Tag: Mp3s
Okay, time for some real coldwave, or at least a close approximation thereof. I won't pretend to be an expert (not even close), so I must defer to label Enfant Terrible and their description, as they are far more learned on the various subtle differences in the world of dark electronic music subgenres. What I do know for sure is that Adolf Filter's "1982" sounds like it came from 1982. Like I was saying yesterday, the sound is dark and dismal, minimalist and purely analog. Cold and robotic, too. It's danceable, but it doesn't beat you over the head with heavy beats (though they do go that way on other tracks). I like the monotone of the vocal delivery, the grimy sheen of the recording. Tailor-made for small, dark spaces, don't you think? Try and fit it in to your Halloween dancefloor mix; that's what I'd do. I bet it'll even sound better on vinyl when the 7" is finally ready.
Adolf Filter - 1982
I doubt the coldwave/industrial revival will ever go mainstream, but I'm enjoying that more and more bands are embracing dark analog synths. Kite is as close as we'll get to a crossover act though, if only because they've experienced some success before with former acts such as Yvonne and Melody Club. At the very least, it gives them a head-start over the competition. Whatever happens though, I'm just glad to hear this kind of music being kept alive and done well, especially with a stripped-down, minimalist approach. It's so easy to overdo it. Now I know "Ways to dance" isn't actually dismal enough to be considered coldwave (wait 'til tomorrow's track for that), but think of it as getting your toes wet. If you dig this (and you should - it's a fantastic pop song above everything else), perhaps you can go darker, more underground, or, at the very least, into the past. When Bruce Springsteen is covering Suicide, it's time you started paying attention.
Kite - Ways to dance
The original concept for this netrelease was modest. Tobias Hellkvist and Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words are two sides of the same coin; both operate within the vast realm of drone, yet both are also quite distinctive and totally within their own spheres of sound and emotion. I figured: why not get the two together for a split netrelease, something to promote their new records -- for Tobias, that would be "Sides" and for Dead Letters aka Thomas Ekelund, that would be the forthcoming "Lost in reflections". A song from each, perhaps even an original composition if they were feeling generous, that would have been enough. Different, but completary. Yin and yang, even. But no, the concept immediately took on new life. The idea of previously released material was instantly nixed and then the idea of a collaborative track came about - something to tie the two sides together. And then, unbeknown to me, the collaboration became the project; a three-part epic spanning twenty-five minutes. The result of which I give to you today as a free download.
I am always proud of every netrelease as I take great pains to ensure the It's a Trap! name is not lent out lightly, yet this breaks new ground as it is of my own initiation. I couldn't be prouder. So please, if you like what you hear, spread the word and support the artists. Their names and their work deserves to be known and appreciated.
As much of the actual planning and composition happened behind the scenes, I asked Tobias and Thomas a few questions to gain more insight into their approach and the music itself. Read on...
Tobias, had you every heard DLSODW before this? What did you think of the idea to work on a piece together?
TH: I had heard a few songs online, but not a whole album. When I later listened some more, I discovered that he was generally darker than me, which was interesting when being asked to do a collaboration. Mixing two different personal sounds into something new really felt like something I wanted to try out. So, when you asked me about this, I was totally stoked from the beginning. I'm glad you had me in mind!
Thomas, this isn't your first long-distance collaboration, is it? How you approach a project like that, especially with someone you don't really know?
TE: That's correct, Avi. I've had quite a few long distance projects in the past. Right now it's only one though, Dead Violets, together with two Americans, Jeffrey Surak and Bethany Moore. The process has varied a lot, but with Dead Violets we usually discuss ideas and themes, then either Jeff or I get the ball rolling with a basic track or a collection of sounds for the other to mangle into some sort of structure. It's not really a big problem, with all the modern technology at hand to do it like this.
Tobias, did you guys throw around a bunch of ideas before settling on the one long-form piece? Whose initial concept was that or did it evolve as you went along?
TH: I think it was Thomas who came up with an idea to link our sounds to colours, where mine was white and his was black. By mixing it up in the middle, sending tracks back and forth, the idea was to end up with a grey piece which reflected both our sounds. I think it worked really well. With inputs and comments on pieces along the way, we formed a new sound that I really couldn't imagine from the start.
Thomas, how well do you think your individual music styles complemented each other? Was it ever a struggle to get pieces to fit?
TE: The concept of white/grey/black was something I had been pondering for a while. Partly because it ties in with my ongoing obsession with balance, and partly because of the ambiguous symbolism of Black and White.
