IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Bellman in the UK

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:57:32 -0700

Norwegian artist Bellman will be making his UK live debut next week:

04/27 - Silver Bullet Par, Finsbury Park, London
04/28 - The Regal Rooms, Hammersmith, London

The 405 talks to Bellman

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:57:04 -0800

The 405 has a new audio interview up with Norwegian artist Bellman: http://thefourohfive.com/articles/4862

Sirius playlist week #15

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:47:19 -0700

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:

01. Lowood - It's a mess (feat. Kristofer Åström)
02. TALK 1
03. Murmansk - Sweet trio
04. Øresund Space Collective - My heel has a beard
05. Nutid - Pianoflikkan
06. TALK 2
07. Montt Mardié - Bang, bang (Echo in Warsaw)
08. Rupesh Cartel - Oh no oh no!
09. Bellman - Sleep forever
10. Pixie Carnation - Little sister
11. TALK 3
12. Fever Ray - Concrete walls
13. Jesper Norda - We have the guts
14. Bad Hands - Bad hands (feat. Nina Kinert)
15. TALK 4
16. Turboweekend - Up with the smoke - Down with the ash

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

Interview: Bellman

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:04:29 -0700

Before Norwegian band Bellman released their first album, "Mainly mute" (C+C Records/Frode Records/Musikkoperatørene), in January, the songs they'd posted on MySpace had earned them considerable buzz. The record lives up to the hype. It is a lush, tender and ephemeral exploration of the tensions between living and dying, waking and sleeping, loving and being apart, all rendered in sweeping orchestral pop that manages to be over the top and very quiet at the same time.

Behind Bellman is Arne-Johan Rauan, who recently took the time to answer a few questions:

You're based in Larvik, which is pretty close to Oslo but looks like it's far enough away to be musically independent. What kind of music scene have you got there?

Larvik has a long musical history, spanning from Impressonist Arne Nordheim to the '80s popidols Drama and Creation and Briskeby in the '90s. Bands and artists in Larvik have always enjoyed good support from the municipality. We also have great rehearsal-facilities which bands can rent for a small fee.

How has the response been to "Mainly mute"?

It has been overwhelming! It seems like most people have understood the album and what I have been trying to create. It entered the Norwegian charts Number #6 the first week.

"Mainly mute" seems a lot like a Concept Album, almost in the full-blown 1970s sense (though not a double LP with a gatefold sleeve!). How would you characterize the themes on the album?

I explore the contrasts between the fragile, small and sore vs. the massive, big and pompous. This intersection is what triggers my curiosity in all parts of life. Combined with my natural melancholic mind, you get "Mainly mute".

Was it your intent to create a set of reflections on the same themes or did it just turn out that way? How did your songwriting process work?

Each song has a certain meaning to me, and on the album they tell a story from song 1 to 10. That's the art of making an album. You get an additional dimension to the songs when you listen to them from start to finish. It's all intentional.

How will you follow up on a record that's so coherent and makes such a consistent statement? What are your plans?

Time will tell, but I always aim to push forward in some way. Search, explore and discover. I will certainly try to take it to the next natural level.

Do you feel like your music is particularly Norwegian or Scandinavian? I'm thinking especially of the melancholy, at which Scandinavians seem to excel, but wonder how you see it?

I agree that there is a certain melancholy hovering over a lot of Scandinavian acts, but on the other hand, Norway is also big on exporting black metal, so you never know...

I thought it was interesting that you released both "Mainly mute" and an accompanying live album simultaneously. What was the thinking behind that move?

I wanted people to get an idea of what Bellman sounds like live. Give you a glimpse of what we really are: An outstanding live band!

You're using Twitter. Do you have any thoughts about the usefulness of sites like Twitter, Facebook, and others social media for musicians?

In these downloading days, its crucial. It's a way to promote your music and yourself as an artist. Branding. You just have to be where people are.

