IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Sirius playlist week #48

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:12:33 -0800

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

01. TALK 1
02. Kommun - I don't say anything
03. On Volcano - Out of sight
04. Turboweekend - Something or nothing
05. TALK 2
06. The Idle Hands - Hearts
07. Thåström - Linnéa
08. Fronda - Mitt allt
09. TALK 3
10. We Are the Storm - A song for our city
11. High Hats - The end
12. Wardruna - Kauna
13. Halph - New money
14. The Scrags - TV messed up mind
15. TALK 4
16. They Live - Magic glasses
17. Ison & Fille - Jag skratter idag
18. Nitad - Rädslan
19. TALK 5
20. Elmo - Shine down on us

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.

Sirius playlist week #20

Mon, 18 May 2009 11:20:20 -0700

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

01. Bruket - Stockholm kallar
02. TALK 1
03. The Skull Defekts - Knives, birds, stones & pyramids
04. Cilihili - Happy without the boy
05. Elenette - Kär (imaginär) pensionär
06. TALK 2
07. Existensminimum - Sound of music
08. Volcanic Places - Goo
09. Sonjagon - Aristocrat
10. TALK 3
11. Superfamily - Let's go dancing
12. The Scrags - TV messed up mind
13. Bastard Priest - Merciless insane death
14. Bacchus Tapes - Hold on Magnolia
15. TALK 4
16. Halph - Cheap points
17. Vadadi - 10 seconds before
18. Wired for Mono - The man behind the wall
19. TALK 5
20. Tomas Halberstad - Travel as I wait

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.

MP3: Halph - New money

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:24:30 -0700

Halph is not like other guitar/drum duos. No garage-rock, no friend-rock, no empty spazzouts. "New money" presents them at their least subdued, but even then, they're still dark and drone-heavy with lots of loose open chords and a slightly atonal sense of melody. It's taken me while to warm to their peculiar sound, but now with album #3 "The world is as you are", I think we've come to a place where we can connect better. They've figured out what works for them without sacrificing any of their weird deadpan vibe and I've since learned a better appreciation of rock minimalism. It's a good meeting point, everyone's happy.

Sirius playlist week #14

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:23:27 -0700

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

01. TALK 1
02. Small - Highway child
03. Seance - Invocation
04. Halph - New money
05. TALK 2
06. Anna Frank - Directions
07. Kristofer Åström - Me and the snakes
08. The Scrags - Mad passion
09. TALK 3
10. Randy - Who's side are you on?
11. Division of Laura Lee - Violence is timeless
12. Existensminimum - 1993
13. Familjen - Socker
14. TALK 4
15. The Fine Arts Showcase - Lovesick
16. Viola - Cute destroyer
17. Nitad - Nervvrak
18. Penny Century - Just because
19. TALK 5
20. Marions - Another hour
21. BJ Nielsen - Tummen upp
22. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Facelessness erases every trace of humanity

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.

Sirius playlist week #6

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:48:39 -0800

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

01. Franke - Exil riktas inåt
02. TALK
03. Cut City - Ulyssian widow
04. Montt Mardié - Names not forgotten
05. Strayfolk - I thought I had it down
06. TALK
07. Halph - New money
08. Kaizers Orchestra - Kontroll på kontinentet
09. Wardruna - Kauna
10. TALK
11. Dieter Schöön - Mary Jane
12. Holiday For Strings - Two of you
13. Menfolk - One is all
14. Lama - Raha
15. TALK
16. Bitch Boys - Sighsten H.
17. Regina - Saanko jäädä yöksi
18. Entombed - Parasight
19. Gåte - Snåle mi jente
20. TALK
21. Dyno - Emotional

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.

PonyRec 2009

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:19:15 -0800

Danish indie label PonyRec's upcoming release schedule:

04/03 - Halph - The world is as you are
04/03 - Alcoholic Faith Mission - 421 Wythe Avenue
04/10 - Green Pitch - La Jolla
04/17 - Lily Electric - You're in the picture you saw
05/08 - Livaventura - ...And they slept with their eyes open

I'm fortunate enough to have given these a cursory listen and can say this: that Livaventura album is definitely worth waiting for.

