This week's Atrap" target="_blank">It's a Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Radiohead
02. Jens Lekman
03. Feist
04. Lykke Li
05. Hot Chip
06. Belle and Sebastian
07. CAt Power
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Modest Mouse
10. Kent
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: https://www.last.fm/help/
Check out a microsite for the new EP "Unblessing the purity" from old-school Swedish deAth-metal all-stars BloodbAth: Ath" target="_blank">https://www.peaceville.com/bloodbAth
WAtch video footage of Tar... FeAthers playing a houseshow party from this past weekend: Atch?v=D_Iof2dJTms" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/wAtch?v=D_Iof2dJTms
Upcoming tourdAtes for legendary Finnish act 22-Pistepirkko:
02/22 - Sirkus, Hämeenlinna (FIN)
02/23 - Tavastia, Helsinki (FIN)
02/29 - Z-one, Varkaus (FIN)
03/01 - Karjala-talo, Joensuu (FIN)
03/06 - Hulen, Bergen (NOR)
03/07 - Driv, Tromsoe (NOR)
03/08 - Sinus, Bodoe (NOR)
03/09 - John Dee, Oslo (NOR)
03/11 - Debaser, Stockholm (SWE)
03/13 - Sticky Fingers, Göteborg (SWE)
03/14 - KB, Malmö (SWE)
03/20 - Tobakken, Esbjerg (DK)
03/21 - Voxhall, Aarhus (DK)
03/22 - Det Bruunske Pakhus, Fredericia (DK)
03/23 - Vega, Copenhagen (DK)
03/26 - Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
03/27 - Doornroosje, Nijmegen (NL)
03/28 - KFZ, Marburg (GER)
03/29 - Gleis 22, Münster (GER)
03/30 - LaborAtorium, Stuttgart (GER)
04/01 - Rote Fabrik Ziegel Au Lac, Zürich (CH)
04/02 - Pallace, St.Gallen (CH)
04/03 - B72, Wien (AUS)
04/04 - Arge, Salzburg (AUS)
04/05 - Puschkin, Dresden (GER)
04/06 - Moritzbastei, Leipzig (GER)
04/08 - E-Werk, Erlangen (GER)
04/09 - Rosenkeller, Jena (GER)
04/10 - 59:01:00, München (GER)
04/11 - Forum, Bielefeld (GER)
04/12 - Gladhouse, Cottbus (GER)
04/13 - Knust, Hamburg (GER)
04/24 - Woodstock, Tallinn (EST)
04/26 - Magnet, Berlin (GER)
04/30 - Atlantik, Freiburg (GER)
05/01 - ISC, Bern (CH)
05/02 - Cafe De La Danse, Paris (FRA)
05/03 - Le Vauban, Brest (FRA)
05/04 - 6 par 4, Laval (FRA)
05/05 - Mezz, Breda (NL)
05/07 - WAterfront, Rotterdam (NL)
Norwegian avant-metal act Manes is currently without a record deal, so they are planning to use this time as an opportunity to explore their more experimental inclinAtions. Firstly, they have a new website where you can download a bunch of remix tracks (or you can also stream via Last.fm). Next, the band plans to re-record a couple tracks from the 1994-95 era record "Solve et coagula" as a collaborAtion with artists such as Niklas Kvarforth (Shining), Malefic (Xasthur), Geir Nilsen (3rd and the Mortal) and more and will also be soliciting remixes from the likes of Blud Aus Nord and Isis. The band is also working on an album of brand new mAterial with the working title "Be all end all". So far they say they have about 35 minutes of mAterial down and describe it as "a step forward, but also a step back." Otherwise, they promise other surprises and I'll be sure to keep you posted as soon as I hear anything.
Madrugada will be releasing "WhAt's on your mind" as the next single from their fifth (and final) self-titled album. The b-side will be "Local Norma Jean" from the previously unreleased "Ivory Town" concept record recorded back in May 2007, but written way back in the "Industrial silence" days.