In traditional Western culture they represent death and life, the negative and the positive, the carnal and the divine, impurity and purity, whereas Eastern culture look at them the opposite way. Both black and white are also very significant in alchemy, where black symbolizes purification and white symbolizes enlightenment. In additive color systems white is the sum total, where as in subtractive color systems black occupies that position in the gamut.
I originally intended to use this concept myself, but when this collaboration arose I thought it would fit perfectly. To an untrained ear I am sure Tobias and my music can be lumped together under the ambient/drone umbrella, but it's quite obvious to the more experienced listener that we inhabit quite different sides of the spectra. In my ears Tobias makes very calm and uplifting music, white music if you will, where as I have always focused on unsettling and morose atmospheres, i.e. black music. The grey part of the suite, the middle, the balance is the result of trying to meld our two styles into one.
Tobias, I always like to think I learn something from every music encounter, both good and bad. What do you think you can take away from this experience?
TH: Since this was my first musical collaboration of this type, I felt that whatever happens, I'll get a new experience. And that can never be a bad thing, no matter if the result is amazing or horrible. In this case, I learned that being open-minded expands your boundaries and that could lead you into places you've never been musically. Somewhere, you'll put your own stamp on it, unaware of how it's done. That's cool. So I will definitely do something like this again, if the opportunity appears.
Thomas, likewise, did you experience any self-discovery during the course of the project? How do you think it turned out compared to what you expected?
TE: I have to confess that I am not very good at collaborating. Most of the time it just fizzles out, but in this case everything fell in to place right away and things turned out a lot better than I could've imagined. It's too soon to say whether I take any new self-discoveries with me from this experience or not, but if nothing else, I had the opportunity to work with Tobias and make a solid piece of music to share with the world.
Any last words from either of you? What else can we look forward to from you guys?
TH: I'm always working on new material, we'll just have to wait and see what happens with it. I have started to put together a new, quite laidback album. I guess it could be finished in a couple of months. Since I'm unsigned, I'm hoping to find interested labels to release it. Also, me and my friend Ola has been writing songs together for over a year now, and we're in the middle of rehearsing and putting a band together. Hopefully, we'll be playing shows sometime next year. This is a rock/pop project and it's new to us both, so we're quite excited! I also want to thank you Avi, for putting this together!
TE: I've got quite a bit of stuff going on right now. My new 7"+LP set "Lost in reflections" will finally hit the stores during November. It's a co-release between iDEAL, Fang Bomb, Release The Bats and When Skies Are Grey.
I am also doing a cassette with Teeth entitled "Black Hole Heart" on Klorofyll Kassetter which probably will be released in November, too.
The coming year most of my artistic focus will be on the above mentioned Dead Violets (deadviolets.org). We have a couple of releases planned. First up is a cassette entitled "St. Vitus Dance" on Fukk Tapes Lets Erase. That will be followed by a 7" and a new long player during next year. If things go according to plans, we're going to do a European tour this spring and a US tour in the fall.
Download cover: jpg
Tobias Hellkvist & Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - White/Grey/Black
This weekend The Hellacopters will play their final run of shows and gracefully bow out of existence. I'm sure people have all sorts of varying opinions on whether or not this is the right time to call it quits, but I think it's fitting. They rocked harder and longer than most; better to end it all with dignity fully intact.
I'm bummed they never made it over to the US for one last tour, but at least I did manage to see 'em a few times, though never during the era of "Payin' the dues", easily my favorite 'Copters record. I was under 21 when that album came out in 1997, so all I could do was eye the club listings and wait. They still played a huge role in my Swedish music education though, especially with tracks like "Where the action is", a song that's not much more than a laundry list of friends' bands: Nomads, The Robots, Kids Are Sick, Entombed, Backyard Babies... and those are just the obvious names. It wouldn't matter if it wasn't also kick-ass rock'n'roll, but of course they pull that off flawlessly. See, learning can be fun!
The Hellacopters - Where the action is
Yesterday I mentioned that my daily listening of late has been mostly crust and jazz and I posted an example of the former. Today, you get the latter.
I've expressed admiration for both Jonas Knutsson and Mats Öberg before on these pages, but I don't think I've ever heard the two old friends play together until receiving a copy of the new live duet album on Country & Eastern. According to the minimal liner notes, the two have known each other since 1981 when Jonas was 16 and doing a recording for the local radio station in Umeå. Mats, then 10 years old, was asked how he liked the music and he commented, "Fine, but the three-line E on the piano is out of tune..." For anyone already familiar with Mats' musical abilities, this should come as no surprise. He's a phenomenal talent, perfect pitch or not; it shines through even when I witnessed him performing casually at his brother's wedding this past summer. Get him on a record like this and it's even more obvious. Jonas is no slouch either, his "Horn please!" album from last year is a beautiful extension of Jan Johansson's folk-jazz tradition and consistently gets regular play in my household. Together, the best thing about Jonas and Mats playing together is how fun it sounds. That's one revelation of the duo format - it's much more a conversation between two friends than any sort of virtuostic showpiece. Especially on "Jagad i hissen" ("Fugitive in the elevator" so says Google). Even if bits of the music may seem a bit hard to follow, hopefully the laughter at the end will cue you in to the true intent. Sometimes it might seem like they're having a private conversation, but they really do want to let you in on the joke.
