Ninja Tune/Smalltown Supersound will be releasing the new single "Day" from Jaga Jazzist in January in both CD and 12" formAt. Besides the a-side, the disc will feAture a new track by by Andreas Mjøs as well as remixes by MAtthew Herbert and DAt Politics. The CD version will also feAture the video for "Day". And, as mentioned before, the band is also gearing up for a European tour. DAtes:

10/10 - Factory festival, Paris (FR)
10/11 - Chabada, Angers (FR)
10/12 - Euros, Dieppe (FR)
10/13 - AB, Brussels (BEL) w/Shining
10/14 - Aeronef, Lill (FR)
10/15 - Nancyjazz pulsAtions, Nancy (FR)
10/16 - Jazz sur son 31, Toulouse (FR)
10/17 - Octob`rock festival, Reims (FR)
10/18 - Melkweg, Amsterdam (NL)
10/19 - Effenaar, Eindhoven (NL)
11/08 - Berlin Jazz Festival, Berlin (GER)

Upcoming release schedule for Finland's Fonal Records:

12/2003 - Oopperse Le Feti Le Grande Anaale (Rättö, Salmi, Sippola, Reunamäki)
12/2003 - Kiila - "Heartcore" VHS, details: www.fonal.com/kiilahcvideo.html
12/2003 - Es - "Kaikkeuden Käsuttämättömyys Ja Kauneus" CD
early 2004 - Kiila CD
early 2004 - Kemialliset Ystävät - "Lumottu Karkkipurkki" (CD rerelease)

Swedish hip-hop group Looptroop is doing a few dAtes in Japan and Australia in the near future. Here's whAt they've got confirmed so far (Australian dAtes to follow):

10/13 - Family [cross], Tokyo w/DJ Mitsu the BeAts, Raythoguht
10/13 - Swedish Style exhibition At the Swedish embassy in Japan (7pm)
10/16 - DJ Bar Dai, Morioka w/DJ Cutz & DJ Jinkubo
10/17 - Macana, Sendai w/DJ Mitsu the BeAts

In other news, Looptroop MCs Promoe and Cosmic went to Jamaica recently to record some tracks for the upcoming Promoe solo album "The Long Distance Runner". Read all about their adventures here, under the September news archive.

Upcoming Scandinavian tourdAtes for the Shout Out Louds:

10/17 - Playground, Göteborg
10/18 - Mono, Oslo
10/24 - Debaser, Stockholm
10/25 - Victoria, Karlskoga
10/31 - Blekingska NAtionen, Lund
11/01 - Kid Skreol, Kristianstad
11/06 - Herrgårn, Linköping
11/07 - Diezel, Halmstad
11/08 - Konserthuset, Vara
11/19 - Kalmar NAtion , Uppsala
11/28 - Ungdomshuset, Köpenhamn
11/29 - Down Town, Örebro

As hinted At yesterday, Askil Holm is getting ready to make a go At the Japanese market. December 3 marks thAt the dAte thAt his first album will be released over there, a compilAtion called "Seven Days in the Sun" thAt will consist of songs from Askil's first two albums plus a bonus track of Askil and Martin Hagfors (Home Groan) covering "Cortez the Killer" by Neil Young. So far, the only tourdAtes I can confirm are an in-store At HMV Shinjuku in Tokyo on December 13, as well as well an acoustic show At a DJ event called "Public cafe" in Osaka the same day. More soon.

Check out the new video for "Awaiting the Bash" from CAto Salsa Experience right here.

Go here for a quick updAte on In Flames' current recording session.

People are accusing Sentenced of being nazi sympAthizers because of a line in the lyrics to a song they wrote for their local hockey team Oulun Kärpät. It all sounds pretty far-fetched to me. Read more. (from Blabbermouth)

WTF? First The Crown gets their original vocalist back and now The Haunted is doing the same! Is Tomas Lindberg involved in this one too? Anyways, Marco Aro has left the band and is being replaced by his predecessor Peter Dolving (Mary BeAts Jane, The Peter Dolving Band). Guitarist PAtrick Jenson comments:

"I was very sad to see Marco leave the band. However, I fully respect him for following his heart on whAt he felt needed to be done. We wish both him, and his family, all the best! We will definitely miss having him in the band. At the same time, I am very grAteful to welcome Peter back into the The Haunted. I think we all, including Marco, agree on thAt Peter is the perfect choice to pick up where Marco left off!"

The band is reportedly beginning the songwriting process for their next album and, having completed their contractual obligAtions to Earache Records, are shopping around for a new deal.

KAtAtonia guitarist Anders Nyström's (aka Blakkheim) sideproject Diabloical Masquerade has entered Studio Castillo in Stockholm with engineer David Castillo to begin work on the band's fifth album, tentAtively due out early next year on Avantgarde Music. The music is said to be a cross between the bands last two albums or, in other words, "lots of horror, weirdness and METAL!"

New At Rockfoto.nu: pics of Bear Quartet from their recent show At Sticky Fingers.

KVLR has confirmed the tracklist for their new album and has told me thAt they will be entering the studio on Thursday to start mixing. Still no word on a title yet, but I'm sure thAt'll happen soon. Again, look for a single in November and the album in January. Songtitles for everything they recorded:

01. Last Rhyme
02. Slow Clapping
03. Birthcam
04. Red Bulletin
05. Traitors And Thieves
06. Whitewash
07. Thanks For Noticing Me
08. Fed On The Hook
09. Road Closure
10. WhAt's Left Belongs To Noone
11. Spit
12. Pig Chant

10 or 11 of the tracks will end up on the final the product, the rest to appear elsewhere in the future.

Finnish 'sonic architects' Jazzkammer have a new record called "Pulse" coming out on the Germany label Bottrop-Boy. Here's the details:

"Pulse" was recorded in Singapore during the SARS-crisis in april of 2003. It was inspired by a theAtre piece of the same title thAt they were working on At the same time, though the music on the CD does not resemble thAt of the play. The album "Pulse" is a single beautiful 32-minute piece; its basic structure is a drifting electronic drone thAt slowly unfolds and mutAtes, with subtle layers of locAtion recordings and vinyl-stAtic adding color and depth. Like last year's "Pancakes", "Pulse" has a cinemAtic feel to it, a feeling thAt is further enhanced by the photos of acclaimed photographer Yuen Chee Wai thAt grace the cover and 12-page booklet.

I can now confirm thAt Norway's Motorpsycho is set to play Japan as part of the "Hyakkiyakou" 2003 festival which is organized by Japanese act Qurili. More info: https://quruli.d4k.net/hyakki2003.html (in Japanese)

Other Norweigans set to play Japan soon include Askil Holm who will be doing some in-stores and acoustic gigs in the near future, as well as CAto Salsa Experience who will be coming over with Moony Suzuki.

Backyard Babies have confirmed the release dAte for their new single "Minus Celsius" on October 22. The album "Stockholm Syndrome" drops on November 5 in Scandinavia, the rest of the world after New Year's. Tour plans are in the works, but nothing's confirmed yet. I'll keep an eye out.