The new Kiki Pau album "Pines", now available for streaming/purchase via Bandcamp and SoundCloud. Recorded by Kia Sofia in Helsinki and then sent to Stockholm to be mixed by Gustav Ejstes of Dungen. I haven't listened yet myself, but the tracklist promises four long songs which is quite a departure from the band's previous work, so I'm definitely intrigued.

A brand new jam from Finnish act Kiki Pau off their forthcoming album which was mixed by Gustav Ejstes (Dungen) and is due out in June. This particular tune however is self-mixed and somewhat different from how the rest of the record will sound.

Better late than never, Dungen finally got around to making themselves a video for the tune "Blandband".

Songs (SWE):
Rytmen i natten - Riddarna
80 vårar - Mattias Alkberg
När nätterna når hamn - Jörgen Kjellgren
Du och Jag - Alf
Stanna klocka stanna - Bob Hund
Next to You - Dante
Museum - Thus: Owls
Redan glömda - Jonathan Johansson
New directions - Jens Lekman
Fish band - Syket

Albums:
The Head And The Heart - The Head And The Heart
Active Child - You are all I see
Big Deal - Lights Out
Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
J Mascis - Several shades of why
Ryan Adams - Ashes and fire
Lanterns On The Lake - Gracious tide take me home
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
120 Days - II
John Maus - We must become the pitiless censors of ourselves

Songs:
Big Pink - Stay gold
Friends - I'm his girl
Bon Iver - I can't make you love me / Nick of time
Burial / Four Tet / Thom Yorke - Mirror
Tame Impala - Remember Me
Is Tropical - Zombie
M83 - Wait
Modeselktor / Thom Yorke - Shipwreck
Bombay Bicycle Club - Lights out, words gone
The Joy Formidable - Austere

Videos:

Fish band - Syket

Hej då - Riddarna

Stockholm - Jonathan Johansson

Släpp taget - Alexis Weak

Tody Motmot - Elias Krantz

Looking forward to:

Album releases from: Riddarna, Sailor & I, Existensminimum, Kent.
Like to hear new tunes from: Sonjagon, Ruset, Pascal, Framtiden, Korea Campfire, Dungen, TSOOL, Karl X Johan, Ít's a Bird it's a Plane, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, Anna von Hausswolff and Dr Alban

---------------------------
http://www.kvalitat.com/

A preview of the new Lena Philipsson single "Nästa säsong", written by Björn Olsson and Kaah and produced by Mattias Glavå (Anna Järvinen, Broder Daniel, Joel Alme, etc.). Lena's as-yet-untitled upcoming album will be out on November 30 and boasts a diverse cast of other cowriters, including Veronica Maggio, Christian and Vanessa Falk, Kleerup, Kaah, Dungen, Mauro Scocco and Markus Krunegård.

The YouTube e-card for the new Anna Järvinen album "Anna själv tredje" which, as you will hear, was recorded with dudes from Dungen and The Amazing. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHwfiz_lPbM

Dungen - Skit i allt
Paleface - Helsinki – Shangri-La
Frisk Frugt - Dansktoppen møder Burkina Faso i det himmelblå rum hvor solen bor, suite
Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
Robyn - Body talk
Jónsi - Go Do
Efterklang - Magic Chairs
Serena Maneesh - S-M 2: Abyss in B Minor
The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a scheme
Ólöf Arnalds - Innundir skinni
Kvelertak - Kvelertak
First Aid Kit - The big black & the blue

The winner will be announced during by:Larm in Oslo February 17-19. More here: http://nordicmusicprize.com/

1. Pascal - Orkanen närmar sig
Pascal is getting better all time and their third album is all I hoped it would be. Cave rock at it's best!
http://www.kyssmig.com/

2. The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
I loved their first album and was quite disappointed with their second so i am very glad to hear they are back in great form.
http://www.theblackangels.com/

3. Wolf People - Tidings
I got all these singles/EPs and have loved them to bits but it's great to have them collected in one place. Don't miss out on this. Also check out "Steeple", their proper debut album.
http://www.wolfpeople.co.uk/

4. This Is Head - 0001
A more or less perfect debut album. Great stuff.
http://www.thisishead.com/

5. Archie Bronson Outfit - Coconut
Fine mix of psychedelic garage rock, swaggering grooves, stabbing riffs, and gouging pop hooks.
http://www.archiebronsonoutfit.com/

6. Clinic - Bubblegum
I've been a Clinic fan since day one and i really like this softer and poppier sound.
http://www.clinicvoot.org/

7. Riddarna - Släpp allt, glöm allt!
Riddarna (The Knights) are a trio from Gotland/Gothenburg in Sweden and they are best described like Dungen's obnoxious country cousins born and bred on stoner-rock. In other words, loudmouth rock'n'roll in Swedish that sounds quite unique. Great debut EP.
http://www.riddarna.com/blog/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1-vu-l9aaE

8. The Bear Quartet - Monthy Python
Not being a big BQ fan from the beginning I was surprised how great their album "89" was and now when they follow it up with this it is even better.
http://www.thebearquartet.com/

9. Mattias Alkberg - Nerverna
A quite dark and beautiful album.
http://www.mabd.se/

10. 2011 (Paper and Katharina Nuttall)
As always, stuff I have listened to and enjoyed immensly won't be released until next year. Paper will release a fantastic second album called "Mischmash" and Katharina Nuttall will release her third called "Turn me on". Both fantastic in their own ways. Also, Riddarna will release their debut album and Pascal a new EP. How could I not long for next year.
http://www.myspace.com/paperstockholm
http://www.katharinanuttall.com/

---------------------------
Daggan runs Novoton Records who will be doing a bunch of stuff in 2011 as outlined in #10 above.
http://www.novoton.se/

Best album:
Håkan Hellström - 2 Steg Från Paradise
Oskar Linnros - Vilja Bli
Robyn - Body Talk
Säkert! - Facit
The Radio Dept. - Clinging To a Scheme

Best artist:
Håkan Hellström
Johnossi
Oskar Linnros
Petter
Robyn

Best song:
Anna Bergendahl - This Is My Life
Daniel Adams-Ray - Gubben I Lådan
Eric Saade - Manboy
Erik Grönwall - Higher
Johnossi - What's The Point
Mohombi - Bumpy Ride
Oskar Linnros - Från Och Med Du
Robyn - Dancing On my Own
Salem Al Fakir - Keep On Walking
Swedish House Mafia – One

Best group:
Dungen - Skit I Allt
Hästpojken - Från Där Jag Ropar
Johnossi - Mavericks
Kent - En Plats I Solen
The Radio Dept. - Clinging To A Scheme

