I've got to make this quick due to family/holiday obligations, but I didn't want to let the day get away from me without posting something. Every time I do an interview for my radio show, I always ask my guest to pick a song or two to play. It's an easy conversation point and it's fun. One of my favorite things about doing my show is pushing my tastes on a new audience, so I fully expect everyone else to get the same sort of thrill when handed such an opportunity. This week's show features Pontus Levahn from Torpedo/Tiger Lou as my guest and one of his song picks is "Walk with me instead" from Stockholm-based artist Simon Ryman. Simon's name is vaguely familiar to me, but I don't think I had ever given him any serious attention before and that's got to change now because this track is fantastic. Like Pontus says on Simon's myspace page (and further expounds on in our interview), the songs are rooted in traditional singer/songwriter styles, but they also stretch beyond into new territory. It's a little bit like (older) Nicolai Dunger, maybe with a bit of BRMC. It's definitely got that same fuzzy, droning blues thing going on. Familiar, yet new. Check it out and if you're a Sirius subscriber, be sure to listen in to this week's show on Saturday (12 noon ET, replay at midnight).
Simon Ryman - Walk with me instead
4
Able to coalesce both fluid melodies and the crude, brutal sound that defines the industrial genre, Vaiping are a strange and interesting group. Though, while songs like "Vaiping on the rocks" and "The great polar expedition" are able to captivatingly capture this melodic industrial tone, some songs - namely "Vaiping vaiping" and "Vaiping export" - amble down almost hokey roads, reminiscent of the oddities of the 80s and 90s dance scene. Overall, Vaiping's effort is an extremely potholed affair, with the downsides easily outweighing the moments of intensity.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson
Prolific Norwegian noisenik Lasse Marhaug has posted some news regarding two new Testicle Hazard releases, one full-length on US label Trash Ritual and one split with Golden Serenades on Segerhuva. Read more: https://www.lassemarhaug.no/
The video for the new Emma Essinger single "Say say say" is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7oTMk6Z-4
The (International) Noise Conspiracy is contributing the track "Washington bullets " from their forthcoming album to the "Causes 1" benefit comp being released by Waxploitation. Read more: https://www.waxploitation.com/2007/causes.html
Ideal Recordings, Häpna and Kning Disk, three of the best current Swedish labels for exciting new music, are teaming up with UK mag The Wire for a special sampler entitled "Whispers from the forests, screams from the mountains" featuring 77 minutes of what they do best. I don't know the full tracklist, but Ideal reports that they are contributing exclusive works from Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Sewer Election, Christine Ödlund and Mokira plus a track from Nash Kontroll off their upcoming 7". In conjunction with said comp's release, the three labels will again team up for a live show at Konsthallen in Göteborg on December 8 featuring Balroynigress (Kning Disk), Hans Appelqvist (Häpna), DLSODW (Ideal) and a special performance by the ensemble of Jean-Louis Huhta (The Skull Defekts), Anders Dahl and Johan Berthling (Häpna/Tape).
Elin Ruth Sigvardsson is streaming her new single "Antidote" at her website: https://www.elinruth.com/
IAT.MP3 artists Björn Kleinhenz and Winter Took His Life will be touring Europe in January together with US act Cedarwell. Dates soon!
Millencolin are blogging from the studio as they work on their new album: https://www.millencolin.com/
Read the official press release here: https://www.burningheart.com/news/article.php?id=464
Gaffa reports on the Danish World Awards for world music: https://gaffa.dk/nyheder/view.php/news_id=20173 (in Danish)
Check out the (supposedly) risqué new video for Basshunter's international crossover single "Now you're gone" (essentially "Boten Anna" minus the nerdy lyrics): https://thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/music/article486448.ece
Download Nina Persson's (The Cardigans) contribution to the new Oxfam Make Trade Fair campaign benefit comp "The cake sale": https://cpanel.redeyeusa.com/pdl.php?id=13778881351&v=62b905fbb71214bdb1297ff6e
Read more about said comp here: https://yeproc.com/artist_info.php?artistId=11681
I've got an extremely fresh song for you today from Swedish shoegazers Talking to Drake, a track that was just finished this past weekend if what the band tells me is true. As to the story of Talking to Drake, I really don't know much of anything except that Martin Senter from Seven Feet Four plays drums and even that piece of knowledge is kinda useless since that band is a poor reference point for the music TTD make. TTD is much more akin to the languid dreaminess of Sonores, a slow-burning darkness that gradually unfolds and envelopes your senses. It's the kind of music that's best suited for headphones. In fact, for full appreciation, I suggest you block out the distractions of the outside world as much as possible - turn it up and close your eyes, let it carry you away.
Talking to Drake - I knew
Vaiping