01. The Radio Dept. - The new improved hypocrisy
02. TALK 2
03. Slidin' Slim - Right wing blues
04. Faråker - Den sista fajten (via är på väg)
05. We Live in Trenches - Male damage
06. Kite - If there's an if in us
07. TALK 3
08. First Love, Last Rites - Slow wind
09. Tomas Halberstad - Add to all noise
10. Last Days of April - America
11. TALK 4
12. C.Aarmé - Golden retriever
13. Far from Tellus - Norwegian fairytale mix
14. Bäddat för Trubbel - Kungen heter Jandek
15. Vidderna - Villfarelser
16. TALK 4
17. Rasmus Kellerman - The 24th
18. Mindy Misty - Inertia
19. Regulations - In the shadow of the mall
20. TALK 5
21. The Bear Quartet - Silent film

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.

01. C.Aarmé - M.P.P
02. TALK 1
03. Abcess Exil - Havsluft
04. MF/MB/ - The big machine
05. Magnus Pelander - You have got no friends to turn to
06. TALK 2
07. The Bear Quartet - We're not gonna make it
08. Nidingr - Hymiskvitha
09. Kopfer Kat - Planet noise
10. No Hope for the Kids - Gasangreb
11. TALK 3
12. Jasmine Kara - Try my love again
13. The Goner - Strong interactions
14. Jesper Norda - Gentle and slow with a new sharp edge
15. TALK 4
16. Menfolk - Heart and sling
17. Andreas Söderlund - Hawaii
18. Hebosagil - Big sun
19. TALK 5

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.

Download the band's entire 4-song demo right here: http://underachiever.se/?page_id=13

01. Brothers of End - Beats for you (Rasmus Hägg remix)
02. TALK 1
03. Haust - A final effort
04. Rasmus Kellerman - Five years from now
05. Echo Is Your Love - Playlist song
06. EL-SD - Walking sideways
07. TALK 2
08. Axe - Harm
09. Khoma - From the hands of sinners
10. Zeigeist - Bunny
11. C.Aarmé - Assuan
12. TALK 3
13. The Fine Arts Showcase - This is the day
14. Sonic Ritual - Early graves
15. Death By Kite - Pills
16. Susanne Sundfør - O master
17. TALK 4
18. Simian Ghost - Star receiver
19. Moloken - Untitled III
20. Darkthrone - I am the graves of the 80s
21. TALK 5

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.

01. TALK 1
02. The Goner - Within the hour
03. Moto Boy - The heart is a rebel
04. Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen
05. TALK 2
06. Valkyrien Allstars - Hvis jeg var deg
07. Tobias Hellkvist - Patience
08. Scarred By Beauty - We swim
09. [ingenting] - Tack
10. TALK 3
11. I'm From Barcelona/Daviel Lindlöf - Lower my head
12. Monazno - Yes we can't
13. Silver - The white logic
14. Eskatol - Siste dans
15. TALK 5
16. Murmansk - The surgical assistant
17. Dyno - Destroy! Destroy!
18. Folkvang - Folkvangs första
19. C.Aarmé - Angola (Princess version)
20. TALK 5
21. Abhinanda - Junior

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.

01. TALK 1
02. Tyrant - The rebirth (reclaim the flame)
03. C.Aarmé - Dustin
04. Pintandwefall - Bird of the birds
05. Ironville - Sweet perfume
06. Dear Euphoria - Tell me
07. TALK 2
08. [ingenting] - Halleluja!
09. Agent Side Grinder - Die to live
10. Pistol Disco - Beat of the tune
11. TALK 3
12. The Bear Quartet - Carry your weight (Strange Maps remix)
13. The Fine Arts Showcase - Looking for your love
14. Wardruna - Dagr
15. TALK 4
16. Björn Kleinhenz - Fårö
17. Samuraj Cities - Spoonful of talk
18. David Åhlén - Stir our hearts
19. TALK 5
20. Elmo - Darkness falls

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.

10. [ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet (Labrador Records)
A record that is expansive in sound, but still very direct in feeling. [ingenting] aimed for the stars with this one and nailed it.

09. Agent Side Grinder - Irish recording tape/The transatlantic tape project (Enfant Terrible)
Enjoyable as separate entities, though far better when considered as a matched pair. This band has not only mastered the sound of old-school industrial, they can also write great catchy songs (see: "Irish recording tape") and create engrossing abstract soundscapes ("The transatlantic tape project").

08. Pistol Disco - Evergreen (Celebrity Lifestyle)
This group gets better and better with every release and now, with the addition of live drums, they've soared to new heights of brain-roasting awesomeness. Listen LOUD!

07. The Bear Quartet - 89 (Adrian Recordings)
A no-brainer. Still reigning as Sweden's best band.

06. The Fine Arts Showcase - Dolophine smile (Adrian Recordings)
The rawest of breakup records, the grandest of pop. Gustaf Kjellvander's defining moment as an artist (thus far).

05. Wadruna - Runaljod - gap var Ginnunga (Indie Recordings/Fimbulljóð Productions)
Pure pagan beauty, performed in the old ways to appease the old gods. If you don't like this, you're no fan of Scandinavian music.

04. Björn Kleinhenz - B.U.R.M.A./Head held high on fearsome pride (DevilDuck Records/SellOut! Music/Tomt Recordings/Eget Bevåg Grammofon)
Another twofer, except this time I've listened to all these songs on shuffle so many times I can't separate them anymore. 2009 was the year that Björn Kleinhenz dedicated himself to his art 100% and it shows. I always have high expectations for his work, but these two records blew me away.

03. Samuraj Cities - Mixed up record collections (Imperial Recordings)
The music reflects the title; a brazen mix of different sounds and ideas, leading the way for the future of Swedish indierock. Sometimes it's a noisy mess, but that's also what makes it so great.

02. David Åhlén - We sprout in thy soil (Compunctio)
Devotional music is incredibly powerful when performed with such fervent conviction and grace as this. There is a new strain of inspirational music coming out of Sweden right now and its artists are creating some of the most exciting music I've heard in years.

01. Elmo - Once (BD Pop)
Far and away my absolute favorite album of 2009. Elmo takes the melodramatic teen-angst pop of Broder Daniel and ups it to near-farcial levels of hysteria, but they never ever falter. When frontman Magnus Ekelund said that this was the "ultimate Elmo album", he was telling the absolute truth. You can't go up from here.

Honorable mentions

2009 was a very good year for music and there are many worthwhile albums that didn't quite make the cut. Here's 5 more in alphabetical order:
Pintandwefall - Hong Kong, baby! (Supersounds Music)
Thåström - Kärlek är för dom (Universal)
C.Aarmé - World music (Spegel)
Turboweekend - Ghost of a chance (Mermaid Records)
Dear Euphoria - Heal my violence (La Paloma)

Heard too late

These records would've made the list if I had properly heard them at their time of release:
The Scrags - s/t (Alleycat Records)
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost in reflection (Fang Bomb/iDEAL Recordings/Release the Bats/When Skies Are Grey)
Tyrant - The rebirth (reclaim the flame) (Listenable Records/Hells Cargo)

Contributor Lists

Simon Tagestam

Albums

01. Samtidigt Som - Flykt, kärlek & broderskap (Luxury)

02. jj - jj n° 2 (Sincerely Yours)

03. Fever Ray – s/t (Rabid)

04. Lorentz & M.Sakarias - Vi mot världen (Epic)

05. Frida Hyvönen – Silence is wild (Licking Fingers)

06. Maskinen – Boys II Men (Pope Records)

07. Taken By Trees – East of Eden (Rough Trade)

08. Körsbärsfettera - Alla ska ha linne (self-released)

09. Sad Day For Puppets - Unknown colors (HaHa Fonogram)

10. Christopher Sander - Hej hå! (Vesper Records)

Songs

01. Montt Mardié – Gloria

02. jj – Are you still in Valda?

03. Anna Järvinen – Äppelöga

04. Samtidigt Som – Tienes mi corazón

06. Maskinen – Pengar

06. Alexis Weak – Disney på is

07. Lorentz & M.Sakarias - Unicorn

08. Christopher Sander - Fattig bonddräng

09. [ingenting] – Halleluja!

10. Makthaverskan - German boy

Arnulf Koehncke

01. Moritz von Oswald Trio - Vertical ascent (Honest Jon's Records)
While technically hardly a Scandinavian album (percussion is handled by Finn Vladislav Delay, electronics and programming by German techno- and dub-mastermind Moritz von Oswald plus modular synths by German Max Loderbauer), I just can't not list this record here. For me, it's this year's equivalent to last year's highlights by Auton or Viktor Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble: A demanding record that pulls you in with its hypnotic patterns and movements, makes you smile at its more obvious moments, and makes you miss it when you're without the beautiful gatefold vinyl and a record player.

02. Kings of Convenience - Declaration of dependence (Virgin/EMI)
I was looking forward to this album and the accompanying gig this fall. The gig did not disappoint -- like always, Erlend still wants to own the stage while Erik charmingly stresses his storytelling-skills and seems to divide his time between his baby and the gym nowadays. But the album surprised me at first. Judging from the last record, I had expected more sixties pop and less starkness and quietude. But I like how this album is less easily had, doesn't let the listener in as easily, but will grow on you nonetheless.

03. [ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet (Labrador Records)
This records sees [ingenting] exchange the more obvious references in their music for more subtle nods to pop music's giants paired with impressively direct lyrics and straight-to-the-point arrangements. If maturity didn't have such negative connotations, one could call the album just that. And "classic" of course, like 80's indiepop is classic, or Sibiria and Vapnet maybe, though in more cynical ways than this record. It seems only fitting that [ingenting] chose to finally drop those "nothing"-puns from their album titles.

04. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild (Licking Fingers)
I've always been unsure about the reference points of year-end lists. Is it calender years or more likely personal years? I'm in favor of personal, so I list this album because to me, despite technically being from 2008, it's really a 2009 record. Somehow, the album's full potential -- its melodies, its power, and most of all, its soul (in the secular, Phil Spector meaning of the word)---had passed me by until I saw Frida and her bandmates play live in Berlin in the spring of 2009. So I'm only making up now for not listing it in 2008.

05. The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules (Bubbles)
A friend of mine once compared TWBA to IKEA. They make highly functional music that's devoid of any ornaments and goes straight to the point. And like IKEA-furniture, TWBA's music works extremely well for its purpose: I've seen them play in a gallery's shopwindow for more than 1000 dancing people gathered in the February-cold street before them, and their songs never fail to fill any indie-dancefloor. I guess I'd rather have IKEA than the "next big thing" from England then.

Singles

01. [ingenting] - Dina händer är fulla av blommor
From the first time I heard this song when [ingenting] performed it on Nyhetsmorgon, I was struck with its directness, the way it seems to speak to every single listener. I really like how non-cynical popmusic can do that sometimes!

02. The Fine Arts Showcase - Friday on my knees
It's great how Gustaf and his bandmates deconstruct this song about two-thirds through, dropping riff and chorus for 120 gloomy seconds of noisy guitar and bass, only to shortly resurrect it all before the end. Who needs radio-oriented hits when we can have this instead?

03. The Radio Dept. - David
Yet another year without an album by The Radio Dept. And still I consider them my favorite Scandinavian band. I'm left hoping the new album will sound more like this single and less like its unfocused b-sides. Still, allowing myself a nostalgic moment, they most probably just won't make another "Lesser matters".

04. The Whitest Boy Alive - 1517
We all need our functional dancefloor-fix from time to time, don't we? Especially when it's this well-done.

05. Kommun - Death of a CEO
I've been looking forward to the Kommun-record ever since the people behind Vapnet and Sibiria announced that, since everyone was making "serious" Swedish records now, they'd make a "non-serious" English record instead. And while I haven't fully connected with the album yet, I can't really escape this deeply political singalong about a businessman's afterlife.

Less obvious non-scandi mentions (besides those Grizzly Bears, Animal Collectives, and Pains of Being Pure at Heart): My friend's sister's project Music for Your Heart, Brooklyn's giddy Uninhabitable Mansions, the new Au Revoir Simone record, that Thom Yorke song on the "New Moon" Soundtrack (less movie, more music), and finally moving to and living in Phnom Penh.

Matt Giordano

01. [ingenting] - Tomhet, idel tomhet (Labrador Records)
It was always going to be difficult to follow up "Mycket väsen för ingenting", and for a while I thought that this one fell short. The one day it clicked, I could not even compare the two. This is another stellar release for the band.

02. The Bear Quartet - 89 (Adrian Recordings)
A triumph, but honestly I did not even expect less. The Bear Quartet have returned in the only way they could -- a bludgeoning, brooding album that closes their decade of output by making the audience reconsider what The Bear Quartet is once again.

03. Markus Krunegård - Prinsen av Peking / Lev som en gris dö som en hund (V2)
I try to imagine what pop music in English would sound like if we had an artist like Markus Krunegård. But then I realize that the industry here is exponentially more vapid, someone like Markus would be swept into the corners of dimly lit rooms, never to see his due.

04. Asha Ali - Hurricane (3NO)
Three years after her magnificent debut, Asha Ali gave us a devastating album of loss and internal strife. This album is so personal and fragile it must have been difficult to release it.

05. The Fine Arts Showcase - Dolophine smile (Adrian Recordings)
Another album of loss, but with a very different approach. Gustaf Kjellvander gives us an outside view of the degradation of his relationship, which is always quite to difficult to do. However, in typical TFAS fashion, he succeeds greatly.

06. Pistol Disco - Evergreen (Celebrity Lifestyle)
Falling into the category of noise and shoegaze, which I've been listening to a lot lately, Pistol Disco reach amongst the highs. Put this record on and just ease your mind, and it will take your imagination places.

07. Kristofer Åström - Sinkadus (Startracks)
A new Kristofer Åström album always yields quality. This time, he has rotated three backing bands on record, and it adds so much to his already well-honed songwriting craft.

08. Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen (Hyrbis)
What a way to start a career. Jonathan Johansson created one of the better pure-pop albums of the year.

09. jj - jj n° 2 (Sincerely Yours)
Another very good debut, and another very good pop album. jj borderlines on twee, yet mixes soft beats and great vocals.

10. Montt Mardié - Skaizerkite (Hyrbis)
David Pagmar keeps getting more bombastic with each release. Top-notch songwriting and arranging keeps Montt Mardié fans guessing where he'll take his sound next.

