"Where is my moon?" is the brand new single from ex-Madrugada frontman Sivert Høyem and it's also the title of his upcoming solo EP, due out September 7. Go see him on tour this fall: http://siverthoyem.com/tour/

The obvious nods by Madrugada cohorts onwards to Blixa Bargeld and Nick Cave fits extremely well into rich, dark and brooding Scandinavian territory, and has had the self-perpetuated effect of mounting them in a tiny, yet hierarchical scene as gods. But if The Bad Seeds have done it already, is the simulacrum just another fashion? The blues noir motif encompasses everything aspired in an artist's life -- glorified isolation, mystery, sexual energy, freedom. I remember my monumental realisation when Nick Cave's "God is in the house" DVD first came out. It was a signal of the times; the inexorable musicianship of this group of MEN turning something deeply of themselves into an awe-inspiring and transcendentalizing performance. The essence of "soul".

Soul is definitely not something you can just copy, it's not like you can hire a bunch of gospel-singers and assume you'll get that effect. My impression of this album is in fact, soul-searching, which is not to say it ain't solid. It's more like wandering and jamming in the key of retro-blues. At times, it does feel so grown-up and sterile I begin imagining folks in V-necked sweaters listening to the album in their living rooms on designer couches, hi-fi stereo systems and tons of high-end drugs.

But by solid, I really mean perfect. You gotta hand it to them, a total self-awareness shines through; they know who's gonna try to get a piece of 'em, so they're armed with deadly ammunition. Pristine production, fantastic percussive elements building gigantic drones, and the excellent saxophone-playing is a goodnight cherry on top. My favourite tracks, "I've been watching you (night and day)" has an infectious boogie, like Ethiopian music from the Sixties, Tilahoun Gèssèssè, Mulatu Astatqé, etc. and "After party killer" has a Bowie-air to it that's epic, classic and hit-worthy. In fact, most of these songs are.

But back to what I was sayin', KKKMEO's not exactly my thing. So why the 9? This is not a revolutionary 9. This is not a 9 for alienated subterraneans. This is a 9 for the masses. As a reviewer I tend to detect the moment in which my pure unadulterated love for music is betrayed. In this case, the flow of the album runs like butter, the tracks are easily digestible and honed to the Nordic ear. After being frustrated by many new albums of late, hearing a record that's so un-objectionable and on a higher level of musical professionalism makes me daresay I'm not allowed to object. So I do as any humble reviewer would. Give it a 9, quietly put it back on the shelf, blast "Transilvanian hunger" and make myself a cup of tea.]]> Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:35:31 -0800 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/37599-kitchie-kitchie-ki-me-o-unveil-single-album-coming-in-june http://www.itsatrap.com/n/37599-kitchie-kitchie-ki-me-o-unveil-single-album-coming-in-june http://www.itsatrap.com/n/37599-kitchie-kitchie-ki-me-o-unveil-single-album-coming-in-june#comments

Kitchie Kitchie Ki Me O, the new band featuring ex-members of Madrugada/My Midnight Creeps/Ricochets, have just released their debut single "Next" and have confirmed that their debut album will be released on June 10.

How is it that I've never known about Katharina Nuttall until a week ago? With two previously released albums and numerous production credits under her belt (including Ane Brun), I feel like I've been seriously blowing it, especially since her flavor of dark, melancholy rock is exactly what I'm into. "Turn me on" is the lead single and title track from her upcoming album, due out March 23 via Novoton, and it sounds like a caustic hybrid of PJ Harvey and the barebone rawness of early Madrugada. Of course I'm way into it, how could I not? On the other hand, I must admit to being a slight more partial to her melodramatic wrist-slitting balladeering side, as evidenced by the older video posted above. But fear not should you be of similar mind! There's bits of that on the new album as well. Definitely a spring release to look forward to.

01. Kurt Nilsen - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
02. Sissel - ...til deg...
03. Madrugada - The Best Of Madrugada
04. Jan Werner - One more time - The Very Best Of
05. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Rundt neste sving
06. Silje Nergaard - If I Could Wrap Up a Kiss
07. Vamp - I Full Symfoni 2
08. Madcon - Contraband
09. Odd Nordstoga - November
10. Helene Bøksle - Det Hev Ei Rose Sprungen
11. Bugge Wesseltoft - It's Snowing On My Piano
12. Hans Rotmo - Vårres Jul 2
13. Malin & Celine - Julekonserten
14. Koret på Botsen & Henning Kvitnes - Bortkomne Julestjerner
15. Henning Kvitnes - For Sånne Som Oss
16. Silje Hrafa - Frelsesarmeens Juleplate 2010
17. Sissel & Odd - Strålande Jul
18. Kari Bremnes - Fantastisk Allerede
19. Narum - Ælt som var søkk borte
20. Kråkesølv - Bomtur til Jorda

10 years later, the official videos from Madrugada's landmark debut "Industrial silence" are now on YouTube in proper high quality and more are on the way: http://www.youtube.com/user/MadrugadaOfficial

01. Hellbillies - Leite etter lykka
02. Contrazt - Ser på verden
03. Vestlandsfanden - Livets Glade Plommer
04. A-ha - 25
05. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
06. Guren Hagen - Takke Meg Tel
07. Roy Lønhøiden - Tilbake i tid - de beste sangene
08. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
09. Motorpsycho - Timothy's Monster
10. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Knutsen & Ludvigsens beste
11. Jan Toft - Alle e aleina
12. Aasmund Nordstoga - Friaren
13. Karpe Diem - Aldri Solgt En Løgn
14. Trond Granlund - Sanger jeg lærte av faren min
15. Diverse artister - Go'natt
16. Stage Dolls - Always
17. Lars Vaular - Helt om natten, Helt om dagen
18. Madrugada - Industrial Silence
19. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
20. Steff Nevers - Ain't no bad life

10/05 - Academy 3, Birmingham (UK)
10/06 - King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow (UK)
10/07 - Night & Day, Manchester (UK)
10/08 - Cargo, London (UK)
10/13 - Dornrosje, Nijmegen (NL)
10/14 - Tivoli De Helling, Utrecht (NL)
10/15 - Vera, Groningen (NL)
10/17 - Luxor, Cologne (GER)
10/18 - Postbahnhof, Berlin (GER)
10/19 - Beatpol, Dresden (GER)
10/20 - Musikzentrum, Hannover (GER)
10/21 - Calos-Saal, Aschaffenburg (GER)
10/22 - Principal Club, Tessaloniki (GRE)
10/23 - Fuzz Club, Athens (GRE)
10/24 - Akt Dimaion, Patra (GRE)
10/26 - Circolo Degli Artisti, Rome (ITA)
10/27 - Tunnel, Milan (ITA)
10/28 - Konzerthaus Schüür, Luzern (CH)
11/10 - Rockefeller, Oslo (NOR)

01. Hellbillies - Leite etter lykka
02. Contrazt - Ser på verden
03. Motorpsycho - Timothy's Monster
04. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
05. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries
06. Jan Toft - Alle e aleina
07. Vestlandsfanden - Livets Glade Plommer
08. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
09. Aasmund Nordstoga - Friaren
10. Guren Hagen - Alle de beste
11. Roy Lønhøiden - Tilbake i tid - de beste sangene
12. Karpe Diem - Aldri Solgt En Løgn
13. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og Deilig - Knutsen og Ludvigsen
14. Trond Granlund - Sanger jeg lærte av faren min
15. Lars Vaular - Helt om natten, Helt om dagen
16. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
17. Elg - Storm
18. Diverse artister - Go'natt
19. Madrugada - Industrial Silence
20. Celine - Jentekveld

01. Hellbillies - Leite etter lykka
02. Contrazt - Ser på verden
03. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries
04. Aasmund Nordstoga - Friaren
05. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
06. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
07. Guren Hagen - Alle de beste
08. Karpe Diem - Aldri Solgt En Løgn
09. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og Deilig - Knutsen og Ludvigsen
10. Roy Lønhøiden - Tilbake i tid - de beste sangene
11. Lars Vaular - Helt om natten, Helt om dagen
12. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
13. Trond Granlund - Sanger jeg lærte av faren min
14. Madrugada - Industrial Silence
15. StMorritz - Tusenvis av ting
16. Diverse artister - Go'natt
17. Steff Nevers - Ain't no bad life
18. Celine - Jentekveld
19. Divin' Ducks - Best Of
20. A-ha - Hunting High And Low

01. Hellbillies - Leite etter lykka
02. Contrazt - Ser på verden
03. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries
04. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
05. Aasmund Nordstoga - Friaren
06. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
07. Karpe Diem - Aldri Solgt En Løgn
08. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
09. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Knutsen & Ludvigsens beste
10. Madrugada - Industrial Silence
11. Lars Vaular - Helt om natten, Helt om dagen
12. Divin' Ducks - Best Of
13. Steff Nevers - Ain't no bad life
14. Diverse artister - Go'natt
15. Celine - Jentekveld
16. Trond Granlund - Sanger jeg lærte av faren min
17. Guren Hagen - Alle de beste
18. A-ha - Hunting High And Low
19. StMorritz - Tusenvis av ting
20. A-ha - 25

