Norwegian label Smalltown Supersound will be putting on a showcase event at SXSW this year featuring Bjørn Torske, Lindstrøm, Arp, Diskjokke, Kim Hiorthøy and US signees Sunburned Hand Of The Man. Exact details concerning date/time/location tba.

The winners of this year's Rockbjörnen:

Female artist: Sonja Aldén
Group: Sahara Hotnights
Newcomer: Måns Zelmerlöw
Male artist: Lars Winnerbäck
Live act: The Ark
Song: Lars Winnerbäck – Om du lämnar mig nu
Album: Kent – Tillbaka till samtiden
Myspace prize: Kid Down

The video for BigBang's debut American single "Hurricane boy" can now be viewed on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afiXxZBbmkE

New releases from ECM coming out on April 15 that might be of interest:

Ketil Bjørnstad/Terje Rypdal - Live from Leipzig
Marilyn Mazur - Elixir (ft. Jan Garbarek)

Shout Out Louds will release their album "Our ill wills" in Italy on January 28 via Homesleep Recordings. Look for them to tour down there in March.

Starofash, the solo act of Heidi Solberg Tveitan/Ihriel from Peccatum/wife of Ihsahn from Emperor, will release her new album "The thread" on March 24 via Mnemosyne Productions/Candlelight Records.

Is Marit Bergman going to start offering a subscription service? https://www.maritbergman.net/

Check out a clip of Magyar Posse doing a live jam at the JZ Club in Hangzhou, China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zllilg7KtM4

El Perro Del Mar's new album "From the valley to the stars" will get a US release on April 22. As mentioned yesterday, the first single "How did we forget" is now streaming at the Licking Fingers website: https://www.lickingfingers.com/

Lykke Li's entire debut album "Youth novels" is streaming at myspace: https://www.myspace.com/lykkeli
The official release date is January 30. If you interested in more, there's also a Rocca remix at Popjustice: https://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2128&Itemid=206

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
02. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
03. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
04. Celine - Bæstevænna
05. Venke Knutson - Crush
06. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
07. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
08. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
09. Erik og Kriss - Verden vil bedras
10. Henning Kvitnes - Stemmer i gresset
11. Kurt Nilsen - Push push
12. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
13. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord og Øgonblick
14. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
15. Solveig Slettahjell - Domestic songs
16. Trond-Viggo Torgersen - Det du kan + noe rart & noe nytt
17. Raga Rockers - Ubermensch
18. BigBang - Something Special - The Best
19. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008
20. Savoy - Savoy songbook vol. 1

This week's top 20 Swedish album chart:

01. Sofia Karlsson - Visor från vinden
02. Lars Winnerbäck - Daugava
03. Alf Robertson - Alf Robertsons bästa
04. Kent - Tillbaka till samtiden
05. Salem Al Fakir - This is who I am
06. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing
07. Jill Johnson - Music Row
08. Säkert! - Säkert!
09. Marie Picasso - The secret
10. Benny Anderssons Orkester - Bao 3
11. Lars Winnerbäck - Efter nattens bränder - 1996-2006
12. Magnus Uggla - Pärlor åt svinen
14. Peter Jöback - Människor som du och jag
15. Britta Persson - Kill Hollywood me
16. Peter Lemarc - Kärlek i tystnadens tid
17. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - A fiction
18. Petter - God damn it
19. Nisse Hellberg - En tiger i tanken
20. Martin Stenmarck - Det är det pojkar gör när kärleken dör

The Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble (ft. members from IAT.MP3 artists Sonores and Tsukimono) will celebrate the release of their new album "Do nothing 'til you hear from me" (iDEAL) on February 9 with a show at Hagateatern in Göteborg. Support will come from Variam and Arco.

Solefald is now streaming a track on myspace from their new remix album "The circular drain": https://www.myspace.com/solefaldofficial

Pitchfork reviews Love Is All's new remix album "Mixed up": https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/48090-mixed-up