Best folk/visa:
Blandade Artister - Sonja Åkesson Tolkad Av
First Aid Kit - The Big Black & The Blue
Jonas Knutsson - Blåslåtar
Ola Magnell - Rolös
Toni Holgersson - Ibland Kallar Jag Det Kärlek

Best hardrock/metal:
Ghost - Opus Eponymous
Khoma - A Final Storm
Pascal - Orkanen Närmar Sig
Sabaton - Coat Of Arms
Watain - Lawless Darkness

Best jazz:
Dan Berglunds Tonbruket - Tonbruket
Goran Kajfes - X/Y
Magnus Carlson & The Moon Ray Quintet - Echoes
Oddjob - Clint
Peter Asplund Quartet - Asplund Meets Bernstein

Best songwriter:
Annika Norlin & Henrik Oja - Facit
Håkan Hellström - 2 Steg Från Paradise
Klas Åhlund & Robyn - Body Talk
Oskar Linnros - Vilja Bli
Pernilla Andersson - Ö

Best female artist:
Anna Von Hausswolff - Singing FromThe Grave
Britta Persson - Current Affair Medium Rare
Pernilla Andersson - Ö
Robyn - Body Talk
Säkert! - Facit

Best male artist:
Daniel Adams-Ray - Svart Vitt Och Allt Däremellan
Håkan Hellström - 2 Steg Från Paradise
Oskar Linnros - Vilja Bli
Salem Al Fakir - Ignore This
The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt

Best newcomer:
Anna Von Hausswolff - Singing From The Grave
Ceo - White Magic
First Aid Kit - The Big Black & The Blue
Oskar Linnros - Vilja Bli
Swedish House Mafia - Until One

Best producer:
Adrian Lux
Joakim Åhlund & Håkan Hellström
Klas Åhlund
Max Martin
Red One

Best international success:
Dungen
Max Martin
Red One
Robyn
Swedish House Mafia

Best lyrics:
Annika Norlin - Facit
Håkan Hellström - 2 Steg Från Paradise
Ola Magnell - Rolös
Oskar Linnros - Vilja Bli
Plura Jonsson - Kärlekens Väg - En Mässa

Best urban/dance:
Boeoes Kaelstigen - Tanum Teleport
Familjen - Mänskligheten
Petter - En Räddare I Nöden
PH3 - PH3 Löser Ett Fall
Swedish House Mafia - Until One

Best Innovator:
Johnossi
Robyn
Nomy
Magnus Weideskog
Iamamiwhoami

Winners will be announced at a ceremony at Kungliga Operan in Stockholm on January 17.

01. www.kvalität.com is online

02. Songs:
Uphill – Korea Campfire
Marken låg stilla – Dungen
Meet a bear – Britta Persson
Måne över Fårösund – Pascal
Whan we go to war – Tobias Fröberg
Play the world – Nina Kinert
David – The Radio Dept.

03. Albums:
0001 – This is Head
Singing from the grave – Anna von Hausswolff
Shallow grave – The Tallest Man on Earth
Clinging to a scheme – The Radio Dept.
Bigfield – Harald Björk
Glöm allt, Släpp allt EP - Riddarna

04. Videos:

05. Newcomers of the year:
Ruset – www.myspace.com/ruset
Hjärtat - www.myspace.com/makemefeelnothing
Riddarna - www.myspace.com/riddarna

06. Kvalität hope 2011 will bring:
Albums from Sonjagon, Ruset, Sibling Sense, Hjärtat, Existensminimum, Pascal and Dr. Alban.

---------------------------
Kvalität is a live music video site based in Sweden.
http://www.kvalitat.com/

01. Robyn - Body talk pt.2
02. Robyn - Body talk pt.1
03. Oskar Linnros - Vilja bli
04. Darin - Lovekiller
05. Drifters - Stanna hos mig
06. Kent - En plats i solen
07. Anne-Lie Rydé - Dans på rosor
08. Pernilla Andersson - Ö
09. Mikael Wiehe - Ta det tillbaka!
10. Dungen - Skit i allt
11. Lisa Nilsson - 20 - En jubileumssamling
12. Stefan Sundström - 5 dagar i Augusti
13. Melissa Horn - Säg ingenting till mig
14. Britta Persson - Current affair medium rare
15. Lasse Stefanz - Texas
16. Eric Saade - Masquerade
17. Hoffmaestro & Chraa - The storm
18. Sonic Syndicate - We rule the night
19. Lars Winnerbäck - Tänk om jag ångrar mig och sen ångrar mig igen
20. Brolle - Best of

11/13 - Whelans, Dublin, Ireland
11/14 - The Academy, Birmingham
11/15 - The Roadhouse, Manchester
11/16 - The Academy, Islington, London

Oh, hey -- a new Dungen video! I still prefer The Amazing and probably always will, but this song is still pretty chill. Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt5PRQTh1K4

01. Håkan Hellström - Kann ingen sorg för mig Göteborg
02. TALK 1
03. Enforcer - Katana
04. Existensminimum - 1993
05. Ludwig Bell - Kärlek slutar alltid med bråk
06. TALK 2
07. Karla-Therese Kjellvander & The Rockridge Brothers - New season
08. Lapko - Summer nights
09. CEO - No mercy
10. Night Minutes - Lord I can never be your mirror
11. TALK 3
12. Dungen - Marken låg stille
13. My Brother the Wind - Electric universe
14. Rigas den Andre - W.A.S.P. (R2 remix)
15. TALK 4
16. Waklevören - Oslo spy
17. Okkultokrati - Tail of the snakewind
18. Haust - Vomiting
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.

01. Robyn
02. Familjen
03. Oskar Linnros
04. The Drums
05. Jens Lekman
06. Efterklang
07. The National
08. Shout Out Louds
09. Dungen
10. Bob Hund

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

05/30 - Euroculted, Manchester
05/31 - Luminaire, London

Roskilde is undoubtedly the Holy Grail of Northern European summer festivals. It takes place close to the synonymous small Danish town, situated in the outskirts of Copenhagen. The festival opens its doors on the last Sunday in June with various warm-up gigs and events. The main programme kicks-off on Thursday and lasts until Sunday. More than 100,000 music lovers, volunteers, media, artists and merchants gather up in order to partake in this unique musical experience. The first-ever Roskilde took place in 1971 and was organized by two high school students and a promoter. Over the years it has grown so much it has become a point of reference in Scandinavia and one of the four largest festivals in the whole of Europe. Nowadays there are more than 170 bands playing on seven stages, of which the Orange Stage is the largest.