Have you got any recommendations of great Norwegian bands flying below the international radar that we ought to keep our eyes open for?

Check out these outstanding acts:
http://www.myspace.com/detarjagsomardoden
http://www.myspace.com/solvermeer
http://www.myspace.com/childrenandcorpse

Interview by Nancy Baym

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:05:32 -0800

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. Silje Nergaard - A Thousand True Stories
02. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
03. deLillos - Huskeglemme
04. Kari Bremnes - Ly
05. Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like the Day
06. Åge Sten Nilsen - Glamunition
07. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
08. Elisabeth Andreassen - Spellemann
09. Marit Larsen - The Chase
10. Skambankt - Hardt regn
11. Vamp - St. Mandag
12. Black Debbath - Black Debbaths beste. 10 år
13. El Caco - Heat
14. Vestlandsfanden - Tipping & Trygd
15. Bugge Wesseltoft - Playing
16. Bellman - Mainly Mute
17. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
18. Ida Jenshus - Color of the Sun
19. I Was A King - I was a king
20. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:28:45 -0800

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. deLillos - Huskeglemme
02. Kari Bremnes - Ly
03. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
04. Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like the Day
05. Silje Nergaard - A Thousand True Stories
06. El Caco - Heat
07. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
08. Skambankt - Hardt regn
09. Sie Gubba - Hemafrå
10. Marit Larsen - The Chase
11. Vamp - St. Mandag
12. Ida Jenshus - Color of the Sun
13. Fjorden Baby! - Fjorden Baby!
14. Bugge Wesseltoft - Playing
15. Bellman - Mainly Mute
16. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
17. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
18. I Was A King - I was a king
19. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust
20. Espen Lind - Army of one

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:05:22 -0800

This week's top 20 Norwegian album chart:

01. Kari Bremnes - Ly
02. Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like the Day
03. Bellman - Mainly Mute
04. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
05. Sie Gubba - Hemafrå
06. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
07. I Was A King - I was a king
08. Marit Larsen - The Chase
09. Vamp - St. Mandag
10. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
11. Ida Jenshus - Color of the Sun
12. Torstein Sødal - Torstein Sødal
13. Odd Nordstoga - Pilegrim
14. Jarle Bernhoft - Ceramik City Chronicles
15. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
16. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
17. Rita Eriksen - Hjerteslag
18. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
19. Helene Bøksle - Morild
20. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix Junior Nordic

MIC Norway profiles Bellman

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 12:49:36 -0800

MIC Norway profiles the up-and-coming postrock/chamber-pop artist Bellman: http://www.mic.no/mic.nsf/doc/art2009012210373730842755

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:56:51 -0700

Norwegian artist Bellman will finally release his long-delayed debut full-length album "Mainly mute" on January 19, 2009. Listen to the first single "Space ship move slow" at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/bellmanmusic

Lars Winnerbäck Daugava Universal

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

I believe it all started with Carl Michael Bellman in the 18th century. Bellman wrote songs that now are an important part of the Swedish musical heritage and have been the blueprint for many Swedish musicians to follow. For many years now there has been a school of solo male troubadours in Sweden singing mostly about love and how hard life can be. They're usually not as witty or original as Bellman, but there seems to be a fondness for these types in Sweden, since there constantly seems to be one of these guys on top of the charts. In the last 10-20 years the style of choice has been to sound like (a very accessible) Tom Waits, with some Balkan and folk music influences thrown in for good measure. If you ever find yourself around a campfire in Sweden on a hot summer night, it's very likely that some loafer-wearing smug chap will materialise out of nowhere with an acoustic guitar singing songs by aforementioned songsmiths. Lars Winnerbäck is currently the king of this genre, and this (his eighth) album is ruling the Swedish album chart once again after it was released in September 2007 (probably due to him doing rather well at various music awards). It's generic stuff, and often quite boring, except perhaps on the biggest hit of the album "Om du lämnade mig nu" which has a certain sentimental appeal to it.