New European tourdAtes for Danish band Lack:
03/27 - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER)
03/28 - AZ Conny, Dresden (GER)
03/29 - Das Lokal, Berlin (GER)
03/31 - Jubez, Karlsruhe (GER)
04/02 - Gleis 22, Münster (GER)
04/04 - tba, Wuppertal (GER)
04/06 - Muz, Giessen (GER)
04/19 - Le Nouveau Casino, Paris (FRA)
04/20 - L'Assommoir, ST Etienne (FRA)
04/21 - tba, Bordeaux (FRA)
04/22 - Le Mars Attack, La Rochelle/Angouleme (FRA)
04/23 - La Cave Aux Poetes, Roubaix (FRA)
04/24 - tba, Lyon (FRA)
04/25 - Le Cylindre, Besancon (FRA)
04/26 - Le Soap Box Nancy (FRA)
05/01 - Lades Kælder, Copenhagen (DK)
Umeå-based act Anna Leong has completed their second full-length album "Terrorarium" and will be releasing it lAter this spring. As usual, they recorded the album themselves, but this time they sent it to Swedish expAt Martin Terefe (Ron Sexsmith, Martha Wainwright, Teitur) in London for mixing. Look for the first single "Guillotine" to be posted for free download on February 25 via myspace.
Here's the playlist for this weekend's radio show:
01. C.Aarmé - Blodet
02. TALK 1
03. Kaka - The hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go)
04. Bitch Boys - Automobile
05. Benea Reach - RejuvenAte
06. TALK 2
07. The Second Band - The urgency of now
08. Breach - Murder
09. Montys Loco - Criminal
10. TALK 3
11. Det Gamla Landet - Krutrök
12. Trapdoor Fucking Exit - Cardiac arrest
13. I Am Bones - Home is the one corner of hell thAt didn't cAtch fire
14. TALK 4
15. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
16. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
17. When - The king
18. TALK 5
19. Beyond Dawn - Increasing the gravity
20. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Plokk
21. As In RebekkaMaria - She lion (PAto Sick Hangover remix)
22. TALK 6
23. Robert Svensson - 1987 (ft. Adam Olenius)
24. Paper - To her
25. Animal Alpha - Even when I'm wrong, I'm right
26. TALK 7
27. Niccokick - The poet
28. Asha Ali - Coward heart
29. Viola - I don't know how to party
30. TALK 8
31. Voices Break the Silence - No mAtter if it's now
32. Marybell KAtastrophy - Red red lips
33. Anna Ternheim - Shoreline
34. TALK 9
35. Ulf Ljusberg - Here, me
36. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
37. Once We Were - Carnival
38. Birds On Holiday - I had a plan
39. TALK 10
40. Björn Kleinhenz - Tredje LånggAtan 26
I had been planning to post Niccokick's new single "The poet", but then Absolut Noise pretty much made my opinion redundant, but fuck it- it's President's Day here in the US and I have the day off from the dayjob and am feeling lazy, so I'm gonna post it anyway. Like Aymeric says, "The poet" is a greAt song in classic Niccokick style, full of Attitude and a little bit reckless. The band is truly At their best when they teeter on the brink and are just barely holding on. It's about energy and feeling, not craftsmanship and the closer they get to losing control, the more exciting it is to listen to. It's about getting lost in the moment, even if you feel a little bit silly about it. Don't be too self-conscious about it.
Niccokick - The poet
KentI finally did my Kent homework last year, meaning I dug out all the old records and listened to them all over again - everything to be fully prepeared when "Tillbaka till samtiden" hit the shelves. With the album being somewhAt of a dissapointment, however just a minor one, and with the prevoius experiences (all bad) I've had with Kent live, I had no real expectAtions when I arrived At Skövde Hockey Arena just in time to cAtch opening act Familjen (nope, not the right place for Jonas T. Karlsson and his buddy for the night, Andreas Tilliander). Kent playing in a Hockey Arena, taste thAt one. All signs pointed towards the same thing - this was going to be a horrifying night to remember. And oh how I was right! On everything except for the horrifying part. Tonight Jocke Berg and co. totally blows my mind, Hockey Arena or no Hockey Arena. I've never witnessed the band so intense and concentrAted - it's just brilliant! All the hit songs are included, both old ones and new ones, even though one might argue thAt just about all Kent songs are hit songs, and the visual part of the show is breAthtaking. The pick of the night must be the upbeAt disco version of "Dom andra", with the extended version of "Mannen i den Vita HAtten (16 år senare)" coming in close behind. This was truly a pleasant surprise.
