Artist: Cortex

Country: Sweden
Genre: Postpunk/Goth/New Wave
http://www.freddiewadling.net/
http://www.myspace.com/freddiewadling
Reviews: Shark boys die hard (mp3) / Safe in the dark (mp3) / Animals (...looking at me) (mp3) / Arkham (mp3)
Viewing posts 16-30 out of 30

MP3: The Leather Nun - No rule

Freddie Wadling has been a Göteborg mainstay for many, many years. I've covered Cortex before, but he also did time in early punk acts such as Liket Lever and Straightjackets and various other influential acts such as The Leather Nun (today's featured mp3), Blue for Two, Fläskkvartetten/Fleshquartet, not to mention his work as a solo artist and more recently, with the group Mother. And that doesn't even touch on his work in other arenas, such as the stage. So yeah, a busy guy with a vast discography. While I appreciate a huge swath of his work, I'm definitely drawn more to his earlier material. Naturally, Cortex is a huge favorite (easily my #1 Swedish postpunk band), but I also really like The Leather Nun, especially their debut record "Slow death". This is proto goth rock, stripped raw and angry. They do sometimes exhibit some of the theatrics inherit in the genre, but you'd never know it by hearing "No rule", a revved-up fury of a track. More Misfits than Bauhaus, if you know what I mean. The band would later polish up quite a bit on subsequent recordings though they never were able to top the debut in my mind. A certified classic, if you ask me.

The Leather Nun - No rule

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

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

Check out the video for Freddie Wadling's (Cortex, Blue For Two, etc.) cover of "Let's dance" by David Bowie: http://youtube.com/watch?v=bTSztPm3D5s
Said track appears on the soundtrack to Pernille Fischer Christensen's film "Dansen".

MP3: The Kid - Mayhem troopers

Hi, my name is Avi and I'm an idiot. Here's the excellent new single from The Kid. It's a Cortex cover.
(yes, there was a different post here before, but it has been removed due to my embarrassment)

The Kid - Mayhem troopers

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

01. Annika Norlin/Säkert! - Generalens visa
02. TALK 1
03. Downstairs - Legs for arms
04. Dmitry Fyodorov - 1b-1
05. Northern Fields - Never take the beauty
06. TALK 2
07. Barra Head - Undermine
08. Fläskkvartetten - Som glas (ft. Nina Persson)
09. Benea Reach - New waters
10. TALK 3
11. Firefox AK - Winter rose (Tellevika remix)
12. Dansdepartementet - Svarta brev
13. Randy - Little toulouse
14. TALK 4
15. Britta Persson - At 7
16. M:40 - Brännmärkt
17. Mechanical Bird - Martha
18. TALK 5
19. Marvins Revolt - Multiple fractures
20. The Drawbacks - Straight lines & circles
21. Isolation Years - Say-nothing day
22. Christian Kjellvander - Poppies and peonies
23. TALK 6
24. Little Dragon - Recommendation
25. FAP - Sjömannen
26. Cortex - Animals (...looking at me)
27. TALK 7
28. Ulf Ljusberg - Whatever was
29. Mayhem - Deathcrush
30. Alog - St.Paul sessions II
31. TALK 8
32. Tigerbombs - 1000 sparks
33. Mainliners - Bourbon and ice
34. Mando Diao - San Francisco Bay
35. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer
36. TALK 9
37. Matts Katt - Refused was fucking murdered

Check out Mother, a new all-star acoustic project of sorts featuring contributions from Monika Törnell, Freddie Wadling (Cortex, Fläskkvartetten), Karin Wistrand (Lolita Pop) and others: http://www.myspace.com/mothersongs

Blue for Two, the duo of Fredrik Wadling (Cortex) and Henryk Lipp (known for his production work with Thåström, Millencolin, Håkan Hellström, among others), have a new website: http://www.bluefortwo.com/
Check the music section for a sample from their forthcoming album.

Here's the playlist for this week's radio show, a special feature on 80s punk/postpunk:

01. Cortex - Warrior night
02. TALK 1
03. Docent Död - Solglasögon
04. Dansdepartementet - Wankers!
05. Camouflage - Syster sol
06. TALK 2
07. Di Leva - The single man
08. The Leather Nun - No rule
09. Lolita Pop - Salta diamanter
10. TALK 3
11. Ståålfågel - Något senare
12. Secret Service - A flash in the night
13. Tant Strul - Hela mitt guld
14. TALK 4
15. Kitchen & the Plastic Spoons - Happy funeral
16. Reeperbahn - Främling
17. KSMB - Jag vill dö
18. TALK 5
19. En Halvkokt i Folie - Röda rattor
20. Dom Dummaste - John
21. Unter Den Linden - Film noir
22. TALK 6
23. Ebba Grön - 800°
24. Black Uniforms - F.O.A.D.
25. Lustans Lakejer - Begärets dunkla mål
26. TST - No government
27. TALK 7
28. Sator Codex - Leech
29. Strasse - A stairway to you
30. TT Reuter - 2000 år
31. Syster Lycklig - Drömgränd
32. TALK 8
33. Odd Stories - Dance
34. Stadion Der Jugend - Väktare av mörkret
35. Samedi - Between two hearts
36. TALK 9
37. Ur Kaos - Loved missile
38. Adolphson & Falk - Blinker blå
39. Abcess Exil - Hav av hat
40. Commando M Pigg - Att kasta spjut
41. TALK 10
42. Cortex - Arkham

It's not quite as cool as a proper Cortex reissue, but MNW is putting out a 2CD Freddie Wadling (Fläskkvartetten, Blue For Two, etc.) compilation on December 27 as part of their ever-expanding Klassiker series.

