IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Teg Publishing signs Maria Eriksson, Mattias Alkbergs Begravning

Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:14:48 -0700

Teg Publishing (Norra Kust, Magnus Ekelund) has signed Maria Eriksson (The Concretes, Santa Maria, Heikki) and will be releasing her debut solo album på svenska "Stjäl det du behöver" early next year. Teg has also officially picked up Mattias Alkbergs Begravning, the new band from The Bear Quartet frontman, and will be releasing their new album next year as well.

Maria Eriksson working with Neverna

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:05:22 -0800

PSL reports that Maria Eriksson of The Concretes/Santa Maria/Heikki is recording a new album in Swedish with Mattias Alkberg and Jakob Hellman's backing band Neverna: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2012/03/05/det-handlar-om-vad-som-sker-nar-man-spelar-tillsammans-maria-eriksson-spelar-med-nerverna/

A West Side Fabrication Scandinavian Indie Vol 2 Now & Then

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:36:12 -0800

Swedish indie label mainstay A West Side Fabrication is putting out a new comp at the end of the month (1/31) featuring a wide selection of tunes from their 25 years as a label plus four brand new ones written especially for this release. Full tracklist:

Oh My! - Fifteen minutes
Heikki - Former hero
Bedroom Eyes - Hand-in-hand grenade
The Drowners - Summer break my fall
Light Parade - Moonlight run
Little Red Snapper - Call me on Tuesday
Olle Nyman - Don't let those bastards reel you in
Oscar & Ronja - Bad manners
Amber Oak - Audrey (radio version)
Wade - Freak or a star
Music of Things - Self destructive
Holiday With Maggie - Make it, don't break it
Mufflon 5 - Waverer
The Concretes - Just locals
Tupelo Honeys - The return of the weeping man (autumn edit)
The Bear Quartet - It only takes a flashlight to create a monster

[ingenting] to release new double a-side single

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:50:00 -0700

[ingenting] will release two new singles from their great new record "Tomhet, idel tomhet" on October 28, "Dina händer är fulla av blommor" and "Ge tillbaka det", both of which are duets. Sibille Attar is the guest vocalist on the first, while the latter is a cover tune of "Give it back to you" by Heikki and features Heikki vocalist Maria Eriksson. In addition to the now-typical digital release, there will also be a limited vinyl edition with each song taking up a side.

Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Santa Maria aka Maria Eriksson (also in The Concretes + Heikki) does the Listed thing for Dusted: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/features/643

Santa Maria s/t Slottet

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

I wanted this to be good, I wanted this to be great, so it's a shame that it's just ok. Santa Maria is Maria Eriksson from The Concretes and Heikki, which are two bands that I adore. This is a pleasant album, but too often the pleasantness drags on a bit too much and it all becomes a bit boring. The great melodies that make The Concretes and Heikki so fantastic are sadly missed. It feels like the album could have done with an energy injection at regular intervals. Maybe next time... (it took The Concretes about 8 years to become the great band they now are)

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Fluxblog has new tracks today from both Robyn and Santa Maria, the solo project of Concretes/Heikki vocalist Maria Eriksson: http://www.fluxblog.org/2007/02/things-i-abandon-only-abandon-me.html

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Early consensus on the new Concretes album "In colour" seems to be as follows: if you liked the first album, you probably won't like the new one as much, but if you didn't like it, you'll think the new one is better. I think both responses are for the same reason, too. The naive, childlike qualities that endeared fans of twee music to the debut are largely absent from the follow-up and for people like me who tend to associate those qualities with an inate inability to perform (or, in other words: sucking), the new record is a step in the right direction. "In colour" is much more confident, more produced. I'm still not close to falling in love with the band, but I see it as a huge improvement. More importantly, they let Maria Eriksson sing lead on a song instead of regular frontwoman Victoria Bergman. I'm sorry, but I simply cannot hang with Victoria's droll, nasal voice. Maria however, sings beautifully - something she proved long ago with her work in Heikki. Today's mp3 is the song she sings lead on: "Grey days". That's my pick for the album's highlight.