Sirius playlist week #3

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 11:26:10 -0800

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

01. Dyno - Don't speak love
02. TALK 1
03. Regina - Totuus minusta
04. Joenssu 1685 - Kill/shot/love
05. They Live - Magic glasses
06. TALK 2
07. Viola - We owe love
08. Orchestra Senza Tensta - The red elephant battles the bear
09. Livaventura - 2 out of nothing
10. TALK 3
11. Halph - Cheap points
12. Pacta - Sille
13. Scraps of Tape - Bring the heavy
14. TALK 4
15. Anssi 800 & Maria Stereo - Zion king
16. The Scrags - Psycho cyclone
17. Samtidigt Som - Vid mid sida
18. TALK 5
19. Seance - Wasted

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.

PonyRec preps many spring releases

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:20:12 -0800

Look for new releases on PonyRec this spring from Danish acts Halph, Alcoholic Faith Mission, Livaventura and Green Pitch.

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:26:37 -0700

Here's this week's radio show playlist:

01. Desert Planet - Riot sector 68
02. TALK 1
03. Grande - We did it all
04. Sara Berg - Crawl back from under
05. Dialog Cet - Buckfighter
06. TALK 2
07. Doktor Kosmos - Doktor Kosmos släpper en skiva
08. Halph - Weight
09. Bright Oak - The undertow
10. TALK 3
11. Juvelen - They don't love you
12. Frivolvol - Take it from the beginning
13. Little Jimmy Reeves - Sidetracked
14. TALK 4
15. Keith Canisius - Omorose
16. The Kid - Mayhem troopers
17. Lognhalsmottagningen - Bodybuilder
18. Markus Krunegård - Rocken spelar ingen roll längre
19. TALK 5
20. Firefox AK - Techno tears
21. Biker Boy - April song (Mr Bananas remix)
22. Thomas Denver Jonsson - Saved by the bell
23. TALK 6
24. Nina Kinert - Pets & friends
25. Familjen - Hög luft
26. Brainbombs - Down in the gutter
27. TALK 7
28. Anders Persson och Carl Smith - Morgonsol i April
29. Abduktio - Uutisia rintamalta
30. Nordvargr - Rektal B
31. Karin Holmberg + hab - Who we are
32. TALK 8
33. Lapko - Killer whales
34. Madrugada - Lift me
35. Kristofer Åström & Hidden Truck - What I came here for
36. TALK 9
37. Sambassadeur - Subtle changes
38. Dreamboy - What have I done
39. The Tough Alliance - Lucky
40. TALK 10
41. Logh - Saturday nightmares

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:13:54 -0800

New releases on the way from Danish label PonyRec:

Munck//Johnson - Live 10" EP, December
Majessic Dreams - "Beautiful days", CD + LP, early 2008
Løzninger – "Noboby knows" 7", early 2008, new signing from France who was worked a lot with Danish label BSBTA
Evil Death Machine - tba 7", early 2008
Livaventura - tba 7", spring 2008, ex-Low Frequency in Stereo
Heartbreak Basement - tba retrospective 2LP, spring 2008, another BSBTA-affiliated act
Halph - tba CD + LP, spring 2008, working with producer Mario McNulty

For more info and myspace links, go here: http://www.ponyrec.dk/

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The label Jezus Factory has a new comp available for free/donation download featuring quite a few Scandinavian artists such as The End Will Be Kicks, Imagine I Had Hands, Halph and more: http://www.jezusfactory.com/

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Denmark's Halph is a band that's hard to pin down. The duo's dark, droning sound bewilders and intoxicates with repititous riffs and deep, deadpan vocals. Sometimes they let loose and let everything erupt into noise, but they usually keep things tight and fierce. I'm not usually so big on guitar/drum duos, but the interplay between guitarist/vocalist Thomas Nygaard and drummer Karsten Bagge is so intense, so well developed that I barely notice the lack of bass. This particular song I've posted today reminds me of Lungfish in the way that it's monotonous, yet so sinister. It doesn't work like a traditional song with verses, choruses and an emotional arc, but that's not the point. It's all about the mood, the moment. [BUY IT]