Songs:

01. Peter Bjorn and John - Stay this way

02. Elias and the Wizzkids - Mr. Right Guy

03. Montt Mardié - Bang bang (An echo in Warsaw)

04. Asha Ali - The contract

05. The Bear Quartet - Northern

06. Ingenting - Lång våg

07. Markus Krungegård - Prinsessan av Peking

08. The Fine Arts Showcase - London, my town

09. Kristofer Åström - A song for while I'm away

10. Markus Krunegård - Kär i en borderline

01. Interlace - Nemesis
02. TALK 1
03. Kråkesølv - Skredder
04. Mata de Leon - He's alright
05. Agent Side Grinder - 210-392
06. TALK 2
07. Lapko - I shot the sheriff
08. Obliteration - Exterminate
09. Frivolvol - Blades of steel
10. Adam McCormack - Dead sailor
11. TALK 3
12. Marvins Revolt - Organize your arms
13. The Bear Quartet - Least loved (of the unloved)
14. Håkan Lidbo - Let's rock
15. TALK 4
16. Eskatol - Hevn
17. Elias & the Wizzkids - Oh these nights
18. Grande Roses - Factory
19. C.Aarmé - Assuan
20. TALK 5
21. Le Sport - Love in stereo

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.

01. Champagne Riot - THe champagne anthem
02. TALK 1
03. C.Aarmé - Bodybuilding
04. Mattias Alkberg - Andra känner
05. Asha Ali - The time is now
06. Karin Ström - Hon som älskade dig
07. TALK 2
08. Masquer - Bang bang
09. Mikkel Meyer - Tartar
10. Rising - Grail of bone
11. TALK 3
12. Sambassadeur - Days
13. Tortyr - Joag
14. Franke - Exil riktas inåt
15. Madamm - Lately I've been so blue
16. TALK 4
17. Taggarna Ut - The secretary
18. José González - In our nature
19. Moloken - Followers
20. Kitty & the K - Iamamf
21. Joel Alme - You will only get it once
22. TALK 5
23. The Movements - Going to your house

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.

What exactly is "World music"?

World Music is the name of our new album. It's music from us to the world.

I understand you had some difficulty finding a label for the new album... why do you think that is? And then, after searching all over, why exactly did you end up with Spegel?

The difficulty wasn't so much finding a label as finding the right one. We didn't want to end up in the constrains and rigidness of a typical "big label" contract. And we certantly didn't want to be number 50 on someones priority list. So we set out finding people who understod and shared our ideas and views. Someone to work with, rather than against. Once we struck up a conversation with Spegel, the choice was easy.

How exactly does C.Aarmé fit in with Sweden's current music scene, if at all? Feel free to play up any/all connections to the hyped West Coast sounds of Studio/TTA/Air France/etc.

C.Aarmé is a force of nature. We are elegant and yet brutal. The bands you mention above are great, some of them friends of ours, but I couldn't tell you how we fit in to the scene. Fitting in is nothing we're concerned about.

Whose idea was the limited edition formats? Are all 10 planned and ready to go?

That was Spegel's idea. "World music" will be released in 10 different editions, limited to 50 copies each. Edition #2 is up on www.drella.com right now so I guess edition #1 sold out. Once one has sold out a new one comes online. I don't think all ten editions are ready to go, but you should really ask Spegel about that.

The last time I ordered something from Spegel, it was intercepted and destroyed. What do you think will happen this time if/when I order your new album?

"World music" is a bomb. Stay alarmed!

01. Samtidigt Som - Constant in motion
02. TALK 1
03. NEI - Summertime
04. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Soon
05. Brothers of End - Wish
06. TALK 2
07. Tutankamon - Have you ever been in love?
08. C.Aarmé - British breakfast party
09. Okkultokrati - Hand of glory
10. Pintandwefall - Angus
11. TALK 3
12. Turboweekend - Something or nothing
13. Florence Valentin - Du kommer gå längt
14. Sofia Karlsson - Visa från Kåkbrinken
15. Melkeveien & Niño - Yo!
16. TALK 4
17. Beatbully - Buck Ferfen
18. Fontän - Neanderthaler
19. Bröderna Lindgren - Som raketer (feat. Mattias Alkberg)
20. TALK 5
21. Breach - Seven

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.

01. [ingenting] - Halleluja!
02. TALK 1
03. Lama - Beginning
04. Hearts of Black Science - Gold and dust
05. Fare You Well - Come closer now
06. TALK 2
07. Hearts No Static - Part 3
08. No Balls - No
09. Brothers of End - Why
10. TALK 3
11. Loud Pipes - Clean your head
12. Astrid Swan - 2000-2010 (I'm not even 30)
13. David Åhlén - Spirit fall
14. Kornstad - Noir
15. TALK 4
16. C.Aarmé - Abyss song
17. Interlace - Nemesis
18. Toture Division - Traumatic inhuman severance
19. Strip Music - 24 hrs
20. TALK 5
21. Culkin - Twin lakes annual

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. Also: he doesn't know it yet, but Mathias from Culkin will be my guesthost on next week's show. I'll be letting/forcing him to pick the playlist...

01. Zacke ft. Movits - Spela mig på radion
02. TALK 1
03. Florence Valentin - Såld är såld
04. Ikons - Guns (Pistol Disco remix)
05. Logh - Death to my hometown
06. TALK 2
07. Thåström - Långtbort
08. Le Corbeau - Night stroll
09. Skriet - Fåglarna
10. TALK 3
11. Kongh - Unholy water
12. C.Aarmé - Blodet
13. TALK 4
14. The Bell - On and on
15. Heroes & Zeroes - Cipramillion
16. Ison & Fille - Jag skratter idag
17. TALK 5

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.

01. C.Aarmé - M.P.P.
02. TALK 1
03. Existensminimum - Fuglesang
04. The Animation - Overboard
05. Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen
06. TALK 2
07. AlabamicA - You can't save the world
08. Franke - Skinnad
09. October Falls - III
10. TALK 3
11. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - 1999
12. Wolfbrigade - Barren dreams
13. Viisikko - Vapaus valita
14. Culkin - Payperfist
15. TALK 4
16. Lowood - Crash
17. Cut City - Departure in particular
18. Wardruna - Dagr
19. Laakso - In my blood
20. TALK 5

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.

01. Darkthrone - Hiking metal punks
02. TALK 1
03. Ebba Grön - Staten & kapitalet
04. Massgrav - Jävla fittor
05. Disfear - Live the storm
06. Samtidigt Som - För jag tror att ingen annan kan känna såhär för dig
07. TALK 2
08. We Live In Trenches - Autonomy clinic
09. MABD - Kom kom
10. Black Sheep - Crazy world
11. C.Aarmé - Ti ca tu a
12. Sods - Television sect
13. TALK 3
14. No Hope for the Kids - Rainy day
15. Frivolvol - Take it from the beginning
16. Hanna Hirsch - Ingen kommer sakna oss
17. Silver - Drenched in comfort
18. TALK 4
19. Randy - Win or lose
20. Victims - Your division
21. Smalltown - Warning
22. Lögnhalsmottagningen - Bodybuilder
23. M:40 - Sista tiden
24. TALK 5
25. Hebosagil - Cosmic

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XM U. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers. Next week's show (December 28/29) will be all jazz.

Tracklist:
01. Disfear - Get it off
02. Nitad - Levande död
03. Frivolvol - Take it from the beginning
04. Montys Loco - Ages ago
05. Darkthrone - Hiking metal punks
06. C.Aarmé - Rhythm
07. Haust - Ugly fucking Oslo
08. Silver - The white logic
09. Hebosagil - Cosmic
10. Brainbombs - Turn to shit

01. Mimas - Cats on fire
02. TALK 1
03. Martin Vogel - Pick A D
04. Jonna Lee - The light
05. Abalone Dots - Over Georgia
06. TALK 2
07. Tobias Hellkvist - Ships of the North Atlantic
08. Lapko - Killer whales
09. The Social Services - The Baltic Sea
10. TALK 3
11. Hello Saferide - I wonder who is like this one
12. Boeoes Kaelstigen - Cecta
13. C.Aarmé - Tu puta mi casa
14. TALK 4
15. Pay TV - Fashion report
16. The Goner - The last folk song
17. Tomas Halberstad - Travel as I wait
18. Darkthrone - Raised on rock
19. TALK 5
20. Commando M Pigg - Att kasta spjut

Reminder: My show on Sirius Left of Center (channel 26) airs Sundays at 11pm ET with repeats on Monday at the same time.

It's been quite some time since we've heard anything new from you guys - why the long wait? What have you been doing these past few years?

Since the release of our 12" split "Duets" you mean? We continued working on songs for a full length album and got the chance to move from our old place to Dieter Schöön's Lablaza (the same place we recorded our debut album). Lablaza was both chaotic and a very creative environment for us. A couple of month passed by. In October 2007 we felt pretty close to start recording the album. December came up and our landlord got an offer he couldn't resist. We were threwn out of Lablaza and Bandidos moved in. So there we were. No rehearsal room, no studio.

A week went by and we found a new home. We moved in together with a bunch of other creative bands/people (URAN, Dieter Schöön, FBFOS).
We started building the studio, in which our album where going to be recorded.
During this 1,5 months we wrote a bunch of new songs.
At this time the idea of collaborate with Adam Magnusson as a producer/sound engineer came up and he became a part of the process.
In march we hit the studio. We all study or work so it took a bit longer than expected to get it done. Now when the album is done we're looking for a label that wants to release it.

Besides working on the album we've been on a couple of tours in Europe and we've helped friends on live gigs and studio albums. (C.Aarmé, Cut City, Uran, Boy Omega and Dieter Schöön).

How does Alarma Man fit into the "Gbg scene"? Does a cohesive scene even exist?

When I hear "Gbg scene" I think of Håkan Hellström and a bunch of bands started by ex-members from Bad Cash Quartet, but I'm not sure if that scene really exists. There are too many band in too many genres to say what would be a part of it. Alarma Man has never felt like we're a part of any scene... If you need to be a part of any, we choose the "good band" scene.

We do have the Koloni/iDEAL scene here in Gothenburg. It's really inspiring to live in the same town as Christian Pallin (Koloni) and Joachim Nordwall (iDEAL). They manage to bring us bands that I've never heard of before and those bands are always good or totally crazy. Either way I'm always satisfied when leaving the venue.

So do you think there's such a thing as a Gbg sound? Or would you say that bands in Gbg are brought together by other circumstances or ideas?

Nowadays you don't need a "real" studio and expensive equipment to make music. I guess the "Gbg sound" was killed by Cubase and ProTools. When comparing Cut City, Uran, Repoman and other great bands from Gbg, I find it hard to see any similarity except for that they make good music. Gothenburg is known in Sweden for it's "loose" and friendly attitude. Perhaps that's the thing with bands from here. Gbg bands focus on the music instead of looking good on stage... haha!

Okay, so tell us about the new album. How is it different/the same compared to what you've done before?

This album is the best music we've ever done (yes I know it's a cliche, but it's true).

Lots of people are asking if there will be vocals on this album. Yes. There will be. A lot!
Adding vocals wasn't a big decision for us. We made "Duets" as an experiment and liked the idea of working with vocals. It might seem a bit strange when you've been known as an instrumental mathpunk band, but we feel comfortable with it. We've never had a plan to be an instrumental band forever and we didn't have a plan to start singing on our second album. It's just the way it turned out.

Another big difference is that we worked with a producer. We needed an outside persons thoughts and vibes in the recording process. Adam has a big part in the arrangements and how the songs turned out.

Our first album was a lot of high speed craziness and big guitar riffs. 4 years has passed by and our new songs are slower, darker and colder. I think a held back fever is a good way to describe the album.

Got a song you'd like to share?

Here's a song from the upcoming album. Its a three-faced song about being chased, therefore the name "Nightwolf". Look out for the saxophones in the chorus, played by our friend Joel Westberg!

First off, the standard: How long have you lived in Gbg, what brought you there and what keeps you there?

I've lived in Gothenburg for nine years and five months (since January 1999). I moved here to study web design. I got a job and a new band, so that pretty much kept me here. Nowadays I have a new job and a new band and that pretty much still keeps me here. And also Gothenburg is a pretty rad city to be in at the moment with a lot of nice people and some great things happening, music and otherwise.

You're involved in a lot of different artistic endeavors - which one currently takes precedence? like if someone asks "what do you do?", how do you respond?

Right now I'd probably say "play music", because that's where my heart is at the moment. I think I'm currently in some kind of work-denial state. Like acting really busy on work hours while making plans and stuff for the band, which probably isn't that good in the long run as I'm self employed.

I know there's a lot of other Swedish musicians who double as visual artists, but are there any in particular that you admire? Or what about visual artists who dabble in music?

One of the artists I admire is my old friend Johannes Heldén (www.johanneshelden.com). He's a visual artist (MFA, Valand Academy of Fine Arts, Gothenburg) a writer and a musician. His work is truly awesome. I give him credit for bringing Sci-Fi and mysticism into art and music. Well done, my friend!

How does the city of Gbg influence you and your art? Could you ever see yourself living somewhere else? What benefits does Gbg offer and on the flipside of that, what are the city's detriments?

Hard to tell how this city influences me. I don't even know if influences me at all. Or maybe it does more than I'll ever know. I can't really see myself living in another Swedish city. I've spent a lot of time in Malmö, I have a lot of friends there. There is one specific area there ("Möllan") which consists of... I don't know... maybe 8 blocks of houses and a square, and that area is fantastic. But the rest of Malmö is a terrible, aggressive, cold, cold place to be. They can keep it. If I'd move I'd probably go abroad, maybe Berlin or Barcelona (all my friends reading this are going "yeah, that'll probably happen..." haha), or Montreal, one of my favorite cities. One of the benefits with Gbg I guess is the size, both in people and area. It's not too big and it's not too small either. It's big enough for great things to happen, and it's small enough to actually notice them.

Tell me about the new band - how did you guys get together and what are your plans? Did you form with any particular goals in mind?

