The new Antennas single "No forever", now streaming in full with b-sides at Soundcloud. File under: "unexpected saxophones".

1. Skriet - Det beslutande organet
I thought I'd separate my own releases (Novoton) from the list this year but Skriet's second album "Det beslutande organet" ("The governing body") hit me like a ton of bricks (and all the critics as well). It is easily the I album I have listened to and enjoyed the most this year so it has to be number one. A self-recorded beauty with traces of Joy Division, Einstürzende Neubauten and Talk Talk. What's not to like?
http://open.spotify.com/album/3H2WwXXWkvM5AYe4BFdkoo

2. Mattias Alkberg - Anarkist One of Sweden's most skillfull songwriters, authors and singers, with more than 20 years in action (both solo and with The Bear Quartet), returns with an excellent album and poetry book. It got me going anyway!
http://open.spotify.com/album/682R2oGfkyHy1elSmNmf26

3. Cat's Eyes - Cat's eyes
Cat's Eyes, Faris Badwan's (Horrors front man) collaborative project with Canadian opera singer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira. Reverb drenched and enjoyably sinister, richly atmospheric and soft-focused pop music. For me, miles better and more exciting than his "real" band. "Face in the crowd" is one of my favorite songs this year.
http://open.spotify.com/album/6IsCfeYFiuk5MhdV69Tvgt

5. The Black Angels - Phosgene nightmare
Last year brought The Black Angels (with "Phosphene dream") back to great form and with the release of "Phosgene nightmare" (Limited Edition B-sides on White Vinyl) I was in heaven. I almost like this six track EP more than last year's proper album, and I loved that one.
http://open.spotify.com/album/72OunaSe9dTLfngPgVYSRB

6. The Vaccines - What did you expect from The Vaccines?
Every now and then a band comes that pick the cherry from all musical ages and make a great new album. Mixing everything from The Ramones to The Jesus and Mary Chain in three chords explosions they found a way into my heart.
http://open.spotify.com/album/6eWtdQm0hSlTgpkbw4LaBG

7. Timber Timbre - Creep on, creepin' on
Taylor Kirk has got loads of style and his croon empower the darkly atmospheric doo-wop and blues he create. All drenched with a style all its own. Quite haunting.
http://open.spotify.com/album/3MwhPlrS5HltOuXvEeWhuB

8. 16 Horsepower - Your, truly
This compilation got me back with 16 Horsepower and who can not love David Eugene Edwards' voice and music?
A nice trip down memory lane.
http://open.spotify.com/album/0fjdUv9iNvpvVkmFGlvRD9

9. Low - C'mon
Recorded in a old church "C'mon" is filled with athmosphere but direct as well. More uniform, in good way. Quite slow as usual but much more soulfull.
http://open.spotify.com/album/3FXselB2qG505kmuB5wL2n

10. Novoton releases 2011
By looking at the list it seems I have only listened to mellow and soft music this year, but that's not the case at all in fact. 2011 have been one of the best years for Novoton ever with five album releases (all with great reviews). It has been a magnificent year indeed. Besides Skriet, we have released albums by Riddarna, Katharina Nuttall, Paper and a split album with Pascal/Mattias Alkberg. You can listen to it all in the Spotify playlist below. It also looks like 2012 will be hectic for Novoton as well. Riddarna and Antennas have already recorded new albums for release next year and both Paper and Black Belt plan to have new albums out as well.
http://open.spotify.com/user/novoton/playlist/35RLkNoAJKiQrwZSrS82uI

---------------------------
Daggan Stamenkovic runs the Swedish label Novoton.
http://www.novoton.se/

01. Buying an old school and moving out in the country again and running a really cool café there this summer with some friends. Lots of work but definitely worth it.
http://www.hablingbo.com/

02. Releasing SKRIET's (Isak from Pascal's side project) debut album. A subdued and dark album which fit my autumn mood perfectly.
http://www.myspace.com/skrietsthlm

03. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding head. Great album I only which the vocals were a little bit higher, but great none the less.
http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/