01. Hellbillies - Leite etter lykka
02. Contrazt - Ser på verden
03. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries
04. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
05. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
06. Guren Hagen - Alle de beste
07. Karpe Diem - Aldri Solgt En Løgn
08. Aasmund Nordstoga - Friaren
09. Madrugada - Industrial Silence
10. Lars Vaular - Helt om natten, Helt om dagen
11. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og Deilig - Knutsen og Ludvigsen
12. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
13. Gitarkameratene - Kanon! Gitarkameratenes aller beste
14. Celine - Jentekveld
15. Divin' Ducks - Best Of
16. Steff Nevers - Ain't no bad life
17. A-ha - Hunting High And Low
18. StMorritz - Tusenvis av ting
19. A-ha - Scoundrel Days
20. Trond Granlund - Sanger jeg lærte av faren min

01. Hellbillies - Leite etter lykka
02. Madrugada - Industrial silence
03. Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel
04. Kvelertak - Kvelertak
05. Karpe Diem - Aldri Solgt En Løgn
06. Aasmund Nordstoga - Friaren
07. Tre Små Kinesere - Kjærlighet på tunga
08. Alexander Rybak - No Boundaries
09. Celine - Jentekveld
10. Donkeyboy - Caught in a Life
11. Lars Vaular - Helt om natten, Helt om dagen
12. Gitarkameratene - Kanon! Gitarkameratenes aller beste
13. Liv Marit Wedvik - Solid Ground
14. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og Deilig - Knutsen og Ludvigsen
15. Venke Knutson - Smiles - The Very Best Of
16. A-ha - Hunting high and low
17. Steff Nevers - Ain't no bad life
18. Diverse artister - Go'natt
19. Trond Granlund - Sanger jeg lærte av faren min
20. A-ha - Scoundrel days

"Social Suicide have a great single out on our label. Their melodic hardcore is in the vein of Refused, Some Girls and JR Ewing. They did a shockingly great show, and are definitely growing in my book. But then again, I'm really biased! Check them out on myspace.

The best shows I caught at By:Larm included Kitschy Kitschy Ki-Me-O, a band consisting of members of three known bands to us Norwegians, of which Madrugada is the one you've maybe heard of. I don't know what sparked your mind when you heard the name, but if you thought Quentin Tarantino, you're getting close. It's basically what Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were trying to do with their latest albums, but never quite did. Catchy, riff-laden desert rock infused with gospel, Ennio Morricone background vocals (the soprano version of a theremin). Maybe my new favorite band, if they make records that can match up to that performance. They don't have a myspace I'm afraid, so you're going to have to take my word for it. Their website on the other hand is: www.kitchiekitchiekimeo.com

Another outstanding show was Susanne Sundfør. I've followed her ever since I heard her playing solo with her piano. Solo performances can be dull, but when you have a divine voice unlike any other, and songs in the vein of Radiohead and Björk, the aforementioned is no problem for you. When I heard rumours of her working with Jaga Jazzist's Lars Horntvedt I was pleased, and eagerly anticipating the new material. I was not disappointed, as they had not thought radio hits, they had not thought solely on minimalism, or maximalism for that matter; the concert was a beautiful mesh of electronic beats, string samples, her Rhodes piano, synthesizers, Lars' horns and steel guitars and luscious harmonies by the background vocalists. In the center, always, is Susanne's voice in all its glory. You'll know what I mean when you listen to the track "The brothel" on myspace [or here for our own coverage -Ed.]

My last tip has to be Leif & The Future, which I play the bass in. We released the track "Let you go", which now is on heavy rotation on the radio. It's 80's pop like old U2, Duran Duran, [and] Talk Talk in sweet harmony with Krautrock..."

Interview by Sophy Grimshaw

01. TALK 1
02. Monument - Feel failure
03. Regulations - To be me
04. Du - Bring down a house
05. Tyrant - Go ahead raise the dead
06. TALK 2
07. Tobias Fröberg - When we go to war
08. Next Life - Anti matter
09. Lo-Fi-Fnk - Marchin' in
10. Boy Omega - Just a boy
11. TALK 3
12. The Bear Quartet - I was a weapon
13. I'm from Barcelona/David Ljung - Silence
14. Thee Gutted String - I've been to town
15. TALK 4
16. Paper - Before that day
17. The Goner - Bright and colossal (risen mind)
18. At the Gates - Suicide nation
19. TALK 5
20. Madrugada - Look away Lucifer

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

01. TALK 1
02. Honey Is Cool - Bolero
03. Beyond Dawn - Addictions are private
04. Commando M Pigg - Baby doll
05. TALK 2
06. Kent - If you were here
07. Fireside - Let Rasputin do it
08. CMX - Ainomieli 97
09. Docent Död - Bensin i blodet
10. TALK 3
11. Bitch Boys - Automobile
12. Nicolai Dunger - This town
13. Broder Daniel - I'll be gone
14. Starmarket - Ten seconds
15. TALK 4
16. Madrugada - Beautyproof
17. Breach - Black sabbath
18. Silverbullit - Thank you Mr.
19. Camouflage - Syster sol
20. TALK 5
21. Entombed - Lights out

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. Next week's show will feature tunes from my top 10 albums of the year.

01. Eriksen - De aller beste
02. Anita Skorgan - Hele veien - 47 utvalgte sanger
03. Aasmund Nordstoga - Ein visefugg
04. Kaizers Orchestra - Våre demoner
05. Röyksopp - Junior
06. Terje Tysland - Lidderli
07. CC Cowboys - Morgen & kveld
08. Steff Nevers - Closest to My Heart
09. Tone Damli Aaberge - I Know
10. BigBang - Edendale
11. Teodor Tuff - Teodor Tuff
12. Nils Petter Molvær - Hamada
13. Hovedøen Social Club - ¡Ai Caramba!
14. Åge Aleksandersen & Mikael Wiehe - To stemmer - 14 akustiske sanger
15. Lene Marlin - Twist the Truth
16. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
17. Madrugada - Madrugada
18. Lars Vaular - D'e glede
19. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2009

01. Eriksen - De aller beste
02. Anita Skorgan - Hele veien - 47 utvalgte sanger
03. Aasmund Nordstoga - Ein visefugg
04. Röyksopp - Junior
05. CC Cowboys - Morgen & kveld
06. Steff Nevers - Closest to My Heart
07. Terje Tysland - Lidderli
08. BigBang - Edendale
09. Lars Vaular - D'e glede
10. Tone Damli Aaberge - I Know
11. Kaizers Orchestra - Våre demoner
12. Nils Petter Molvær - Hamada
13. Åge Aleksandersen & Mikael Wiehe - To stemmer - 14 akustiske sanger
14. Mira Craig - Ghetto Fairytale
15. Sigvart Dagsland - Hymns
16. Lene Marlin - Twist the Truth
17. Madrugada - Madrugada
18. AF1 - Alle For En
19. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2009
20. Hovedøen Social Club - ¡Ai Caramba!

01. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
02. I Was A King - s/t
03. Marit Larsen - The Chase
04. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
05. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
06. Vamp - St. Mandag
07. The September When - Judas Kiss
08. Ida Jenshus - Color of the Sun
09. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
10. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust
11. Helene Bøksle - Morild
12. Torstein Sødal - Torstein Sødal
13. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
14. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
15. Sie Gubba - Hemafrå
16. Low Frequency In Stereo - Futuro
17. Madrugada - Madrugada
18. AF1 - Alle For En
19. Madcon - An Inconvenient Truth
20. Odd Børretzen/Lars Martin Myhre - Syv sørgelige sanger og tre triste

01. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
02. Marit Larsen - The Chase
03. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust
04. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
05. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
06. The September When - Judas Kiss
07. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
08. Vamp - St. Mandag
09. Odd Børretzen/Lars Martin Myhre - Syv sørgelige sanger og tre triste
10. Madcon - An Inconvenient Truth
11. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
12. Ida Jenshus - Color of the Sun
13. Torstein Sødal - Torstein Sødal
14. Ole Ivars - Platina
15. Sie Gubba - Hemafrå
16. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
17. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix Junior Nordic
18. Madrugada - Madrugada
19. AF1 - Alle For En
20. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons

01. Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust
02. Marit Larsen - The Chase
03. Karpe Diem - Fire vegger
04. Vamp - St. Mandag
05. Erlend Bratland - True Colors
06. Madcon - An Inconvenient Truth
07. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Mål & Mening
08. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On
09. The September When - Judas Kiss
10. Halvdan Sivertsen - Mellom oss
11. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix Junior Nordic
12. Maria Mena - Cause & Effect
13. Frøya - Jenta fra landet
14. Torstein Sødal - Torstein Sødal
15. Ole Ivars - Platina
16. Odd Nordstoga - Pilegrim
17. Odd Børretzen/Lars Martin Myhre - Syv sørgelige sanger og tre triste
18. Madrugada - Madrugada
19. AF1 - Alle For En
20. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion

Female artist:
Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons (Det Er Mine)
Ingrid Olava - Juliet's Wishes (EMI Music Norway)
Maria Mena - Cause And Effect (Sony Music)
Marit Larsen - The Chase (EMI/Virgin)
Male artist:
Bjørn Eidsvåg - Pust (Petroleum/Sony Music)
Julian Berntzen - Rocket Ship Love (Universal Music)
Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now (Voices Of Wonder)
Åge Aleksandersen og Sambandet - Katalysator (EMI Music Norway/Solregn)
Pop group:
Lester - This Village (Deaf Ear Records)
Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood (Warner Music)
The Margarets - Twenty Years Erased (Division Records as)
Electronica:
Lindstrøm - Where You Go I Go Too (Smalltown Supersound)
Mental Overdrive - You Are Being Manipulated (Smalltown Supersound)
Skatebård - Cosmos (Digitalo Enterprises)
Rock:
Grand Island - Boys & Brutes (Racing Junior)
Lukestar - Lake Toba (Phone Me)
Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments (Rune Grammofon)
Tommy Tokyo & Starving For My Gravy - Smear Your Smiles Back On (Warner Music)
Metal:
Benea Reach - Alleviat (Tabu Recordings)
Enslaved - Vertebrae (Indie Recordings)
Keep of Kalessin - Kolossus (Indie Recordings)
Jazz:
Helge Lien Trio - Hello Troll (Ozella/Musikklosen)
Mathias Eick - The Door (ECM/Grappa)
Moment - Paradiso (Schmell)
Radka Toneff - Butterfly (Curling Legs as)
Open class:
Annbjørg Lien - Waltz With Me (Heilo)
Farmers Market - Surfin' USSR (Ipecac)
H.K.H. Kronprinsesse Mette-Marits Utvalgte Salmer - Sorgen og Gleden (Kirkelig Kulturverksted)
Lars Horntveth - Kaleidoscopic (Smalltown Supersound)
Best newcomer:
Erlend Bratland - True Colors (Sony Music)
Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart (Nightliner/Universal)
Ingrid Olava - Juliet's Wishes (EMI Music Norway)
Katzenjammer - Le Pop (Propeller Recordings)
Best video:
Beady Belle - Self-Fulfilling (Jazzland Records/Sonet/Universal)
Madcon - Liar (Bonnier Amigo Music)
Madrugada - Look Away Lucifer (Malabar Recording Company)
Maria Mena - All This Time (Sony Music)
Thom Hell - My Heart Is Longing For A Soul (Voices Of Wonder)

So with a rather large grain of salt, let me present to you It's a Trap's 2008 top albums of the year.
- Avi Roig

10. Siena Root - Far from the sun (Transubstans)
Graveyard and Witchcraft get all the acclaim, but Siena Root is the better band.

09. Nitad - Ibland kan man inte hindras sig själv (Kranium/Deranged)
Fucked Up, another band who put out one of 2008's best releases ("The chemistry of commmon life"), have moved far beyond the realms of hardcore. Nitad have stepped up to take their place.

08. Park Hotell - Free for friends (Ultra Radio Records/BD Pop)
I can't stand Morissey, yet somehow some Swedish acts are able to take his influence and turn it into something wonderful. If only more indiepop bands were as good as Park Hotell.

07. Katzenjammer - Le pop (Propeller Recordings)
I fully expected Detektivbyrån to be my favorite folk-crossover act, but these ladies from Norway snuck in ahead of them.

06. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide (Razzia)
Even better than I hoped. The perfect follow-up to the first album.

05. Johan Heltne - Vetenskapliga bevis för att Jesus lever (Raffaella)
A beautiful and beguiling album. So weird and mysterious, so absolutely entrancing.

04. Montys Loco - Farewell Mr Happy (NONS)
Of all the bands on my list, these ladies are the only ones to truly create something new and unique sounding. Sweden's most consistently underrated and underappreciated band.

03. Haust - Ride the relapse (Fysisk Format)
If there's a more pissed-off, evil sounding album in 2008, I haven't heard it.

02. Lukestar - Lake Toba (Phone Me Records)
A full year later and I still love this album just as much when it first came out.

01. The Goner - H-Trilogy: Hind hand, Hallartrallar, Haven (Svarta Markaden)
I realize it's pretty lame to put a series of limited cult releases at #1, yet no other artist this year has intrigued me as much as The Goner. "Hind hand" blew me away when I first heard it, the following two were even better.

Jonas Appelqvist

10. Wildbirds & Peacedrums - The Snake (Caprice Records)
This headstrong indie duo got me convinced at a festival gig this summer. And when I heard "The snake" for the first time I was hooked. It's that good.

09. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild (Licking Fingers)
Frida goes from strength to strength and with this album she has established her status as one of the finest songwriters in Sweden right now. Don't believe me? I dare you, listen to "Dirty dancing" and you'll know what I'm talking about.

08. Paper - An object (Novoton)
A homage to Suicide, Joy Division and monotonous kraut rock. The mix between The Bear Quartet and Audionom is a win-win. Literally.

07. Satyricon - The age of Nero (Roadrunner)
With massive walls of sound this Norwegian old school combo decided to continue to piss off black metal fans that claim they're not "true" anymore. Hell, when it sounds this good, I couldn't care less.

06. David Sandström Overdrive - Pigs lose (Razzia)
David Sandström and Oskar Sandlund went into the studio and came out with an astounding album only surpassed by early career move Refused.

05. Lack - Saturate every atom (Play/Rec)
2008 turned out to be the year of resignation for Lack. At least they got to resign at the peak of their career; "Saturate every atom" is proof of that.

04. Britta Persson - Kill Hollywood me (Amigo)
Britta released this album with a somewhat secluded approach and it was received with open arms by almost everyone. Sounds contradictory? It's not, just pure genius.

03. Cult of Luna - Eternal kingdom (Earache)
It just goes to show, these guys don't know how to fail. Top notch!

02. Division of Laura Lee - Violence is timeless (I Made This)
Göteborg's finest spent three years in the studio. The result, Fugazi-esque punk rock, shows that it was worth the wait.

01. Lukestar - Lake Toba (Phone Me Records)
Indie rock at its best - edgy, melodic and, at the same time, raw and hard hitting as hell! The number one spot was, even in January, Lukestar's spot all along.

Matt Giordano

06. Vapnet - Döda fallet (Hybris)
Their track record has been making consistently good albums, and this is not an exception.

05. Robert Svensson - Young punk are on the never-never (Nomethod)
A fantastic pop album that has me looking even more forward to the next Mixtapes and Cellmates record.

04. The Kid - Transient blood (Hybris)
On their second album, The Kid has transformed themselves into brooding pop masters.

03. Paavoharju - Laulu laakson kukista (Fonal)
A beautiful, cold, meandering album. Not only does this album sound natural, it sounds symbiotic with nature.

02. Markus Krunegård - Markusevangeliet (V2/Universal)
He's made classic albums with Laakso, and a great Hets album. Now Markus is a bonafide solo artist, and, with this maintains that he's one of the best songwriters around.

01. Juvelen - 1 (Hybris)
One of my most anticipated of the year. Ten songs, ten potential singles, yet one cohesive pop statement. Juvelen is here to stay.

Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

10. Division of Laura Lee - Violence is timeless (I Made This)
This is a total gut decision. Part of me is not okay with this result, but enough of me is perfectly alright ousting at least five other contenders to make room for this dirty, energetic album in my top 10. Despite giving this album only an 8, it has survived in far better standing than a few 9s from this year. "LAX" has been on quite a few of the mixtapes I've made for friends over the past few months, and DoLL launched my brother and I across America this summer... I couldn't imagine 2008 without "Violence is timeless".

09. Robert Svensson - Young punks are on the never-never (Nomethod)
Mr. Svensson lost considerable ground on this list, especially compared to the first draft I worked up a few weeks ago. Still, even at number nine, "Young punks are on the never-never" made it. A wonderful debut solo album from Mixtapes & Cellmates' vocalist, marking the beginning of what is sure to be a fine career.

08. Park Hotell - Free for friends (Ultra Radio/BD Pop)
This top 10 list is populated with a lot of debut records. "Free for friends" is definitely one that I had been waiting for, and it didn't let me down. It's a perfect autumn record: tracts of introspection still fuelled by the reckless hope of summer days.

07. Kiki Pau - Let's rock (Pyramid/Johanna Kustannus)
While I was completely surprised by "Book of Norma", I at least knew who Norma were. Kiki Pau are my favorite surprise this year. Their style of indie rock is confident well beyond their years, harkening back to "Meat is murder"-era Smiths, contemporary NYC garage, The Clash ... and any album with a song titled "Bukowski" (with the lyric: "Steinbeck made me want to get drunk") gets my vote.

06. Convoj - Exceptionnel (Wonderland)
This latecomer also forced me to reconstruct my list. It was all about complete, too. Oh well. Convoj's "Exceptionnel" is a brilliant record, more than deserving of a top 10 spot.