- Christian Stenbacke
Punched OutI've got a soft spot for the type of pop punk thAt Punched Out (from northern Sweden) play. It sounds a bit like The Queers with some Social Distortion riffs thrown in for good measure, along with cAtchy choruses and predominAtely silly lyrics about being a loser. It's not very original At all, but executed well. The lyrics are perhaps Punched Out's weakness; I don't think there's a single sentence on the entire EP thAt I haven't heard in a song previously, but even though it sometimes verges on being just a bit too cheesy, it works okay most of the time. I'd definitely go to one of their shows and buy any forthcoming albums from Punched Out. One to wAtch for all you old school pop-punk fans out there!
- Simon Tagestam
This week's guest in our ongoing Göteborg spotlight series is Johan Gustavsson. Besides being a triumphant Guitar Hero player (seriously!), he keeps himself very, very busy performing music solo under the alias Tsukimono, as well as playing with groups such as Scraps of Tape, Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble, Alina, the new band The VIII Arms Around You and tons more. Keeping track of 'em all is near-impossible. Anyhow, I had questions and he was happy to supply some answers:
How long have you lived in GBG?
I've basically been living here for a year now. The first 6-7 months I kept working in Skåne, the south of Sweden, where I'm from. ThAt meant a lot of driving and more or less living in my car, traveling between 3 different cities all the time. But now I'm here and have been here full time since August 07.
Where did you move from and why?
I moved up here from Malmö for love. I met the greAtest person and we decided to try and make it work out together. I was also losing my apartment in Malmö and I needed to get out of the situAtion I was stuck in At the time. Things have worked out for the better.
Favorite part about the city? Least favorite?
I really like Gbg in general, I like walking in the city even though I do it a lot less than I'd like. I live in Majorna and
there is just a lot of nice things to look At and to take to heart.
Least favourite? The weAther... for sure. Windy and rainy... but it's ok.
Do you think thAt there's a particular Gbg sound? If so, how would you describe it?
Nah, I think whAt's so good about the music from Gbg is thAt it's all really diverse. You can find anything here, and most of the time it's pretty damn good too. And with people like Christian Pallin/Koloni around who organizes shows and happenings all year-round, you get pretty spoiled with opportunities to see interesting and odd bands/artists from all over the world.
How would you say the city inspired you?
I've been getting more back into punk and hardcore/metal again... which is greAt! There's a good scene here.
Started a few new bands, played with greAt people, met wonderful people with a real desire to do good and who have their
hearts 100% in whAt they do. It's pretty hard to not get inspired by stuff like thAt. I've also been getting better At saying no
and to not go everywhere and not do everything. To have the ability to not do things is very liberAting.
Is there a particular piece thAt you've done thAt you feel was directly influenced by and/or provides a good reflection of the city?
Well, there's also a compilAtion coming out entitled "Gothenburg 08", which will be released by Fang Bomb... it'll feAture me, Viktor Sjöberg, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and many others... the track on there is about Gbg but since it's not released yet I'm not sure thAt's a good idea.
However, my new album coming out on Kalligrammofon, the "Heart Attack money" cd, kinda touches on Gbg a lot too, so let's go for "Gloomy Sunday". It's being mastered this week Henrik Oja (The Spacious Mind, Säkert!) and Jonas Rosén (Female Anchor Of Sade, Asterisk*) so I'm super-psyched to hear the results soon.
Look for the album to receive a proper release soon, but in the meantime, here's the unmastered version of "Gloomy Sunday" to whet your thirst. Highly recommended!
Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday
The new In Flames single "The mirror's truth" is now streaming At myspace: https://www.myspace.com/inflames
Check out the 3-part documentary "So run the tears like wine" on (the self-explanAtory) Jori Hulkkonen and His Experimental Piece For 10 Roland TB-303s: https://www.sahkorecordings.com/vid_303orchestra.php
Very recommended!