04. Tap Tap - On my way. Maybe not as perfect as their debut album but great anyway. Maybe it's just that the surprise factor of hearing them for the first time isn't as big this time. I think it will grow on me though.
http://www.myspace.com/taptapmusic

05. Pascal - Orkanen närmar sig (The hurricane is approaching). Technically this won't be released until January 2010 [however] since we have been working with it since July it has made a big impact in me this year. Pascal's best and heaviest album so far. Really great stuff!
http://www.kyssmig.com/

06. Brian Eno & David Byrne - Everything that happens will happen today. Maybe I'm getting old but I really enjoyed this quite mellow album from two of my favorite artists. Nice to see them working together again. It's not as close to being as good as "My life in the bush of ghosts" (which is one of my favorite records) but very enjoyable anyway.
http://www.everythingthathappens.com/

07. Antennas album ("Feeling feline tonight") making great success in Austria and topping their indie charts for week. Also the band having a successful tour in Europe following the album.

08. Bat For Lashes - Two suns. An album filled with gauzy vintage synths and odes to teenage love . It's bravely backward-looking and weirdly prescient at the same time. If only all pop could be this good.
http://www.batforlashes.com/

09. Existensminimum - OK boys. Magnus returned with a synth driven pure pop album and I just love it to pieces.
http://www.existensminimum.com/

10. The Bear Quartet - 89. I never been a huge fan of The Bear Quartet but this album is so fucking good I just couldn't stop listening to it.
http://www.thebearquartet.com/

---------------------------
Daggan runs the label Novoton and is one of the founders of Klicktrack. Next year he is looking forward to releasing new albums by Pascal, Paper, Norma and Antennas.
http://www.novoton.se/
http://www.klicktrack.com/

03/18 - Prinzenbar, Hamburg (GER)
03/19 - Magnet Club, Berlin (GER)
03/20 - MTC, Cologne (GER)
03/21 - Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
03/23 - Atomic Café, Munich (GER)
03/25 - PPC, Graz (AUS)
03/26 - b72, Vienna (AUS)
03/27 - Roada, Steyr (AUS)
03/28 - Bertholdsaal, Weyer (AUS)
03/30 - PMK, Innsbruck (AUS)
04/01 - Sonderbar, Feldkirch 04/02 - ISC, Bern (CH)
04/03 - Berghammer, Sigharting (AUS)
04/04 - Rockhouse, Saltzburg (AUS)

02. Woven Hand - Ten stones
http://www.myspace.com/wovenhand
I've been a fan of Woven Hand since day one and I know that some older fans didn't like this album, but I love it. I like that there is a little more rawness and energy. It's a great album.

03. Norma - Book Of Norma
http://www.klicktrack.com/novoton/releases/norma/book-of-norma
Another one of my bands and what a debut album they made. They mix ambient, Kraut, noise, electronica, indie often with a strict, repetitive bass/drum pattern and a magnificent, wide and almost hypnotic sound. This is rich, panoramic music with a warmth that you don't hear often from other bands trying to do something in this genre. German Kraut is one obvious thing, but also the spacerock of Spiritualized and Spacemen3 comes to mind. Newer references may be Silverbullit, 120 Days, Serena Maneesh and The Lionheart Brothers. Check out the review here at It's a Trap! and you'll get how good it is.

04. Clinic - Do it
http://www.clinicvoot.org/
Britain's finest psych rock combo return with a great summer album which I listen to almost exclusively the whole summer, and still do. "Corpus Christi now you miss me."

05. Ultravox - Ultravox!, Ha! Ha! Ha!, Systems of romance
http://www.metamatic.com/

05. Gary Numan - Replicas
http://www.numan.co.uk/
Every year I seem to have a trip down the memory lane and this year it was both Ultravox three first albums with John Foxx (don't care much for the ones with Midge Ure though). Still fucking brilliant. Enough said. I also listened a lot to a almost perfect album by Gary Numan - Replicas. Check them all out, it's well worth it.

06. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr. Happy
http://www.klicktrack.com/klicktrack/releases/montys-loco/farewell-mr-happy-2
Montys Loco are back with their forth album recorded in Namibia and Sweden. It explores organic sounds and electronic atmospheres created by Marie Eklund, Monty's guitarist and producer. PJ Harvey meets Suicide and Neubauten!