05. Håkan Hellström - För sent för edelweiss (Dolores)
If it weren't for all the summer memories I attach to "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust", Hellström's effort would be in fourth place. The fact that this album is in fifth place is a testament to the creative forces at work in Northern Europe. When I first heard this record, I was pretty sure it would be in my top three albums of the year. How wonderful it is to be so wrong. "För sent för edelweiss" has become my favorite Håkan Hellström album, just edging out "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg".

04. Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (XL Recordings/EMI)
The fact that Sigur Rós took risks on this album when they could have skirted by with "Takk pt. II" impresses me. It may not be their finest album, but it's fun, kinetic, and lush; everything we expect from the Icelanders, and yet something quite different, too.

03. Tiger Lou - A partial print (Startracks)
I struggled a little with "A partial print" at first, but it eventually won out. As I wrote in my review, the album is "a collage, a collection of images, all of them darkly beautiful extensions of the emotional landscape of "The loyal", but the connections between these impressions can take some time to present themselves, but they will, and then "A partial print" comes fully into being."

02. Markus Krunegård - Markusevangeliet (V2/Universal)
While I gave "A partial print" higher marks, "Markusevangeliet" has been a valued companion of mine since April -- and there's something to be said about resilience. I said back then that I thought Laakso frontman Markus Krunegård had possibly crafted the best record of the year... and, although I might have proven myself wrong, his accomplishment is by far one of the best solo records in recent memory.

01. Norma - Book of Norma (Novoton)
In a damned impressive year for Scandinavian music, my top prize goes to "Book of Norma". It's been a while since I have been as taken aback by a record as I was with Norma's latest effort, the first album I have ever given a 10 to here on It's A Trap! Just an absolutely brilliant album.

Arnulf Koehncke

10. Ane Brun - Changing of the seasons (DetErMine)
Someone wrote somewhere how well recorded this album is -- I can't help but agree. The songs are good too and it's actually the first Ane Brun record that I can really relate to.

09. Audrey - The fierce and the longing (Tenderversion)
Honestly, this record sounds a lot like their last one. That's a good thing in Audrey's case -- I think it's really rare that a band is this well defined regarding both songwriting and sound-aesthetics.

08. Fredrik - Na na ni (Jezebel)
It surprises me how much I still like this record. I didn't think it would be such a grower -- guess I was wrong.

07. Snöleoparden - Snöleoparden (Rump)
I just like the whole of-the-cuff playfulness and complexity that this record embodies. I dare anyone to listen to the daycare-singalong second track and not smile.

06. Hello Saferide - More modern short stories from Hello Saferide (Razzia)
If you'd asked me in the beginning of the year, I'd probably have predicted this album to top my year-end list. Well, it hasn't completely gotten me hooked yet, though I totally agree with all the praise for Annika's development. And "Lund" has already become a personal favorite of mine.

05. Bobby and Blumm - Everybody loves... (Morr Music)
This record is just so playful -- there's so much to discover in F.S. Blumm's guitar work and Ella's charming voice. It makes me wish I could see them live again.

04. V. Sjöberg New Jazz Ensemble - Do nothing 'til you hear from me (iDEAL)
Another great record, though it needs patience and concentration to really enjoy it as a whole. It's just great how it builds up all this tension with its drones and suspense curves only to then release the listener with a soothing return to tonality in the next to last track.

03. The Radio Dept. - Freddie and the Trojan Horse (Labrador)
Too bad their album was delayed until next year. This EP showed such potential with all its Prefab Sprout'ish moments and melodies. And it even delivered some nostalgia to me as a long-time fan when I listen to the hidden track's distortion and overdrive.

02. Vapnet - Döda fallet (Hybris)
It's amazing: This record is such an instant classic that I almost didn't think of it as a 2008-release. And doesn't that already say all there is to say?

01. Auton - Anywhere out of this world (Structures Sonores)
This record is just so good (which is why my review of it is just so overdue). Incredibly virtuosic yet never overbearing musicians that shift from straight-out jazz to drone to post-rock to Satie-like piano moments with such casualness and grace. My Scandinavian record of the year. Go to the label website now and order copies to give away as christmas presents ;-)

Nancy Baym

10. Don't I wish I could put something here. Like the Caesars. What a bummer that record was.

09. Mikko Singh - Uskotko että siellä on kukkia? (self-released)
An almost-entirely instrumental record that's somewhere between pop and new age, equally well suited to a massage or mellow downtime at home. Very pretty with some nice elements of fun.

08. Violent Years - s/t (Playground)
A fine contribution to the southern gothic alt country genre with many outstanding moments and at least one truly great song.

07. Kusowsky - Något speciellt (self-released)
Kusowsy are so unabashedly singalong guitar pop that I feel a little guilty enjoying them, but everytime a song from this EP showed up on shuffle this year I found myself stopping to smile.

06. The Social Services - It's nothing personal, it's national security (Stereo Test Kit)
Only 1/3 Scandinavian, but she's the singer so she gets extra credit. It's a smart, eclectic, cynical, funny, and loose indie pop album.

05. Tiger Lou - A partial print (Startracks)
I really wanted to love this record, but don't. As background music its dark, hypnotic and self-contradictory sound is stunningly close to perfect, but on close listening its repetitiveness becomes abrasive in ways I don't think were intended.

04. Markus Krunegård - Markusevangeliet (V2/Universal)
On his solo record, Krunegård avoids most of Laakso's glam excesses to deliver a powerful and rich electronically-driven yet organic and seductive sonic environment.

03. Vapnet - Döda fallet (Hybris)
They don't stray too far from the distinctive, poppy, and borderline corny sound of their previous recordings on this one, but that's a good thing because they are one of the most calming make-you-happy bands going today. I highly recommend this as a soundtrack for either hanging out on a warm beach or cleaning house, cooking, and other mundane chores of daily life.

01. Madrugada - s/t (Virgin/EMI)
Faced with the sudden death of their guitarist and an album 80% completed, Madrugada did the right thing by finishing it up. Even without the tragic back story, it's a powerful and mature rock album that I am still listening to regularly almost a year after its release.

01. Detektivbyrån - Wermland (Danarkia)
In a very disappointing musical year, this instrumental genre-collapsing folk album based on accordion and glockenspiel was the one extraordinary surprise. Everyone I've played it for ran out and got it immediately. You should too.

Simon Tagestam

10. Nordpolen - s/t (Sincerely Yours)

09. Joel Alme - A master of ceremonies (Sincerely Yours)

08. Envelopes - Here comes the wind (Brille)

07. Håkan Hellström - För sent för edelweiss (Dolores)

06. Markus Krunegård - Markusevangeliet (V2/Universal)

05. Love Is All - A hundred things keep me up at night (What's Your Rupture?)

04. Afasi & Filthy - Fläcken (P.O.P.E.)

03. Frida Hyvönen - Silence is wild (Licking Fingers)

02. Moto Boy - s/t (Songs I Wish I Had Written)

01. Vapnet - Döda fallet (Hybris)

01. Øystein Sunde - Meget i Sløyd
02. Diverse artister - Mgp Jr 2008
03. Tommy Tokyo feat Starving for M - Smear Your Smiles Back On
04. Smurfene - Smurfeparty
05. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
06. Jarle Bernhoft - Ceramik City Chronicles
07. Espen Lind - Army of one
08. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
09. Malin - Pang
10. Vassendgutane - Xo
11. Madrugada - Madrugada
12. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
13. Ingenting - Kjempegreier
14. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
15. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
16. Bare Egil Band - Jeg er helt rå
17. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
18. Helge Trio Lien - Hello Troll
19. Celine - Bæstevænna
20. School - Destructive Sounds

01. Øystein Sunde - Meget i Sløyd
02. Jarle Bernhoft - Ceramik City Chronicles
03. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
04. Diverse artister - Mgp Jr 2008
05. Espen Lind - Army of one
06. Vassendgutane - Xo
07. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
08. Malin - Pang
09. Bare Egil Band - Jeg er helt rå
10. Ingenting - Kjempegreier
11. Madrugada - Madrugada
12. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
13. Celine - Bæstevænna
14. Helge Trio Lien - Hello Troll
15. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
16. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
17. Lindstrom - Where you go I go to
18. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
19. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
20. Return - Best Of Both Worlds

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Bare Egil Band - Jeg er helt rå
03. Espen Lind - Army of one
04. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
05. Vassendgutane - Xo
06. Ingenting - Kjempegreier
07. Madrugada - Madrugada
08. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
09. Lindstrom - Where you go I go to
10. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
11. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
12. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
13. Major Parkinson - Major Parkinson
14. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
15. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
16. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega
17. Too Far Gone - Livåt
18. Trygve Hoff - Tørrfesk og Ballader
19. Malin - Pang
20. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit

Most lists of Madrugada's influences include The Doors. What better time to revisit their roots than at their own end? One of the unexpected treats of their postmortem tour in 2008 has been the steady supply of covers -- from Jacques Brel's "Amsterdam" (you can guess where they played that), to Johnny Thunders' "You can't put your arms around a memory". Recently, they covered The Doors' "To touch the earth" for P3's anniversary show (watch their impressive 6-song set here: http://nrkp3.no/konserter/). Given the impossibility of replicating late guitarist Robert Burås' delicacy, and perhaps sobered and grounded by his passing, this final incarnation of the band, featuring Alex Kloster-Jensen and Cato Salsa turned out more aggressive, more massive, and a lot more generous in its use of keyboards. You can hear it all here. They'll be missed.

