Swedish folk/pop act Raymond & maria is reportedly making headway in the UK and will be heading back in June for a few more gigs:
06/19 - The Fly, London
06/20 - The Windmill Brixton, London
06/21 - The monto, London
06/22 - Sounds of Sweden< Glasgow
Antenna interviews Torstein Parelius from manes: manes/interview1.php" target=_blank>https://antenna.nu/manes/interview1.php
The latest issue of the Zotapine webzine has a feature on Hello Saferide: m/4/music.htm" target=_blank>https://www.zotapine.com/4/music.htm
Copenhagen-based noiserockers Imagine I Had Hands have lost their drummer: myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=80051513&blogID=269938413" target=_blank>https://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=80051513&blogID=269938413
Johndoe has posted more rare b-sides on myspace: myspace.com/jhnd" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/jhnd
Lampshade frontwoman Rebekkamaria will release her debut 12" solo single "Part of the game" using the moniker As In Rebekkamaria on June 2 via Attack music to coincide with her performance at the Spot Festival. B-sides include the track "Cowboy song" as well as remixes from SuperTroels, Kernefamilien and Varano. Listen here: myspace.com/asinrebekkamaria" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/asinrebekkamaria
This week's m/group/itsatrap">It's A Trap! Last.fm listening group top 10 artists of the week:
01. Shout Out Louds
02. The Arcade Fire
03. Arctic monkeys
04. Björk
05. Of montreal
06. The National
07. Feist
08. The Tough Alliance
09. modest mouse
10. Radiohead
Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Join us! Go here to learn more: m/help/" target=_blank>https://www.last.fm/help/
Adrian Recordings has signed even more electrionic music, this time it's Swedish duo Boeoes Kaelstigen. Look for the group to perform and this year's Arvika Festival and keep an eye out for the 12" EP "Pan European" later this year. Download an mp3 of a full liveset: mornel/boeoeskaelstigen/Liveset070223.mp3" target=_blank>https://roventskij.net/mornel/boeoeskaelstigen/Liveset070223.mp3
more samples: myspace.com/boeoeskaelstigen" target=_blank>https://www.myspace.com/boeoeskaelstigen
The Wall Street Journal had an article on the latest Swedish music explosion the other day: m/article/SB118013401357815214.html?mod=weekend_leisure_arts_hs_coll_left" target=_blank>https://online.wsj.com/article/SB118013401357815214.html?mod=weekend_leisure_arts_hs_coll_left
Seems to me like a rehash of everything that was said a few years ago when The Hives and TSOOL were getting press, but whatever. A subscription is required to read the article, so if someone would be kind enough to repost the text in the msgboard, I'd appreciate it.
Eardrums on Novoton's latest signing Norma and their new EP "1": msmusic.com/2007/05/norma-swedish-band-debuts-with-really.html" target=_blank>https://blog.eardrumsmusic.com/2007/05/norma-swedish-band-debuts-with-really.html
A West Side Fabrication ranks their favorite Bear Quartet records: myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=96741265&blogID=269492130" target=_blank>https://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=96741265&blogID=269492130
Kanye West covers "Young folks"? F'real: media.com/page/forkcast/43237-kanye-west-ft-peter-bjorn-and-john-young-folks-mp3" target=_blank>https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/43237-kanye-west-ft-peter-bjorn-and-john-young-folks-mp3
Elsewhere at Pfork, a Labrador Records video primer: media.com/page/forkcast/43056-various-artists-labrador-5" target=_blank>https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/43056-various-artists-labrador-5
As provocateurs, The Tough Alliance has few peers. At least in the complacent Swedish indie/pop world - they've got a long way to go before they reach KLF or men's Recovery Project levels of subversiveness, but I applaud them for trying. musically, it barely even matters. Their reputation and notoriety is based far more on shtick than on anything they've committed to tape. On the other hand, "A new chance" shows a tremendous amount of growth and opening track "Something special" is the first time I've ever heard TTA open their mouths without making me cringe (hence my ready appreciation of the instrumental and new-agey "Escaping our ambitions" from last year). They move beyond their usual snotty Göteborg indie-gone-electro sound by spicing it up with bits of middle Eastern samples and much-improved drum machine programming. And finally, vocals that actually approach tunefulness.
As a whole, the record is tailormade for summer listening. The sonic palette screams "island"-preset, if such a thing exists. Cheesy synths, steel drums, and so on - think "Kokomo". There's even a semi-decent reggae track ("Looking for gold") which may call to mind UB40, for better or worse. I'm surprised to find myself enjoying it as much as I do, though that might not really be all that much. I will say this however: The Embassy has some serious catching up to do.
The Tough Alliance - Something special