The weather this year was gorgeous, which had a direct impact on the mood of the hordes of aviator sunglasses-wearing, über-trendy Danes. Sun cream, Thai food and billions of liters of beer were consumed, while queuing up for attractions such as the "Human carwash"... The line-up consisted of names as big as Coldplay, Oasis, Pet Shop Boys, Slipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More and countless others. I am going to keep my lips sealed as far as these acts are concerned, since this is not the reason for which you are reading this website. Please look elsewhere if you really want to know about Chris Martin's improved Danish language skills!

Day One

Mew's gig at Arena, the second largest festival stage, is the one I was looking forward to the most at this festival. This is a great comeback after four years of silence since their critically acclaimed album "And the glass handed kites". Everybody is so eager and impatient to see them again on stage; there must be more than 15,000 people in the audience. And it is worth the wait. This is a smashing gig! They deliver glorious performances of "Am I wry? No", "Apocalypso", "156", "Circuitry of the wolf" and "White lips kissed" among others. They also give us a taste of what's yet to come with the new single "Introducing palace players". Magic atmosphere and gigantic sing-alongs, during the course of an easily won home game. The new album with the unusually long title – deep breath - "No more stories are told today, I'm sorry they washed away. No more stories, the world is grey, I'm tired, let's wash away", is out on August 25th and should be one of the most promising releases of the year.

Later on, DJ/producer Trentemøller is headlining the Orange Stage. This undisputed national hero successfully manages to please the masses with a longer-than-two-hour set. His performance is ranging from blatant mainstream to more peculiar sounds and mixed up tunes by Soft Cell, The Cure, Bruce Springsteen, Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Britney Spears and, in the spirit of times, Michael Jackson. His onstage guests include Steen Jørgensen formerly from veteran Danish rockers Sort Sol, blues starlet Marie Fisker and most notably, Mikael Simpson. A crowd of 50,000 engages in a massive techno dance on an unforgettable summer evening.

Day Two

The morning after I head down to Astoria to listen to Faroese Orka, drawn by the hype that has been created since their recent collaboration with French "Amélie" movie soundtrack composer Yann Tiersen. They are a very interesting offering indeed, since they construct their own instruments entirely out of power tools and farm equipment and subsequently channel the sound through samplers and effect pedals. Their music is imposing, enigmatic and lifting at the same time.

Young Swedish sisters First Aid Kit are next on the bill in Astoria. Their mix of folk/country melodies with perfectly pitched harmonies recently attracted international attention. Plain orchestration creates a very intimate atmosphere and proximity. Apart from their own numbers, they even do two covers: Fleet Foxes' "Tiger mountain peasant song" and unexpectedly Kiss' "I was made for lovin' you", dedicated to their younger brother. Generally they do OK, but I think their music would work much better in a smaller venue.

Tromsø duo Röyksopp easily rule the Arena on Friday night. The venue had simply exceeded its capacity before Torbjørn Bruntland and Svein Berge appeared onstage. The crowd is very familiar with all their experimental dance-pop material. The most defining moment of the set by far is Robyn performing "The girl and the robot". The crowd simply goes mad! "Happy up here" and "Eple" are well received too. Fellow Norwegian Anneli Drecker appears wearing a mysterious owl costume. Apart from her own "You don't have a clue", she is charged with delivering "What else is there?", "Tricky tricky" and "This must be it", sung on record by Karin Dreijer, who is appearing also at the festival as Fever Ray. Partly because of a no-show and partly because of the actual performances the results on these three songs are slightly disappointing.

Day Three

A big number of Swedes in their early twenties (maximum!) are gathered in front of the Orange Stage to see Gothenburg's drama king Håkan Hellström. His 60's influenced pop works well under a blazing afternoon sun. Restless and exceedingly expressive, he is roaming across the stage while conducting his one-man-show. A charmer, Håkan doesn't miss an opportunity to flirt with the crowd and embrace their love in a very Swedish Robbie Williams way. Every word of "Klubbland", "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg" and "För en lång lång tid" is sung religiously while confetti is thrown in the air.

The final Scandinavian act for me on Saturday evening and this Roskilde festival are Swedish jazz/fusion/acid/progsters Dungen playing on the Odeon stage. It's the music that counts here and not the show. They play a lot of stuff from their internationally well-received album "4". Tambourines, flutes, acoustic guitars and electric solos combined with brilliant basslines from Mattias Gustavsson are purifying for a tired and sleepless festival crowd. "Maleras finest" and "Det tar tid" are the best memories to take home with me. Thanks Roskilde.

Words and pictures by Vasilis Panagiotopoulos

08/03 - Metropolis Theatre, Montreal, Quebec
08/04 - Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario
08/05 - Royal Oak Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
08/07 - Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL
08/09 - First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
08/10 - Picador, Iowa City, IA
08/12 - tbd, Columbus OH
08/13 - Big Orbits Soundlab, Buffalo, NY
08/14 - Bell House, Brooklyn, NY
08/15 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
08/17 - Otto Bar, Baltimore, MD
08/18 - Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC
08/19 - The Earl, Atlanta, GA
08/21 - Mohawk, Austin, TX
08/22 - The Loft, Dallas, TX
08/24 - Rhythm Room, Tempe, AZ
08/26 - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
08/28 - Street Scene, San Diego, CA
08/29 - Kemado/Mexican Summer/Folk Yeah, Big Sur, CA
08/30 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
09/01 - tbd, Portland, OR
09/02 - Richards on Richards, Vancouver, BC
09/03 - Neumo's, Seattle, WA

08/03 - Metropolis Theatre, Montreal, Quebec
08/04 - Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario
08/05 - Royal Oak Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
08/07 - Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL
08/09 - First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN

01. Hello Saferide
02. Tiger Lou
03. Anna Ternheim
04. Taken By Trees
05. Glasvegas
06. Frida Hyvönen
07. Shout Out Louds
08. Kent
09. Juvelen
10. Dungen

Do you listen to music on your computer or with an iPod? Please join us and make your playlist count! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

10/24 - Music Hall of Williamsburg (CMJ/Kemado), Brooklyn, NY
10/27 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
10/28 - Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
10/30 - Great Scott, Boston, MA
10/31 - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ONT
11/01 - Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI
11/02 - Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
11/04 - 400 Bar, Minneapolis, MN
11/07 - Chop Suey, Seattle, WA
11/08 - Doug Fir, Portland, OR
11/10 - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
11/11 - Cellar Door, Visalia, CA
11/12 - The Echo, Los Angeles, CA