MP3: The Concretes - Grey days

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0800

Various Artists Records make great pets Stereo Test Kit

Tue, 11 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

What a great compilation this is! It's the first in the series from Stereo Test Kit Records, and it's a fantastic mix of the best Swedish indie music around. It starts of with two of my favourite songs this year: El Perro Del Mar's "Dog" and Heikki's "Former hero", then it continues with a few tracks by artists I've never heard but were surprised how good they were (e.g. Björn Kleinhenz) and some other tracks I've heard before that I really like (Sambassadeur's "Between the lines" being one of them). The compilation is pretty cheap as well, so if you've never heard of most of these bands I think you should try and get your curious fingers on it. Now I can't wait until Stereo Test Kit release the second volume; if the quality will be this high it can't be anything but a must-have.

Thu, 26 May 2005 00:00:00 -0700

The UK's Stereo Test Kit Records is starting a new compilation series called "Records Make Great Pets" in which each edition will highlight the scene from a particular country. The focus on volume one? Why, Sweden of course. The tracklist:

01. El Perro Del Mar - Dog
02. Heikki - Former hero
03. Audrey - Triumphal arch
04. Britta Persson - Defrag my heart
05. Laurel Music - The way love goes
06. Caroline Soul - People I know (don't want me)
07. Melpo Mene - Don't save me
08. Club 8 - Cold hearts
09. Sambassadeur - Between the lines
10. Chasing Dorotea - The anchor song
11. Björn Kleinhenz - Out of style
12. Speedmarket Avenue - He's a rebel
13. we are soldiers we have guns - Tourists in our hometown
14. Iamuse - Dullcity (just in time)
15. Music 77 - Juniper Leo

It comes out on July 4. More details here: http://www.stereotestkit.com/pets.htm

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700

The Pop AlÞing nusic blog talks about Heikki: http://apopalthing.blogspot.com/2005/04/heikki_27.html

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Splendid reviews Heikki: http://www.splendidmagazine.com/review.html?reviewid=1112354772195939

Mon, 14 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Pitchfork reviews Heikki: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/h/heikki/2.shtml

Wed, 26 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Magic Marker Records will be releasing Heikki's latest album "2" in the US on February 15 in a new special edition with two bonus cover tunes, one by the Triffids and one by This Perfect Day. To refresh your memory, Heikki is the sideproject of Concretes guitarist Maria Eriksson and esteemed producer/Bear Quartet guitarist Jari Haapalainen.

Top 10s for 2004: IAT! writers

Wed, 29 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Simon Thibaudeau - Top 10 music moments of 2004:

01. Mogwai live (Kicked my ass pretty hard)
02. Haunted - rEVOLVEr (See my full review on the site, best thrash record in some time)
03. WE - Smugglers (ROOOOCCKKK!)
04. Tricky Woo live (If you don't know, you should)
05. The Dears - Protest EP and live (Best live "experience" of the year, EP ain't too bad either)
06. Shalabi Effect - Pink Abyss (How they can improv this record is beyond any comprehension)
07. Controller Controller - History (Still one of Canada's best kept secrets, indie-pop that makes your ass move without your knowledge)
08. In Slaughter Natives - Resurrection (Still the cream of the genre)
09. Lederhosen Lucil live (So much fun, I soiled myself)
10. Devendra Banhart - Nino Rojo (Simple, perfect)

Simon Tagestam - Top 10 Swedish records of 2004:

01. The Tough Alliance - Make it happen (EP)
02. Jens Lekman - Rocky Dennis in heaven (EP)
03. Jens Lekman - When I said I wanted to be your dog
04. Sounds Like Violence - The Pistol (EP)
05. Mattias Alkberg BD - Tunaskolan
06. David Sandström - The dominant need of the nedy soul is to be needed
07. Promoe - The long distance runner
08. Stina Nordenstam - The world is saved
09. Jens Lekman - You are the light (EP)
10. David Fridlund - Amaterasu
11. Chandra - Summer in the sun (EP)
12. The Honeydrips - Save me (7")
13. Alf - Augustibrev
14. The Tough Alliance - Holiday (EP)
15. Heikki - 2
16. Raymond & Maria - Vi ska bara leva klart
17. Marit Bergman - Baby dry your eye
18. Gustav Kjellvander - Proudly Presents the Fine Arts Showcase & the Electric Pavilion
19. Niccokick - Awake from the dead, my dear best friend
20. Starmarket - Abandon time

