. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006 16. Lena Philipsson - Lena 20 år 17. Jimmy Jansson - Sån e jag 18. Erik Segerstedt - A different shade 19. Caroline Af Ugglas - Joplin på Svenska 20. Calaisa - Calaisa
Check out the video for the Sällskapet single "Nordlicht" : As mentioned before, Sällskapet is the new full-band project of Joakim Thåström (Ebba Grön, Imperiet, etc.).
Joakim Thåström, known both his solo career as well as his work with bands such as Ebba Grön and Imperiet, now has a new full-band project called Sällskapet. Look for their debut album in March.