My new band is We Live in Trenches and here are all the boring details. Me and David Augustsson (drums, ex-C.Aarmé) formed the band in February 2007 after having played together in the brief punk adventure Haveri, which had broken up due to too hot weather and the fact that the other guys needed more time with their other endeavors (Cut City and Alarma Man). I was also on drum duties in Satanic Surfers, but we had a break at the moment (a break from which we never recovered, we broke up in March 2007). We initially formed as Trenches and I guess it sort of was the second coming of Haveri at first, only I'd switched from bass to guitar. As only two wrongs don't make a right, we needed some more humans to help sink the ship. I met my old friend Ulf Stöckel on a tram and convinced him to jump aboard as I knew of his screaming skills from previous bands (Comatose, Blå Ångest, The Virgins). We later got Oskar Karlsson on bass in May (also in Icos, ex-Last Security) and the Trenches line-up was finally complete. We recorded one song for a hardcore comp on Deleted Art (still not released) during the summer. Oskar turned out to be too busy with Icos as well as being a busy live sound tech for bands on tour (Burst, Red Sparrowes etc.) and he decided to quit the band a couple of months later. During the time without a bass player we started to record all of our songs in our rehearsal space. Anna Knutsson joined our merry bunch in November, halfway through the recording session, and we changed our name to We Live in Trenches shortly after. Now we finally have a booking agent and some upcoming shows, and we will promote ourselves in search for a record label to work with. Our plan is to rock as hard and often as possible, and our goal is to avoid a normal way of life as much as possible.

Lastly, got a song you'd like to share? Either from one of your own band(s) or otherwise? Something that's reflective of Gbg perhaps?

Yes. "Autonomy clinic" by We Live In Trenches. Because self promotion rocks!

01. Pluxus - Bootstrap
02. TALK 1
03. Marit Bergman - Straight into my lovers arms
04. Grande Roses - Dead town
05. Mikko Singh - Rauha
06. TALK 2
07. Namur - Draw us near
08. Lapko - Sawyer the brother
09. Paper - To her
10. TALK 3
11. Johnossi - Train song
12. Markus Krunegård - Rocken spelar ingen roll längre
13. Printer - You need to
14. TALK 4
15. Firefox AK - Once I was like you (Boeoes Kaelstigen remix)
16. Aerial - Time is on fire
17. Sahara Hotnights - Visit to Vienna
18. TALK 5
19. Siena Root - Time will tell
20. Kristofer Åström - I collect knives
21. Anna Ternheim - Better be
22. TALK 6
23. Anna Leong - Guollotine
24. Folie - Krogg
25. Hearts of Black Science - Empty city lights
26. TALK 7
27. Inuit - En förlorad generation
28. The Psyke Project - Dark halls red floors
29. Memento Mori - Epilog
30. TALK 8
31. The Bear Quartet - Lights out, sound off
32. Fun - I know Ted Kennedy
33. Johan Heltne - Hjärta. Instinkt. Principer.
34. TALK 9
35. Lama - Bussi
36. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
37. Little Jimmy Reeves - Drowsy dogs
38. C.Aarmé - Visions
39. TALK 10
40. No Privacy - Blood over Denmark

Reminder: my show on Sirius Blog Radio runs Saturdays at 12 noon and midnight ET on channel 26 (Left of Center).

01. Boys of Scandinavia - Worse than a girl
02. TALK 1
03. Markus Krunegård - Jag är en vampyr
04. Deathbed - Neon light fantasy
05. The Grand Opening - Dark dark dawn
06. TALK 2
07. The Bear Quartet - I have an itch
08. C.Aarmé - Dustin
09. Noxagt - Wall's end
10. TALK 3
11. Menfolk - Hell is in Texas
12. Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen
13. Folk&Røvere - Solveigs sang
14. TALK 4
15. Bobby Baby - Goodbye love
16. Häive - Raina: Yömyrsky
17. Peter Bjorn and John - All those expectations
18. TALK 5
19. Meleeh - Vittra
20. Rigas - The hardest pocket to pick
21. The Kid - Mayhem troopers
22. TALK 6
23. Cortex - Warrior night
24. Tiger Lou - The war between us
25. Sophie Rimheden - Stay the night (ft. Adam Tensta)
26. TALK 7
27. Moto Boy - Beat heart
28. Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - Kanske jag kommer hem
29. September Malevolence - Who watches the watchmen?
30. TALK 8
31. Säkert! - Sanningsdan
32. Paper - Before that day
33. Moonbabies - Walking on my feet
34. TALK 9
35. Susanne Sundfør - I resign
36. Stina Nordenstam - Trainsurfing
37. Red Moon - The height
38. TALK 10
39. Broder Daniel - When we were winning

Tracklist:
01. TALK 1
02. Lukestar - The shade you hide
03. Marybell Katastrophy - Hidden agenda
04. Britta Persson - At 7
05. TALK 2
06. C.Aarmé - Blodet
07. Firefox AK - Winter rose (Tellevika remix)
08. Lack - Bombing the moon
09. TALK 3
10. Barra Head - Undermine
11. Paper - My life is going under
12. Montys Loco - Criminal
13. TALK 4

01. C.Aarmé - Blodet
02. TALK 1
03. Kaka - The hotspurs (the less we know the faster we go)
04. Bitch Boys - Automobile
05. Benea Reach - Rejuvenate
06. TALK 2
07. The Second Band - The urgency of now
08. Breach - Murder
09. Montys Loco - Criminal
10. TALK 3
11. Det Gamla Landet - Krutrök
12. Trapdoor Fucking Exit - Cardiac arrest
13. I Am Bones - Home is the one corner of hell that didn't catch fire
14. TALK 4
15. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
16. Timo Räisänen - Sixteen
17. When - The king
18. TALK 5
19. Beyond Dawn - Increasing the gravity
20. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Plokk
21. As In RebekkaMaria - She lion (Pato Sick Hangover remix)
22. TALK 6
23. Robert Svensson - 1987 (ft. Adam Olenius)
24. Paper - To her
25. Animal Alpha - Even when I'm wrong, I'm right
26. TALK 7
27. Niccokick - The poet
28. Asha Ali - Coward heart
29. Viola - I don't know how to party
30. TALK 8
31. Voices Break the Silence - No matter if it's now
32. Marybell Katastrophy - Red red lips
33. Anna Ternheim - Shoreline
34. TALK 9
35. Ulf Ljusberg - Here, me
36. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy
37. Once We Were - Carnival
38. Birds On Holiday - I had a plan
39. TALK 10
40. Björn Kleinhenz - Tredje Långgatan 26

01. Niccokick - The poet
02. TALK 1
03. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy
04. David Sandström - Apropå det här med att finnas till
05. Mew - Why are you looking grave?
06. TALK 2
07. C.Aarmé - Rhythm
08. Dieter Schöön - Lot's of free Shoes but nowhere to run
09. Meshuggah - Pravus
10. TALK 3
11. Elin Ruth Sigvardsson - Antidote
12. The Bear Quartet - Volksblues
13. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Wedding
14. Lack - Naked girls
15. TALK 4
16. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
17. Namur - Marching
18. NEI - Trip to Luleå
19. TALK 5
20. Printer - All right
21. Moto Boy - Beat heart
22. Christel Alsos - Come back to me
23. TALK 6
24. Promoe - Headache
25. Mustasch - Dogwash
26. Montt Mardié - Too many songs unwritten
27. Pascal - Smärtstillande
28. TALK 7
29. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
30. Pekker - Ass electro
31. Regulations - Police siren
32. TALK 8
33. Deud - Lördag
34. Linus Larsson & John Roger Olsson - Beyond the south tunnel
35. Barra Head - Undermine
36. TALK 9
37. Aerial - Kallisti
38. Paris - Office killer
39. Lukestar - The shade you hide
40. TALK 10
41. Jazkamer - Metal music machine

01. Elias and the Wizzkids - Young and hairy
02. TALK 1
03. Barra Head - Common ground
04. Familjen - Kom säger dom
05. José González - Killing for love
06. TALK 2
07. Marybell Katastrophy - Red red lips
08. Trentemøller - Moan (Trentemøller remix ft. Ane Trolle)
09. Lykke Li - I'm good, I'm gone
10. TALK 3
11. Dreamboy - Stars
12. Laakso - Worst case scenario
13. Marit Bergman - This is the year
14. TALK 4
15. Abhinanda - Rumble
16. Docenterna - Bensin i blodet
17. The Bombhappies - And at Belle Bed Inn, I found you
18. TALK 5
19. Firefox AK - Winter rose (ft. Tiger Lou)
20. Peloton - Nozal
21. The Bell - Target group
22. TALK 6
23. Moto Boy - Young love
24. Aerial - Kallisti
25. Truckfighters - Atomic
26. TALK 7
27. I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse
28. Pascal - Smärtsillande
29. Hero Dishonest - Fist song
30. Vijaya - Your gun will never set you free
31. TALK 8
32. Matts Katt - About the French
33. C.Aarmé - Dustin
34. Leütenhaven - Abbatoir the ghost
35. TALK 9
36. Lukestar - Shade you hide
37. Christian Kjellvander - Two souls
38. Royal Downfall - A life of constant failure
39. TALK 10
40. Entombed - Lights out

02/28 - Svanen @ Jazzhuset, Gothenburg
03/06 - Indie Rocket Party @ the Rocket, Milano (ITA)
03/15 - Lades, Copenhagen (DK)

I understand that a new EP has been recorded and more dates are TBA, so I'll keep you posted when I learn more.

01. Jan Johansson - Visa från Utanmyra
02. TALK 1
03. Annika Norlin/Säkert! - Generalens visa
04. Don't Be a Stranger - Mon-chi-chi
05. Audionom - In the streets
06. TALK 2
07. Elias and the Wizzkids - Fourth of July
08. C.Aarmé - Golden retriever
09. Kasper Bjørke - Humming song
10. The Carny - Bestseller
11. TALK 3
12. Marybell Katastrophy - Hip
13. Flyphonic - The truth is
14. Universal Poplab - Heart apart (Timo Räisänen acoustic remix)
15. TALK 4
16. E.S.T. - Tuesday wonderland (live)
17. Rigas - Dead like you
18. TALK 5
19. Bröderna Lindgren - En hund som jag
20. Springfactory - Swedish folk highschool
21. Loud Pipes - Don't you ever
22. Sophie Zelmani - To know you
23. TALK 6
24. The State of Floral Beings - Man you owe me
25. Caitlyn - Oh no!
26. The Bombhappies - And at Belle Bed Inn, I told you
27. TALK 7
28. Brick - Call Batman
29. Smalltown - What's going on?
30. Desert Planet - Return of the ninja droids
31. TALK 8
32. Hedningarna - Neidon laulu
33. Dreamboy - What have I done
34. Captain Murphy - Sailor behaviour
35. TALK 9
36. Lemonator - Heart burns
37. The Kissaway Trail - Smother + evil = hurt
38. Johndoe - Rastløs rock'n'roll
39. Lukestar - Shade you hide
40. TALK 10
41. The Fine Arts Showcase - Teenage poetry

01. The Bombettes - Dating scene
02. TALK 1
03. Leütenhaven - Still life (trompe l'oeil)
04. Dieter Schöön - Warm hearts
05. Kasper Bjørke - Back & spine (Fidel Astro remix)
06. TALK 2
07. Come Sleep - Be the end
08. Promise and the Monster - Trials
09. Immanu El - Home
10. TALK 3
11. Lukestar - Lake Toba
12. Marit Bergman - No party
13. Mando Diao - Never seen the light of day
14. TALK 4
15. Jonas Game - ADHD
16. Kornstad - Turkey, Texas
17. Josse - You had a plan
18. The Hives - You dress up for Armageddon
19. TALK 5
20. Randy - Freedom song
21. Ted Gärdestad - Så mycket bättre
22. Motorhomes - Into the night
23. TALK 6
24. Laakso - Västerbron
25. The Bear Quartet - Hunchback
26. Susanne Sundfør - The dance
27. TALK 7
28. New Moscow - Turbonegro must be destroyed
29. The Bell - Target group
30. Vaiping - The great polar expedition
31. TALK 8
32. NEI - City of gold
33. Asha Ali - Fire, fire
34. My Enemy - My time coming (Johan Formeijer remix)
35. TALK 9
36. CS Nielsen - Black spots
37. David Sandström Overdrive - The Fatville Treaty
38. C.Aarmé - Golden retriever
39. TALK 10
40. Aerial - My god, it's full of stars!
]]> Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:03:17 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/520 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/520 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/520#comments The playlist for this week's all-GBG radio show:

01. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
02. TALK 1
03. Hemstad - Sommar i Göteborg
04. Division of Laura Lee - We are numbers
05. Håkan Hellström - Kom igen Lena!
06. TALK 2
07. In Flames - Everything counts
08. Pistol Disco - Walking with Jesus
09. Viktor Sjöberg - W/nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Kristofer Åström - Just a little insane
12. The Knife - Listen now
13. Broder Daniel - Dark heart
14. TALK 4
15. Samuraj Cities - All along the shoreline
16. MPTP - Jim Morrison
17. At the Gates - Cold
18. TALK 5
19. The Book of Daniel - The camels parade
20. Silverbullit - Magnetic city
21. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Nevermore
22. TALK 6
23. Nicolai Dunger - What tomorrow
24. The Kid - Portion control (Fatsuit haze/Zlatan wins the World Cup remix)
25. The Idealist - The knives are my eyes
26. C.Aarmé - Visions
27. TALK 7
28. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
29. Junip - Official
30. Diabolique - Catholic
31. TALK 8
32. Convoj - My timekeeping heart
33. Tsukimono - Dear sister
34. Eric Beyond - Step off
35. TALK 9
36. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
37. Detektivbyrån - E18
38. TALK 10
39. Bad Cash Quartet - Too bored to die]]> Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/802 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/802 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/802#comments The playlist for my radio show this week:

01. Death By Kite - Scared of heights
02. TALK 1
03. Kompjotr Eplektrika - Crakkin zombees...
04. Monomen - Asian spacestation
05. José González - Hints
06. TALK 2
07. I Am Bones - Backpackers
08. Ellen Beach - The widespread acclaim
09. Moder Jords Massiva - Ingenting
10. TALK 3
11. Iisole - The words
12. Kornstad - Sweden
13. Cortex - Mind of darkness
14. TALK 4
15. Silverbullit - Run
16. [ingenting] - Hollywood dreams
17. In Flames - The jester race
18. TALK 5
19. Nicolai Dunger - Soul rush
20. Existensminimum - Changing lines
21. Echo Is Your Love - Peace song
22. TALK 6
23. Laakso - The death of us
24. Christian Kjellvander - Words in the wires
25. Mustasch - Double nature
26. TALK 7
27. Tellevika + Firefox AK - Eric
28. Tape - A spire
29. C.Aarmé - Golden retriever
30. TALK 8
31. The Bear Quartet - Put me back together
32. Susanne Sundfør - Walls
33. The Hellacopters - Like no other man
34. TALK 9
35. Aerial - You will all die, all things will]]> Sat, 07 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1630 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1630 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1630#comments Back in stock: C.Aarmé - Vita
Quite possibly one of my most favorite albums ever.]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1748 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1748 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1748#comments Last night's playlist for my show on Sirius Blog Radio:

01. Isolation Years - Yellow cross on blue
02. TALK 1
03. Johndoe - Nattskift
04. Montys Loco - Wasteland
05. Once We Were - Cut corners
06. TALK 2
07. [ingenting] - Mycket vasen for ingenting
08. Margaret Berger - Robot song
09. Namur - Marching
10. Lampshade - New legs
11. TALK 3
12. Maia Hirasawa - Gothenburg
13. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
14. Fattaru - 100:-
15. Juvelen - Hanna
16. TALK 4
17. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
18. Sonores - 16th of June
19. Detektivbyrån - E18
20. TALK 5
21. At the Gates - The swarm
22. Barra Head - Kill the lights
23. TALK 6
24. The Tough Alliance - Leg 7
25. Torpedo - My evil twin
26. Alog - Catch that totem!
27. TALK 7
28. Valley Days - 10k angels
29. A-ha - Celice
30. Victims - Who the fuck are we?
31. TALK 8
32. The Vicious - Alienated
33. Viola - Unreal life
34. Zweizz - Nowadays the only boring everything is so frustrating
35. Viktor Sjöberg - Winter guitars
36. TALK 9
37. Closer - The talker
38. Aerial - My god, it's full of stars!
39. The Kissaway Trail - La la song
40. Laakso - Italy vs Helsinki
41. The Psyke Project - Panic
42. TALK 10
43. C.Aarmé - We are the world

Next week: expect lots more killer jams including totally a brand new track from Closer and maybe even a spotlight set on post-rock/ambient music. Good times!]]> Sat, 21 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2874 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2874 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2874#comments C.Aarmé will play The Rocket in Milan, Italy on February 8. Details: http://www.myspace.com/indierocketparty]]> Fri, 26 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2971 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2971 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2971#comments HUGE mailorder update today! Just got two big packages from Nomethod and Carcrash Records including restocks of Convoj (at last!), Svenson and Dialog Cet as well as new stuff from C.Aarmé, Aerial, Mixtapes & Cellmates, The Bear Quartet and more! Get shopping!]]> Thu, 18 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3008 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3008 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3008#comments C.Aarmé has announced that their real, absolutely final, last show ever will now be at Debaser in Stockholm on March 3. Most definitely not to be missed!]]> Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25665-top-10s-for-2006-ola-c-aarme http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25665-top-10s-for-2006-ola-c-aarme http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25665-top-10s-for-2006-ola-c-aarme#comments 01. Kitty (love-love-love)

02. The Abyss Song (love-song)

03. Hets - Hets! (love-record)

04. Waters Of Nazareth (love-song2)

05. Myspace (love-at last)

06. Johan, Jessie and Patrik (love-forever)

07. The Knife live at Trädgårn (love-ambition)

08. Standing In The Way Of Control [Soulwax Nite Version] (love-song3)

09. DIG! (love-dvd)

10. The Death of Music Industry as we know it (love-and power to the people)


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

C.Aarmé's final song "The abyss song" is posted today at myspace. RIP.
www.myspace.com/caarme

]]> Sun, 24 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3295 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3295 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3295#comments Absolut Noise wisely picks C.Aarmé's "Vita" as the punk album of the year: http://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2006/12/best-of-2006-my-fav-punk-record.html]]> Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25655-top-10s-for-2006-its-a-trap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25655-top-10s-for-2006-its-a-trap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25655-top-10s-for-2006-its-a-trap#comments Official top 10 releases for 2006, in alphabetical order:

There was a glut of good music in 2006, but only a few truly great albums. I found myself enjoying a very high percentage of the music that came my way, but very little remained in regular rotation for any length of time. Too much of a good thing? Perhaps. Regardless, I had some trouble compiling my list since I wanted to ensure that my selections were fit for posterity. That means albums like The Knife's "Silent shout" and Motorpsycho's "Black hole/black canvas" were out, despite being admirable pieces of work. They deserve high praise, but I simply didn't listen to them that much. Similarly, I'm From Barcelona and Peter Bjorn and John were off the list because their 2006 releases pale in comparison to what came before (both the original "Sing!!" demo EP from IFB and PB&J's "Falling out" are 100% unfuckwithable). What's left? Well, lots actually. The difficulty is separating all the 8s from the 9s and 10s. Let's get going then:

01. Aerial - Black rain from the bombing (Nomethod)
It came out in January and stuck with me throughout the entire year. That alone says something. As for the music, it's an amazing display of epic bombast and twisting riffs. Why can't more post-rock be noisy like this?
MP3: Time is on fire

02. The Book of Daniel - Songs for the Locust King (Black Star Foundation)
A late in the year release so I was reluctant to list it, but there's no denying the quality. Full of wisdom and poetry.
MP3: The camels parade

03. C.Aarmé - Vita (Carcrash/Burning Heart)
The brightest stars always burn out the fastest. RIP.
MP3: We are the world

04. Closer - Tokpela EP (Closersounds)
One of those bands I fell in love with the moment I first heard it. Heavy rock doesn't get better than this.
MP3: Open casket

05. Johndoe - Dødvinkel (JHND)
This one snuck up on me and is probably the one record on this list I've listened to the most.
MP3: Kjøtere

06. Montys Loco - Man overboard (NONS)
God, I hate the genre label 'folktronic', but I really can't think of a better way to describe this. Quirky instrumentation and arrangements aside, the music is simply brilliant and would work in any context.
MP3: Wasteland

07. Namur - Songs from the Valley of Baca (Thehourislate)
It's probably for the best that David Åhlén retired this stage moniker because this will be hard to top. Nothing wrong with quitting while you're ahead.
MP3: Marching

08. Raison d'Être - Metamorphyses (Cold Meat Industry)
I honestly don't believe I've heard another dark-ambient album this good. Ever.
MP3: Metamorphyses phase I

09. Oskar Schönning - Happy jazz, please (Amigo)
Another one of those records that found its way into steady rotation without much thought. Echoes of that other famous bassist/bandleader Charles Mingus along with fellow Swede Jan Johansson, but with an ear to the future.
MP3: Happy jazz, please

10. Sonores - Elefanten (Structures Sonores)
These guys asked me if I wanted to co-release this with them and I said no because I thought I was too busy. I blew it.
MP3: Jonathan

Best two demos I heard all year: Circle Six and Iisole

Four favorite non-Scandinavian releases:
Converge - No heroes (Epitaph)
Kayo Dot - Dowsing anenome with copper tongue (Robotic Empire)
Jesu - Silver (Hydra Head)
Rome - Berlin (Cold Meat Industry)

Two old metal warhorses who prove that age doesn't mean a thing: Iron Maiden & Slayer

What to expect for 2007? Well, my predicted goth revival for 2006 didn't live up to expectations even though it seemed to spawn quite a few excellent releases (The Kid and 1999, for example). Regardless, I'm not going to let that stop me from making more asinine predictions. My pick for the new trend of 2007: industrial/EBM. I swear, it's gonna happen. It's time.

Honorable mentions:
Asha Ali - s/t (NONS)
Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen (Danarkia)
The Fine Arts Showcase - Radiola (Adrian Recordings)
Kazakstan - s/t (Katalyst)
Knife and Ape - Hex! (Deleted Art)
Lampshade - Let's away (Glitterhouse)
Lemonator - At the presence of great beauty (Odor)
Once We Were - Contra (Tenderversion)
Britta Persson - Top quality bones... (Amigo)
Plain Fade - Aure (Punos Sound)
Promoe - White man's burden (Burning Heart)
Tsukimono - Neé (Kalligrammofon)

]]> Fri, 15 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25654-top-10s-for-2006-staff-picks http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25654-top-10s-for-2006-staff-picks http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25654-top-10s-for-2006-staff-picks#comments Not everyone was able to get their lists in on time, but I think you'll find more than enough titles here well-worth investigating, whatever your tastes may be. Enjoy!

Jonas Appelqvist:

01. The Fine Arts Showcase – Radiola (Adrian Recordings)
When Christian released a kinda mediocre record, Gustav stepped up, delivered and restored the honour of the Kjellvander brothers.

02. C.Aarmé – Vita (Burning Heart)
Music for the gut, not the brain. Göteborg's finest punks just recently split up, it's a pity.

03. Hets – s/t (V2/Etikett: Hets)
I was a bit hesitative when I heard that members from Laakso, Fireside and Moneybrother formed a band. They proved me wrong.

04. Raised Fist – The sound of the republic (Burning Heart Records)
This long awaited full-length proved to be exactly what I hoped for. Uncompromising hardcore, this time with hooks!

05. Insurgent Kid – Paranoia (Wasted Sounds)
Just recently released and it went straight into this list. The punkrock on this disc is, in fact, all I ever need.

06. Khoma – The second wave (Roadrunner)
I always knew something good would come out of Plastic Pride.

07. Aerial – Black rain from the nombing (Nomethod)
Epic and almost instrumental post-rock from Sandviken that moved me big time.

08. Tar... Feathers – Make way for the ocean floor to fall to the surface (Release the Bats!)
Self-willed indiepop that sounds like Modest Mouse mixed with Xiu Xiu at times.

09. Darkthrone – The cult is alive (Peaceville)
Pioneers that released their most interesting record since "Total Death". Black-metal with one hell of a punkrockattitude!

10. Cult of Luna – Somewhere along the highway (Earache)
One of the records I've listened to the most in 2006 and it's still intriguing.

Top 3 non-scandinavian records of 2006:
Converge – No heroes (Epitaph)
Electric President – s/t (Morr Music)
Cursive – Happy hollow (Saddle Creek)

Nancy Baym:

01. Hell On Wheels - The odd church (Hybris/PlayRec)
It's catchy, it's quirky, it's consistently strong. And it's interesting too.

02. Skywriter - Where both worlds never meet (Iceberg Records)
The slow ones drag a bit, but the fast songs are a sublime mix of sexy, cool, driving and restrained.

03. Consequences - s/t (BOW/Groover Recordings)
Puts the "infection" in infectious pop. I can't stop listening to it and really don't want to either.

04. Peter Bjorn and John - Writer's block (V2/Wichita)
Not as good as last year's "Falling out", but an okay Peter Bjorn and John record is still better than most.

05. Pelle Carlberg - Everything. Now! (Labrador)
He's thoughtful, he's sensitive, he's twee, but most of all he's the perfect mix of soothing and beautiful. Frazzled nerves be gone!

06. The Phonies - Gran tourettes (Money Laundry Records)
Inconsistent record from Finland's Phonies, but it's best songs are exhuberant enough to carry the rest.

07. Billie the Vision & the Dancers - The world according to Pablo (self-released)
While I'm From Barcelona gets all the buzz, I prefer this. It's kind of mellow, a little dark, sort of conceptual if you bother to figure it out, but most of all, it just sounds good.

08. David & the Citizens - Stop the tape! Stop the tape! (Bad Taste)
David Fridlund's a melodic genius and the music may be better than ever, but Fridlund's angst runs too close to whining too much of the time.

09. Starflower - Moment in the sun (Music Is My Girlfriend)
Tranquil and poppy, youthful and tuneful, it's a gentle little debut from a band I hope will diversify its sound in releases to come.

10. The Charade - Real Life Drama (Skipping Stones)
Half of this is too sweet for me, but the rest is charming as all get out, and "September" easily wins the award for catchiest sugar pop song of the year.

Honorable Mentions:

Sivert Høyem and the Volunteers - Exiles (Hektor Grammofon)
It's not out yet and I've only heard 2 songs, but given his track record with Madrugada and his last solo record, it's guaranteed a spot in my top 10 when I do get to hear the rest.

Tiger Lou - The loyal (Startracks)
It came out in 2005 but now I've finally heard this record. It's got such a cool consistent vibe, such a unique sound, and I'm under it's spell completely.

Matt Giordano:

01. Peter Bjorn and John - Writers block (V2/Wichita)
After last years excellent "Falling out" I expected a great album, but this release just floored me.

02. Loney, Dear - Sologne (Dear John)
Yes, this is technically a re-release, and yes, it's that good.

03. The Fine Arts Showcase - Radiola (Adrian)
This is the new album I listened to most this year, and a it was quite a leap artistically for Mr. Kjellvander.

04. Hell On Wheels - The odd church (Hybris)
This one sat in my room for about a month until one day I brought it in the car with me, and to say the least, I was impressed.

05. Vapnet - Jag vet hur man väntar (Hybris)
"Thoméegränd" instantly hit me with pure pop genuis, and this album is so textured and deep, it has yet to be fully realised.

06. Firefox AK - Madame, madame! (Razzia)
It took me a while, but I have finally realised how genius this album is.

07. Nicolai Dunger - Sjunger Edith Södergran (EMI)
I believe this is Mr. Dunger's most cohesive album to date, and perhaps his most intimate.

08. Sibiria - Inom familjen (Hybris)
Martin A and Martin H put out two stellar albums in one year. Gorgeous.

09. The Knife - Silent shout (Rabid)
This album is both bleak and enchanting.

10. David & The Citizens - Stop the tape! Stop the tape! (Bad Taste)
This album is so solid, and it should silence all of the naysayers.

Other:

Best 2005 release of 2006:
El Perro Del Mar - El Perro Del Mar (Memphis Industries/The Control Group)
Gorgeous, that is the only way to describe the songwriting of Sarah Assbring, and it's good to see the rest of the world catching on.

Top three non-Scandinavian releases:

Tom Waits - Orphans (Anti)
This is absolutely essential.

Nobody & Mystic Chords Of Memory - Tree colored see (Mush)
Another post-Beachwood Sparks work of excellence, now I'm only wishing for Beachwood Sparks to reunite.