Matthew W. Smith - Top 11 Scandinavian music moments of 2004:

01. The Accelerator Big One in Stockholm--great bands, much better weather than last year.
02. Kings of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street album. I'm really looking forward to seeing them for the first time in February.
03. The Hives and Sahara Hotnights on the same bill at the 9.30 Club in Washington, D.C.
04. Another successful shopping spree at Sound Pollution in Stockholm--lots of selections, right in the heart of Gamla Stan.
05. Two heavy metal guys screaming their way through a Madonna song at a karaoke bar in Helsinki--probably the funniest thing I saw all year.
06. An import of the "Bigtime" single by The Soundtrack of Our Lives showing up fairly cheaply at my local independent record store--a hint of good things to come.
07. The Flaming Sideburns stealing at least the first half of a very big show--the 40-band extravaganza that was Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival in New York City. What a travesty they got to play only two songs...
>08. Tiger Lou - Is My Head Still On? album. Good songs and a full sound. "Oh Horatio" is one of my favorites.
09. Nina Persson of The Cardigans singing "You're the Storm" while cradling a Swedish Chef doll given to her on the last night of the Chicks with Attitude tour. I guess you had to be there. It was great to see The Cardies back in North America for the first time in a great while...
10. The song "I Burn Myself On You" by the Lionheart Brothers, as featured on Avi's It's a Trap! compilation. Simply stunning...
11. Suburban Kids with Biblical Names - #1 EP. Loads of talent and potential there...

Nick Levine - Top 10 Scandinavian albums of 2004:

01. Radio Dept. - Lesser matters
The album that just won't die. An updated take on shoegazing that teachers the originators a new trick or two.
02. Concretes - s/t
Its beauty is in its subtlety and understated mystery. A real slow burner.
03. Annie - Anniemal
Perfect pop. Laden with songs Kylie would kill for, and production from both Richard X and Royksopp. I expect this to crossover to a massive mainstream audience next year.
04. Kings Of Convenience - Riot on an empty street
In 2004 Erlend and Eirik returned from the wilderness. On this longplayer the Kings broaden their musical palette to include bossa nova and (shock!) drums.
05. Jens Lekman - When I said I wanted to be your dog
A great up-and-coming singer songwriter. His lyrics are slightly indebted to the anti-folk movement. I'm slowly coming round to the Magnetic Fields comparison.
06. The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - Origin I
Did you think that TSOOL were going to let you down? Really?!
07. The Legends - Up against the Legends
Modern take on C86. Bundles of energy.
08. Tiger Lou - Is my head still on?
Woozy production with quality instrumental backing. A cult audience beckons.
09. Moneybrother - Blood panic
White soul that isn't embarrassing to listen to in public.
10. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #1 EP
Introductory EP from these Swedish newcomers. Quirky pop of the highest order.

Navy Keophan - Top ten albums (Scandinavian and non-Scandinavian) of 2004:

01. Henry Fiat's Open Sore - The parallel universe of... (Coldfront)
Hardcore punk fury with '60s-inspired catchiness.
02. Division of Laura Lee - Das not compute (Burning Heart/Epitaph)
DOLL never fails to impress and they did so with what I consider to be one of the "sleeper" hits of 2004.
03. Knugen Faller - Skellefte stadshotell EP (Cage Match Federation)
Catchy punk-pop from the north of Sweden.
04. The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Armed love (Burning Heart)
Producer Rick Rubin pushes them to their limit and they show that they can still rock.
05. The Hives - Tyrannosaurus Hives (Interscope)
I don't care what anyone else says about The Hives but I still think that this album was good. I think their label handled the promotion for it wrong but that's another story.
06. Euroboys - Soft focus (Virgin Norway)
With a dash of '70s-inspired California pop and the Beach Boys for good measure, it keeps that feeling of summer all year long around here (although in Southern California, it isn't that hard...)
07. Bruce Banner - I've Had It With Humanity (Busted Heads)
Hardcore punk in the last couple of years has its fair share of greatness and mediocrity. Bruce Banner is not the latter. Intense hardcore from the north of Sweden with vocals by Per and Bobo (ex-DS-13).