01. Säkert! - Säkert!
02. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance
03. Laakso - Mother, Am I Good Looking?
04. Dungen - Tio Bitar
05. Christian Kjellvander - I Saw Her From Here/I Saw Here From Her
06. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
07. Frida Hyvönen - Music From the Dance Performance Pudel
08. Conny Nimmersjö - Skörheten & Oljudet
09. Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
10. Anna Järvinen - Jag fick feeling
]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:04:54 -0800 news general http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20023 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20023 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/20023#comments In case you haven't seen the news already, the webzine Stylus is closing down after today so they've posted their 2007 best song and best album lists. Scandinavian artists on the former include Weeping Willows and The Field while the former includes Dungen, Studio and The Field.]]> Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:22:54 -0700 news general http://www.itsatrap.com/n/790 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/790 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/790#comments Dusted reviews Life on Earth!, the band of Dungen multi-instrumentalist Mattias Gustavsson: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3671]]> Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/952 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/952 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/952#comments Gustav Ejstes (Dungen) lists five of of his favorite Swedish albums for Harp: http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=5700]]> Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1135 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1135 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1135#comments Pitchfork on Dungen's new video for "Familj": http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/forkcast/43481-dungen-familj]]> Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25695-listmania-2007-so-far http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25695-listmania-2007-so-far http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25695-listmania-2007-so-far#comments An ever-increasing glut of new releases and an always-shrinking attention span means that it's harder than ever to keep track of all the music that is able to withstand the test of time. We can help! Yes, it's time once again for the feature that everyone loves to hate - the top 10 list. Okay, top 3s. We're only halfway through 2007, after all. So what has the collective contributing force of It's A Trap! been listening to the most these past six months? Read on!
- Avi Roig, Editor-in-Chief

Jonas Appelqvist:

1. Logh – North (Bad Taste Records)
   An album that crawls under your skin to move you in every way imaginable. Atmospheric, dark and gloomy, yet filled with hope and warmth. Pure magic.
2. Säkert! - s/t (Razzia)
   Annika Norlin together with peeps from Isolation Years. Immediate success of course. And in dialect, which is a huge plus!
3. Laakso – Mother, am I good looking? (V2)
   Needless to say, everything Markus Krunegård touches turns to gold (remember Hets from last year's top ten-list?). Indiepop at its best.

Nancy Baym:

1. Isolation Years - Sign sign (NONS)
   Lacks the high points of their previous records, but it's their most consistent and it spent most of January on repeat.
2. The Fine Arts Showcase - Sing Rough Bunnies (Adrian Recordings)
   Just released and maybe I'll tire of it, but not yet. 30 minutes of delicious pop ditties sung by a man who really knows how to sing. Very tasty, but leaves me hungry for more.
3. My Midnight Creeps - Histamin (MMC Records/EMI)
   Big loud swamp rock with massive guitars. Excellent music for falling on your knees and pumping fists in the air and some walls of sound that epitomize all that rock and roll should be.

Jason Christie:

1. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle (Adrian Recordings/Hybris)
   It is zeitgeist. Everything about this is fresh. Not-a-jot of cynicism. Sweden's best act now.
2. Sahara Hotnights - What if leaving is a loving thing (Stand By Your Band)
   Thankfully carving out a breezier side on the new disc. This year's surprise.
3. Laakso - Mämmilä rock (PEC FI)
   Laakso are HUGE. Apparently took 45 years to make using a process more secretive than Iran's muclear program and as mental as the 'Sinner or a winner' bloke on Piccadilly Circus.

Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson:

1. Aerial – The sentinel (Nomethod)
   Released on the last day of the first month of 2007, and still, four months later, amongst my favorite records of the year. Aerial's dark symphony of guitars, the waves of sound breaking over the guiding hands of the drums and bass, both maintaining some form of structural integrity in the midst of the beautiful chaos, and yet still prone to their own skillful flourishes, finds me just as wonderfully lost in the dense layers of their compositions today as I was in the early days of this year.
2. Shout Out Louds – Our ill wills (Bud Fox/Merge)
   Instead of building on the playful, sometimes brash narratives of "Howl howl gaff gaff", the newest effort from Shout Out Louds displays a far more complicated, mature, and powerful sound. It is rare that musicians evolve so noticeably in a record's time, and arguably even more surprising that a group's sophomore album so excels their debut, but "Our ill wills" proves that while it may be a rare accomplishment, it is one that can be achieved.
3. The Chrysler – The Benelux years (Flora & Fauna)
   While not everyone's cup of tea, The Chrysler are, at least in my humble opinion, one the greatest indie bands around. "The Benelux years" outshines their previous efforts, which is no easy feat, and has already cemented itself as a record that will continue to grow on me as the months and years slip by.

Matt Giordano:

1. Laakso - Mother, am I good looking? (V2)
   This should be Laakso's international breakthrough. We'll just see if someone is brave enough to work with it.
2. Vapnet - Något dåligt nytt har hänt (Hybris)
   This band just keeps delivering the goods, and it keeps getting better.
3. Montt Mardié - Clocks/Pretender (Hybris)
   David Pagmar's second album is his vision finally coming into fruition.

Hanzan:

1. Säkert! - s/t (Razzia)
   I never got Hello Saferide. Sure, it was charming, but never blew me away. Säkert! however has made me laugh, cry, blush. It's made me angry, happy, nostalgic, sometimes all this during the same listen. Brilliant.
2. Eldkvarn - Svart blogg (EMI)
   The alcohol-drenched romantism of "Fulla för kärlekens skull" alone could almost have earned Eldkvarn a place on this list. Thankfully the rest of "Svart blogg" is amazing too. Cathartically personal, "Svart blogg" is one album I didn't think I'd love. But clearly do.
3. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle (Adrian Recordings/Hybris)
   Shamelessly playful electropop that should be the soundtrack to everyones summer (and autumn and winter). Familjen holds the Scanian flag high, presenting some of the best Swedish electronic pop in a long time.

Nick Levine:

1. Robyn/Kleerup - With every hearteat (Meatboys mix)
   Massive track added onto the UK release of Robyn's album. However, the Meatboys mix is far superior to the original.
2. Those Dancing Days - demo
   The Swedish buzz band of the year so far. Definitely one to watch out for in 2008.
3. Kalle J - Vingslag 7" (Unga Hjärtan)
   I don't know much about Kalle J, but this song incorporates oodles of feel good vibes and is shaping up to be one of my anthems of the summer.

Kevin Renick:

1. Kate Havnevik - Melankton (Continentica)
   One hell of a swirling, self-assured, orchestrally dramatic singer/songwriter debut, this outing by Norway's latest female wunderkind is a gem, and "New day" is among the best songs of the year.
2. Rumskib - s/t (Darla)
   As a fan of ethereal shoegaze when it's got real heart and style, I was mesmerized by the work of this Danish duo. Dreamy, melodic and beautifully produced songs featuring the voice of Tine Louise Kortermand.
3. Dungen - Tio bitar (Subliminal Sounds/Kemado Records)
   Another dose of immacutely rendered, fuzzed-out prog from the dazzling mind and chops of Sweden's Gustav Ejstes. Remarkably free of fat and not cowering in the shadow of its highly acclaimed predecessor.