My Morning Jacket - Okonokos (RCA)
America's best current live band, and this is their document.

Top ten songs of 2006*
01. Montt Mardié - "My girlfriend is in the Grand Prix finals" from "Science" (Hybris)
02. Peter Bjorn and John - "Paris 2004" from "Writers block" (V2)
03. Kristofer Åström - "So much for staying alive" from "Black Valley" (Startracks)
04. Loney, Dear - "The city, the airport" from "Sologne" (Dear John)
05. Tom Waits - "Bottom of the world" from "Orphans" (Anti)
06. Vapnet - "Thoméegränd" from "Jag vet hur man väntar" (Hybris)
07. The Velvet Teen - "Gyzmkid" from "Cum laude" (Slowdance)
08. Nicolai Dunger - "Lyckokatt" from "Sjunger Edith Södergran" (Dolores)
09. Loose Fur - "The ruling class" from "Born again in the USA" (Drag City)
10. Islands - "Don't call me Whitney, Bobby" from "Return to the sea" (Equator)

*These songs, as well as 31 others appear on my "Best of 2006" mix, which I have made 20 copies of as a double-disc set to give away to the readers of It's A Trap! Here's the deal, the first twenty people to email me at matthew dot giordano at macys dot com with their name and postal address will receive a copy (as well as tracklisting) in the mail. Enjoy.

Kevin Renick, in alphabetical order:

01. Ampop - My delusions (Dennis Records)
Balancing the epic and the emotive is an increasingly dicey proposition as more and more groups on both sides of the Atlantic sacrifice one or the other in the process. Iceland's Ampop gets the blend just right with these 11 surgingly powerful, yet fragile tunes. .

02. El Perro Del Mar - s/t (Memphis Industries)
Possibly the most bubbly, infectious, melodically rich, beautifully sung sad album ever made.

03. Sofia Hardig - The need to destroy (Filthy Records)
An adventurous electronica foray in which Sofia makes an art out of distorted vocals that are nonetheless emotionally wrenching. Dark, machine-laden grooves that grip the soul.

04. The Knife - Silent shout (Brille Records)
By any standard, one of the year's boldest and most significant records, especially for a spooked, tech-savvy, mask-wearin', brother-sister dance-tronica act.

05. Lampshade - Let's away (Glitterhouse)
The sophomore release by this fabulous Swedish/Danish group is just as good as the debut; RebekkaMaria and company fuse primal rock and Scandi sensuality together in a thoroughly compelling manner.

06. Mew - And the glass-handed kites (Sony BMG Music)
A continuously flowing, continuously melodic and dazzling production that got many satisfying spins on my car stereo in 2006.

07. Monty's Loco - Man overboard (NONS)
Take a female vocalist who's like a tougher Emiliana Torrini, add equal parts acoustic/electronic instrumentation, throw in a few dollops of inspired weirdness and mix/produce well. Result: a grabber of an album that tickles the sonic taste buds..

08. Britta Persson - Top quality bones and a little terrorist (Amigo)
I like my Scandinavian music to be a little tart. Britta's debut CD is positively lemony from start to finish, a real standout in a year filled with great records by Scandi girls.

09. Patrik Skantze and the Free Souls Society - Fiction at first view (Mimo Sound)
A master class in inspired prog songcraft, superb guitar playing and the art of channeling diverse influences into your own lovingly prepared recipe.

10. Sonores - Elefanten (Structures Sonores)
As a long-time fan of both atmospheric ambient and mournful female vocals, this texturally absorbing disc had me at "eftermiddag".

Best EP: Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen (Danarkia)
Best CD to reevaluate your life to: Es - Sateenkkarisuudelma (K-RAA-K)
Best reasons to have faith that the spirit of weirdness lives on in Scandiland: The Bear Quartet, Sir Eric Beyond, and Tar...Feathers

Simon Tagestam:

01. Vapnet – Jag vet hur man väntar (album / Hybris)
Vapnet lived up to all my expectations and delivered a fantastic album

02. Moneybrother – De vet ingenting om oss (single / Hacka Skivindustri)
This song came totally unexpected and instantly floored me.

03. Lo-Fi-Fnk – Boylife (album / La Vida Loca)
Very exciting album from Sweden’s new dance kings, now TTA gone all new age.

04. Mattias Alkberg BD - Ditt hjärta är en stjärna (album / A West Side Fabrication)
Third and best album from this Bear Quartet member.

05. Taxi Taxi – Old big trees (song on myspace)
Killer song. Got high hopes for these young twins.

06. I'm From Barcelona - Let me introduce my friends (album / Dolores)
Hate them live, but still love their music.

07. Juni Järvi - Wherever thou art (album / Everlasting)
The surprise hit of the year, a collection of some magnificent songs.

08. [ingenting] - Mycket väsen för ingenting (album / Labrador)
An album that deserved much more attention and praise than it got.

09. Juvelen – Watch your step (song on myspace)
Sounds exactly like Prince when he was at his best. Pretty damn good that is!

10. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde - s/t (album / Flora & Fauna)
Weirdest and most wonderful gig at Emmaboda this year where 'Sir Eric', even though he's Swedish, only talked in English in-between songs. He also released a fine record.

Three amazing songs from albums that I wasn't too keen on:
Fattaru – 100 spänn
Hello Saferide – The quiz
Peter Bjorn and John – Young folks


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

Jonas Appelqvist is in the works of completing the first fullengthrecord with Blinders On, indierock based in Malmö. The band is, as I write this, finished with the mixing and the mastering of the album entitled "Obsolete music", so we should expect a release in January. The 17th, to be precise. More on that after New Year's Eve.

Nancy Baym can be found happily blogging away at Online Fandom and digging music at Last.fm.

Matt Giordano wishes everyone safe, yet wine-filled holidays and New Year's celebrations, and hopes those who'll be getting his "Best of 2006 mix" enjoy them. He also hopes Arsenal can pick up the pace in the premier league and that Scandinavian bands continue to release the world's best music. Here are the new releases he's looking forward to in 2007: two Laakso records, Kristofer Åström, Shout Out Louds, Via Audio, Christian Kjellvander, Spoon, Tiger Lou (I can hope), My Morning Jacket (I can hope), Nick Cave (I think it's about time for another), Moonbabies, Nicolai Dunger, and all Hyrbis releases.

Kevin Renick is exhausted from trying to pare down the list of favorites from a really great year in music.

Simon Tagestam is a regular contributor to IAT and he doesn't really have any plans for 2007, except some vague ideas concerning a Nintendo Wii, his mother's 60th birthday, more tattoos, and badminton.

]]> Thu, 14 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3347 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3347 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3347#comments IAT favorites C.Aarmé are looking for people to remix their newly recorded, last-ever track "The abyss song": http://blog.myspace.com/caarme]]> Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3454 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3454 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3454#comments The nominees for this year's P3 Gold awards have been announced:

Best female artist:
Marit Bergman - "I Think it's a Rainbow"
Veronica Maggio - "Vatten och bröd"
Lisa Miskovsky - "Changes"
Linda Sundblad - "Oh My God!"
Anna Ternheim - "Separation Road"

Best male artist:
Darin - "Break the News"
Håkan Hellström - "Nåt gammalt, nåt nytt, nåt lånat, nåt blått"
Max Peezay - "Discokommittén"
Petter - "P"
Timo Räisänen - "I'm Indian"

Best live (Guldmicken):
In Flames
The Knife
Mando Diao
Snook
Anna Ternheim

Best song:
Basshunter - Boten Anna
I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
Veronica Maggio - Dumpa mig
Mando Diao - Long Before Rock'n'Roll
Snook - Längst fram i taxin

Best newcomer:
Asha Ali
Salem Al Fakir
I'm From Barcelona
Veronica Maggio
Sebastian

Best group:
Fibes, Oh Fibes! - "Emotional"
The Knife - "Silent Shout"
Mando Diao - "Ode to Ochrasy"
Snook - "Är"
The Sounds - "Dying to Say This to You"

Best rock/metal:
C.Aarmé - "Vita"
Cult of Luna - "Somewhere Along the Highway"
The Haunted - "The Dead Eye"
In Flames - "Come Clarity"
Snuffed By the Yakuza - "Everybody's Gonna Die Tonight"

Best hip-hop/soul:
Fattaru - "Mina drömmars stad"
Max Peezay - "Discokommittén"
Promoe - "White Man's Burden"
Ramjac - "Transfusions"
Up Hygh - "The Venus Album"

Best pop:
Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde - "Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde"
Love is All - "Nine Times That Same Song"
Nicolas Makelberge - "Dying in Africa"
The Radio Dept. - "Pet Grief"
Studio - "West Coast"

Best dance:
John Dahlbäck - Collected works
The Knife - "Silent Shout"
Minilogue - Collected works
Studio - "West Coast"
SUMO - "The Danceband"

Go here to vote: http://www.sr.se/p3/p3guld/]]> Tue, 05 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3569 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3569 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3569#comments Dagensskiva is saying that C.Aarmé, one of my absolute favorite bands, will be breaking up after their final gig at Klubb Gaystraight2hell in Göteborg on December 2. Lame. Look for their final track "The abyss song" to be posted on myspace around the Holidays.]]> Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25618-video-mix-promoe-loosegoats-hell-on-wheels-the-fine-arts-showcase-viktor-sjoberg-more http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25618-video-mix-promoe-loosegoats-hell-on-wheels-the-fine-arts-showcase-viktor-sjoberg-more http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25618-video-mix-promoe-loosegoats-hell-on-wheels-the-fine-arts-showcase-viktor-sjoberg-more#comments Featuring the Kjellvander brothers, both together and apart.

Promoe - Headache (embedding forbidden - click the link instead)
One of the best tracks from "White man's burden" and a good visual accompanyment too. I've been listening to Promoe non-stop all week. (AR)

Loosegoats - Slotmachines and broken dreams
Pavement anyone? A great song anyhow... (JA)

Hell On Wheels - Alexandr
A great song from a great album, one of this year's best. (MG)

KVLR - Slow clapping
Taken from KVLR's self-titled album. A gloomy, animated video which accompanies the song in a nice way. (JA)

Koop - Come to me
I'm not too keen on Koop's music, but this video is very enthralling and it makes me want to travel back in time and join one of those swinging parties. Need to learn the steps before I go though (how hard can it be?). (ST)

The Fine Arts Showcase - Hazel Ridge
One of the highlights from the "Electric Pavilion..." (MG)

Viktor Sjöberg - "A teenage love" live in Gothenburg
Big things are going on in Gbg these days. Pay attention! (AR)

Christian Kjellvander - Drag the dirt in (live)
Don't mind the wayward cameraman, the sound is really good. (MG)

C.Aarmé - Golden retriever
Quite possibly the greatest band of our time. (AR)

.:Who's who?

JA: Jonas Appelqvist
MG: Matt Giordano
AR: Avi Roig
ST: Simon Tagestam

]]> Thu, 05 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 articles videos http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4480 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4480 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4480#comments Seriously, what is wrong with people?

That's the question I wake up with everyday. I love people - why don't they love us? In time, I promise.

Do you consider yourselves to be a punkrock band? What does punk mean to you?

No punkrock band. Punk is emotion and has nothing to do with a music style. The best punk song right now is Justice - "Waters Of Nazareth", be sure to check it out!

What's up with MPTP? Are you ever gonna do anything else?

Ah shit. in time, I promise (again). Or are we one hit wonders? hmm.. Jessie [Garon, C.Aarmé/MPTP vocalist] has some lyrics to put together and he's a nurse soon as well and I have a new band called - Nya Svart - with my lovely Miss Kitty.

Really, who dropped the ball with "Vita"? Why aren't you as big as Kent yet?

Help us to put the music back in focus and fuck all the business people who's in it for the money. Seriously. I believe in networking and love the new deal with downloading from the net, myspace and everything!!

Download "We are the world" and get with it. Listen to C.Aarmé remixed here: http://www.myspace.com/ticatua]]> Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27913-mp3-c-aarme-we-are-the-world http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27913-mp3-c-aarme-we-are-the-world http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27913-mp3-c-aarme-we-are-the-world#comments If you're reading this now, then today must be Wednesday and I'm somewhere in San Jose. Today I am talking with Ola Håkansson of C.Aarmé:

I think that "Vita" is one of 2006's best records. Why hasn't the rest of the world recognized your genius?