First off, my standard intro question: how long have you lived in Gbg? What brought you there and what keeps you in town?

I moved here at age 17 to go to artschool. Lived here for 17 years, so half my life... I live in another town now, but I miss the sort of underground musicscene that Koloni, Kning Disk and Ideal bring to Gothenburg. It's amazing that a town of Gbg's size has such a big scene for this kind of stuff.

You seem to be working more visually these days as opposed to sonically - which medium would you say is your strong point? How often do the two overlap? If someone asks "so, what do you do?" how do you answer?

The way that I work is a cluster of things that I barely understand the logic of myself. But I try to overlap as much as possible. It's an ok place to be in, the twilight zone.

If someone asks me what I do, I lie and tell them I'm a horsewhisperer or something.

How was Way Out West? Were you satisfied with Silverbullit's set? See anything of note?

Playing with Silverbullit again was great. Always fun to see Simon play keyboardsolo in his patented rapestyle and we were touched by all the people that showed up.

But I didn't have time to see much else at the festival. The Bug had a great stomach-turning bass. My big festival moment this year was My Bloody Valentine at Roskilde. It was so loud that I experienced a physical reaction in my nose that I had never experienced before. It was kind of buzzing and humming the day after, very strange.

I understand you managed to get Freddie Wadling to make a guest appearance - who's idea was that? Was it a matter of mutual appreciation or did it take more wrangling to get it together?

We've been working on a track that Freddie gave us as a demo. The idea of playing together came to us in a DHL-package.

What current projects are you working on? What can we expect to see/hear from you in the next six months or so? What are the chances of a new Silverbullit album?

Just finished a video for a British band called White Lies. The track is called "Death". Today I'm in Gothenburg working at the Stadsteatern. I'm working on a play called "Butterfly Kiss" together with director Malin Stenberg. A dark and surreal text about a dysfunctional family with an urge to kill. It premiered 19th Sep for all you culture vultures out there.

Finally, got a song you would like to share, either from one of your own bands or from a local act you admire? Tell me about it!

I think people should have a listen to the band Kite from Malmö. They have a beautiful song called "My girl and I". I also like Prince of Assyria who is releasing an album on Kning Disk this fall.

Both Kite and Prince of Assyria obliged by sending in tracks for posting, but since Andreas recommended a specific Kite track, that's the one I'm going with today. Stay tuned for more on The Prince- a recommendation from Andreas Nilsson does not go unnoticed!

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Ingenting - Kjempegreier
03. Lindstrom - Where you go I go to
04. Espen Lind - Army of one
05. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
06. Vassendgutane - Xo
07. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
08. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
09. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
10. Madrugada - Madrugada
11. Hilde Marie Kjersem - A Killer For That Ac
12. Too Far Gone - Livåt
13. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
14. Malin - Pang
15. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
16. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega
17. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
18. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
19. Trygve Hoff - Tørrfesk og Ballader
20. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Espen Lind - Army of one
03. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
04. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
05. Vassendgutane - Xo
06. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
07. Madrugada - Madrugada
08. Too Far Gone - Livåt
09. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
10. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Malin - Pang
12. Hilde Marie Kjersem - A Killer For That Ac
13. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
14. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
15. Lars Horntveth - Kaleidoscopic
16. Erik og Kriss - Verden vil bedras
17. Karin Krog - Oslo Calling
18. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
19. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
20. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Espen Lind - Army of one
03. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
04. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
05. Vassendgutane - Xo
06. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
07. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
08. Madrugada - Madrugada
09. Too Far Gone - Livåt
10. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
12. Malin - Pang
13. Malin - Pang
14. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
15. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
16. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
17. Celine - Bæstevænna
18. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
19. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
20. Erik og Kriss - Verden vil bedras

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
03. Espen Lind - Army of one
04. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
05. Vassendgutane - Xo
06. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
07. Madrugada - Madrugada
08. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
09. Too Far Gone - Livåt
10. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight
11. Svein Østvik - Kongen Av Mallorca
12. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
13. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
14. Malin - Pang
15. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
16. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
17. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
18. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
19. Gluecifer - Kings of rock
20. Terje Formoe - Hiv o'hoi - Kaptein Sabeltanns beste

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Espen Lind - Army of one
03. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
04. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
05. Vassendgutane - Xo
06. Too Far Gone - Livåt
07. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
08. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
09. Malin - Pang
10. Madrugada - Madrugada
11. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight
12. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
13. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
14. Svein Østvik - Kongen Av Mallorca
15. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
16. PK & Dansefolket - 20 beste
17. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
18. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
19. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
20. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Espen Lind - Army of one
03. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
04. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
05. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
06. Vassendgutane - Xo
07. Too Far Gone - Livåt
08. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
09. Madrugada - Madrugada
10. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
12. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
13. Malin - Pang
14. Sogns - Det koster å vara kar
15. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
16. Svein Østvik - Kongen Av Mallorca
17. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
18. Åsmund Åmli Band - Panorama
19. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega
20. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Espen Lind - Army of one
03. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
04. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
05. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
06. Vassendgutane - Xo
07. Too Far Gone - Livåt
08. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
09. Madrugada - Madrugada
10. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
12. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
13. Malin - Pang
14. Sogns - Det koster å vara kar
15. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
16. Svein Østvik - Kongen Av Mallorca
17. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
18. Åsmund Åmli Band - Panorama
19. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega
20. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons

01. Espen Lind - Army of one
02. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
03. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
04. Vassendgutane - Xo
05. Too Far Gone - Livåt
06. Return - Best Of Both Worlds
07. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
08. Kathrine Moholt - Sweethearts
09. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
10. Sogns - Det koster å vara kar
11. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
12. Åsmund Åmli Band - Panorama
13. Madrugada - Madrugada
14. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
15. Malin - Pang
16. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
17. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
18. Svein Østvik - Kongen Av Mallorca
19. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
20. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega

01. Espen Lind - Army of one
02. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
03. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
04. Vassendgutane - Xo
05. Too Far Gone - Livåt
06. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
07. Malin - Pang
08. Knutsen & Ludvigsen - Dum og deilig -beste
09. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
10. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Songns - Det koster å vara kar
12. Madrugada - Madrugada
13. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
14. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
15. Åsmund Åmli Band - Panorama
16. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
17. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
18. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
19. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
20. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight

01. Åge Aleksandersen - Katalysator
02. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
03. Vassendgutane - Xo
04. Too Far Gone - Livåt
05. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
06. Madrugada - Madrugada
07. Malin - Pang
08. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
09. Real Ones - All For The Neighbourhood
10. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
12. Åsmund Åmli Band - Panorama
13. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
14. Songns - Det koster å vara kar
15. Nullskattesnylterne - Skrot
16. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
17. Gatas Parlament - Kidsa Har Alltid Rett
18. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
19. Emma Berit Forsmo - Den Første Dagen
20. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight

01. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
02. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
03. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
04. Malin - Pang
05. Gatas parlament - Kidsa Har Alltid Rett
06. Harald Heide Steen jr. - Musikalske Minner
07. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
08. Vassendgutane - Xo
09. Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen - Sound Your Horn
10. Madrugada - Madrugada
11. Nullskattesnylterne - Skrot
12. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
13. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
14. Disciplines - Smoking Kills
15. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
16. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
17. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
18. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
19. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
20. Roy Lønhøiden - Når dagen demrer blått

01. Morten Harket - Letter From Egypt
02. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
03. Vassendgutane - Xo
04. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
05. Malin - Pang
06. Madrugada - Madrugada
07. Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen - Sound Your Horn
08. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
09. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
10. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
11. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
12. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
13. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
14. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
15. Eick, Mathias M/Balke/Kleive - The Door
16. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
17. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
18. Nullskattesnylterne - Skrot
19. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
20. Roy Lønhøiden - Når dagen demrer blått

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Vassendgutane - Xo
03. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
04. Malin - Pang
05. Madrugada - Madrugada
06. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
07. Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen - Sound Your Horn
08. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
09. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
10. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
11. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
12. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
13. Eick, Mathias M/Balke/Kleive - The Door
14. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
15. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
16. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
17. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
18. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega
19. Leif Ove Andsnes - Horizons
20. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Vassendgutane - Xo
03. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
04. Malin - Pang
05. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
06. Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen - Sound Your Horn
07. Madrugada - Madrugada
08. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
09. Julian Berntzen - Rocketship Love
10. Eick, Mathias M/Balke/Kleive - The Door
11. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
12. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
13. Hovedøen Social Club - Que Viva Noruega
14. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
15. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
16. Ingeborg Selnes - The Zoo
17. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
18. Sondre Bratland - Det er den draumen
19. Roy Lønhøiden - Når dagen demrer blått
20. Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Vassendgutane - Xo
03. Malin - Pang
04. Madrugada - Madrugada
05. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong
06. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
07. Lassie N The Lads - Storyteller
08. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
09. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
10. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
11. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
12. Julian Berntzen - Rocketship Love
13. Celine - Bæstevænna
14. Surferosa - The Beat On The Street
15. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
16. Roy Lønhøiden - Når dagen demrer blått
17. Sondre Bratland - Det er den draumen
18. Publiners - driv
19. Gluecifer - kings of rock
20. Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments

01. Kurt Nilsen - Rise To The Occasion
02. Vassendgutane - Xo
03. Madrugada - Madrugada
04. Malin - Pang
05. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
06. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
07. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
08. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
09. D.D.E. - 15 år live
10. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
11. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
12. Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments
13. Publiners - driv
14. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
15. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
16. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
17. Gluecifer - kings of rock
18. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
19. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
20. Surferosa - The Beat On The Street

01. Vassendgutane - Xo
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. Malin - Pang
04. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
05. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
06. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
07. Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments
08. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
09. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
10. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
11. Gluecifer - Kings of rock
12. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
13. Minor Majority - Candy store (2 CD edition)
14. Roy Lønhøiden - Når dagen demrer blått
15. Surferosa - The Beat On The Street
16. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
17. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
18. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight
19. Publiners - Driv
20. Glenn Lyse - Come Closer

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

01. Vassendgutane - Xo
02. Thom Hell - God If I Saw Her Now
03. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
04. Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments
05. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
06. Madrugada - Madrugada
07. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
08. Elvira Nikolaisen - Indian Summer
09. Roy Lønhøiden - Når dagen demrer blått
10. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
11. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
12. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
13. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight
14. Surferosa - The Beat On The Street
15. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
16. Glenn Lyse - Come Closer
17. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
18. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
19. Grand Island - Boys And Brutes
20. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang

The Violent Years are an Oslo band who play a dark, melancholic, alt-country influenced Americana flavored rock in somewhat of the same tradition of Midnight Choir or, at times, Madrugada. They were one of the better bands I saw at by:Larm last February. This song is rich in atmosphere, and laden with haunting melodies that are never too oppressive or heavy. The guitar is nicely twangy, the singing straightforward and expressive, the rhythm section spacious and solid, and the feel simultaneously gritty and pretty. It makes me optimistic about their debut ep due to be released this spring.

01. Motorpsycho - Little Lucid Moments
02. Ingrid Olava - Juliets Wishes
03. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
04. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
05. Madrugada - Madrugada
06. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
07. Vassendgutane - Xo
08. Paal Flaata - Old Angel Midnight
09. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
10. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
11. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
12. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
13. Glenn Lyse - Come Closer
14. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
15. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
16. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
17. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
18. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
19. Susanne Sundfør - Take One
20. Beady Belle - Belvedere

01. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
04. Glenn Lyse - Come Closer
05. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
06. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
07. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
08. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
09. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
10. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
11. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
12. Celine - Bæstevænna
13. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
14. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
15. Beady Belle - Belvedere
16. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
17. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
18. Susanne Sundfør - Take One
19. Tord Gustavsen Trio - Being There
20. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven

01. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
04. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
05. Glenn Lyse - Come Closer
06. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
07. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
08. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
09. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
10. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
11. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
12. Celine - Bæstevænna
13. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
14. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
15. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord og Øgonblick
16. Something Sally - Familiar Strangers
17. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
18. Sahg - II
19. Beady Belle - Belvedere
20. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008

01. Ane Brun - Changing Of The Seasons
02. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
03. Madrugada - Madrugada
04. Glenn Lyse - Come Closer
05. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
06. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
07. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
08. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
09. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
10. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
11. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
12. Susanne Sundfør - Take One
13. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
14. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008
15. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
16. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
17. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
18. Beady Belle - Belvedere
19. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
20. Celine - Bæstevænna

01. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
04. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
05. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
06. Farmers Market - Surfin' Ussr
07. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
08. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
09. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
10. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008
11. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
12. Leif Ove Andsnes - Mozart: Piano Concertos No 1
13. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
14. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
15. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
16. Celine - Bæstevænna
17. Beady Belle - Belvedere
18. Trond-Viggo Torgersen - Det du kan + noe rart & noe nytt
19. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
20. Alexandria Quartet - Alexandria Quartet

01. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. Diverse artister - Sorgen og gleden: Matte Marit
04. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
05. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
06. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
07. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
08. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
09. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
10. Leif Ove Andsnes - Mozart Piano Concerto Nos 9 & 18
11. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
12. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
13. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
14. Beady Belle - Belvedere
15. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008
16. Celine - Bæstevænna
17. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
18. Trond-Viggo Torgersen - Det du kan + noe rart & noe nytt
19. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
20. Minor Majority - Candy store (2 CD edition)

01. Kaizers Orchestra - Maskineri
02. Madrugada - Madrugada
03. The National Bank - Come On Over To The Other Side
04. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
05. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
06. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
07. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
08. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
09. Gaute Ormåsen - Drømmesang
10. Leif Ove Andsnes - Mozart Piano Concerto Nos 9 & 18
11. Beady Belle - Belvedere
12. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord og Øgonblick
13. Celine - Bæstevænna
14. BigBang - Something Special - The Best
15. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
16. The Margarets - Twenty Years Erased
17. Kurt Nilsen - Push push
18. Diverse artister - Melodi Grand Prix 2008
19. Animal Alpha - You Pay For The Whole Seat...
20. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm

It's very early morning back in January when I get an email out of the blue inviting me to give a keynote talk at by:Larm as part of their seminar. My son, ever the astute observer, rags on me: "I can't believe you get PAID to go to Norway and listen to rock bands!" I can only say "neither can I, I only hope you'll be as lucky one day."

Wednesday

I arrive on a Wednesday morning. Not long thereafter, I'm in the main tent the night before the festival officially launches, overwhelmed by the 170 bands on the program and ready to overindulge.

First up are UK act The Kooks who play a short acoustic surprise set which is great fun, though I have to admit it's already faded into a hazy memory.

The Lionheart Brothers are next. They've got a lot of buzz amongst the Norwegians, who seem quite proud of their perceived UK success and great reviews. Their sound is much harder live than I'd expect and never manages to gel. At points their harmonies are so off-key, it makes me wince.

Tingsek follow doing their pretty whiteboy soul/reggae thing. He is a pretty boy, and he works it, and I have to admit that they play quite well even if it seems a bit too designed to make girls swoon. I didn't.

Last band I catch that night is Familjen, who doesn't disappoint with a super-energetic performance including a shirt that says "Det snurrar i min skalle" in dayglo letters that shine in the light. I'm told by someone who'd seen him a month ago that he's much better tonight, and I leave a little frustrated by the brevity of the half-hour set all acts are limited to, but feeling my faith in him is well-invested.

Thursday

There wasn't anyone I was eager to see this night. I start at the main tent, which seems to be the congregation area. Metal band Harpiks open and are truly awful (even some of the metal fans I talk with think so), though I will give them credit for being the first band I've ever seen use chainsaws on fire as instruments.

Then I wind up following others' recommendations. I see Je Suis Animal, who have pretty good buzz, but whom I find so bad, I walk out and go next door to the church where the tranquil acoustic people are performing. Liev Reed is in the middle of his set. He's got a lovely voice and is a terrific guitar player, but he's kind of boring and I'm getting sleepy.

I head back to DagA where Lukestar side project Truls & The Trees are on stage. You'd think that with 9 people on stage, they could make some noise, but they've got almost no energy and I am seriously unimpressed. I leave again for the church next door where I catch Oslo's Therese Aune who blows me away completely. She's a tiny and incredibly sweet humble looking little girl who pounds the piano and sings like a banshee - beautiful, powerful, moving, and completely original.

Then back to DagA where Benni Hemm Hemm offer up a performance that's very well received, even if I find them boring. Again, you'd think that many people could make more noise and offer more energy, but it's a highly competent if slightly cold and languid orchestral set. The final act of the night is Ungdomskulen who are very nice men, but whose "punk prog" music is definitely not for me and who are so loud that the vibrations make my stomach cramp, sending me home to bed.

Friday

By this point I'm a little concerned, 11 bands and only 2 that really impressed me. But fear not, from here out, it's one slice of heaven after another.

First up is The Fine Arts Showcase at Park Teatret. They're my favorite Swedish band and despite the bad sound quality, they don't disappoint, playing a set that includes a lot of "Radiola", the singles from "Sings Rough Bunnies", and a couple of new songs to boot. Gustaf dedicates my favorite of his songs "Brother in black" to me, and I'm thinking I could head back to Kansas content at that point.

Then I catch a couple of Looptroop Rockers songs at Sentrum Scene, but Swedish whiteboy hip-hop is just not for me and I leave in hopes of catching Katzenjammer, but they've just finished their set, so I head back to Sentrum Scene where I see Salem Al Fakir. He's got a happy energetic performance style, and though it's not my genre, it's well worth seeing and the crowd loves him.