Here's the playlist for this week's special spooky/scary Halloween edition radio show:

01. TALK 1
02. Entombed - Hollywood Babylon
03. ARM - Humming bug
04. Camouflage - Oktober
05. TALK 2
06. Notre Dame - Red Cross
07. Sanctum - Lie low
08. Bay Laurel - Pale colours
09. TALK 3
10. At the Gates - Blinded by fear
11. Frode Haltli - Lude
12. Brighter Death Now - Little baby
13. Death Breath - Lycanthropy
14. TALK 4
15. Breach - Mr. Marshall
16. The Skull Defekts - Carved in bones
17. The Cardigans - Mr. Crowley
18. TALK 5
19. Diabolique - Catholic
20. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Masks, walls and other ways to keep things out, to keep things in
21. The Bear Quartet - Broken heart
22. Mercyful Fate - Come to the Sabbath
23. TALK 6
24. Beyond Dawn - Cigarette
25. Pimentola - Heart's dementia (Phase I)
26. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
27. TALK 7
28. MZ412 - Infernal affairs II
29. Satyricon - Nemesis divina
30. Switchblade - Selfdestruct schematics / Open aftermath
31. TALK 8
32. Rasion D'etre - Metamorphyses Phase IV
33. Cortex - We are the dead
34. TALK 9
35. Emperor - I am the Black Wizards

The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. TALK 1
02. Repoman - Chemically obsessed
03. Moder Jords Massiva - Vapen
04. Kornstad Trio - Intornette
05. TALK 2
06. Ghost Brigade - Autoemotive
07. Rather Sound Than Safe - The beat
08. September - My neighbourhood
09. TALK 3
10. Ebba Grön - 800°
11. Torpedo - My evil twin
12. Jonna Lee - Dried out eyes
13. TALK 4
14. Marvins Revolt - Bugs in time
15. Pimentola - Death is a secret
16. Nils Berg - Sailors fighting in the dance hall
17. TALK 5
18. Lampshade - By and by I come
19. Midnight Choir - Will you carry me across the water
20. Moonbabies - Walking on my feet
21. TALK 6
22. Candlemass - Elephant star
23. Front and the Factory Lies Beneath - Under a black sun
24. Cortex - Warrior night (live)
25. TALK 7
26. The Grizzly Twister - This city is a halo
27. New Decade - I guess you ran from something
28. The Grand Opening - Don't drop off
29. TALK 8
30. The Bear Quartet - I'm still her
31. Paper - My life is going under
32. Darkthrone - Wisdom of the dead
33. Detektivbyrån - Nattöppet
34. TALK 9
35. Mob - Ghost track
36. Fare You Well - Deceiving eyes
37. TALK 10

The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Timo Räisänen - My valentine
02. TALK 1
03. Torpedo - From Russia with love
04. Desert Planet - Breakout button
05. Ebba Grön - Mamma pappa barn
06. TALK 2
07. The End Will Be Kicks - Don Johnson
08. Skywriter - Where both worlds never meet
09. Skull Defekts - The secret
10. TALK 3
11. Tsukimono - Tokyo OEast
12. Kristin Asbjørnsen - Trying to get home
13. Enemy Alliance - Government subsidized ghetto
14. TALK 4
15. The Indecision Alarm - Where every fucking dream is killed
16. Dismember - Soon to be dead
17. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Moments
18. TALK 5
19. Kristofer Åström - All in
20. Pan Sonic - Virta 1
21. Ulver - Of wolf and fear
22. TALK 6
23. Mainliners - Olivia
24. 120 Days - Let me come down
25. Universal Poplab - 60 is the new 40
26. TALK 7
27. Dag Vag - Popitop
28. The Bombettes - Lust is the new black
29. Breach - Big strong boss
30. TALK 8
31. CS Nielsen - Black spots
32. Tape - Sand dunes
33. The Psyke Project - For us to see for us to help
34. TALK 9
35. Cortex - Shark boys die hard
36. Viola - I don't know how to party
37. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
38. TALK 10
39. Broder Daniel - What clowns are we

MP3: Cortex - Arkham

I've been accumulating so much amazing early 80s Swedish postpunk these past few months, I could probably spend every Friday talking about it for the rest of the year. In fact, I'm quite tempted to do just that. Today's band: Cortex, the band that Freddie Wadling fronted after Liket Lever and Straitjackets. His other band The Leather Nun acheived far more widespread success (mostly after he left the group), but I find Cortex to be a far better band. On the other hand, today's song "Arkham" is definitely not their best material, but who can resist musical references to HP Lovecraft? In film, that's a whole different story - for the love of god, don't ever see "Cthulhu" should someone be dumb enough to finance a proper release, even on DVD. This fact alone is probably telling: Tori Spelling is the best thing about the movie. I saw the premiere and people practically ran from the theater to avoid the Q&A with the writer and director. Anyhow, back to Cortex... Unsurprisingly, the band's later material such as 1986's "You can't kill the boogeyman" (from which this song comes) tends to be overproduced and drenched in 80s excess, but I think their talent still shines through in this extended dirge. "A dream for some / A nightmare to others / Like a dream within a dream" Awesome.

Cortex - Arkham

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

Profile: The Kid