In time. But seriously, Epitaph!? What's up with record companies!?!? Fuck that shit. We're gonna start up our own label and fool some old rich man to send some money our way. Any other good ideas?]]> Wed, 13 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4533 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4533 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4533#comments Check out the Knife and Ape remix of "Golden retreiver" by C.Aarmé: http://www.myspace.com/knifeandape]]> Wed, 06 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5352 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5352 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5352#comments Elsewhere on the Interweb: I've contributed to yet another group post on Mars Needs Guitars. This time the subject is the best song from the first half of 2006, so there's no way I could hold back from raving about C.Aarmé yet again. Check it: http://www.marsneedsguitars.com/2006/06/music-bloggers-favorites.html]]> Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5368 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5368 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5368#comments C.Aarmé wants your remixes: http://www.caarme.com/news/?reqNews=125]]> Tue, 20 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5498 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5498 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5498#comments C.Aarmé has a nice new website: http://www.caarme.com/]]> Thu, 08 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27991-mp3-c-aarme-m-p-p http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27991-mp3-c-aarme-m-p-p http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27991-mp3-c-aarme-m-p-p#comments C.Aarmé really upped the ante with their new album "Vita". Not only is it fiercer, more obnoxious, more potty-mouthed and far more irreverent, it's also catchier, more melodic and much more musically adept then their debut. I've already extensively discussed "We are the world" (possibly one of the greatest songs ever written) and the first single "Golden retreiver" was posted awhile ago at myspace, so here's the new song "M.P.P.". You more astute readers out there might find that acronym slightly familiar as it's awfully similar to M.P.TP, one of the many fine artists on "Reader's companion volume two". Well, there's a good reason for that, but I'll let you draw your own conclusions. Here's another secret: "Vita" is one of the best albums of 2006. Psst... spread the word.]]> Thu, 25 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5826 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5826 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5826#comments Mp3 blog DIY Rockstar on C.Aarmé and Hell On Wheels: http://diyrockstar.blogspot.com/2006/05/what-rocks-in-sweden-nme-hype-band-of.html]]> Fri, 12 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6329 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6329 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6329#comments The video for the new C.Aarmé single "Golden retriever" is up on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/caarme
Can't wait to hear the full album.]]> Tue, 04 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6443 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6443 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6443#comments C.Aarmé's new album "Vita", one of my most anticipated releases for 2006, has been confirmed for an April 26 release on Burning Heart. Look for a video for the first single "Golden retriever" to be released soonish. I've been fortunate enough to hear the final studio version of the track and it's killer.]]> Mon, 27 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6629 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6629 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6629#comments C.Aarmé's new album, one my most anticipated releases for 2006, is finally done and should be out in April. Can't wait to hear it.]]> Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7795 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7795 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7795#comments The amazing C.Aarmé will finally be going into the studio on December 27 to begin work on their second album. Thank goodness. In the meantime, here's a rehearsal recording as a teaser: http://www.caarme.com/music/goldenretriever.mp3]]> Thu, 22 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8186 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8186 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8186#comments Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the second best single of the year. The number one slot was secured by C.Aarmé back in April with "We are the world" and number two belongs to Sir Eric Beyond and the song "Democracy". Mere words cannot do Mr. Beyond justice, as any attempt to dissect his greatness is bound to fall short. Instead, let me encourage you to open your ears and listen. The genius is obvious.]]> Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28087-mp3-eric-beyond-democracy http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28087-mp3-eric-beyond-democracy http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28087-mp3-eric-beyond-democracy#comments Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you the second best single of the year. The number one slot was secured by C.Aarmé back in April with "We are the world" and number two belongs to Sir Eric Beyond and the song "Democracy". Mere words cannot do Mr. Beyond justice, as any attempt to dissect his greatness is bound to fall short. Instead, let me encourage you to open your ears and listen. The genius is obvious.]]> Wed, 23 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8959 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8959 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8959#comments Check out a new mp3 from m.p.tp (money.paper.thepolice): http://mptpmusic.net
I've been told this is a new project from Jessie Garon and Johnny Ola of the great C.Aarmé, but don't be expecting any sort of snotty punk - no, this is dirgy, goth/EBM music - still very good, but very very different.]]> Fri, 23 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25480-top-fives-2005-so-far http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25480-top-fives-2005-so-far http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25480-top-fives-2005-so-far#comments Avi Roig's top five across the board, plus one more for good measure:

01. Three EPs that prove Swedish indierock is still as strong as ever:
Convoj - s/t
Seven Feet Four - To kill is easy
Torpedo - Declare despair

02. Best single, hands down:
C.Aarmé - We are the world
Don't you know who we are? You do now.

03. The two best live sets I saw:
Silverbullit @ Umeå Open - Absolutely transcendent. Not only did the band give it their best, but the crowd was amped too.
The Ark @ The Troubadour in LA (ExMS Swedish Showcase) - Where did all those gayboy Ark fans come from? I was probably just as shocked as the band. Well worth the six hour drive each way.

04. The top four albums I can't stop listening to:
Isolation Years - Cover the distance
Logh - A sunset panorama
Desert Planet - Mario built my hot rod
Det Gamla Landet - s/t

05. Three reasons to keep an eye on Denmark:
Lack, The Psyke Project and The First Miles
I don't know why, but those Danes kick ass when it comes to both hardcore and Americana.

06. Two best non-Scandinavian albums:
Dredg - Catch without arms
Jesu - s/t
Two amazing albums from two of the world's best intelligent heavy rock acts.

Simon Tagestam:

01. Randy – Beware (song)
If the forthcoming album is as good as this (I doubt they got Fat Mike on any of the songs though), I'll forgive them for their last album (their only non-amazing release to date, according to me).

02. Robyn – Robyn
How would have thought it? An ex-soulpop girl making an album better than anything that inspired her to make it (i.e. The Knife, Kate Bush etc)

03. Frida Hyvönen – Until death comes
A colleague of mine thinks Frida can't sing and tries to get me into Joni Mitchell. Unfortunately Joni will never appeal to me as much as "Until Death Comes" does.

04. Mattias Alkberg BD – Jag ska bli en bättre vän
I haven't had this album too long, but at the moment it feels as it might be a contender for "album of the year"! That's right!

05. The Tough Alliance – The new school
This was not as good as I wanted it to be, but it's still crammed with excellent songs.

Navy Keophan's top five injuries sustained at shows for the first half of 2005:

01. Broken glasses, Millencolin show May 21: My eyesight is pretty bad (apparently, even worse than I thought) so when I took a hit from some crowd surfer that knocked them off my head, I was surprised I even made from Hollywood back to Long Beach safely.

02. Bruised shins, The Chinese Stars @ Koo's Feb. 6: Being in the front to take semi-decent pictures of one of your favorite bands = good. Having the crowd behind you push you into the shin-high stage for over 30 minutes = bad.

03. Bruised shins (again), Death From Above 1979 March 26: Again, much like the CS show, I was up front. Combine the thing that happened at that show with unexplainable moshing, another two weeks of pants-wearing.

04. Sore shoulders, Millencolin show May 22: Fist-pumpin' fun equated to arm cramps for the entire week.

05. Sore elbow, Millencolin show May 21: Damn moshers.

Kevin Renick:

01. Ephemera - Monolove
Every music lover should have one band they worship, one band that truly makes a difference in their life. For me, it's Norway's girl-pop trio Ephemera. I regard them not as mere musicians, but absolute creative Goddesses.

02. Bol - Silver sun
This jazz-poptronica trio from Trondheim have made a masterpiece with their second CD, a formula-defying journey up a river of humanity where heartbroken souls line the shore. 47 minutes of incandescent musical brilliance.

03. Hanne Hukkelberg - Little things
What a stellar debut! Norway's brightest new chanteuse delivers a rhapsodic set of tunes with constantly surprising arrangements, sterling production and her delightfully exuberant, upfront singing-which seems to reflect not only a zest for life but a playful "I'll try anything" approach.

04. Schtimm - The alcoholovefi collection
Although "Featuring" is actually their 2005 release, "TAC" is probably the best album by this mysterious Norwegian band, and I only heard it recently. Something about their music makes me think of haunted houses, as if you got trapped in a spooky mansion but found that the spirits of the place were only too happy to make music for you.

05. Efterklang - Tripper
The cutting-edge electronica from this Danish band has earned them rave reviews. Technology makes their intricate music possible, but they aspire to such a heaven-bound sound that you end up not thinking about the glitchy, twitchy elements in the mix at all, only the reverence you feel for the emotionally stirring, organic flow. Efterklang are one of today's most important and distinctive new bands, showing the uninitiated that there are sparks of magic shooting through the skies of Scandinavia.

Honorable mention: The State of Floral Beings - We know you love us and that's why we do this

Matthew W. Smith:

01. The Lionheart Brothers - Colour contrast context EP
Understated, bittersweet symphonic pop from Norway, featured on the "It's a Trap! Reader's Companion Vol. 1"

02. Kings of Convenience live at the Iota in Arlington, Virginia, February 2005
A no-frills, quiet performance that showcased Eirik and Erlend's guitar plucking, tight harmonies and sense of humor in front of a packed, respectful Iota.

03. Sharif - Lost causes, causes lost
Melancholy in both mood and lyrics, this well-constructed album signals a welcome return for this Swedish quartet.

04. Loopy - Smile back home
Leiv Aasen's vocals and a subtle blend of guitar pop and shoegazer on this debut make this tri-national band one to watch.

05. The Raveonettes - live at the Black Cat in Washington, DC, May 2005
See my review for more details, but the Danish outfit oozed 50s cool and blasted supersonic levels of guitar fuzz; the cover of "My boyfriend's back" provided a nice contrast to "Attack of the ghost riders".

One wish:
- I hope that Jennie, Johanna, Maria and Josephine from Sahara Hotnights have already recovered their missing gear and guitars or will soon!

Five things to look forward to for the rest of the year
- A new album quite soon from Icelandic band Leaves.
- The third album from Norway's purveyors of lowdown garage rock, Cato Salsa Experience.
- A successful trip to Connecticut for Tiger Lou, who will mix his sophomore album there with Peter Katis (Interpol, Denali) and hopefully release the results in the fall.
- More Danish success in North America, as The Blue Van continue to tour and Loopy has its album released stateside.
- Another new record from the rejuvenated Cardigans, who have already finished recording the follow-up to the fantastic "Long gone before daylight".

Simon Thibaudeau's top Scandinavian five:

01. Det Gamla Landet

02. EST - Viaticum

03. The Now

04. Spacious Mind – Rotvalta

05. Sayyadina - Fear Gave Us Wings

Per Apelqvist:

01. Moving back to Europe after 11 wonderful years in the US

02. Moneybrother live at the Barfly

03. David Fridlund - Amaterasu

04. 2 friends turning 30 and inviting over a hundred people to High Chaparal, the country western theme park in Sweden

05. Kent - Klaparen

Jason Christie:

01. [ingenting] - Allting ni gör
By way of "Songs we have learned to sing". Quite clearly the best I have heard in an age – still to learn though...

02. Sharif – You don't know
This track arrived at a tricky time, and then time tunnelled me back to the Basement club, Brighton circa 1995. Trust, that’s enough.

03. Pelle Carlberg – Oh no! It's happening again
A great writer, great vocalist and father of 4!

04. Café Alhambra – Clapham Common, SW4
Serving some of the finest

05. Chelsea Football Club
Where were you when they were rubbish?

]]> Thu, 09 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11036 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11036 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11036#comments Now back to the grind! Brand new mp3 from C.Aarmé. Forget about Kent, Moneybrother, or whoever else being this year's summer hitmakers - this track is by far the best single you'll hear this summer, maybe even all year. I've been listening to it on repeat all week, it's just so good. And what could be a better songtitle than "We are the world"? Can it get any better than that? No! Of course not! 100% pure gold I tell ya! Can't wait to hear the album.]]> Wed, 13 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11260 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11260 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11260#comments The new C.Aarmé website is kind of up and running: http://www.caarme.com/
Nothing there yet except for a few mp3s, but that's not such a bad thing.]]> Wed, 16 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11716 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11716 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/11716#comments Finnish music blog Lupatarkastaja discusses Scandinavian hardcore with links to mp3s from Totalt Jävla Mörker, Hero Dishonest, Trapdoor Fucking Exit, Abduktio and C.Aarmé: http://lupatarkastaja.blogspot.com/2005/02/luuvitonen-hyv-meininki-niinku-vko-6.html]]> Mon, 14 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12278 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12278 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12278#comments The nominees for the 2004 Manifest Awards have been announced. Here are a few of the categories:

Pop/rock:
David Sandström - "The Dominant Need of the Needy Soul Is to be Needed"
Jens Lekman - "When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog"
Stina Nordenstam - "The World Is Saved"
Silverbullit - "Arclight"

Hardrock/punk:
C.Aarmé - "C.Aarmé"
Dismember - "When Iron Crosses Grow"
Haunted - "rEVOLVEr"
Koma - "Tsunami"
Totalt Jävla Mörker - "Människans ringa värde"

Hip-hop/R&B/soul:
Helt Off - "Helt Off"
Ison & Fille - "Ison & Fille"
Promoe - "Long Distance Runner"
Snook - "Vi vet inte vart vi ska men vi ska komma dit"
Rico Wondahman - "Takin' Over"

Post-rock/electronica:
Backlash - "Heliotrop"
Andreas Tilliander - "World Industries"
Sophie Rimheden - "Miss"
Hans Appelqvist - "Bremort"
IC1 - "The Birth of Industrial Cool"

Dance/house/techno:
Quant - "Getting Out"
Andreas Tilliander - "World Industries"
Sophie Rimheden - "Miss"
Hird - "Moving On"
Ernesto's - "Album"

Solo/singer/songwriter:
Stina Nordenstam - "The World Is Saved"
Florence Valentin - "Johnny Drama"
Billie the Vision & The Dancers - "I Was So Unpopular in School"
Tobias Fröberg - "For Elisabeth Wherever She Is"
Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos - "Visorna"

Best live:
Existensminimum
Mattias Alkberg
Silverbullit
Svenska Akademien
Jens Lekman

Best newcomer:
Tiger Lou - "Is My Head Still On?"
Nanook of the North - "The Täby Tapes"
Fatboy - "Steelhearted"
Jens Lekman - "When I Said I Wanted to Be Your Dog"
Cirera - "Honestly, I Love You *Cough*"

The Manifest Awards are considered an alternative to the Swedish Grammy in the same way that the Alarm Prize is regarded in Norway. Winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held February 1 at Nalen in Stockholm. More info: http://www.som.a.se/manifest/index.html]]> Mon, 03 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25451-top-10s-for-2004-kal-strom-dagensskiva http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25451-top-10s-for-2004-kal-strom-dagensskiva http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25451-top-10s-for-2004-kal-strom-dagensskiva#comments Top 10 albums for 2004 (in alphabetical order x2):

01. Björk "Medúlla"

02. Damn! "Youth Style"

03. Danger Mouse "Grey Album"

04. Hans Appelqvist "Bremort"

05. Kanye West "College Dropout"

06. Lars Horntveth "Pooka"

07. Marit Bergman "Baby Dry Your Eye"

08. Quit Your Dayjob "Quit Your Dayjob"

09. The Tiny "Close Enough"

10. Xiu Xiu "Fabulous Muscles"

Second ten:

01. !!! "Louden Up Now"

02. C.Aarmé "C.Aarmé"

03. Deerhoof "Milk Man"

04. Lina Nyberg "Saragasso"

05. O.Lamm "Hello Spiral"

06. Phoenix "Alphabetical"

07. The Blood Brothers "Crimes"

08. The Dillinger Escape Plan "Miss Machine"

09. Totalt Jävla Mörker "Människans ringa värde"

10. Vincent & Mr Green "Vincent & Mr Green"


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

Kal writes for Dagensskiva, Sweden's best music webzine.
www.dagensskiva.com

]]> Thu, 30 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25447-top-10s-for-2004-robert-samsonowitz-deleted-art-rbrt-org-the-new-mess-satanic-surfers http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25447-top-10s-for-2004-robert-samsonowitz-deleted-art-rbrt-org-the-new-mess-satanic-surfers http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25447-top-10s-for-2004-robert-samsonowitz-deleted-art-rbrt-org-the-new-mess-satanic-surfers#comments 01. Big moments in Gothenburg #1: Lightning Bolt tear shit up at their one-only gig in Sweden! Amazing show by an outstanding band. Probably the hardest band I've seen since Slayer in Stockholm 1990.

