IT'S A TRAP! Scandinavian Music Journal

Heathers/Hollows preview

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:08:03 -0700

Johannes Brander (Skogar) + Johan G Winther (Scraps of Tape, Thee Gutted String, etc.) = Heathers/Hollows. Debut C60 out on Native Parts Records in early April.

Presenting Heather/Hollows

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:15:30 -0800

Preview a new track from Heathers/Hollows, the noise/improv duo of Johannes Brander (Skogar) and Johan G Winther (Scraps of Tape, Thee Gutted String, etc.): http://skogars.tumblr.com/post/15738150476/new-noise-improv-supergroup-johannes-brander
Expect a bunch of releases to surface later this year.

Skogar + Johan G Winther

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:09:50 -0700

Skogar recorded a tune with Johan Gustavsson aka Johan G Winther of Scraps of Tape/Thee Gutted String; listen here: http://skogars.tumblr.com/post/11366035537/during-a-lazy-summerday-i-recorded-this-track-at

Skogar update

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 19:43:11 -0700

Swedish experimental artist Skogar (aka Johannes Brander) will be collaborating with American artist Sharon Van Etten on an upcoming project, due out sometime later this year. In the meantime, check out a review of his most recent cassette release "Magic/Khands" at Foxy Digitalis: http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=11559
In other news, Skogar's next release will be his first ever on LP as opposed to CS or CDr and it is coming via the newly-founded label Tikitania Records. More details on that when I get them.

Native Parts vs the Ides of April

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:20:12 -0700

Coming April 15 via Native Parts Records, a new CS from Crystal Crypt, a sideproject of bedroom/lofi psych project Skogar: http://www.nativepartsrec.com/npr17.html
Also being released the same day, a split CS from noiseniks Lindh/Thörn (aka Carl Lindh and Pär Thörn) and Heinz Hopf (aka prolific GBG-based artists Matthias Andersson and Dan Johansson). Details/sample: http://www.nativepartsrec.com/npr18.html

MP3: Skogar - Secret hymns

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:11:40 -0700

Here's one that's been on my to-do list for awhile now, mostly due to the fact that I've had trouble wrapping my head around its abstract expansiveness. Had I actually read the bio text and known that Skogar (aka Johannes Brander) was yet another bedroom artist playing around with a guitar, an arsenal of effect pedals and a 4-track, I probably would've filed this in the "ignore" pile (or the circular file, as it were), but I did not and I am glad for it. As "easy" as it is to make that sort of music, it rarely comes out so well; there is far more to this brand of artistry than a stack of gearboxes. It's even better that I sometimes have trouble recognizing sound sources, though this particular track is very obviously guitar-based. I could actually do without the lead noodlings buried in the mix; it's the backing loops of chirping noise and loping bassnotes that are the most interesting part, along with the subtle shifts in harmony that keep it going. However, the piece really works best in context of the whole -- another reason for my delay in coverage. There are many fine, fleeting moments, but none of them reveal the quality of the complete work. I'm glad I took a chance on this.
A sidenote in the always-interesting "small world" subcategory: Skogar's label Native Parts Records is putting out a split CDr with Malmö act Utom Alla and local-to-me band Flora vs. Fauna. Weirdness.