07. Spiritualized - Songs in A&E
http://www.myspace.com/spiritualized
"Songs in A&E" is a return to fantastic form by Spirtualized. All of Jason Pierce's fascinations of the past years appear here in a beautiful way. I'm always pleased to see old favourites release great albums.

08. Holiday For Strings - Upcoming second album
http://www.myspace.com/holidayforstrings
So it's not out yet but I got a CD with some of the new tracks which I absolutely loved. It's going to be a great album. Head over to their MySpace page and listen to them.

09. Glasvegas - Glasvegas
http://www.glasvegas.net/
I haven't really had time to get into it properly because I am always a little sceptic to bands that are hyped this much. However good music is good music even if it is being hyped, sometime it's hyped because it's good. I am sure this will be listened to a lot the next couple of months.

10. Fatboy - In my bones
http://www.klicktrack.com/klicktrack/releases/fatboy/in-my-bones
And to end the list a little bit of Rockabilly from Sweden. Fatboy's second album is truly genuine. Something with a feel for history, but that is fashionably out of date. A combo that looks like it sounds, that isn't afraid to laugh in the face of expectation.

---------------------------
Daggan runs the label Novoton and is one of the founders of Klicktrack. Next year he is looking forward to release new albums by Antennas, Existensminimum and Pascal as well as a side project by Isak from Pascal.
www.novoton.se
www.klicktrack.com

01. Lögnhalsmottagningen - Bodybuilder
02. TALK 1
03. Svart - Carl du lever i en dröm
04. Majessic Dreams - Beautiful days
05. Antennas - Lies (Oscar Tillman remix)
06. TALK 2
07. The Sound O.E - Universal tourist
08. Kaipa - Nattdjurstid
09. Murmansk - Pale
10. TALK 3
11. On Volcano - Ride the wolf
12. Markus Krunegård - Samma nätter vänter alla
13. Ondo - Mahavishnu
14. TALK 4
15. Popsicle - Hey princess
16. CMX - Tulikiveä
17. Ström i P2/Håkan Lidbo - Strömavbrott (Boeoes Kaelstigen Etsi remix)
18. TALK 5
19. The Goner - Kill them all save Simon Joyner
20. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom
21. Montys Loco - Ages ago
22. TALK 6
23. Mattias Alkberg BD - Allting är drömt
24. Masshysteri - Monoton tid
25. Ljudbilden & Piloten - You know you're doing OK
26. Abduktio - Thermador
27. TALK 7
28. Hebosagil - Big sun
29. Anna Ternheim - To be gone
30. Kusowsky - Tjuvar
31. Fredrik - 1986
32. TALK 8
33. Johan Heltne - 16 Avenue de l'Opera
34. Cortex - Arkham
35. Kleerup - Until we bleed (ft. Lykke Li)
36. TALK 9
37. Coldworker - Citizens of the cyclopean maze

Heads-up: my show is moving to a new time next week! Starting on Sunday, June 8 my show will be on at 11pm Eastern / 8pm Pacific with a repeat on Monday at the exact same time. I'm also paring down to an hour of programming a week, so expect all-killer/no-filler from here on out! Also, seeing as how I'm leaving for Sweden on June 9, this week's coming show will be a Hultsfred Festival special so mark your calenders, update your alarm clocks or do whatever it is you need to do to remind yourself to listen in!

Tap Tap - Lanzafame
A truly superb album. I hear Bowie, Velvet Underground, Talking Heads in here and I love it.
http://www.myspace.com/taptapmusic

Wolf People - EP
A psych-rock treat
http://www.myspace.com/wolfpeople

Pascal - Galgberget (upcoming album)
Heavier and more noisy then ever. Don't miss this one.
http://www.myspace.com/raukenroll

The Wolfgang Press - Bird wood cage
An oldie from 1988 which I rediscovered and listened to a lot this year. It was great back then and I see now why I loved it so much, and still do.
http://www.4ad.com/thewolfgangpress/releases/birdwoodcage-0/