02. Big moments in Gothenburg #2: meeting Blonde Redhead. Their show was truly amazing. I am still in love.

03. Satanic Surfers summer/fall tour. Never a dull moment.

04. Bistro (R.I.P.). The best hang-out for punks in Malmö.

05. The Office DVD box. David Brent for president!

06. Napoleon Dynamite. One of the best movies this year!

07. Great album releases this year: "Boredom and Terror" (The Intelligence), "RBG: Revolutionary But Gangsta" (Dead Prez), "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" (Modest Mouse), "Zulu" (Wrangler Brutes), "Milk Man" (Deerhoof), "Samhällets Fiende Nummer Ett" (Dödsdömd), "Audit in Progress" (Hot Snakes), "The New Human is Illegal" (Man's Best Friend/Sole), "The Forcefield Kids" (Passage), "Chewing on Glass & Other Miracle Cures" (Sixtoo), "Uh Huh Her" (PJ Harvey), "Sonic Nurse" (Sonic Youth), "Misery is a Butterfly" (Blonde Redhead), "Das Oath" (Das Oath), "We Make Beginnings" (The Je Ne Sais Quoi), "Arclight" (Silverbullit).

08. Party songs this year: "The Rat" (The Walkmen), "Assassin" (Lightning Bolt), "Turn off the Radio" (Dead Prez), "1-10" (Japanther), "Melody Lee" (The Damned), "Enemyline" (kaitO), "The Sweat Descends" (Les Savy Fav), "I Hate My Fucking Job" (MOTO), "Who The Fuck" (PJ Harvey), "Crazy Love" (Colder), "Eight Miles High" (Hüsker Dü), "Win/Win" (Year Future), "Vårdad Klädsel" (Kriminella Gitarrer), "We Make Beginnings" (The Je Ne Sais Quoi), "Float On" (Modest Mouse).

09. Making evil genius plans for Deleted Art. 2005 is ours.

10. Making new friends.


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

Jeez, where do I start? Robert works as a freelance graphic designer under the name rbrt.org and has probably designed quite a few of the websites you look at regularly, along with a number of album covers in your collection. He helps run the record label Deleted Art, whose catalogue includes releases from Hawnay Troof, Japanther, C.Aarmé, Threeminutepopsongs and his own band The New Mess. Besides that, he can also sometimes be found behind the drumkit with Satanic Surfers, too. What's he got planned for 2005? Who knows?
www.deletedart.org / rbrt.org / www.deletedart.org/newmess / www.badtasterecords.se/satanic

]]> Tue, 28 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25442-top-10s-for-2004-its-a-trap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25442-top-10s-for-2004-its-a-trap http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25442-top-10s-for-2004-its-a-trap#comments Top 10 albums of 2004 (in alphabetical order):

There has been a tremendous glut of fantastic music in 2004; too bad I never got a chance to hear it all. I've got a long list of acclaimed albums that I've yet to sink my teeth into and I have no doubt that this would turn out quite differently had I the time and opportunity to investigate them. So, keeping that in mind, here's my top picks for the year. Hope you like it!

01. Kristofer Åström - Loupita (Startracks)
Have I beaten this horse to death yet? Acoustic albums are inherently risky because your flaws and weaknesses are left totally exposed and that's exactly why this album works so well. There's nowhere to hide and Kristofer never falters: great songs and superb performances. The outstanding vocal work of up-and-coming singer/songwriter Britta Persson seals the deal. Absolutely sublime.
[purchase album]

02. Marit Bergman - Baby dry your eye (BMG)
There's a reason this is ending up on so many year-end lists: it's far and away the best pop album released in 2004. There's something so endearing and charming about Marit that she's just irresistible. And I'll be damned if "Adios Amigos" isn't one of the year's best singles.

03. C.Aarmé - s/t (Burning Heart/Carcrash/Epitaph)
Sharp and fierce, like a knife. No frills, just fury.

04. The End Will Be Kicks - If you see them tell them I love them (Chalksounds)
Mid-90s Norrland guitar rock resurrected! Dense melodies and brilliant guitar interplay are what make this one of the most immediate debuts in recent memory. There's more greatness in these four songs than in many band's whole discographies.

05. Fun - Szklarska poreba (If Society)
Sure, it's derivative of classic Chicago rock like Jesus Lizard/Rapeman/Big Black/etc., but those bands are gone now and nobody has come close to stepping up and taking their place. Until Fun. I knew these guys were awesome the moment I heard the first song I downloaded from their website.

06. Gåte - Iselilja (Warner Norway)
It's music like this that reminds me of why I started Itsatrap. Nordic folk is naturally heavy and powerful when electrified and Gåte knows how to achieve the perfect balance between the old and the new.

07. Peter, Bjorn and John - Falling out (Planekonomi)
This record caught me a bit off-guard by being much more of a downer than their self-titled debut. I was expecting power-pop anthems, but instead I got a somber, thoughtful concept album. The hooks are still huge and plentiful; they're just smarter and more mature. That also means they are not quite so immediate, however it makes them stronger and more satisfying in the end.
[purchase album]

08. Silverbullit - Arclight (NEG/BAM)
Thank goodness- a hugely anticipated album that not only meets expectations, but also exceeds them. This record took way too long to come out, but oh man, was it worth it. The sounds are rooted in 80s retro, but the overall feeling is anything but.

09. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Origin I (Telegram/Warner)
Album #4 and they're still going strong. This is classic rock, emphasis on classic.

10. Sophie Zelmani - Love affair (Columbia)
Such a great example of how music can be subdued and fragile, but still remain evocative and powerful. Think Emmylou Harris crossed with Stina Nordenstam.

Honorable mentions (Scandinavian):
01. Cult of Luna - Salvation (Earache)
02. Division of Laura Lee - Das not compute (Burning Heart/Epitaph)
03. Eskju Divine - Darkness all around (Imperial)
04. Giant Robot - Domesticity (Stupido)
05. José González - Stay in the shade (Imperial)
06. Sivert Høyem - Ladies and gentlemen of the opposition (Virgin Norway)
07. Koma - Tsunami (Blackstarfoundation/Fullsteam Recordings)
08. Meshuggah - I (Fractured Transmitter Records)
09. Stina Nordenstam - The world is saved (A Walk in the Park/V2)
10. Pan Sonic - Kesto (Mute)
11. David Sandström - The dominant need of the needy is to be needed (Mofab Teg)
12. The Solution - Communicate! (Wild Kingdom)
13. Tiger Lou - Is my head still on? (Startracks)
14. The Tiny - Close enough (Determine Records/Eyeball Records)
15. WE - Smugglers (Nun Music)

Honorable mentions (other):
01. Ben Christophers - The spaces in between (Cooking Vinyl)
02. Converge - You fail me (Epitaph)
03. Mare - s/t (Hydrahead)
04. The Paper Chase - God bless your black heart (Kill Rock Stars)
05. Woven Hand - Consider the birds (Glitterhouse/Sounds Familyre)

]]> Fri, 24 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12371 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12371 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12371#comments C.Aarmé reports that they've got seven new songs committed to tape and are working on a tour for February/March next year. Details soon.]]> Thu, 23 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25421-streaming-playlist-in-rotation http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25421-streaming-playlist-in-rotation http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25421-streaming-playlist-in-rotation#comments DATE ADDED : 11.28.04
LAUNCH : Real / Windows

Tracklist:
01. Tigerbombs - 1000 sparks
02. The Solution - Would you change your mind?
03. Peter, Bjorn and John - Tailormade
04. Desert Planet - Shadow of the assassin
05. Henrik Levy - The teacher
06. The Tiny - Closer
07. Kashmir - The aftermath
08. The Lionheart Brothers - The sun in my eyes
09. Wild Evil Entertainment Dept. - Nosebleed
10. Gåte - Rike rodenigår
11. The Soundtrack of Our Lives - Transcendental suicide
12. Silverbullit - Only gold
13. C.Aarmé - You're a dead box
14. WE - Smugglers

]]> Sun, 28 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800 articles podcast http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12835 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12835 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/12835#comments Skratch Magazine interviews Swedish punks C.Aarmé: http://www.epitaph.com/news/article.php?id=1838
The band is currently writing new material and working on tour plans.]]> Tue, 16 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13035 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13035 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13035#comments Rockfoto.nu is now updated with a proper concert calendar along with new pics of The Hives, The Soundtrack of Our Lives and C.Aarmé.]]> Mon, 01 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13583 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13583 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13583#comments Johan from Kid Commando has been enlisted by C.Aarmé to be their new bassist.]]> Tue, 21 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13773 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13773 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/13773#comments The Captain has left C.Aarmé.]]> Tue, 07 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14018 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14018 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14018#comments Check out the Epitaph Records e-card for C.Aarmé: http://www.epitaph.com/goodies/ecard.php?id=304]]> Wed, 18 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14153 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14153 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14153#comments C.Aarmé needs a manager?]]> Mon, 09 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14188 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14188 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14188#comments Carcrash Records will be released a limited edition vinyl version of C.Aarmé's amazing self-titled debut album in a few weeks. White vinyl and only 500 copies, so act fast if you want a copy.]]> Thu, 05 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14193 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14193 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14193#comments Burning Heart has a round-up of some of the great reviews C.Aarmé is getting in the US: http://www.burningheart.com/news/article.php?id=115]]> Wed, 04 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14408 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14408 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14408#comments While everyone seems to be oh so excited about the new Fiery Furnaces album that comes out today, it's really all about the C.Aarmé s/t CD now out in the US via Epitaph. Buy it so they'll bring the band over on tour, dammit.]]> Tue, 13 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14517 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14517 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14517#comments C.Aarmé vs. Wire: http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Jun-17-Thu-2004/24089217.html]]> Tue, 06 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25399-top-ten-first-half-2004 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25399-top-ten-first-half-2004 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25399-top-ten-first-half-2004#comments The summer is here and the solstice has passed, leaving us smack dab in the middle of the calendar. 'Bout time we took a look back, right? Back at the beginning of 2004 I declared it to be the year of the singer/songwriter and whaddya know - they make up the majority of the lists you're about to read. Lists? As in plural? Yup, while I count up my top album picks for the year so far (+ one EP), colleague Jim Kelly of Parasol chimes in with his top EP picks. So let's get to it! In no particular order...

Avi's top 10 albums of the year so far:

01. Sophie Zelmani - Love affair (Columbia)
Okay, so this technically came out in the final week of 2003, but as far as I'm concerned, it might as well be from 2004. Who the heck puts out a new album at that time anyways? Regardless of release date, it's a great record - quiet and understated and full of sweetness and beauty. It never quite whallops you over the head with it's positive qualities either, rather it slowly unfurls them like tentacles, slithering them into your brain.

02. David Sandström - The dominant need of the needy is to be needed (Mofab Teg)
Part of this album's appeal lies in its element of surprise. It's nothing like any of David's previous work with Refused and it really isn't much like his first solo album either. In no way did I expect something as folky as this. We're talking clever lyrics and good songs, the kind of stuff you can imagine playing around a campfire. A solid piece of work the whole way through.

03. Kristofer Åström - Loupita (Startracks)
Kristofer's last couple EP releases were good, but I was definitely not ready for how amazing "Loupita" is. I can't quite put my finger on what makes it so special though. Is it Mattias Friberg's (Logh) production? Britta Persson's guest vocals? The song selection themselves? I'm not sure, but the end result is amazing. I have no doubt that this will remain as one of my favorite albums for the entire year.

04. Tiger Lou - Is my head still on? (Startracks)
Startracks scores with yet another up-and-coming singer/songwriter. Tiger's earlier EPs never completely blew me away, but then I saw him live and was mightily impressed. Only then was I able to go back and listen to the older stuff with newfound appreciation. Something about hearing him play solo made me better understand what he was was about. Then this debut full-length came out and knocked me slack-jawed. The talent that was only hinted at from before finally became realized. Everything about him was stepped up a notch, be it the songwriting, the playing or the vocals. If he continues on like this, I think it's just the first step of what could be quite a career.

05. Sivert Høyem - Ladies and gentlemen of the opposition (EMI Norway)
With this record, Sivert faced the difficult job of distinguishing himself as a solo performer apart from his main act Madrugada. With a voice as distinctive as his, that's no easy task. But you know what? He succeeds, even outdoing that other band's more recent work. The mood is lighter and the songwriting is breezier and I think the excitement of doing something a bit different shines through. One can't wallow in gloom all the time, y'know. And that's not to say it's all sunshine either, there's still plenty of emotional depth, it's just conveyed differently. I knew I liked this record as soon as I first heard it, but it's getting even better with repeated listens. End-of-year contender? Yep.

06. The End Will Be Kicks - If you see them tell them I love them EP (Chalksounds)
As yes, my one EP pick of the lot. Niklas Quintana from Him Kerosene/Breach strikes back with a new band and kicks out the motherfucking jams. We're talking about huge intertwining guitar melodies, all done in Niklas' distinctive and unique style. Can I say best debut of 2004? My only complaint: it's only four songs long. More!

07. C.Aarmé - s/t (Burning Heart/Carcrash/Epitaph)
This album is simply vicious. Never once do they let up the full-throttle attack, from the moment they start to the very bitter end. So amazingly tight and energetic. I'm glad Epitaph had the good sense to license this for a US release as hopefully that means I'll get a chance to see 'em play live on these shores. Make it happen, dammit! Just don't send 'em out on a lame package tour. I'd feel bad for other sorry bands that'll be forced to follow them on stage night after night.

08. Koma - Tsunami (Black Star Foundation/Fullsteam Records)
I feel like a broken record I've said it so many times already, but this record truly surprised me. At first I was just like "meh, more mid-tempo heavy melodic rock - I guess the Ozzfest crowd is still into this stuff," but then I made myself go back for repeated listens and was justly rewarded. This is good stuff: epic riffs, melodic vocals, good melodies, huge choruses and plenty of true heaviness. It's amazing that so many bands try to do this stuff (ahem, see anything recent from Roadrunner Records) and fail so miserably, but goshdarnit, Koma figured it out.