The non-Scandinavian part of the top ten:

08. The Chinese Stars - A rare sensation (Three.One.G.)
Disco beats, hypnotic, dissonant guitars, groovy bass lines and a singer who sounds like he never left puberty all add up for a fun time.
09. Some Girls - All My Friends Are Going Death (Deathwish)
I remember the first time hearing this and not being really impressed. Fast forward to six months later and this is some of the best stuff I've heard all year from the genre. The lyrics are thoughtful and the sound is like a kick in the chest.
10. Ludacris - Red light district (Def Jam)
HA! Bet you guys weren't expecting this album here. If there is one thing I like, it's intelligent hip-hop/rap that is done right and Ludacris is a genius. On his latest effort, Ludacris brings the catchiness and sensibility back again.

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

Fri, 13 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700

As my friends already know, I'm not much of a fan of the much-hyped Concretes. However, I do enjoy the sideproject Heikki featuring Concretes guitarist Maria Eriksson and producer/Bear Quartet guitarist Jari Haapalainen. Of course, I prefer BQ more than both of them, but that's another story. Anyhow, there's a new mp3 from Heikki available for download on the right.

Thu, 08 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700

New pics of Paris, Ane Brun, Heikki, Radio Dept., Peggy Lejonhjärta and more now up at Musique One Stop: http://www.photohenrik.com/

Wed, 07 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0700

The full line-up and schedule for the En ljummen i gräset Festival at Vintervikens trädgård has been announced:

07/24: Differnet, Loney, Dear, K (Krister Linder/Dive), The Fine Arts Showcase, EF, The Sorayas, Deltahead, Cirera, Walter Sound System
07/28: Jens Lekman, Britta Persson, Natasha Lea Jones (UK)
07/31: Popundret, richard reagh&wwnb2, QOPH, Namur, I Love You Baby, The Bright And Shiny, Thomas Denver Jonsson, Tony Clifton, Walter Sound System
08/07: The Deportees, Paatos, Montys Loco, Empire Dogs, The Tiny, Plod, Dexter's Moon, Walter Sound System
08/11: Heikki, Hip Whips
08/14: First Floor Power, Ane Brun, Rundfunk, Tobias Fröberg, Fire fox, The Sunshine, Le Muhr, Un Rodo Cora

More info: http://www.ljummen.com/

Mon, 21 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Rising from the ashes of Kinkaid, the new band Novak will release their debut single "It all works out in the end" on a white vinyl 7" on June 20 via Novoton Records. The recordings were engineered by Pierre Lindsjöö at his studio Konst&Ramar (Ceasars Palace, Dungen, Empire Dogs, Strip Music) and mixed by Linus Larsson (Ed Harcourt, Mercury Rev, Nicolai Dunger, Heikki). A full-length will follow in early September.

Streaming playlist: Summertime

Sat, 05 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

DATE ADDED : 06.05.04
LAUNCH : [stream no longer available]

01. The Motorhomes - I wanna make you sing
02. Caesars Palace - Over 'fore it started
03. Paris - Hey sailor!
04. The Fine Arts Showcase - Galveston
05. Junior Senior - Shake your coconuts
06. Moonbabies - In the banshees
07. Bad Cash Quartet - big day coming
08. Broder Daniel - What clowns are we
09. The Hives - Main offender
10. Division Of Laura Lee - Dirty love
11. Komeda - Blossom (got to get it out)
12. Isolation years - (I sat on a) Garbage bin
13. David & the Citizens - Graycoated morning
14. Marit Bergman - Adios amigos
15. The Bear Quartet - Where do you put your hate
16. Soviac - You R an ass (emmon remix)
17. Hell On Wheels - A summer killing a spring
18. Heikki - Former hero
19. Randy - Summer of bros (live)

Heikki 2 A West Side Fabrication

Mon, 31 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Imagine if Neko Case took on a more active roll with the New Pornographers and they might sound a bit like Heikki. Think power-pop with a distinct country influence and huge hooks throughout. In case you are unaware, Heikki is the side project of Maria Eriksson from The Concretes together with Jari Haapalainen from The Bear Quartet. I actually like them quite a bit more than the former's main act, as the songs seems more developed, the playing and singing is stronger and the production is tighter. I'd prefer it if there were a few more uptempo tracks on the album, but there's still plenty to enjoy as is.

