The Cardigans are now scheduled to play a couple German festivals this summer: Rock am Ring on June 6, Rock im Park on June 7.

Christian Kjellvander is working on a video for the track "Homeward Rolling Soldier". Keep an eye out for it around March or April. In the meantime, check him out on tour:

03/05 - Oslo - So What
03/07 - Halmstad - Diezelfestivalern
03/08 - Nybro - Mejeriet
03/14 - Norrköping - Kulturkammaren
03/15 - Jönköping - Kulturhuset
03/17 - München/Germany - Orange House w/Brendan Benson
03/18 - Dresden/Germany - Star Club w/Brendan Benson
03/19 - Berlin/Germany - magnet w/Brendan Benson
03/20 - Munster/Germany - Gleis 22 w/Brendan Benson
03/22 - Bochum/Germany - Matrix w/Brendan Benson
03/23 - Örebro - Strömpris
04/04 - Helsingborg - The Tivoli
04/05 - Ronneby - Föreningarnas hus
04/15 - Copenhagen/Denmark - Lille Vega
04/16 - Århus/Denmark - VoxHall

See the video for Dub Sweden's new single "Walk Me Home": Modem / Broadband

Wolf will be entering Abyss Studio in June with producer/engineer Peter Tägtgren to work on a new album. Look it around fall from No Fashion Records with cover art from Holm (Mercyful Fate, King Diamond) that will include "a lot of fire." Sweet. They also plan to do a video and tour.

The lineup and dates for the upcoming Norweigan Zoom tour has been annouced. Scheduled to play are Helldorado, Johndoe, Nicolai and X.Lover. The dates:

3/5 - Luftslottet, Grimstad
3/6 - Checkpoint Charlie, Stavanger
3/7 - Caledonien Scene, Kristiansand
3/8 - Sort og Blå Scene, Porsgrunn
3/11 - So What!, Oslo
3/12 - Hulen, Bergen
3/13 - Meieriet, Sogndal
3/14 - Kroa, Volda
3/15 - Tapperiet, Molde
3/20 - Blårock, Tromsø
3/21 - Sinus, Bodø
3/22 - Hydranten, Hamar
3/27 - The Spitz, London

Norway's Sondre Lerche seems to be on his way up in the world, at least over here in the US. Read this feature about his recent show in Baltimore. More info and a sample here.

Lars Winnerãck is back from his self-imposed sabbatical and ready to work on his new album "Söndermarken", whose title is inspired by the Danish park. Read more here. (in Swedish)

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. C21 - You Are The One
03. St. Thomas -Long, Long Time
04. Winta - Emotions
05. The Raveonettes - Attack Of The Ghostriders
06. The Cardigans - For What It´s Worth
07. Grant - Just The Thing
08. Sahara Hotnights - Alright, Alright
09. Caesars Palace - Candy Kane

Challengers:
01. The Embassy - It Never Entered My Mind
02. Håkan Hellström - Den Fulaste Flickan I Världen
03. Kashmir - Surfing The Warm Industry
04. Desmond Foster - Love, Love, Love
05. The Knife - Heartbeat

Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.

The Crystal Committee (members of Starmarket) and The Lost Patrol (Dennis from t(I)NC) have both been confirmed for the upcoming Umeå Open fest. Other acts already confirmed include Cult of Luna , Advance Patrol, Ison & Fille, Marit Bergman, My Left One, Paris, and Peckish.

Finish 'polka-metallers' Finntroll have posted a .zip file containing an mp3 of a new song entitled "Visor Om Slutet". It's the first recorded material they've made public since being joined by new vocalist Tapio Wilska. Look for the track to surface on a new release sometime in spring.

The mail form on the contact page managed to get broken for some reason, but I fixed it. Sorry about that.

Want some more info about the various bands playing the upcoming ExMS Swedish Showcase gigs? Read this.

Nasum has booked a number of Finnish dates with Rotten Sound. Check it:

4/23 - Helsinki @ Nosturi
4/24 - Jyväskylä @ Lutakko
4/25 - Turku @ Säätämö
4/26 - Tampere @ Klubi

Going to see Nicolai Dunger open for Calexico in SF tomorrow. I'm pretty excited as it'll be my first time seeing him play. He's also got some new European dates lined up:

3/22 - Växjö, Momento - fiket/baren på muséet
3/28 - Rotterdam, Dutch Motel Mozaique Festival
4/01 - Köln, Gebäude 9
4/02 - München, Orange house
4/03 - Berlin, Knaack

Word has it that Union Carbide Productions will not be releasing a new single to coincide with their upcoming reunion at Hultsfred Fest as originally thought. Instead, they'll have a free single with a track from the first album "In The Air Tonight" along with an unreleased b-side. I guess the label doesn't want to try to sell an old song - can't blame 'em. So yeah, if you want the single, you gotta go to the fest.

Isolation Years got a couple upcoming gigs lined up:

3/5 - (S) Stockholm - Munchenbryggeriet w/Flaming Lips
5/8 - (D) Berlin - Knaack
5/15 - (CH) Bern - ISC Club
8/7 - (CH) Pully/Lausanne - For Noise Festival
8/9 - (D) Haldern - Open Air

In other Isolation Years news, Triggerfish.de recently did a phone interview with Jacob. Listen here. So much broken English! Anyhow, they talk a lot about the new record and it's a good listen.