Reading comprehension time: provided you made it this far, I've got something extra to give you. Country & Eastern sent me an additional copy of the aforementioned "Horn please!" CD, so I'm going to give it away. Leave a comment on this post and you're eligible. The winner will be announced in a day or so.
Jonas Knutsson & Mats Öberg - Jagad i hissen
Look, I know that a majority of the readership here is all about the indierock and I know there's a lot of exciting new releases this fall, but honestly, all I've been jamming lately has been crustpunk and jazz. The indie coverage will return later; today I'm going to post something from Passiv Dödshjälp (not to be confused with the band Aktiv Dödshjälp). Guess which category that one falls into? The band's self-titled CDr demo came to me via Halvfabrikat offshoot Halvkass Produktion whose motto reads: "CD sucks shit. Vinyl is for rich fuckers. CD-R is future." Yup, punk as fuck and totally on the level. Musically, Passiv Dödshjälp doesn't offer a lot of surprises. This is straight-up brutal Swedish crust ala Skitsystem/Disfear/et al. with a bit of added heaviness in the form of death-metal tremolo breaks and hardcore breakdowns. Both are prone to abuse, but the band pulls off the former with ease. The latter, not so much -- all too often the results are way too generic and predictable, not to mention out of place. Leave the chugga-chugga breaks for the meathead hardcore. Regardless, the band's ferocity often makes up for it; they're young, they'll figure it out. They also overindulge in pre-song samples, another trait of youthful naivity, but again, it's all good as far as I'm concerned. Live and learn.
Here's the opening track from the disc - like I said, it's pretty damn straightforward aside from the extra metal goodness on the chorus (and the THX opening), but they do it well so I'm happy to recommend it.
Passiv Dödshjälp - Exorcism i beslagtagen kropp
The latest Boeoes Kaelstigen 12" "Commuting colour" isn't quite as ridiculously hot as the first, "Pan European", but that doesn't mean it's a slacker. It still has plenty of bounce and as you'll hear on today's mp3, cribbing a melody line from labelmates Familjen doesn't hurt either. Anyhow, the point is to make you move. Anything else is secondary; this only does double-duty as head music because it's so good. Which is even more special because normally I could give a fuck about remixes, but I can't deny quality. The Dumb Dan remix of "Cecta" takes the track to new places, places worth going. Even as a techno ignoramus, I know I when to follow.
Buy the "Commuting colour" 12" EP: [click here]
Boeoes Kaelstigen - Cecta (Dumb Dan remix)
Hopefully you already took the initiative to download all of the tracks from Björn Kleinhenz's excellent covers and remix countdown, but just in case, we've got all of the tracks re-posted here as a netrelease. Who cares that we're still a week away from the Swedish release of his new album "Quietly happy and deep inside"? Download these tracks and pretend you already know the record! Of course, I aim to stupefy, which is why I've posted the one track that's probably the most different from the original. Obviously, that Anders Teglund remix I posted is also distinctly not Björn, but you can still hear fragments of his voice. On the other hand, Switzerland's The Rabbit Theory take the song "Krokås" and totally mess it up, turning it into an emo post-punk workout. It's all jagged rhythms and hoarse vocals, yet you do get a huge finale to round this up at the end. I know, not a Scandinavian band, but rules are made to be broken. Sometimes. Download "Krokås" below and then head to my netlabel page to snag the rest.
Also, don't forget my interview with Björn's friend and fellow singer/songwriter Thomas Denver Jonsson discussing his contribution: [click here]
The Rabbit Theory - Krokås
Hopefully you've heard of Viktor Sjöberg by now. If not through his involvement with Jens Lekman as a member of his backing band, perhaps you saw this recent feature in Dagens Nyheter? Or maybe you've been following all the praise being heaped on him on behalf of folks such as myself and other corners of the interweb like Digfi and so on. Through it all, let me say this: he deserves it. He's not only a superb musician who excels in every genre, he's also a perfect gentleman and I'm honored to be of his acquaintance.
When I set out on this Gbg Spotlight feature at the beginning of 2008 Viktor was at the top of my list - it was never matter of "if", only "when". And that time is now.