Pet Politics - When I get old (track)
A great artist and I really have to do something with him now.
http://www.myspace.com/petpoliticstheband

Norma - 1 (EP)
A perfect mixture of ambient, kraut, noise, electronica, indie
http://www.myspace.com/theamazingnorma

Dieter Schöön - Lablaza
A very original and cool album.
http://www.myspace.com/dieterschoon

Black Belt - Two minutes to midnight
A hard rocking epos. Just listen to the closing song "Midnight".
http://www.myspace.com/blackbeltspace

Hot Silk Pockets (band)
A recommended listen.
http://www.myspace.com/hotsilkpockets

Love Is A Burning Thing - Dancer on a chair (track)
A song that make me just want to jump around.
http://www.myspace.com/liabt

"Can't wait for"
Antennas', Paper's and Norma's upcoming albums. All due to be released this spring and from what I have heard all equally great in their own ways.

---------------------------

Daggan is the head of Novoton Records and also runs the mp3 download service Klicktrack.
www.novoton.se
www.klicktrack.com

]]> Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25733-stockholm-perspectives-1-norma http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25733-stockholm-perspectives-1-norma http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25733-stockholm-perspectives-1-norma#comments I spent years reading about definitive moments in people's lives, often sitting outside the window of my shared boarding house room, huddled with a book on the bit of roof that extended from under the aperture, smoking a cigarette, watching the light soften and fade as afternoon became evening, as daylight transitioned into twilight and eventually darkness. Already a distant and asocial young expatriate, consistently reading about these moments made me feel even more removed from the spontaneity and vehemence of life. I began to regard those profound, life-changing experiences as works of fiction, accompanying true love and happy endings in some dark masquerade which most of us would never be invited to.

In 2002, I took my first breath of Swedish air and moved into a beautiful villa just across from the Tunnelbana tracks in Kärrtorp. I remembering smiling widely as Ella and Judy Torkelsson helped me with my things across the Arlanda parking lot into their blue Volvo station wagon. It wasn't so much that I was so desperate as to accept any weak breeze as the winds of change, my last year in British boarding school is saturated with many of my most treasured moments, and I grew and matured quite a bit as my A-Levels loomed, came, and passed. There was a genuine moment as I exited the airport into that grey day, the first definitive moment I'd ever had.

Over the coming months, I fell progressively more in love with Sweden, Stockholm in particular. While Ella was in school, I would walk down to the center of Kärrtorp, take the train into T-Centralen, and walk along the water, through the cobbled streets of Gamla Stan, and the parks of Södermalm. I started to feel less like a stranger or a voyeur observing the city around me. As the year wore on, I started to make friends, many of whom I am still in frequent contact with today, and began the life that I am now thoroughly involved in.

People ask me what it is about Stockholm that left me feeling this way, and I've never been able to give them a satisfactory answer, not for myself anyways. It's like asking a true Yankees fan what it is about the Bronx Bombers that attracts their loyalty. There are obvious things you can point to - friends, a coffee shop, the public transportation, universal healthcare, etc. - but much of one's admiration and allegiance is wrapped up in wordless swells of sentiment, and excluding them seems to detract from the whole.

Having one of the more prolific and creative music scenes in the world (in many ways putting breath into those "wordless swells"), I thought I'd ask various musicians in Stockholm the same question that has been posed to me - namely, "What is it about Stockholm?", amongst other pressing inquiries.

The following is the first attempt to scratch below the surface, to paint various pictures of a multifaceted city in the music and words of some of Stockholm's most talented citizens. My thanks to Norma for being my first test subjects.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

How did Norma come about?

We're all kind of weird, in our different ways. I think that was what brought us together. Norma is all about us three. If you would exchange any of the members, the sound would be totally different. You could describe it as some sort of terrorbalance. We all have a lot of ideas going in different directions, but the result of the struggle is Norma.

Where in Stockholm do you guys rehearse? Where have you rehearsed in the past?