MP3: Halph - Life part II

Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Denmark's Halph is a band that's hard to pin down. The duo's dark, droning sound bewilders and intoxicates with repetitious riffs and deep, deadpan vocals. Sometimes they let loose and let everything erupt into noise, but they usually keep things tight and fierce. I'm not usually so big on guitar/drum duos, but the interplay between guitarist/vocalist Thomas Nygaard and drummer Karsten Bagge is so intense, so well developed that I barely notice the lack of bass. This particular song I've posted today reminds me of Lungfish in the way that it's monotonous, yet so sinister. It doesn't work like a traditional song with verses, choruses and an emotional arc, but that's not the point. It's all about the mood, the moment. [BUY IT]

Mon, 08 May 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Got a HUGE stack of merch from Danish label PonyRec that just arrived on my doorstep. Besides new CDs from both Munck//Johnson and Halph, I also now have beautiful 12" vinyl copies of most everything they've put out. Sound quality arguments aside, nothing beats the sight, feel and smell of fresh vinyl. Look for items to be added to the webstore shortly.

Halph Ode to you PonyRec

Sat, 11 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800

I'm going to be honest with you readers: the first time I listened to this Danish duo's latest release, it scared the hell out of me and I liked it. Singer Thomas Nygaard's baritone vocals (which are slightly reminiscent of Olympia, WA's very own Calvin Johnson) and guitar work are more dark and sinister this time around as the music takes a post-punk turn. Karsten Bagge's drumming fluctuates between intense and soothing, much like Nygaard's guitar. The album starts off on a seemingly quiet note with "Life part II" and builds up very nicely during "Nightlife". "Have fun dying" just makes it that much creepier to listen to.

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 00:00:00 -0800

The excellent Danish indie label PonyRec has posted new tracks from both Halph and Munck/Johnson on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/ponyrec

Top 10s for 2005: Kasper Find (PonyRec)

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0800

01. Gravy - "s/t"
A fantastic debutalbum by the best poprock outfit in Denmark.

02. Munck//Johnson - "Unlike You"
One of the strongest voices in Denmark.

03. Why? - "Elephant Eyelash"
Beck would sound like this if he had talent.

04. Mob - "We All Repeat The Past"
A fantastic album by the best noise rock band in Denmark.

05. Malcolm Middleton - "Into The Woods"
The best non-Danish popalbum this year!

06. Je M'appelle Mads - "Jeg Fyrer Hit Efter Hit Af"
I can not stop smiling. This is just great.

07. Red Sparowes - "At The Soundless Dawn"
They are coming to Denmark in March '06 - Great.

08. Arab Strap - "The Last Romance"
They are just getting better and better.

09. 13 + God - "s/t"
Fantastic album and the best concert at Roskilde Festival '05

10. Boards Of Canada - "The Campfire Headphase"
They did it!

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

Kaspar is the big cheese over at Danish indie label PonyRec. Look for new releases from Halph and Munck//Johnson in early 2006.
www.ponyrec.dk

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800

PonyRec has confirmed that the new Halph album "Ode to you" is finished and will be in the stores on January 23.

Fri, 23 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Esteemed NY-based producer Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Manic Street Preachers, Kashmir and Raveonettes) has been enlisted to work with Halph on their next album "Ode to you". Their label PonyRec says the material represents a "seemingly new positive approach" for the band and should be ready for release early next year.

Thu, 23 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Denmark's Halph has finished a new album and should be releasing it sometime around late August/early September via PonyRec.

Halph Answering machines PonyRec

Tue, 07 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700

When I first listened to "Answering machines" by this Danish duo, I was surprised to find out it reminded me of a lot of Fugazi with a touch of that Texas band Les Messieurs Du Rock. Really fuzzy, arty and haunting indie rock that my brother enjoys making art to. Singer/guitar player Thomas Nygaard's vocals are a perfect match for songs like "Bad wiring" and "Back door". Drummer Karsten Bagge's jazz-fused drumming provides a good backbeat to the above mentioned songs and makes "Evil one" almost danceable. I thoroughly enjoyed this.