You moved to Gbg for school, right? How long has it been now? Think you'll stick around once you finish your dissertation?
Well, not exactly, I grew up in Pixbo just outside Gothenburg so I have pretty much always been here. I lived down south for little over a year though, which is where I met many of the people that are my closest friends today. Some of them has since then moved to Gothenburg, such as Johan (Gustavsson, aka Tsukimono). I have been living in central Gothenburg since around 2004 and I don't think that I would want to live anywhere else in Sweden, at least not in any other city. I am finishing up school right now (for real this time!) and who knows what the future holds? But I can safely say that if I were to leave Gothenburg I would go to California rather than anywhere else in Sweden or Europe.
What do think is the most charming aspect of Gbg? On the other hand, is there anything about the city you wish you could change?
My mother, my dog and a lot of my dear friends live here. That's fairly charming. I think it has a lot of possibilities and it can certainly be a beautiful place when it wants to be. I could get into a discussion on how right now I think that we probably have more things going on musically than Malmö or Stockholm, but that feels kind of irrelevant. It rains a lot and it's very windy and more than often overcast. These conditions make for creative indoor activities and good friendships.
As far as music goes, you seem to be involved with both the pop and experimental scenes. Is there a lot of crossover between the two? What characteristics do they both share, if any?
I don't what to say, really. I guess there are a few artists that walk this line separating "pop" and "experimental". Personally, I think that this a hard thing to do and I think very few people succeed. Thinking more about it, I find that I generally think it works best when so called "experimental" artists incorporate popular music into their work, rather than the other way around. (If this is done in a non-ironic manner that is.) Pop music with an presumably experimental edge is generally just a bad make-up job and one of the worst things in the world. One big exception that actually lives in Gothenburg is Erik de Vahl, who to me is an excellent pop artist that not only writes beautiful songs, but also is sonically restless. It seems to me that he explores new areas because he needs to, not because he wants to make up for something that isn't there. I have been listening to his unreleased new album for almost a year now and I think it's the best thing he's ever done. I hope he decides to put it out some day.
You always seem to have a ton of amazing projects going on all the time - what are you currently working on now? What about stuff your friends are doing; got any tips on artists I should be paying more attention to?
I am finishing up my follow up album to "On a winter's day", entitled "Breakfast in America". I have been working on it for pretty much two years and it's definitely my most fully realised project so far. It is very much a pop album and it is inspired by the feeling of greatness that pop music can provide you with at certain points in your life. It's about seeing America out of a train window with your oldest childhood friend, catching all those youthful dreams and finding new ones. It's about finding love in people, in the landscape and in the golden sunshine. Basically, loving life.
I am working with my New Jazz Ensemble in different ways, we just did a show as a quartet last week and we are doing another one as a septet this week. After that there'll be a small tour with Malmö popjazztrio Auton. We are playing Copenhagen, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. I am also putting out their debut album on my label, Structures Sonores this week, so there is a lot of work going on with that.
Gothenburg artists that you should check out? Well, I hope you listened to the song "Feeling small" by Johan Gustavsson's Gutted String project. He has another one that is called "Ferry from here" that is also fantastic and I know that he is working on some spectacular things. There's more things going on I guess, but that's the last thing that seriously blew me away. Oh yeah, and I like Madamm. She has the best guitar sound in town.
So do you have a song to share either from yourself or another artist you admire? Tell us about it.
Johan sent me this music while I was in California over the summer. I was sitting at the Escondido Public Library working on a paper when I suddenly got a hold of the library wifi and checked my email. I found this song in my inbox and I began listening to it over and over again. The idea of Johan singing his heart out on the other side of the globe was very appealing, but even more so it was a completely brilliant song. That the key line is dealing with drowning in noise is very fitting in so many ways. I hope to hear more things from Thee/The Gutted String asap.
Thee Gutted String - Feeling small
Thanks to mRa for this one! I had heard of the band Superdong for a long, long time, but only got a chance to hear them when they appeared on myspace. They've been sort of a Holy Grail act in my mind - these are the guys who later formed Fireside and Breach, after all, bands that have both factored very prominently in my love of Swedish/Scandinavian music. So to know a band existing, to know they have recordings, but yet to search fruitlessly for years... that's frustrating. Of course, the larger the legacy becomes to me, the more likely I am to be disappointed, but I'm actually kind of stoked to hear Kristofer Åström sing skaterock. "Don Lombardo" isn't as amazing as say, the early Him Kerosene track from the same comp ("Salmons of Hort"), but it's solid and well-representative of the era (1995). It's also infinitely better than everything else on said comp: Lapdog, The Fitz Geralds (or is that Fitzgeralds?), Stoned and Millencolin. 3rd wave ska-punk, no thank you. The early/mid-90s was a promising time for Norrland indierock, but it took some time to get going. It's fun to listen back.