Then it's off to the small club John Dee where Bergen girlband Miss Motor put on a very fun show of 3 minute pop-punk numbers. I'm beginning to suspect that the women are going to rule this conference, a sense that's confirmed when I see Miss Li next. She's amazing - so radiantly joyous that my friend's headache disappears along with my own fatigue, and we leave happy to our very cores.

I tried to see Lykke Li next since she's got so much buzz, even if I'm far less than sold on her, but the line is long so I pop back to Sentrum Scene and catch The Violent Years' last 2 songs which leaves me regretting that I didn't see it all. What I heard sounded a bit like they might be thinking "what worked for Madrugada might work for us," but hey, that's fine with me. I'll be investigating them further.

The night ends with a power performance by what might be the most-buzzed artist, Ida Maria, who is all energy and has the crowd eating out of her hand. She's very fun, but not really very original and most of her songs seem to be one lyric repeated over and over. She's really good but I'm unconvinced.

Oh yeah, during the day I gave my keynote which was very well received. I talked about online fan community - how the internet has transformed fandom and what that means for artists and labels.

Saturday

Now it's the last day and I'm starting to get really sad realizing this is going to end so soon. In the afternoon I'm invited for "a surprise adventure" for international delegates. A dozen of us are taken to Oslo's well-kept secret, Emmanuel Vigeland's mausoleum. He's the little brother of the guy who did the sculpture park and his life's work was to paint the entire inside of this brick inverted-U shaped building with paintings so similar to his brothers' sculptures, I wonder what happened in their childhood to give them such common issues. The building has the unusual acoustic quality that all sounds reverberate for 12 seconds. There are no windows, and by the light of 2 candles, folk singer Unni Løvlid gives us a gorgeous voice-only performance of traditional Norsk folk that gives new meaning to the term "drowned in sound," which is kind of ironic since moments later I find myself talking to the fellow Drowned In Sound has sent to cover by:Larm.

I'm on a panel about digital music later that afternoon that again goes well and I meet several great people and learn several cool things I didn't know before. Fellow panelist, Jone Nuutinen, from super-cool about-to-be-Europe's-biggest street team site Urbanited, easily takes the award for person-who-looks-most-like-a-rock-star even if he's not one.

Madrugada fan that I am, the first act I catch that night, at John Dee, is Charlotte and the Co-Stars, who Madrugada's Frode Jacobson is producing. I can see the connection and am favorably impressed and look forward to hearing the record that results.

Then I race a few blocks to catch I Was A King who I just missed the night before. They're really good and make me feel good about having bought their record on eMusic before coming.

Floored as I was, I then take my friend Marika to see Miss Li, who's now at a much bigger club with a much bigger but equally adoring audience. Once again, she lights up the room with her smile and I leave bouncing and completely enamored.

There's no one really exciting in the next time slot, so we take a chance on the horribly-named All That And A Bag of Chips. Despite the funny name and humorous t-shirts that say things like "The Bass" and "The Guitar" and "The Vocals" their sound has no humor at all, and they're ok, but not that good, so we leave and head to Mono.

There we catch Miss Motor again, who are equally fun the second time. They're followed by another badly-named band, Harry's Gym, which is fronted by the woman who plays guitar for I Was A King. She's a very compelling character with more pedals for guitar effects than I've ever seen except for the Wrens' Charles Bissell, and they're really good, but their songs are very similar to one another and I'm glad the set is only half an hour.

Then we head back to Sentrum Scene for Superfamily who turn out to be expat Americans (who knew?). The place is so crowded and I'm so short that I can't see for the first half. When I finally find a spot where I can see, I realize seeing them without SEEING them is missing the point entirely. They're a fun live act, that's for sure, but the songs are nothing special and I start thinking that it would have been better if the two dancing backup guys could actually dance as well as the people they're spoofing.

Now, alas, it's 1 in the morning and the festival is way too close to being over. I head up to the delegate-only club Stratos which is located on the top floor of the old opera house with a walk-around terrace. Someone offers me a glass of champagne, and I sip it, shivering, looking at the view and thinking that this is just about as good as it gets. Slagsmålsklubben give the final show and, just as Stacey promised when she told me I HAD to see them, they are extremely entertaining and danceable. It's a perfect end to a fantastic weekend.

Final analysis: Well planned, well organized, well run, and wonderful festival. If the best band is to be judged by who leaves you happily humming their songs and ready to buy their complete collection, the festival belongs to Miss Li, someone I'd never given a second thought beforehand and could easily have missed entirely (thank goodness my friend who'd seen her told me otherwise!). Oslo's a great city. 23 bands in 3 nights and only a few of them disappointing. It's one of the best weekends of my life.
- Nancy Baym

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

01. Madrugada - Madrugada
02. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
03. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
04. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
05. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
06. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
07. The Margarets - Twenty Years Erased
08. Beady Belle - Belvedere
09. Celine - Bæstevænna
10. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
11. Something Sally - Familiar Strangers
12. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
13. Venke Knutson - Crush
14. Kurt Nilsen - Push push
15. Raga Rockers - Ubermensch
16. Animal Alpha - You Pay For The Whole Seat...
17. Tina Turner - Live In Europe
18. Ila Auto - Over The Next Hill
19. Henning Kvitnes - Stemmer i gresset
20. Tine Thing Helseth - Haydn/Hummel/Albinoni/Neruda

01. Madrugada - Madrugada
02. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
03. The Margarets - Twenty Years Erased
04. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
05. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
06. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
07. Celine - Bæstevænna
08. Animal Alpha - You Pay For The Whole Seat...
09. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
10. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
11. Venke Knutson - Crush
12. Nymark Collective With Kristin Asbjørnsen - Bessie Smiths Revisted
13. Raga Rockers - Ubermensch
14. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord og Øgonblick
15. Ugress - Unicorn
16. Kurt Nilsen - Push push
17. Nora Brockstedt - Nora - For Swingende
18. Henning Kvitnes - Stemmer i gresset
19. BigBang - Something Special - The Best
20. Ila Auto - Over The Next Hill

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

01. Madrugada - Madrugada
02. Secret Garden - Inside I'm singing
03. Sie Gubba - Sånn e livet
04. Bertine Zetlitz - In my mind 1997-2007 Best of
05. Madcon - So Dark the Con of Man
06. Anne Nørdsti - Livli på låven
07. Venke Knutson - Crush
08. Celine - Bæstevænna
09. Hellbillies - Spissrotgang
10. The Margarets - Twenty Years Erased
11. WE - Tension & Release
12. Vidar Johnsen & Peter Nordberg - Ord & Øgonblick
13. Kurt Nilsen - Push push
14. Henning Kvitnes - Stemmer i gresset
15. Valkyrien Allstars - Valkyrien Allstars
16. Nora Brockstedt - Nora - For Swingende
17. Solveig Slettahjell - Domestic songs
18. CC Cowboys - På Svalbard uten strøm
19. BigBang - Something Special - The Best
20. Erik og Kriss - Verden vil bedras

01. Britta Persson - Cliffhanger
02. TALK 1
03. Death By Kite - Sweet M
04. KVLR - Traitors and thieves
05. Anna Ternheim - Today is a good day
06. TALK 2
07. Don Juan Dracula - Take me home (Johan Angebjörn remix feat. Sally Shapiro)
08. Amorphis - Weaving the incantation
09. Thomas Denver Jonsson - Dreams at the film club (feat. Nina Kinert)
10. TALK 3
11. Don't Be A Stranger - Lonely together
12. Madrugada - Tonight I have no words for you
13. Majessic Dreams - Have to go
14. TALK 4
15. Pavan - The bird
16. Bröderna Lindgren - Om en guldfisk (feat. Kristofer Åström)
17. The Tarantula Waltz - Where I end and you begin
18. Adam Tensta - They wanna know
19. TALK 5
20. Commando M Pigg - Mot stjärnorna
21. Gravy - Rock scientists
22. Jonas Game - ADHD
23. TALK 6
24. Linus Larsson & John Roger Olsson - In the shadow
25. Idiot Kid - Go to sleep
26. Mats Öberg - Cool water - på Den Gyldene Freden
27. TALK 7
28. Pascal - Längtar efter dig
29. The Bear Quartet - I would be poor
30. Peloton - Aranburu
31. Royal Downfall - Lightning strikes twice
32. TALK 8
33. Made In Sweden - Winter's a bummer
34. Erik Enocksson - The state the sea left me in
35. Asha Ali - Coward heart
36. TALK 9
37. A-ha - Celice