Mon, 31 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Heikki - Heikki 2 (A West Side Fabrication)
Imagine if Neko Case took on a more active roll with the New Pornographers and they might sound a bit like Heikki. Think power-pop with a distinct country influence and huge hooks throughout. In case you are unaware, Heikki is the side project of Maria Eriksson from The Concretes together with Jari Haapalainen from Bear Quartet. I actually like them quite a bit more than the former's main act, as the songs seems more developed, the playing and singing is stronger and the production is tighter. I'd prefer it if there were a few more uptempo tracks on the album, but there's still plenty to enjoy as is.

Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Heikki, the group featuring Jari Haapalainen from Bear Quartet and Maria Eriksson of The Concretes are doing a few dates in Sweden:

05/21 - Debaser, Stockholm
05/27 - KB, Malmö
05/28 - Playground/Pusterviksbaren, Göteborg
05/29 - Rock Sensation @ Herrgår'n, Linköping

Hemmalaget now has the track "Ny dag samma skit" (even with my rudimentary Swedish skills I know that's "new day, same shit") from Sabo Hoosam Gurmo's new mix CD "Radio 127" up for download: http://www.hemmalaget.nu/music/ny_dag_samma_skit.mp3

Mon, 12 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Bands confirmed for the 8-day En ljummen i Gräset Festival in Stockholm: Heikki, Natasha Lea Jones (UK), Differnet, Richard Reagh, The Deportees, Gustaf Kjellvander, Grand Tone Music, Ane Brun, Peter, Björn and John, Popundret, Montys Loco, The Bright and Shiny and Paatos. Full details: http://www.ljummen.com/

Tue, 30 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Some news from A West Side Fabrication: http://www.cabal.se/westside/news/index.htm
Most importantly, the new single from Heikki (feat. Jari Haapalainen from The Bear Quartet and Maria Eriksson from The Concretes) is called "Former Hero" and will be out March 31. The new album "Heikki 2" comes out soon, too.

Thu, 18 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0800

Some of these have mentioned before, but here's the full list of new acts being booked by Luger: Logh, Sophie Rimheden, Heikki, Existensminimum, Peter, Bjorn and John, Stella Rocket and The Tough Alliance.

Thu, 25 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700

November 5 is also the date for the new album "I Miss You, I'm Pregnant" from Laakso. It was produced by Jari Haapalainen of Bear Quartet and was recorded at Christoffer Lundqvist's (ex-Brainpool) studio in Skåne, Sweden. Here's the tracklist:

01. Fight the Fight
02. Aussie Girl
03. Loista Laakso
04. Clear
05. Demon
06. Month of Mist (w/Maria from The Concretes/Heikki)
07. Russkaja Ballad o Detsva
08. Emmylou
09. Eyes of Lust
10. Baby Close
11. Nick Drake
12. Sensation at Five
13. Laakso – Laakso betyder dal

The first single will be "Demon" and the band will be heading out on the road to support the release soon.

Thu, 12 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0700

Added a new mp3 today from Last Days of April. Their latest album "Ascend to the Stars" just came out over here in the US and the track "Playerin" is easily my favorite from that release. In fact, it was my favorite summer single last year. Y'know those songs you sometimes hear on the radio around this time of year that seem to embody the essence of summertime? That song fits the bill perfectly. And as for this year, my pick (so far) would probably have to be "Reconsider Me" from Moneybrother. I figure y'all were just dying to know.

Otherwise, there's probably not going to be much news today as everyone is at Hultsfred fest it seems. Wish I was. Check out the Dagensskiva special on the event. Oh, and check out www.hultsfred.tv for more, too.