Right now, we actually don't have any place to rehearse. That is one of the biggest downsides of being a band in Stockholm, there are just no cheap dungeons for bands to evolve in. So for now, our apartment (Aron Sandell and Petter Bendelin's) will have to do. But you can't do live drums here, and if we continue like this, sooner or later our neighbours will come knockin'... In the past we've been in a couple of different shelters, but when your guitars start rusting and you have to do warm-up exercises for 30 minutes before you can play a song, you feel like there's just got to be a better way.

What inspirations are present on "1"?

Well, the songs that are on "1" all sprung out from sessions in a small shelter in Zinkensdamm in the summer of 2006. It was dark, humid, and kind of noisy because of the concrete walls. When we first came there, we didn't have an A-to-B plan of what we wanted to do, but because of the preconditions in the shelter, it was kind of hard for us to write proper 3 minute verse-chorus songs. So instead we ended up making 6-10 minute songs with non-traditional structures and few chords. You couldn't really tell if anyone changed chords anyway, so it was better to stick to as few as possible. Mentioning different bands as sources of inspiration is kind of boring, but everything from Pink Floyd and Neu! to Postal Service and Hot Chip inspired "1".

How much would you say living in Stockholm impacts you all as individuals and collectively as a band? Does Stockholm feel like home?

I think it impacts us a lot, both as a band and as individuals. Two of us are from the island Gotland which is a few hours by boat from Stockholm. There's a big difference in living on an island with 60,000 other people or in a city of almost 2,000,000. But I (Aron) would still say that I'm from Gotland and not Stockholm.

As for the band, I think it means a lot, too. Just look at the difference of bands coming from say Gothenburg compared with bands from Stockholm. A good thing about Stockholm is that everyone is really good at what they do, no matter if it's art, music, film or writing. So when people start to take notice of you here, you know that you've probably done something right.

Has Stockholm ever inspired a song - for good or ill?

"The storm" is a song inspired by life here, which of course is both good and bad.

Have any of you wanted to move away - and if so, where?

We've talked about moving to Germany because of the possibilities of getting ourselves a warehouse facility which is impossible here. Haven't made it there yet, but we'll see what the future holds.

What bars, coffee shops, dance nights, 'must see places', etc. would you recommend to a foreigner visiting Stockholm for a week or so?

I think all three of us would like to go out more, but there is little money and even less time, so none of us would be a great guide to Stockholm's club life. The classic, both as a concert venue and bar, is of course Debaser. All three of us have spent a lot of time there. Another favorite is Landet. Two of us used to live nearby. And AG, where we had the release party for "1", is cool. We mostly drink our coffee at home, or in the studio. And when it comes to must-sees, well Stockholm is more of a city that you have to experience by meeting people and hopefully learning where the greatest party of weekend is at.

Where do you guys typically hang out?

The new black is Kungsholmen, two of us just moved here. And then there's Söder, and the places I mentioned before.

On a Friday night, would you guys rather go out to bars/clubs, or to a house party?

We would rather go to our own house party than go out clubbing, because house parties tend to be more wild and you can play whatever music you feel like listening to. But, I mean, it's kind of tiring to clean up afterwards... So a little bit of both is a good recipe to a healthy and happy life.

What clubs have you played at in Stockholm? Which were your favorites and why?

Fritz's Corner, Ljummen i Gräset, Musik Scenario, and our release party. That's it. We've only made 4 appearances ever, if you don't count the ones a couple of years ago when we were experimenting a lot. My favorite was definitely Debaser, but all the gigs have been great. Norma live is awesome though, so hopefully we will hit the road soon.

The only show we ever did outside of Stockholm was on Gotland a couple of years ago; weird gig, we didn't have any finished songs, almost no lyrics, and the audience was really drunk... Did far better than you could expect under those circumstances.

Which bands inspired Norma? Are there any Stockholm-based bands that motivated you?

Our friends, Torpedo ( with Love Martinsen on synthesisers), Antennas and Existensminimum are all really great and huge sources of inspiration for us in many ways.

What does the future hold for Norma?

We're in the middle of recording our first album. Hopefully it will be released sometime this coming spring, and then following that there will probably be some kind of tour. We're improving every song we make, so we're already looking forward to making the next record, and then the next, and so on.

Norma is: Aron Sandell, Love Martinsen, and Petter Bendelin.