09. Marit Bergman - Baby dry your eye (BMG)
Marit creates perfect pop albums. She's got heartfelt ballads, goofy pop singalongs and everything in between. As always, a lot of her appeal for me lies in her straightforward accessibility and simplicity. There is just something so basic, honest, sweet and heartfelt about her. I'd even go as far to say there's something timeless about her. It's the kind of pop music that transcends the era in which it's created, as the sentiments and ideas are the sorts of things that will never sound dated. But is it a classic? Let's talk in another few years.

10. KVLR - s/t (Stickman/It's a trap!)
If I didn't love this album so much, I wouldn't have put it out. Simple as that. Just like TEWBK, it's got everything I look for in the music I love: loud guitars, complex, yet delicate melodies, and pounding drums. Perfect.

Jim's top 10 EPs of the year so far:

01. Jens Lekman - Maples Leaves EP (Secretly Canadian/Service)
02. Jens Lekman - Rocky Dennis EP (Secretly Canadian/Service)
Twenty-two-year-old wunderkind songwriter Jens Lekman, the artist formerly known as Rocky Dennis, is the Swedish Scott Walker, the Scandinavian Morrissey, a Nordic Stephin Merritt, and the Arctic's very own Divine Comedy... Lusciously lofi orchestral pop bliss combines late-60's soft pop, lotsa piano, sampled beats and a sweet voice full of camp and heartbreaking melancholy and distinctive turns of phrase, morose to the point of paralysis or catharsis he hasn't sorted out which.

03. Eskju Divine - Darkness All Around EP (Imperial Recordings)
Debut of melodramatic pop otherworldliness from Eskju Divine, who have chosen to eschew guitar and focus on piano, bass and drums. That said you will not believe the heights of anthemic grandeur the band can attain without the axe. Names are being dropped like Coldplay, Ben Folds, and even classic U2, along with being likened to 70s symphonic pop, but that doesn't begin to explain the overwhelming, incandescence beauty of ED's massive, melodious soundscapes balanced with timeless pop and beautiful voices, ambitious arrangements clothed in sweltering reverb. Out of all these EPs this is the strongest and most enticing, as I suspect the album will be even huger.

04. José González - Stay In The Shade EP (Imperial Recordings)
The newest EP from acclaimed Swedish/Argentine minstrel whose debut album, "Veneer", garnered José comparisons to Nick Drake, Mark Kozelek, Elliott Smith, and Father & Son Buckley. "Stay In The Shade" is taken from "Veneer", while the two new songs, "Down The Hillside" and "Sensing Owls" are among his very best tunes to date. Also included is a lovely cover of Kylie Minogue's "Hand On Your Heart" and a long lush instrumental. José's a total genius, there's no getting around it.

05. Pete Thompson - Self-Titled EP (Johnny Brattom)
Starkly psychedelic Nordic folkrock masquerading as melancholy Americana? Like British soft-popper John Cunningham with a Neil Young infatuation, Pete's voice is warm like the sun, blazing in fact, and backed strummy acoustic guitars and luminous harmonies. The highlight here is the simply described "Folk Song", with it's muted accordion lead and gloriously subdued falsetto harmonies on the chorus. This one is all about moonlight.

06. Rundfunk - Kings & Queens EP (A Westside Fabrication)
Stockholm's Rundfunk offers dizzying electro-pop and technofunk grooves bombarded with squiggly synths and guitar, shaded with hip-hop, house, Latin and 70s AM radio pop. The single "Kings & Queens" is a singalong psychedelic pomp-romp, rivaling the Elephant 6 and Kindercopre rosters for sheer opiate-ability, and kitchensinkness, plus there's even a bagpipe solo. Encompasses everything from Stones Roses to Pet Shop Boys to Avalanches to Magnetic Fields, with a mood-enhancing beatboxing loosey-goosey-ness.

07. Hip Whips - s/t EP (Dubious/S56)
Incredible debut from Scandinavian soul-pop-rock outfit Hip Whips, an organ-saturated riot! Songs range from pulse-racing rave-ups to eyelash-fluttering ballads to languid, luminous psychedelia? What propels The Hip Whips is The Holy Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll and Blue-Eyed Soul burning incandescently within the heart of mainman Markus Lindmark. Lindmark sings, possessed by phantoms of eras long past and kicks the Hammond organ-overdrive (actually a huge old wooden Korg) so hard you can hear the beast's veneers creaking and wheezing. while the rhythm section artfully swaggers or strolls, depending on their mood. Think Spencer Davis Group, ? And The Mysterians, The Stones, Procol Harum, Van Morrison. But what really sets Hip Whips apart is the most loving homage to late sixties recording values (or lack thereof?). It is such a freakin' timewarp, it is so very very very 1967 that it does not even qualify as "retro". A seance of classic rock, soul, and pop. Probably this came out in 2003, but new to me in 2004, and more likely qualifies as a mini-album with 9 tracks, although a couple are lovely little between-song interludes. But who cares?

08. Eric Beyond - Step Off EP (Flora & Fauna/Idiotwind)
Sir Eric Beyond redefines twee. Known as The Most Sensitive Guy In Stockholm, an eccentric singer-songwriter-nature-lover from Stockholm, has finally released his debut EP. Upon first listen there's no doubt Eric deserves the title. The four songs feature Eric's meek and moving, teensy tiny popsongs sung in his exquisitely squeaky falsetto (Beyond, indeed)? EP features guest appearances from Nina Persson (The Cardigans) and Ludvig Rylander (The Concretes, The Chrysler, Moder Jords Massiva), among others. The title track's chorus features one of the best listener double-takes of all time! Old highschool pal Nina Persson joins Eric for a duet on "Prom Night" and I had no idea Nina could sing so high! Or is that Eric?

09. David & The Citizens - Bill Chill EP (Adrian Recordings)
Bear Quartet vocalist Mattias Alkberg joins David & The Citizens for this brand new tune, "Big Chill", a guitar-pop romp with a rollicking punk edge. A great way for BQ fans to check out D+TC and vice versa. A mutual appreciation society might result. The EP also features an alternate version of "Let's Not Fall Apart" (with pal Sara Culler on background vocals), plus two exclusive tunes, both rather Belle & Sebastian-esque: "Everything You'll Never See" employs a dramatic trumpet while "Kellerman's Song" gently weeps. One of Sweden's best pop bands? Nifty fold out poster sleeve.

10. Monkeystrikes - Angry Knees EP (Planekonomi)
Simmering guitar-rock with a defiantly sultry swing from Stockholm's Monkeystrikes, like Blondie meets Babes In Toyland meets Bikini Kill, with some extremely feverish production. Monkeystrikes feature former members of The Souls, including vocalist-guitarist Cecelia Nordlund, who unveils an intensity bordering on immolation, what with her smoldering riffs and vocal pyrotechnics. For fans of high-octane action like Sahara Hotnights, the searing sensuality of The Cardigans, and fiery Pixies-styled riff-and-lick-blasts? "Lost On The Lawn" is my favorite here, and it, in keeping with the theme of heat and combustion, just explodes. Beautifully designed digipak...orange.

]]> Wed, 23 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 articles top10s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14732 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14732 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14732#comments In what's looking to be one of the best festival lineups in Sweden this summer (IMO, of course), the Blow Up a Panda Festival has now added [ingenting], The Baboon Show, Shout Out Louds, Unisex, Sons Of Cyrus and The Knife and Ape to the lineup. Other acts already confirmed include KVLR, Ellis the Vacuumchild, Tiger Lou, Last Days of April, Switchblade, Suburban Kids with Biblical Names, The End Will Be Kicks, C.Aarmé and more. So who wants to fly me out? Details: http://www.blowupapanda.se/]]> Mon, 14 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14801 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14801 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14801#comments Staffan Hellstrand, Cult of Luna, Dan Viktor, Captain Murphy, The Perishers, C.Aarmé, Rundfunk and Ulf Stureson have been added to the Trästock Festival lineup.]]> Tue, 08 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14959 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14959 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14959#comments Head over to C.Aarmé's website for some video footage from their record release show at Pustervik earlier this year as well as some photos from their recent tour activities in Germany and France: http://c.aarme.lofi.org/]]> Thu, 27 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14994 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14994 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/14994#comments It's official - Epitaph Records will release C.Aarmé's excellent self-titled debut album in the US on July 13. Tour?]]> Tue, 25 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25398-interview-niklas-quintana-the-end-will-be-kicks http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25398-interview-niklas-quintana-the-end-will-be-kicks http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25398-interview-niklas-quintana-the-end-will-be-kicks#comments As soon as I heard that Niklas Quintana had a new band going, I was stoked. Having been a huge fan of both Him Kerosene and Breach, I couldn't wait to hear what he'd do next. And of course, I was not let down. The new "If you see them tell them I love them" MCD on Chalksounds is brilliant. So it's with great pleasure that I was able to have Niklas answer me a few quick questions via email. Here goes...

01. It's been awhile since Him Kerosene and Breach ended. What have you been doing since then? Did you spend a lot of time between projects or did you always have new music being worked on?
Tomas Turunen have been working on an album with a band called Neveres which also includes our guitarist Lasse Holmberg. I just to a break from music after we decided to kill both HK and Breach.

02. How did everyone in TEWBK come together?
I've been playing with Tomas in both HK and Breach and I, Lasse and Emil Sandsten (bass) shared a flat in Stockholm for a while. Since not one of us was playing at the time, we started to rehearse just for fun. It came out really good and we decided to record some songs.

03. How did you come up with the band's sound?
It's something that came naturally. Kind of a mix of everything we like to listen to.

04. Tell me about the new record. How do you think people will react to it? How do you want them to react?
Hopefully people will react the same way we do when we listen to it. we love it. There's a lot of 80's style music out at the moment so maybe some people will think we're out of style, but we couldn't care less. This is the kind of music we love.

05. How has the response been for the live shows you've done?
We've only done like four shows so far but I think the response has been good taking in count that nothing had been released at the time. Also we've been blessed with a lot of good friends that have helped to fill the floors.

06. How'd you guys hook up with Chalksounds?
We've been friends with Magnus for a long time and he also released the Him Kerosene EP "no mend no repair".

07. You've been playing in bands for quite some time. Any important lessons that you learned along the way?
We're still idiots. Maybe not as a naive as we once were.

08. Any advice for up-and-coming musicians you'd like to pass along?
I dont think we've ever done anything right so we're not the ones to ask. but a lesson learned is to not trust people in the music biz. A classic. Do what you do for yourself and people who like music.

09. What kind of stuff have you been listening to recently? Any recommendations?
There's a lot of good music out there so this is hard. The list could go on forever. personally I'm in a period where I listen to a lot of older stuff like Valentine and Sonic Youth. And of course Blonde Redhead, Interpol, Riddle of Steel, Radiohead, The Smiths, The Cure, Johnny Cash, Morbid Angel, The Bear Quartet, Pixies, Aphex Twin and loads of other stuff. Also there's a new swedish band called C.Aarmé that really great. This is always a fun question to answer.

10. What's next? Tell me about your plans for the future.
We are doing a few festivals this summer and writing and recording as much as we can for the forthcoming album.

]]> Thu, 29 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15419 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15419 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15419#comments Bands confirmed for the Blow Up a Panda Festival at Gula Villan in Haninge on July 31 - August 1: Tiger Lou, Phoenix Undead, The Steroids, Last Days Of April, Hank, The Sunshine, Twopointeight, Switchblade, The High Heeled Honeys, The End Will Be Kicks, Voice Of A Generation, Sparks Of Seven, C.Aarmé and The Legends. More info: http://www.blowupapanda.se/]]> Mon, 26 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25414-streaming-playlist-guest-dj-kal-strom http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25414-streaming-playlist-guest-dj-kal-strom http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25414-streaming-playlist-guest-dj-kal-strom#comments GUEST DJ : Kal Ström of Dagensskiva

DATE ADDED : 04.16.04
LAUNCH : [stream no longer available]

01. Marit Bergman - Tomorrow is Today
02. Laakso - Good Weather, Stormy Love
03. C.Aarmé - Tu Puta Mi Casa
04. Mattias Alkberg BD - Haparanda Here We Come
05. David Sandström - Leni leni
06. [ingenting] - Syster dyster
07. CDOASS - The Correct Use of Failure
08. Lars Horntveth - Tics
09. Damn! - Superpower
10. Chick Habit - Bullshit Radio
11. Jon F. Kennedy - Post Traumatic Stress

]]> Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700 articles podcast http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15618 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15618 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15618#comments Updates tourdates for C.Aarmé:

04/15 - Studenttorsdag, Mondo, Stockholm
04/22 - Gump, Göteborg
04/23 - Stones, Kalmar Nation, Uppsala w/Cato Salsa Experience
04/24 - Pub bastun, Mariehamn, Åland (FIN)
04/28 - Kafé 44, Stockholm w/The Je Ne Sais Quoi
04/29 - Shindig, Effes, Visby
04/30 - Congero, Västervik w/Gentle Act Incident
05/06 - Hafenklang, Hamburg (GER) w/Kid Commando
05/07 - Scheune, Dresden (GER)
05/08 - Mikrokosmos, Magdeburg (GER)
05/09 - K4, Nürnberg (GER) w/The Sainte Catherines
05/11 - Backstage Club, Munich (GER) w/Standstill
05/14 - Jugendzentrum Crocodile, Wutha/Farnroda (GER) w/Tokyo Sex Destruction
05/15 - Schalchthof, Wiesbaden (GER) w/Standstill
05/16 - K-19, Kassel (GER) w/Standstill
05/17 - Tommy-Weissbecker-Haus, Berlin (GER) w/Disfear
06/17 - Hultsfredsfestivalen, Hultsfred
07/08-10 - Peace & Love 2004, Borlänge
07/15-17 - Arvikafestivalen, Arvika
08/06-07 - Augustibuller, Lindesberg

All dates are in Sweden, unless specified otherwise.]]> Wed, 14 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15632 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15632 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15632#comments I haven't really seen any official confirmation yet, but I hear that Epitaph will be releasing C.Aarmé's excellent self-titled CD in the US at some point in the future.]]> Tue, 13 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15797 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15797 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/15797#comments New names on the Arvika Festival lineup: Marit Bergman, Her Majesty, Olle Ljungström, Universal Poplab, Allied Vision, Spektralized, Sturm Café, Strip Music, Seventribe, The Accidents and C.Aarmé.]]> Mon, 29 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0800 news