This week's MTV Up North Nordic video chart:

01. The Rasmus - In The Shadows
02. Outlandish - Guantanamo
03. A-Teens - Perfect Match
04. Turbonegro - Fuck The World
05. The Cardigans - You´re The Storm
06. Kashmir - Rocket Brothers
07. Her Majesty - F.U.N.E.R.A.L
08. C21 - She Cries
09. The Sounds - Rock n´ Roll
10. Da Buzz - Alive
11. Equicez - Live From Pass It
12. HIM - Funeral of hearts
13. Mando Diao - Sheepdog
14. Antique - Moro Mou
15. Melody Club - Cover Girl
16. Darude - Music
17. The Narcissists - Fanatik R.I.P
18. Jon - This Side Up
19. Dallas Superstars - Fast Driving
20. The Klerks - Shame

Challengers:
01. Paula Lobos - Fuss & Fight
02. User - Do You
03. Ingrid Marguerite - Everything I Need
04. Bad Cash Quartet - Dirty Days
05. Superheroes - Someone Else

Go to the MTVE.com site to watch and vote for your favorite.

Download the free, electronic Diskodiktator single for the track "Just Say 'No' to Democrazy!". A video for the song, his first one ever, is in the making. The full-length album "The World According To..." isn't out quite yet, but is already available for preorder.

Voidfaith Netzine has posted an interview with my pals KVLR. (in Swedish)

The Alpine, Moi Caprice, Baal, and Figurines are a couple of the bands confirmed for the Sydslesvig-Rocks in Schleswig, Germany on August 23.

Here's the full schedule for this weekend's Norweigan Wood Festival.

Norweigan jazz vocalist Silje Nergaard has been nominated for the Edison Jazz Award, which will be presented at the upcoming North Sea Jazz Festival on July 11-13. Other nominees for the award include Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall and Jimmy Scott. More info here: http://www.edisonaward.nl/Jazz/

And speaking of Norweigan jazz, acclaimed saxophonist Jan Garbarek will be on the BBC's Radio 3 Jazz on 3 radio show tomorrow at 11:30pm local time.

Since they didn't manage to send it to me yesterday as planned (ahem.), here's the rest of the playlist from the Galaxy Gramophone DJ night:

11. Raveonettes - Attack of the Ghost Riders
12. Cato Salsa Experience - In Case You Need Deep Love
13. Nicolai Dunger - What Tomorrow
14. Sparks of Seven - Move Me On
15. TSOOL - Independent Luxury
16. Singapore Sling - Overdriver
17. Union Crabide Productions - Golden Age
18. Backyard Babies - Made Me Madman
19. Citizen Bird - Joy
20. DOLL - Need To Get Some
21. DOLL - We've Been Planning This For Years
22. Isolation Years - Arctic Zone
23. Cardigans - Communication
24. Whyte Seeds - Slow Motions
25. Motorpsycho - Dr. Hoffman's Bicycle
26. TSOOL - Nobrainer
27. Turbonegro - Turbonegro Must Be Destroyed
28. Union Carbide Productions - Mr. Untitled
29. Caesars - Sort It Out

30. Sahara Hotnights - Push On Some More
31. Hardcore Superstar - Rock n Roll Star
32. Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love
33. Hives - What's That Spell? Go To Hell!
34. Raveonettes - Great Love Sound
35. TSOOL - Still Aging (request)
36. Isolation Years - Open Those Eyes
37. Bear Quartet - I Remember...
38. Broder Daniel - Dark Heart
39. Jan Martens Frustration - Get Along Get Together
40. Hellacopters - By the Grace of God
41. Motorpsycho - Glow
42. TSOOL - Impacts & Egos
43. Bear Quartet - Fuck Yr Slow Songs
44. Heikki - All I Needed
45. TSOOL - Hang Ten
46. Nicolai Dunger - Something In the Way
47. Bjorn Olsson - selections from the new CD to close the bar....

They also pass along word that they are encouraging more people to send them music to play, along with t-shirts to wear while spinning and whatever. Um, so like, send your goods to me and I'll make sure they get them, right? But seriously - if you're interested in sending stuff just drop me a line and I'll put you in touch.

Lambgoat.com reports that The Great Deceiver (Tomas from At the Gates/Skitsystem + members of Diabolique) will be touring Europe in October/November along with Swedish metal-wannabees Darkest Hour.