LINK: http://www.theamazingnorma.com/
LINK: http://www.myspace.com/theamazingnorma

06/06 - Klex, Greifswald (GER)
06/07 - Schokoladen, Berlin (GER)
06/09 - Lokal Ohne Namen, Gelsenkirchen (GER)
06/10 - dB's, Utrecht (GER)
06/11 - Grüner Jäger, Hamburg (GER)
06/12 - D:qliq, Luxemburg (LUX)
06/14 - Haus der Jugend, Remseck (GER)
06/15 - Rasafari Open Air, Schaffhausen (GER)
06/16 - B-Sides Festival, Luzern (CH)]]> Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25643-top-10s-for-2006-daggan-novoton http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25643-top-10s-for-2006-daggan-novoton http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25643-top-10s-for-2006-daggan-novoton#comments 01. The Black Angels - Passover (album)
The best album this year. This is how it should sound my friends

02. Pascal - Förbi Fabriken (album)
The best thing that have happened to me since JAMC

03. Existensminimum - Last night my head tried to explode and i wrote everything down (album)
Utterly brilliant neo-kraut debut album by Existensminimum

04. Antennas - Sins (album)
Antennas debut album promises greatness for the future

05. Pet Politics - "In my Head" and "The Spring" (EPs)
Two great, now probably sold out, EPs by one of Swedens finest artists

06. The Magic City - The Magic City (Promo EP)
Dark and hypnotic with a groove based on deep bass sound and monotone drumbeat. I know it was made in 2005 but I really got into it this year.

07. Promise and The Monster - Antarktis (song)
Hunting, desolate and beautiful. I just can't stop listening to it

08. Clinic - Visitations (album)
Another great album by one of my fav bands

09. Dödens Lammungar (band)
Neo-goth have never sounded this sweet

10. Danava - By The Mark (song)
Hawkwind lives!

Just outside the list: The new, Jari Haapalainen produced, album ("Two minutes to midnight") by Black Belt. It was recorded by the end of 2006 and I have listened to it a lot but it will be released in the beginning of February 2007 and I know it will end up on my best of 2007. No doubt about it. Paper - Great indiepunkkrautrocknewwave


---------------------------

Daggan is the head of Novoton Records and also runs the mp3 download service Klicktrack.
www.novoton.se
www.klicktrack.com