After finally completing their new album, Logh will be heading out on the road across Europe starting March 20. They're a great band, so be sure to check em out. The dates:

3/20 - GER Hamburg, Prinzenbar (Docks)
3/21 - GER Berlin, magnet
3/22 - GER Dresden, Starclub
3/23 - GER Köln, Gebaedue 9
3/26 - FRA Nantes, La route du rhum
3/29 - ESP Madrid, Sala Moby Dick
3/3 - CH Luzern, BOA
4/4 - ITA Pinarella di Cervia, Rockplanet
4/7 - A Wien, Szene Wien
4/8 - GER Munich, Orange House
4/9 - GER Wiesbaden, Schlachthof
4/10 - GER Heidelberg, Schwimbad Musik Club
4/14 - UK London, 93ft East
4/15 - UK London, Club Fandango @ Dublin Castle

Looks like there's even more to-do over that Haunted vs. Earache Records flap! Timo Isoaho of Kaista who did the original interview in Finnish has posted mp3s of the conversation proving that the report was indeed NOT a fabrication. Listen for yourself! (from Blabbermouth)

mp3 #1: Includes Marco's (The Haunted's frontman) claim Earache told the band they sold only 1,000 CDs in the U.S.

mp3 #2: Marco on the subject of "Entombed vs. Earache"

mp3 #3: Marco talks about The Haunted having inherited At the Gates' old contract.

mp3 #4: Marco talks about the "Caught On Tape" DVD

Like I said before, complaints against Earache's business dealings are nothing new. I think it's a shame Marco isn't standing behind his words, especially since he was recorded.

Darkane will be supporting Meshuggah on their upcoming Scandinavian tour. The dates:

3/17 - Stockholm, SWE @ Göta Källare
3/18 - Malmö, SWE @ Kulturbolaget
3/19 - Göteborg, SWE @ Sticky Fingers
3/20 - Oslo, NOR @ Betong
3/21 - Gävle, SWE @ Nivå
3/22 - Örebro, SWE @ Contan
3/27 - Helsinki, FIN @ Nosturi
3/29 - Umeå, SWE @ Umeå Open/Äpplet

You snooze, you lose. Kent's upcoming show at Stockholm Stadium on June 6 is sold out. All 32,500 tickets are gone.

A crapload of news from Startracks today. Here goes...

The new comp coming out will have one exclusive track from Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck called "8 Long Years". The other artists on it will be Christian Kjellvander, Fireside, Loosegoats, Songs of Soil, Lost Patrol, Starmarket, Leiah, Buck, Jaffa de Luxe, Candysuck, Revolvo, Moneybrother and Monster. It'll be out on March 10 in Scandinavia and will be "dirt cheap" they say.

The label will also be doing yet another comp, this one to showcase "Stockholm's most popular indie club" Club Accelerator. Also coming out on March 10 and at a price around 100 SEK/$10 USD. The bands: Franke, Isolation Years, Fireside, The Radio Dept., Embassy, Bear Quartet, David and the Citizens, Moneybrother, Laakso, The Knife, The Concretes and Paper.

Christian Kjellvander will doing a few solo dates supporting American singer/songwriter Brendan Benson:

3/17 - Munich - Orange House
3/18 - Dresden - Star Club
3/19 - Berlin - magnet
3/20 - Munster - Gleiss 22
3/21 - TBA
3/22 - Bochum - Matrix

The next Fireside single for the song "All You Had" will be out mid-March. The upcoming album, produced by Kalle Gustafsson (TSOOL) and mixed by Kalle with help from Guy Massey (Oasis, Radiohead, Spiritualized, Manic Street Preachers and Echo and the Bunnymen), is still being worked on but is on track for an April release. Touring will follow immediately, including the already confirmed Umeå Open Festival on March 28-29.

Dennis Lyxzen's Lost Patrol may have signed to Burning Heart, but they still will be doing something for StarEP in spring. Dennis will also appear on a panel on the program "Pop i fokus" on SVT today. Other folk on the panel include Marit Bergman and Candysuck.

and now for other news...

Could it be for real this time? Dolores Recordings says that Broder Daniel is going into the studio in March to work on a new album and a new single will be out in April or May. I'll believe it when I see it.

Shelflife Records will release the album "Lesser Matters" from Radio Dept. in the US in March. The label describes the band as "early Jesus and Mary Chain and Primal Scream" and they're getting quite a bit of hype in native Sweden, so check 'em out. Magnum Music will put out the album in Taiwan and Rex Records will do a single for the band in the UK.

Bad news for people looking forward to that Union Carbide Productions box set - looks like the date's been set back to September because Ebbot doesn't feel like he has enough time to put the thing together with how busy TSOOL is currently. There still might be a single around May for their appearance at Hultsfred Festival, so keep your fingers crossed.

Northside has confirmed that the 5th Annual Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis on September 18-21 is starting to come together. Already confirmed are Filarfolket (reunion), Ellika Frisell and Solo Cissokho, Maria Kalaniemi with Sven Ahlbäck and Johan Hedin, Gjallarhorn and Mari Boine Band. In other Northside live-happening news, Väsen Trio is booking a tour for October 16-26 and Värttinä will come over in November.