Here's the top 20 Swedish albums of the week, as reported by Aftonbladet:

01. Carola - Guld platina & passion - det bästa
02. Tomas Ledin - I sommarnattens ljus
03. Pugh Rogefeldt - Pughs bästa
04. Tommy Körberg - Gränslös - det bästa med
05. The Cardigans - Long gone before daylight
06. Robert Wells - Rhapsody in rock the complete collection
07. Da Buzz - More than alive
08. Alcazar - Alcazarized
09. Kent - Vapen & ammunition
10. Glenmark Eriksson Strömstedt - Den andra skivan
11. Timbuktu - The botten is nådd!
12. Moneybrother - Blood panic
13. Lisa Nilsson - Samlade sånger 1992-2003
14. Style, Sandelin & Ekman, Freestyle - Samlade hits
15. Cornelis Vreeswijk - Cornelis Vreeswijks bästa
16. v/a - Fame factory visor
17. Martin Nilsson - En del av mig
18. Lars Winnerbäck och Hovet - Söndermarken
19. Eddie Meduza - Live(s)!
20. v/a - Fame Factory volym 5

Entombed has been forced to cancel their appearance at the BW&BK 6-Pack Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio on June 13-14 after drummer Peter Stjärnvind's wife was hospitalized. The cause of her ailments are still undiagnosed and of course Peter wishes to remain with her at this time. Guitarist Alex Hellid commented, "Peter is really upset by this. He doesn't want to be the cause of us not playing. We all know how important this show is/was. We are really sorry, for the fans and for ourselves, because we really wanted to play." Alex and frontman L.G. Petrov still plan to be in attendance at the fest to sign autographs and meet with fans. Other bands still scheduled to play include Evergrey, Trouble and Candlemass.

Nightwish has added a second date to their short US/N. American itinerary. After playing the ProgPower Festival in Atlanta on September 5 and at The Medley in Montreal, Canada on September 6, the band will play L'Amour in Brooklyn, NY on the 7th.

Tue, 27 May 2003 00:00:00 -0700

Green Carnation's new album "A Blessing in Disguise" is gathering all sorts of accolades including Album of the Month in the magazines Terrorizer, Metal Hammer, and BW&BK. They play the Quart Festival on July 5.

The Peepshows just posted a couple photos from their recent tour with The Hellacopters. Check them out here.

Voice of a Generation just posted a bunch of new pics, too. Theirs are from the band's recent shows in Marburg and Berlin.

The Cardigans have revealed that their upcoming performance at the Rock am Ring fest on June 6 will be webcasted by WDR Rockpalast. Go to their homepage on that date to view the stream. The band will also be doing a live chat the same day at 8:30pm mid-european summer time.

As hinted at before, Norway's St. Thomas is starting to make headways in the UK. "Hey Harmony" is the Album of the Week for the Sunday Times and the magazine Bang gave it a 5 out of 5. Here's the full review from the former:

Looking back on the success of "Harvest", Neil Young famously commented that he had found himself in the middle of the road and, not much liking it there, "headed for the ditch". While many of us have enjoyed the erratic, ditch-bound career that followed, those who own "Harvest" and no other Young albums should consider getting better acquainted with St. Thomas — aka Norwegian Thomas Hansen — whose quavering falsetto, simple mixture of folk and alt-country and tendency to leave a chorus just sort of hanging there all recall Young at his kindest and gentlest. Hansen had his own middle-of-the-road moment when his previous album, "I'm Coming Home", made him a star in Norway. He reacted in the traditional way — drinking too much, behaving badly at gigs and ending up in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. But you wouldn't know it by listening to "Hey Harmony". Light, fluffy, upbeat and irrepressibly catchy, the songs suggest a sunny view of the world. The musicians — including Howe Gelb and various Lambchop members — play with tasteful simplicity. And when Hansen sings "we're having a Sunday party, come on over and be our friends" it sounds like an invitation you should accept.

Nasum has posted an extensive tour diary on their site with photos and video footage from their recent trip to Finland. Definitely entertaining. Also, for those that missed it, Shane Embury of Napalm Death and original Nasum member Rickard Alriksson recently joined the band onstage at their record release show this past weekend. See pictures here.

In Flames reports they have completed pre-production on six new songs at their house/studio in Denmark. They plan to spend about another week there writing and recording before heading back to Sweden where they will record the actual album this coming fall. Check out some pics from the so-called "Tuborg Sessions" right here.