Avi Roig:

1. Aerial - The sentinel (Nomethod)
   #1 with a bullet. An album I loved wholeheartedly from the very first moment I heard it.
2. Kristofer Åström - RainawayTown (Startracks)
   Older, wiser and with a new backing band to match. This is a record that will sound just as good 10 years from now.
3. Maia Hirasawa - Though, I'm just me (Razzia)
   A toss-up between this and Säkert!. Behind the indiepop hits (Maia's "And I found this boy" vs Annika's "Vi kommer att dö samtidigt") hides two deeply touching records, Maia edges out slightly ahead due to my sadly lacking Swedish skills.

Christian Stenbacke:

1. Sounds Like Violence – With blood on my hands (Burning Heart/Deep Elm)
   Andreas Söderlund is nothing more than pure genious. No matter if he plays with his collegues in Niccokick, produces Hello Safreride or goes back to the basics with neo-hardcore band Sounds Like Violence, everyting reeks with his presence. "With blood on my hands" is the most definite angst-ridden, panic-strucken, anxiety-filled record you'll come a cross this year.
2. Shout Out Louds – Our ill wills (Bud Fox/Merge)
   Shout Out Louds may have gone The Cure, but I don't really care. Great music is always great music, no matter what, right? Beacuse "Our Ill Wills" is certrainly great music. I doubt that you'll ever hear a more well-crafted popsong than "Impossible" for a long time to come.
3. Isolation Years – Sign sign (NONS)
   It was a very close call between Isolation Years and Kristofer Åström, both artists have put out two insanely good records this first half of 2007. The choice finally fell upon "Sign sign", a record filled with the sweet and emotional, almost charitable, popmusic that has become the distinguishing mark of the lads from Norrland, Sweden.

Simon Tagestam:

1. Säkert! - s/t (Razzia)
   Ace melodies and lyrics make this the best album of 2007, yet.
2. The Tough Alliance - New chance (Sincerely Yours)
   What a comeback!
3. Lovekevins - Vs the snow (Songs I Wish I Had Written)
   Clever indie pop with a lot of warmth and humour. A personal favourite.

04/25 - Scandinavia (Subliminal Sounds/Border)
04/25 - Europe (Subliminal Sounds/Megarock/Clear Spot)
05/11 - Germany/Austria/Switzerland (Subliminal Sounds/Broken Silence)
05/15 - North America (Kemado)
05/21 - UK (Subliminal Sounds/Shellshock)
06/02 - Australia (Dew Process)
06/04 - Japan (Vroom Sound)

All of which means that it probably leaked weeks, if not months, ago.]]> Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2255 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2255 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2255#comments Paper Thin Walls has a review of a new Dungen track: http://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=558]]> Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2721 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2721 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/2721#comments Dungen talks to Filter about their forthcoming album, now titled "Tio bitar": http://blog.filter-mag.com/filter/2007/02/first_impressio.html]]> Tue, 06 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3011 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3011 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3011#comments Pitchfork talks to Dungen about the forthcoming record, due out around May 1 on Kemado in the US and Subliminal Sounds in Sweden: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/40524/Exclusive_Gustav_Ejstes_Talks_New_Dungen_Album]]> Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3556 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3556 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/3556#comments Check out Life on Earth, the new solo project of Mattias Gustavsson from Dungen: http://www.myspace.com/lifeonearth1
Look for their debut album on Subliminal Sounds early next year.]]> Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4006 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4006 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/4006#comments Dungen's performance from this year's Bonaroo Festival in June is now available as a paid download, in both mp3 and lossless FLAC format: http://www.livebonnaroo.com/]]> Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25602-interview-jonas-skybakmoen-johndoe http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25602-interview-jonas-skybakmoen-johndoe http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25602-interview-jonas-skybakmoen-johndoe#comments It used to be that bands singing in their own native languages (ie, not English) were doomed to obscurity. Of course there's been a few exceptions here and there over the years, but they're almost all nothing but novelty acts. But the times are a-changing and there seems to be growing acceptance of that fact that we live in an increasingly international world full of wonderful multilingual music. If freak-folk from Finland can catch a break in the States, why not a Norwegian rock'n'roll band? It could happen! And why not?

I had seen the name Johndoe here and there for awhile and had even started reporting on them as early as March 2003, but I must confess that it wasn't until Fredrik from Randy cited them as his new favorite band that I really started paying attention and actually gave them a listen. The music of Randy is a good reference point, too - both bands play similarly energetic rock'n'roll, very much rooted in punk-rock, but way more than just mohawks and safety-pins. Grounded in tradition, but not bound by it. It makes perfect sense for them to be fans of eachother and, subsequently, to tour together as well.

When I saw the news that Johndoe was coming out with a new record I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to catch up with the band and hopefully (re)introduce them to a new audience that appears to be more receptive than ever. Singer/guitarist Jonas Skybakmoen was more than happy to oblige.
- Avi Roig

Tell me about the new album - how is it different from what you've done before? What's that title mean?

I guess the title "Dødvinkel" could be translated into "blind spot". Word-by-word it would be "dead angle" - so in Norwegian the title has another bleak twist to it. We wanted that. This is by far our most depressing record yet. It wasn't really intentional, it just happened. And somehow it's a very Norwegian record. It's about living up here in Trondheim, about things we know. Roots, love, agony, and longing, maybe. And musically... This isn't exactly the rock'n'roll capitol of the world, you know? We admire musicians that are able to tell people where they're coming from. Björn Olsson got this incredible Swedish thing going on. Same with Nicolai Dunger and his latest album "...sjunger Edith Södergran". We wanted to make something honest, simple and believable. Something from Trondheim. It's probably old fashioned, I don't know - songs about heartache and running away is pretty classic stuff. But we wanted this to be a manifold record as well - we wanted a bit of everything in there. There's a lot of piano and background vocals going on, and only one guitar solo. That's pretty bold by our standards. We spent almost two years writing songs for this record - and then we recorded 11 of them live in the studio and that's "Dødvinkel".

I know it's the standard dumb question, but why sing in Norwegian?

When we first started back in 1994, Swedish punk was the big thing in Trondheim. BirdNest-bands like Charta 77, Dia Psalma and DLK. They used to come here and play UFFA or Veita and there would be total madness. I even remember a riot in the street after a Charta 77 show. One of our mates had "Ebba - the movie" on VHS. It was the best thing we had ever seen. We played some Ebba Grön songs and then we started to write ourselves. In Norwegian, of course. I mean, we didn't even think it over. We have seriously never considered singing in English. I guess it's about wanting to communicate. It's hard to write in Norwegian, though. We gotta be ten times better than all the English-singing groups in Norway 'cause they can get away with any dumb lyric. We can't and that's a big challenge. Personally, I enjoy Norwegian and Swedish lyrics the most. It just feels closer to what I know and what my life is like.