Superdong - Don Lombardo
Swedish/Glaswegian trio The Social Services impressed me from the moment I first heard them and now that their debut album "It's nothing personal, it's national security" is finally out, it's time for me to heap on more praise. Seriously, they're a great band and if you still haven't checked them out by now, it's time you got on it. Today's track is "Seven dwarves", a jaunty little pop song with an uplifting, esteem-boosting message. As the band themselves describe it:
An American indie blog once wrote a few lines about us and their interpretation of this particular song was that it was about 'jerks'. We're not entirely sure where they got that from.
To set the record straight, the song was lovingly written for and about Lucy's [Lucy Cathcart] five nieces and two nephews, aged 2-12. It's also especially designed for Lucy's mum who once put in a plaintive request for us to write 'some happy songs'. She finds our oeuvre somewhat depressing.
Depressing? Hardly! Okay, so maybe their version of "You are my sunshine" is a total downer, but it's well-balanced by pieces like this. And even tracks like "The Baltic Sea" have their silver lining if you're actually paying attention. Anyhow, I'm getting off point, but my message remains the same: The Social Services are a great band. Pay attention!
The Social Services - Seven dwarves
Skepticism are Finland's undisputed champs of funeral doom. They pioneered the genre back in the early 90s and they're still leading the way today as one of the world's slowest, most heaviest bands with the release of "Alloy", quite possibly their best album yet. As always, the monstrous pipe organ takes center stage, but as their recordings have gotten better, the band has learned to balance their sound more evenly across the board. No longer are the guitars huge wash of white noise, neither are the vocals an indecipherable rumble. The drummer still refuses to employ a proper snare drum, but that's always been part of their charm. And speaking of charm, I have to say that "The arrival", the album's opening track, might be Skepticism's catchiest material yet. It's not just totally crushing, it's also incredibly melodic and daresay, uplifting in its majesty. That's the thing about funeral doom - it doesn't just wallow in misery, it revels in it. As Aleister Crowley says in "The Titanic", "A crown of thorns is still a crown!"
Skepticism - The arrival
You should know by now that I love almost anything that manages to incorporate traditional folk into modern music, so you shouldn't be surprised that I'm enjoying Norway's Katzenjammer quite a bit. Countrymates Kaizers Orchestra are a good reference point, 'cept that KJ borrow more from bluegrass than purely European/Gypsy folk. And they're also a heckuva lot more fun, something very very obvious on "Le pop", the title track to their debut album. The 'grass isn't so apparent here as the lilting circus music takes center stage, but I assure you - it's there. And those tight vocal harmonies might have you thinking Pipettes, but they do just as well in rootsier settings. Regardless, I love the seasickness-inducing bombast and that's all that matters. Once again: very fun and right up my alley.
Katzenjammer - Le pop
Dungen's new album "4" is the first one I've ever been able to get into and I think it's because the record is more of a full band effort than a solo project. The music is still the same psych/progg as always, yet it flows so much more effortlessly than ever before. Besides, that's always the best thing about all the classic Swedish progg this borrows from: the extended jams. That's where the action is. Throw in a couple pop tracks (such as what I've posted today) to lighten the load and you're all good. Too much either/or and your either lost in jam-band hell or bored by trying to do something they aren't meant to do. I love the pulsing bass here, the propulsion of the groove. Frilly flutes can't diminish that. So while I still prefer the darker, heavier sounds of fellow retro Swedes such as Witchcraft, Graveyard and Sienna Root, I dig this too and am happy to recommend it.
Dungen - Mina damer och fasaner
This one's a new release, but it's an old recording so it qualifies for Friday posting. Brainbombs are a cult band who've been lurking on the periphery for a long while now that's only recently started to get their due as more and more bands namedrop them as influences. All those shit-gaze bands du jour? Oh yeah, totally like Brainbombs. Seems like anytime you hear repetitive sludge buried beneath an intentionally bad recording, you'll see the reference. Personally, I'm a bit on the fence about them and can't reasonably offer a recommendation for most casual listeners. "You like misanthropic, sexist dirge-rock? Well check these guys out!" Naah, not gonna happen. If degenerate music like Flipper, Eyehategod or later GG Allin is your cup of tea, you probably already know about these dudes anyway. As for this new live document "Live At Smålands Nation, Lund, Sweden, May 29 1993", it's a mess. Surprise! Approach with caution.
Brainbombs - Danny was a streetwhore