]]> Wed, 06 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6228 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6228 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6228#comments Tonight! Antennas and La Tour at Tack! Tack! Tack! in London! I also understand that DJs from Baggy Mondays will be dropping by to do a set, so be sure to stop on by. Should be a good time. Also note the upcoming IAT DJs vs. Baggy Mondays World Cup night on June 20 - England vs. Sweden on the big screen and on the decks.]]> Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28025-mp3-antennas-adapt http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28025-mp3-antennas-adapt http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28025-mp3-antennas-adapt#comments Instead of posting an older mp3 today like I normally do on Fridays, I'm going to take this opportunity to hype up Monday's Tack! Tack! Tack! show with Antennas and La Tour by posting the latest Antennas single "Adapt!". Check it out and, if you're in London on Monday night, be sure to check out the show too. It should be a good time. Buy presale tickets here.]]> Fri, 07 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6256 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6256 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6256#comments Instead of posting an older mp3 today like I normally do on Fridays, I'm going to take this opportunity to hype up Monday's Tack! Tack! Tack! show with Antennas and La Tour by posting the latest Antennas single "Adapt!". Check it out and, if you're in London on Monday night, be sure to check out the show too. It should be a good time. Buy presale tickets here.]]> Fri, 07 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6374 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6374 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6374#comments The video for the new Antennas single "Adapt!" is now online: http://www.antennas.se/videos/antennas_adapt.mp4
Don't forget that the band is playing next month's Tack! Tack! Tack! in London. Tickets here.]]> Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6636 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6636 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6636#comments Music (For Robots) on Antennas: http://music.for-robots.com/archives/001377.html]]> Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26269-antennas-sins-novoton http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26269-antennas-sins-novoton http://www.itsatrap.com/n/26269-antennas-sins-novoton#comments Antennas (formerly Novak) reflects the music from the 1980s and 1990s in which they grew up, but it may well be closer to the synth pop sensibilities producer Giorgio Moroder popularized in the late 1970s as he worked his way out of disco toward new wave. The ten songs on this record are built on synthetic plink-plink-plinky sounds, around which alternating conventional rock guitars, bursts of energetic drumming, and electronic distortion are juxtaposed with the organic sounds of pianos, strings, or horns. Eschewing conventional song structures, Antennas favor recurring motifs and unexpected transitions, the songs shift more than they build. Despite the variety of instruments, the sound is relatively sparse, leaving the focus on idiosyncratic vocals a listener will either adore or tire of quickly. There are a lot of interesting qualities here and some stand out tracks, but as a whole it wears thin too long before the end.]]> Sat, 11 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6674 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6674 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6674#comments MTVe is streaming the new Antennas album "Sins": http://www.mtve.com/article.php?ArticleId=6223
Buy it as an mp3 download here: [click here]]]> Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6786 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6786 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6786#comments Antennas have revamped their website: http://www.antennas.se/
The band's new album "Sins" came out last week and can be purchased as mp3s right here.]]> Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6829 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6829 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6829#comments Also new in the webstore today: the latest album "Sins" from Swedish indierockers Antennas (formerlly known as Novak) and the debut full-length "Madame, madame!" from Firefox AK which Aftonbladet is calling "this year's most interesting debut." Sucks for you if you didn't preorder the latter because now the price has gone up a buck. You snooze, you lose.]]> Wed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7000 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7000 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7000#comments Swedish power-pop act Antennas are streaming a few tracks from their forthcoming album "Sins" on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/areyouantennas]]> Thu, 16 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25534-top-10s-for-2005-daggan-stamenkovic-novoton-klicktrack http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25534-top-10s-for-2005-daggan-stamenkovic-novoton-klicktrack http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25534-top-10s-for-2005-daggan-stamenkovic-novoton-klicktrack#comments 01. Seeing Pascal live for the first time and signing them on the spot

02. The Klicktrack.com launch

03. Pet Politics - The cold wind blows (song)

04. Paper - our so long (song)

05. Antennas - Always on my mind (single)

06. Existensminimum - Running down everyone (single)

07. Yttling Jazz - Oh Lord, why can't I keep my big mouth shut

08. Photographer Unknown - Sunday afternoon (song)

09. Seeing Efterklang live at Hultsfred

10. Grizzly Bear - Horn of plenty


---------------------------

Daggan is the head of Novoton Records and also runs the mp3 download service Klicktrack. His most recent signing Pascal will release their debut album in January.
www.novoton.se
www.klicktrack.com

]]> Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9446 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9446 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9446#comments Novoton Records (Antennas/Existensminimum/Black Belt) has announced the signing of Pascal. Look for their debut album to be released this coming fall.]]> Wed, 17 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9647 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9647 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9647#comments Indieworkshop.com checks in today with new reviews of A Taste of Ra (aka Nicolai Dunger) and Antennas.]]> Mon, 01 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10515 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10515 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10515#comments See that flashing box on the right? There's a new contest going on. I'm giving away a couple sets of singles from Novoton Records - all the latest stuff from Antennas, Black Belt and Existensminimum. Click to enter.]]> Fri, 13 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10625 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10625 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/10625#comments The new video for "Always on my mind" from Antennas is now online at the Novoton Records site: http://www.novoton.se/antennasvideo_aomm.html]]> Mon, 09 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11001 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11001 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11001#comments Remember Novak? And maybe you've heard of the Swedish pop star Andreas Novak from the TV show Fame Factory? As you can imagine, that's a situation ripe for conflict. What's a little indie band to do? Well, they decided to just give in and change their name. The new moniker: Antennas. And today I'm proud to present to you their brand new single "Always on my mind". No, it's not that song, but they both possess that same feeling of longing and regret. It's not nearly as guitar heavy as the band's previous work, but they make up for it with amazingly lush production. Great stuff. The official CD version will be released soon on Novoton Records with remixes from Andreas Tilliander, Pro-Seed, AK and P.R.I.D.E.]]> Thu, 14 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news