Do you consider yourselves to be punk anymore? What does it mean to be a punk band in 2006 anyway?

I don't really know if we are a punk band. I know that punk rock has shaped us in many ways - and that it probably shows in all from stage presence to song writing. But we have a kind of laid-back relationship to the whole punk thing. Yeah, we love the Misfits, but we also love Bruce Springsteen. Talking New Jersey, Ralphie from "The Sopranos" is the worst punk ever! And "Dødvinkel" isn't a punk album. We are breaking way too many punk rock rules. What's up with all those rules, really? I mean, you can't still consider 999 to be the best band on earth. They visited Trondheim recently, they're extremely old. Maybe the punkest thing a band can do nowadays is to have complete control over their own music - a thing which even The Clash struggled to achieve. But it's probably easier now, with the Internet and all. You don't really need major labels, do you? You need Clear Channel and MySpace, though. I like the old-school punk thing, releasing 7"s and LPs and sounding like 1983. But that's not us, really. People should check out the Ny Våg-label in Umeå, Sweden.

What's up with the new label? What happened with Sony? How much of the work are you taking up yourselves?

We decided to release the new album ourselves - and Sony was happy to let us go. Our last album "Pyromantikk" didn't sell enough copies the first two weeks to make us a priority within the Sony system. We toured a lot and practically pushed the album all on our own. At the same time, Sony and BMG decided to join forces in Europe and a lot of the people we had been working with were simply afraid of losing their jobs. And suddenly they had all these Norwegian Idol artists on their roster. They sold far more than us, of course. We didn't want to whine about it. We wanted to do our thing and make it fun to release records again. So we started JHND. We got in touch with Sonet, which is a branch of Universal Music. They are gonna sell our record. We have always been doing almost everything ourselves - from day one we've been managing Johndoe together with our best friend. Another friend helps us with album covers and web design. My old schoolmate is making our new video. I guess we are pretty demanding people to work with. We want things to be done right away - and that's why we often end up doing it ourselves.

How important is DIY to you?

We've always been doing a lot of stuff ourselves. Not everything - we've got a booking agency in Oslo and Sonet is helping out with promotion and sale. We pay them and call them every day. And the rest is pretty much up to us. I think every band has been through a DIY-phase at some point. You know, putting up posters, calling the local newspaper, spreading the word through the Internet. Our DIY-phase seems everlasting. We want things to be done our way. It's fun - you can design a poster one day, and then go on to make a song the next. I personally like the creative work the most. And we're all about the music, really - the songs are our main focus. But there's still more to be done, you gotta be pretty structured and focused. I guess you need a plan from square one, and stick to it. There's always people calling, wanting to do something with Johndoe - be it a gig at some mall or an interview on summer fashion - and then you gotta ask yourself; Is this a part of the plan? And if not, well, you won't do it. We started our own label this January. It may sound like a big step, coming from Sony and all. But it really wasn't. We don't longer have to call up some A&R, try and convince him that we need to do another video, and then sit back and wait for an answer for four weeks. We've been in the game for a while now, we know people, we can make this happen on our own.

How does the Trondheim compare to the hyped Bergen scene? Is there the same sort of cross-genre camaraderie among bands? How does it compare to cities like Oslo?

Trondheim is different from Bergen and Oslo in many ways. First of all, we don't have the same amount of high quality studios and producers up here. The "bigger" bands in Trondheim often record their albums elsewhere - we actually went to Bergen to record our first album. Trondheim don't have a single functioning booking agency for rock artists. We've got a few people doing management and a couple of indie labels. Bands from up here need connections in Oslo, really. And yes, the Bergen scene has been the centre of attention for a while now. It seems to me that they're very focused on melody down there - while Trondheim has always been rock-country. We're catching up, though. We've got some great bands, like the Lionheart Brothers, Desperado and New Violators, to mention a few. Thomas from Desperado released one of our EPs on his Dead Letter label a couple of years ago. Marcus from Lionheart produced a single for us last year. Everybody drinks beer at Blæst on fridays. So yeah, we're connected in many ways.

How does the Norwegian scene compare to Sweden?

I tend to fall in love with almost anything coming from Sweden. It seems to me that the Swedish artists have got this amazing sense of melody - be it The Knife or Mattias Alkberg BD or Dungen, you know? Something that in a way connects them to the same place. A northern twist, or whatever. The Swedes seem so open-minded when it comes to music - the audience kinda embraces extremeties and strangeness, especially when it comes to artists singing in Swedish. And they like new music as well as old. The media in Norway keep talking about the four big bands in Norwegian-language rock - Jokke, DumDum Boys, Raga Rockers and DeLillos. They all started out in the 80s, and they are doing huge comeback tours now (except for Jokke, who sadly died in 2000 and who probably is the greatest of them all, some kind of Alf Prøysen for his generation). We need some young folks too, we need something new.

Ever have any international aspirations? Do you think there's a potential market for Norwegian-language rock outside or Scandinavia? What's your take on the success that Kaizers Orchestra has achieved?

Maybe we got some international aspirations in the back of our heads. We've been focusing on Norway all the way, but we went to Sweden last year together with Randy. Only four gigs, but it was great, and we got some nice feedback as well. We need someone to put out our record over there! What Kaizers Orchestra has done is simply amazing. I think it's about their massive live shows - that kind of showmanship is universal. Our friends in Nullskattesnylterne have toured Germany a couple of times, singing in Norwegian dialect Trøndersk and all. So it's definitely possible, although I think Great Britain would be a hard nut to crack.

In the first question you talked about pain of growing up in Trondheim and how it's reflected in your music. What was growing up there really like? Any stories from your childhood that exemplify the experience? What do you get out of it when you capture these emotions in song? Do you think it can resonate with people who have never been to Trondheim or do you consciously try to make things more universally applicable?

I don't necessarily mean that Trondheim is a shitty place to live, Trondheim can be nice. Personally, I grew up some place between the suburb and the city. A lot of people - I suppose both working, middle and upper-middle class - came to live in these brand new, but cheap terraced houses in the early 80s. My childhood wasn't painful or anything. Some kids started doing drugs, and some didn't. I often bump into people I grew up with downtown and it's pretty clear to me who made it and who didn't. Sometimes it's totally surprising and that's kinda depressing. We've tried to capture that feeling of chance in a couple of our songs. There's a bit of dreading the future, you know. Anything can happen. That disturbes me.