The first dates of the rumored HIM tour supporting Ozzy Osbourne have been announced:

09/05 - London, Wembley Arena
09/07 - Birmingham, NEC
09/08 - Rotterdam, Ahoy
09/10 - Oberhausen, Arena
09/13 - Helsinki, Arena
09/15 - Stockholm, Globen
09/16 - Oslo, Spektrum
09/19 - Zurich, Hallenstadion
09/20 - Salzburg, Stadion
09/22 - Stuttgart, Schleyerhalle
09/24 - Vienna, Stadthalle
09/25 - Munich, Olympiahalle

Godsmack opens the shows and HIM plays right before Ozzy for about 45-50 minutes. After this tour HIM also plans to head out on their own around Europe on their own tour. More info when I get it.

Export Music Sweden is planning an outing in Tokyo, Japan for October 16-19. The event has been dubbed 'Swedish Style' and details are currently being worked out in conjunction with the embassy. No bands have been announced yet, but I'll be sure to keep you posted. Read this for more.

Digfi.com has published the schedule for Stockholm's Popaganda fest which takes place this coming weekend. Be sure to check it out so you don't miss the bands you intend to see.

Bands now added to the Avrikafest tour with Kamera now include Quit Your Dayjob, Alice In Videoland, Kristian Anttila, Don Juan Dracula, Nina Natri and Kitty.

And speaking of Avrika, here's some more bands added to the regular fest bill: Fireside, Mikael Wiehe, Paola, Moneybrother, Dub Sweden, USCB Allstars, De Stijl, Seven, the Monotypes, Love Olzon, Franke, Kristian Anttila, Nine, Dozer and TPIKSA.

Fireside, Burek V, David & The Citizens, Cult of Luna, and Heikki have now all been confirmed for the lineup of the free Trästock festival which takes place at Nordanå in Skellefteå on July 17-19.

We are now almost finnished with the recordings. We have until sunday this week and then we take a break for 3 weeks before we enter again for the final mix in mid June. It sounds very fuckin' great and we can't wait to release this fury upon your souls. It has gone very smooth in the studio, no problems at all and everybody is working their asses off. When we're not beating our instruments we are kickin' eachothers asses in Tekken 4 and the undisputed champion is for the moment Janne. We have now tuned down the guitars even more to get a more deadly sound to the songs and it fuckin' working, and the fast songs have become even more faster than the pre-production we did. As I'm writing this I have only one more song to do vocals on and that's "Dawn of Emptiness" , a mid tempo song that's gonna end the album along with the instrumental piece "The Endless Gate". Marcus has also some solos left to do and the shit he's done so far has fuckin' blown me away.

That's The Crown's vocalist Johan Lindstrand discussing the band's progress on the new album "Possessed 13" from their message board. The tentative release date is set for September.

Thu, 24 Oct 2002 00:00:00 -0700

The server switch is done. New music to your right.

Katatonia just entered a studio outside of Stockholm to record their 6th album. 15 tracks to be done in 4 weeks. The band promises it to be their darkness, heaviest album yet.

TSOOL in Fortune Magazine, October 28, 2002:

The singer could be mistaken for a lumberjack, and the band specializes in the zonked anthems you haven't heard since you cruised around in a van painted with a purple sunset. The album first came out last year in TSOOL's homeland, Sweden. Is the U.S. ready? Hell, yeah-since 1976.

There's a Swedish tribute to the Rolling Stones coming out on November 11th. Here's the tracklist:

Stefan Sundström & The Nümphettes - Down in the hole
Caesar's Palace - Get off of my cloud
Kristofer Åström - She smiled sweetly
Winnerbäck, Dregen & Nord - Dead Flowers
Diamond Dogs - Connection
Nicolai Dunger - Comming down again
AlmgrenGordonAndersson - We love you
Heikki - Worried about you
Love Olzon - You got the silver
The $1000 Playboys - Ruby tuesday
Mats Ronander - Till the next goodbye
The Concretes - Miss you
Swedehearts Together - Congratulations (Conny Bloom and Gyp Casino)
Darrel Bath & Brother D´s Testament - Flight 505
Johan Lindström - Play with fire
Sparta Stockholm - She's a Rainbow (Johan Johansson and Tomas Skogsberg with Sulo and Honk from Diamond Dogs)
Bubble - Wild horses
Hederos & Hellberg - Shine a light