01. TALK 1
02. Tiger Lou - The loyal
03. Sara Berg - Call me from below
04. Thomas Dybdahl - Maury the Pawn
05. Torpedo - Hospital
06. TALK 2
07. The Je Ne Sais Quoi - Heroica
08. Paris - When I laid my eyes on you
09. Isolation Years - Nurse hands
10. Jennie Abrahamson - Songs we sing
11. TALK 3
12. Firefox AK + Tellevika - Eric
13. Winter Took His Life - Lucky star
14. Knugen Faller - Jag vill inte vara med
15. Favorita - Seven comforts
16. TALK 4
17. Mikael Jonasson - Can you dig this?
18. Lindeberg & Can - Forbidden romance
19. John Dahlbäck - Gas
20. TALK 5
21. Ozgur Can - Changed
22. Aril Brikha - Winter
23. TALK 6
24. Rupesh Cartel - Hide like this
25. Madrugada - Hard to come back
26. Mob - Wait for me
27. TALK 7
28. Tiger Lou - Functions
]]> Sat, 03 Nov 2007 22:23:48 -0700 news sirius http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28166-mp3-bay-laurel-outside-these-walls http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28166-mp3-bay-laurel-outside-these-walls http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28166-mp3-bay-laurel-outside-these-walls#comments I spent quite a bit of time combing through my music archives looking for dark and scary music to use in my various Halloween playlists, naturally digging up quite a bit of my old goth and doomrock in the process. One of the bands that jumped out was Bay Laurel, a Swedish act that I probably first became aware of through Katatonia, back when I used to regularly check the current playlist section of their website to see what they were listening to. I discovered quite a few great acts that way- it led me to revisit Kent and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and got me into other stuff like Ben Christophers, Novembre and Madrugada. Bay Laurel actually reminds me a bit of Madrugada, come to think of it, at least their older material circa "Industrial silence". It strikes a similar mood the guitarists do a decent job of approximating Robert Burås' superb use of space. It also helps that Bay Laurel frontman Rikard Löfgren has a deep voice reminiscent of Sivert Høyem, though his lyrical aspirations don't quite match up. Still, I appreciate Rikard's incredibly earnest delivery even if he sometimes over-indulges in cliché. And the music is great; dark and heavy without crossing the line into metal. Too bad there aren't more bands like this around nowadays or, if there are, I'm certainly not hearing about 'em.]]> Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:55:35 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/680 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/680 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/680#comments The playlist for my radio show this week:

01. Säkert! - Allt som är ditt
02. TALK 1
03. Madrugada - Shine
04. My Midnight Creeps - Don't let 'em bring you down
05. TALK 2
06. Asha Ali - A promise broken
07. Detektivbyrån - Hemvägen
08. Pelle Carlberg - Clever girls like clever boys much more than clever boys like clever girls
09. TALK 3
10. Enslaved - 793 (Slaget om Lindisfarne)
11. TALK 4
12. Fare You Well - Take me away
13. The Kissaway Trail - Smother + Evil = Hurt
14. Emmon - Wake up time (Thermostatic remix)
15. TALK 5
16. KVLR - Traitors and thieves
17. Magnus Carlsson - Va med mig
18. Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - Bebopalulia
19. TALK 6
20. De Må Være Belgiere - Cirkler
21. Johndoe - Kjøtere
22. Manes - Deeprooted
23. TALK 7
24. Khoma - Stop making speeches
25. The Giant's Dream - Significant dawn
26. Las Puertas - The water
27. TALK 8
28. Lordi - The chainsaw buffet
29. Logh - A sunset knife fight
30. Lack - 5 o'clock in the evening
31. TALK 9
32. The Bear Quartet - Before the trenches
33. Jan Johansson - Visa från Utanmyra
34. TALK 10
35. Kashmir - The aftermath]]> Sat, 21 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/701 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/701 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/701#comments Madrugada/My Midnight Creeps guitarist Robert Burås was laid to rest yesterday. Friend and fellow bandmember Sivert Høyem led a group of 40-50 people in singing "If I can dream" and his coffin left the church to the sounds of "Many rivers to cross" by Jimmy Cliff. Robert will be cremated and his ashes taken back to Nord Norge. Press coverage: VG / Dagbladet]]> Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27677-mp3-madrugada-quite-emotional http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27677-mp3-madrugada-quite-emotional http://www.itsatrap.com/n/27677-mp3-madrugada-quite-emotional#comments Robert Burås, guitarist for My Midnight Creeps and Madrugada, was found dead at his home in Oslo last night, July 12. He was 31 years old. MMC were scheduled to play at Stavernfestivalen in Vestfold tonight and the festival organizers have announced they will simply leave the stage black at 19:30, the time that the band would have gone on. Read a statement from his bandmates: http://www.emi.no/madrugada/
Like a lot of people, my first introduction to Robert's work was through Madrugada's landmark debut "Industrial silence", easily one of the best Norwegian rock albums ever released. Naturally, the first thing that drew me in was Sivert Høyem's unmistakable croon, but it was Robert's tremendous and understated guitar playing that kept my attention. He will be missed. RIP.]]> Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700 mp3s http://www.itsatrap.com/n/923 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/923 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/923#comments The playlist for this week's radio show:

01. Kaizers Orchestra - Ompa til du dør
02. TALK 1
03. Logh - Thieves in the palace
04. Élodie - At the end of the line
05. Beem - Ducker
06. TALK 2
07. Hell On Wheels - Alexander
08. Isolation Years - Albino child
09. Honey Is Cool - Bolero
10. TALK 3
11. Mob - Wait for me
12. Skywriter - For heaven's sake
13. Menfolk - Zero is also a number
14. TALK 4
15. Plain Fade - Datura
16. Division of Laura Lee - Dirty love
17. Det Gamla Landet - Det heliga landet
18. TALK 5
19. Elope - Black eyed citizen
20. Fontän - You, me & a tree
21. Gehenna - Touched and left for dead
22. TALK 6
23. Mustasch - I hunt alone
24. Cobolt - The Atlantic Ocean takes her back
25. Blinders On - Blinders are on
26. Madrugada - Higher
27. TALK 7
28. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - I could have sworn I heard them SING
29. Notre Dame - Into the coven
30. TALK 8
31. The Motorhomes - The man]]> Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1140 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1140 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1140#comments Dagavisen is counting down the top 30 Norwegian albums of all-time: http://www.dagsavisen.no/kultur/musikk/article293966.ece
Summary of what's posted so far:

30. Turboneger - Apocalypse Dudes
29. Tre Så Kinesere - 365 Fri
28. Darkthrone - A Blaze In The Northern Sky
27. Madrugada - The Nightly Desease
26. Kung Fu Girls - This Is The Kung Fu Beat
25. Sissy Wish - You May Breathe
24. Lillemor - Lokkemann
23. Terje Rypdal - Bleak House
22. a-ha - Hunting High An Low
21. Thomas Dybdahl - That Great October Sound]]> Thu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25878-ane-brun-live-in-scandinavia-determine-v2 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25878-ane-brun-live-in-scandinavia-determine-v2 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/25878-ane-brun-live-in-scandinavia-determine-v2#comments Brun. Smokey vox and bewitching string segments set stall on this career busting 17 song span of live tracks recorded towards the tail end of 2006. The collection foists great merit on her performances. At times Brun eclipes Åström, Weeping Willows, Madrugada in the bitter sweet stakes. The big sounds wailing blue, alt-country (I should be shot for using that description) on such 'beauts as "Lift me" (with equally beguiling Nina Kinert as opposed to Madrugada's Sivert Høyem), and the more up tempo "No. 6", are just two very strong highlights. "Balloon ranger" darts violin, the double bass. KT Tunstall would be proud of "So you did it again".]]> Wed, 30 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 reviews http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1301 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1301 http://www.itsatrap.com/n/1301#comments My radio show this week is all about good-time summer jams:

01. TALK 1
02. Junior Senior - Move your feet
03. Tigerbombs - 1000 sparks
04. Säkert! - Vi kommer att dö samtidigt
05. TALK 2
06. Maia Hirasawa - And I found this boy
07. Margaret Berger - Samantha
08. The Knife - Heartbeats
09. The Ark - The worrying kind
10. TALK 3
11. Bamse - Kapten Busters sång
12. Marit Bergman - Adios amigos
13. Last Days of April - Playerin
14. Nic & the Family - Hej Monika
15. TALK 4
16. Basshunter - Boten Anna
17. The Alpine - No I in team
18. Aqua - Barbie girl
19. TALK 5
20. I'm From Barcelona - Treehouse
21. Bertine Zetlitz - 500
22. Eric Prydz vs Floyd - Proper education
23. TALK 6
24. Children of Bodom - Oops, I did it again!
25. Whale - Hobo humpin' slobo babe
26. Kurt Nilsen - She's so high
27. Desert Planet - Return of the ninja droids
28. TALK 7
29. Laakso - Italy vs Helsinki
30. Peter Bjorn and John - Young folks
31. September - Cry for you
32. TALK 8
33. Randy - Summer of bros
34. Ace of Base - All that she wants
35. Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-Garde - Democracy
36. TALK 9
37. Håkan Hellström - Kann ingen sorg för mig Göteborg
38. Seven Feet Four - Last days of summer
39. Tiger Lou - The war between us (Rupesh Cartel remix)
40. Madrugada - The kids are on high street
41. TALK 10
42. Europe - The final countdown

Download the companion "Summer jam '07" podcast mix right here.]]> Sat, 26 May 2007 00:00:00 -0700 news