I guess Trondheim functions as a backdrop to our songs - Trondheim is what we know. There's portraits of nature and landscapes, there's actual street names and landmarks and such. I don't think it's excluding, it's rather the opposite - I can read a Richard Ford short story from Great Falls, Montana and still relate to it, right? Not despite of, but rather because of all the depictions of farms, motels, mountains, cars. It makes the story come alive, I guess it wouldn't be so good without it. And I think our stories are understandable, they're pretty universal. We've got this one song that mentions an old German bunker situated just outside my childhood home, but it's really a song about fearing the unknown to the point of mindless patriotism. It's kinda gloomy. At the same time - this is probably our most poppy record. We've fallen in love with simple melodies, straight-forward arrangements - you know, songs, rather than just riffs and poses.

What do you do when you're not playing music? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

We play a lot of soccer, usually indoors. Then we watch soccer on TV. We also play FIFA 2006 and Pro Evolution Soccer 5. Some of us even play the flash-game "Play for your club" on the Internet. Ten years from now? I don't really wanna think about it.

Okay, so you don't want to think about 10 years down the road. What's Johndoe up to for the next couple of months then?

The album will hit the stores on September the 18th. We will start our national tour in early October and probably keep going until Christmas. The whole thing is being planned right now. We're designing the cover, making a video - basically getting the Johndoe machinery ready for the fall. I'm really looking forward to playing these tunes live, I can't wait! We're hoping to go to Sweden again in early 2007. Time will tell.

]]> Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700 articles interviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5043 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5043 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/5043#comments Keith Abrahamsson of Kemado Records (Dungen) is launching a new enterprise called Anthology Records that will be dedicated to digital and vinyl reissues of obscure and out-of-print experimental albums. One of their first selections: Swedish psych/prog pioneers Parson Sound. Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060724/music_nm/anthology_dc]]> Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6021 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6021 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6021#comments Indieworkshop.com checks in with a live review of Dungen from Vancouver: http://www.indieworkshop.com/articles.php?id=307]]> Thu, 27 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6171 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6171 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6171#comments Dungen will tour Australia with Wolfmother in July:

07/13 - The Barton Theatre, Adelaide
07/15 - Festival Hall, Melbourne
07/16 - Challenge Stadium, Perth
07/20 - Hordern Pavillion, Sydney
07/22 - The Riverstage, Brisbane]]> Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6506 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6506 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6506#comments Updated tourdates for Dungen:

04/23 - Richards on Richards, Vancouver, BC
04/24 - Neumo's, Seattle, WA
04/25 - Doug Fir, Portland, OR
04/27 - Great American Music Hall, SF, CA
04/28 - Brewing Company, San Luis Obispo, CA
04/30 - Coachella Music & Arts Festival, Indio, CA
05/01 - Casbah, San Diego, CA
05/06 - Loppen, Copenhagen (DK)
05/17 - Koko, London (UK) w/The Shins
05/18 - Koko, London (UK) w/The Shins
05/20 - All Tomorrow's Parties, Camber Sands, East Sussex (UK)
05/21 - All Tomorrow's Parties, Camber Sands, East Sussex (UK)
06/02 - Logan Sq., Chicago, IL
06/03 - Little Brothers, Columbus, OH
06/05 - Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
06/06 - Lees Palace 1H, Toronto, ONT
06/07 - La Salla Rossa, Montreal, QUE
06/08 - Middle East, Boston, MA
06/09 - Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
06/10 - Irving Plaza, New York, NY
06/11 - BAR Nightclub, New Haven, CT
06/12 - First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
06/14 - Black Cat, Washington, DC
06/15 - Satellite Ballroom, Charlottesville, VA
06/16 - Grey Eagle, Asheville, NC
06/17 - Bonnaroo Arts & Music Festival, Manchester, TN]]> Wed, 22 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6941 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6941 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/6941#comments Updated Dungen tourdates:

03/15 - Charlatan, Gent (BEL)
03/16 - La Maroqin, Les Inrocks, Paris (FRA)
04/23 - Richards on Richards, Vancouver, BC (CAN)
04/24 - Neumo's, Seattle, WA
04/25 - Doug Fir, Portland, OR
04/27 - Great American Music Hall, SF, CA
04/30 - Indio, CA (Coachella Festival)
05/01 - Casbah, San Diego, CA
05/17 - Koko, London (UK) w/The Shins
05/18 - Koko, London (UK) w/The Shins
05/20 - ATP, Camber Sands, East Sussex (UK)
05/21 - ATP, Camber Sands, East Sussex (UK)
06/17 - Bonnaroo, TN]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7088 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7088 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7088#comments Dungen's acclaimed album "Ta det lugnt" will finally be released in Australia and New Zealand in the near future via Dew Process and in Japan on March 15 through Vroom Sound.]]> Fri, 10 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7149 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7149 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7149#comments Dungen has been confirmed for the Coachella, ATP and Bonnaroo festivals.]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7243 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7243 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7243#comments Scandinavians in the 2005 Pazz and Jop top album chart: Dungen (#31), Annie (#48), Sigur Rós (#50), Opeth (#79), Robyn (#80), José González (#158), Shout Out Louds (#161). Robyn's "Be mine" is #48 on the single chart with Annie charting at #88 and #112 for "Heartbeat" and "Chewing gum" respectively.]]> Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7460 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7460 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7460#comments Swedish rock'n'roll power trio Black Belt will be heading over to Germany for some dates in February:

02/03 - Pirate Cove, Berlin
02/04 - White Pig, Bad Frankenhausen
02/05 - Dipol, Freiberg
02/06 - Subway To Peter, Chemnitz
02/07 - Schützengasse, Weimar
02/08 - Kreuz, Obermarchtal
02/09 - Club Scheune, Erlangen
02/10 - Barfly, Schönebeck
02/11 - NVA-Club, Ludwigsfelde
02/13 - Unikum, Osnabrück
02/14 - Schaubude, Kiel

A new single entitled "Hold on" will be released in Sweden in February. The song was produced by Magnus "Existensminimum" Henriksson and Pierre Lindsjöö (Dungen, Ceasars, etc.). As for the band's next full-length, they plan to enter the studio following the tour.]]> Wed, 18 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7513 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7513 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7513#comments Ratatosk Online interviews up-and-coming Finnish singer/songwriter Astrid Swan: http://www.ratatoskonline.net/?axelref=news&id=294
Also posted at the site are pics of Dungen and Animal Alpha from the recent Eurosonic festival.]]> Mon, 16 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7783 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7783 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7783#comments Rounder Records has confirmed a March 14 release date for the US edition of Nicolai Dunger's album "Here's my song...". In other Dunger-related news, 2006 marks the 10-year anniversary of his recording career and to celebrate he will be releasing a new album entitled "Nicolai Dunger sjunger Edith Södergran" on February 1. The album is exactly what it says it is: Nicolai singing the words of Finnish/Swedish poet Edith Södergran set to music he wrote back when he was just 17 years old. The record features multi-instrumentalist Mats Schubert (Bo Kasper's Orkester), bassist Johan Berthling (Häpna), American drummer Timothy Barnes (Sonic Youth, Beth Orton, Royal Trux, Silver Jews) and Dungen guitarist Reine Fiske as well as artwork from Jockum Nordström. Dunger considers the album a natural culmination of his artistic journey thus far and dedicates the work to his mother who sadly passed away recently.]]> Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7966 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7966 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/7966#comments Check out a live clip of Dungen from ATP: [click here]]]> Fri, 09 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8152 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8152 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8152#comments The latest High Bias update features reviews of The Chrysler, Dungen and more: http://highbias.com]]> Mon, 28 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8217 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8217 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8217#comments This week's top artists for the It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group:

01. Kent
02. Death Cab for Cutie
03. I'm from Barcelona
04. Antony and the Johnsons
05. Franz Ferdinand
06. Coldplay
07. Mew
08. Interpol
09. Bright Eyes

Top tracks:

01. I'm from Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
02. I'm from Barcelona - Treehouse
03. Kent - Dom Som Försvann
04. Death Cab for Cutie - Soul Meets Body
05. Loveninjas - Keep Your Love
06. Architecture in Helsinki - Do the Whirlwind
07. Christian Kjellvander - Drunken Hands
08. I'm from Barcelona - The Painter
09. Dungen - Panda

Want to see your favorites listed here? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/]]> Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8238 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8238 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8238#comments Sweden's TV 4+ has caved and will now be showing the Dungen guest appearance on Conan O'Brien after all. If you remember, the episode was unable to be transferred for Swedish replay due to a technical error and the station decided to air a rerun instead. Well now it's all going to be made right: the episode has been set to air on December 12 with replays on both December 13 and 17.]]> Fri, 18 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8290 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8290 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8290#comments I packed up all my stuff and moved across town into my new house last Thursday evening. That meant I had to miss Regulations, but I am very happy to be in my new place. Got my Internet access up and running Friday and spent the weekend unpacking. Good times, right? I've been going pretty much non-stop the entire time and I'm a bit frazzled, so I'm going to let Simon Tagestam handle today's mp3 post:

Being Swedish, it's hard to try and get people to listen to stuff that's sung in Swedish, since I realise that a lot of the appeal for me is usually about understanding what's sung. But now with Avi posting a track with the real king of Sweden (and with the success of the awful Dungen and the boring Sigur Rós) I feel confident enough to share this song with you. It's a track that I've been listening to over and over again everyday, everywhere for the last couple of weeks (I can prove it!). The song has the same impact on me as when I heard aforementioned Håkan Hellström for the first time, that is – it makes me want to go get drunk and go out and smash things up (figuratively speaking, of course), and perhaps dance a little bit. The song got such a dazzling energy that it almost makes me exhausted listening to it. Bom Bom, who made this masterpiece, are currently based in Gothenburg and London, and at the moment there's nothing I want to do more than to catch these boys in concert. Their other songs that I've heard all sound groovy, but "Pop i kras" is the catchiest one of them, and being a sucker for catchy songs, it's the one I like the most. You can download a bunch of their songs on their website (beware, it's all in Swedish, but it's still pretty easy to find the mp3s). Be braver than I am, and listen to some great music sung in a language you don't understand!]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28091-mp3-bom-bom-pop-i-kras http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28091-mp3-bom-bom-pop-i-kras http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28091-mp3-bom-bom-pop-i-kras#comments I packed up all my stuff and moved across town into my new house last Thursday evening. That meant I had to miss Regulations, but I am very happy to be in my new place. Got my Internet access up and running Friday and spent the weekend unpacking. Good times, right? I've been going pretty much non-stop the entire time and I'm a bit frazzled, so I'm going to let Simon Tagestam handle today's mp3 post:

Being Swedish, it's hard to try and get people to listen to stuff that's sung in Swedish, since I realise that a lot of the appeal for me is usually about understanding what's sung. But now with Avi posting a track with the real king of Sweden (and with the success of the awful Dungen and the boring Sigur Rós) I feel confident enough to share this song with you. It's a track that I've been listening to over and over again everyday, everywhere for the last couple of weeks (I can prove it!). The song has the same impact on me as when I heard aforementioned Håkan Hellström for the first time, that is – it makes me want to go get drunk and go out and smash things up (figuratively speaking, of course), and perhaps dance a little bit. The song got such a dazzling energy that it almost makes me exhausted listening to it. Bom Bom, who made this masterpiece, are currently based in Gothenburg and London, and at the moment there's nothing I want to do more than to catch these boys in concert. Their other songs that I've heard all sound groovy, but "Pop i kras" is the catchiest one of them, and being a sucker for catchy songs, it's the one I like the most. You can download a bunch of their songs on their website (beware, it's all in Swedish, but it's still pretty easy to find the mp3s). Be braver than I am, and listen to some great music sung in a language you don't understand!]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8466 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8466 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8466#comments Scandinavian reviews in the latest High Bias update include Dungen, HIM, Peter, Bjorn and John and Johannes Wallmark: http://www.highbias.com]]> Mon, 31 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0800 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8495 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8495 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8495#comments There's a scandal a-brewin'! Swedish TV station TV 4 +, the channel that shows all episodes of the Conan O'Brien in Sweden, has cancelled the airing of the episode where Dungen performed citing a technical problem with the digital transfer of the master tapes. Instead of attempting to retransfer the program, they've decided to show a rerun instead. Instead of the first time a Swedish band sings in Swedish on US TV. Upset? Email maria.ridbrink.raud@tv4.se your thoughts.]]> Thu, 27 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8682 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8682 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8682#comments Pitchfork reviews the US reissue of "Stadsvandringar" from Dungen: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/d/dungen/stadsvandringar.shtml]]> Thu, 13 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8772 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8772 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8772#comments Gustav Ejstes of Dungen talks to the Chicago-Sun Times: http://www.suntimes.com/output/derogatis/wkp-news-live07.html]]> Fri, 07 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8875 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8875 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/8875#comments I am shocked that the US loves Dungen so much. Firstly, the album "Stadsvandringar", originally released on Dolores in 2002, will be given a US reissue on October 4 via Astralwerks. I guess the two labels must like each other after working together on Caesars/Caesars Palace. Oh, and Pitchfork has a new live review posted as well: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/features/live/d/dungen-05/]]> Thu, 29 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9218 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9218 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/9218#comments Splendid reviews the US release of Dungen's acclaimed "Ta det lugnt": http://www.splendidmagazine.com/review.html?reviewid=11241023641118029]]> Fri, 02 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700 news