Kristoffer & The Harbour Heads EPK (video)

Coming March 15 via Kning Disk, the new album "Little goes a long way" from Kristoffer & The Harbour Heads. This is the video EPK.

2012 Swedish Grammis nominees

The nominees for the 2012 Swedish Grammis have been announced:

Best Album:
Anna Ternheim - The Night Visitor
Deportees - Islands & Shores
Ison & Fille - För Evigt
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Veronica Maggio - Satan I Gatan

Best Artist:
Deportees
Lykke Li
Melissa Horn
Swedish House Mafia
Veronica Maggio

Best Electronic/Dance:
Adrian Lux - Boy / Alive
Avicii - Levels/Fade Into Darkness
Little Dragon - Ritual Union
Rebecca & Fiona - I Love You, Man
Swedish House Mafia - Save The World/Antidote

Best Hip-Hop/Soul:
Adam Tensta - Scared Of The Dark
Alexis Weak - Till Minne Av
Ison & Fille - För Evigt
Movits! - Ut Ur Min Skalle
Timbuktu - Sagolandet

Best Hardrock/Metal:
Graveyard - Hisingen Blues
Hammerfall - Infected
In Flames - Sounds Of A Playground Fading
Opeth - Heritage
The Haunted - Unseen

Best Jazz:
Freddie Wadling - With A License To Kill
Georg Riedel, Sarah Riedel & Nicolai Dunger - Cornelis Vs Riedel
Magnus Öström - Thread Of Life
Nils LanDGRen - The Moon, The Stars And You
Tonbruket - Dig It To The End

Best Songwriter:
Anna Järvinen - Anna Själv Tredje
Anna Ternheim - The Night Visitor
Lykke Li, Björn Yttling & Rick Nowels - Wounded Rhymes
Melissa Horn - Innan Jag Kände Dig
Veronica Maggio/Christian Walz - Satan I Gatan

Best Song:
Avicii - Levels
Den Svenska Björnstammen - Vart Jag Mig I Världen Vänder
Eric Amarillo - Om Sanningen Ska Fram (Vill Du Ligga Med Mig?)
Eric Saade - Popular
Petter & September - Baksmälla
September - Mikrofonkåt
Swedish House Mafia - Save The World
Timbuktu - Resten Av Ditt Liv
Tove Styrke - White Light Moment
Veronica Maggio - Jag Kommer

Best Music Video:
Gustav Johansson - Karl X Johan "Flames (Uncompromised Cut)"
Magnus Renfors - Peter Jöback, Filmen Till Albumet "Livet, Kärleken Och Döden - La Vie, L'amour, La Mort"
Max Vitali - Robyn "Call Your Girlfriend"
Slobodan Zivic - Kriget "Submission"
Ted Malmros/Gustaf Von Arbin - Peter Bjorn And John "Gimme Some"

Best Newcomer:
Adrian Lux
Aleks
Den Svenska Björnstammen
Newkid
Rebecca & Fiona

Best Pop:
Ane Brun - It All Starts With One
Anna Ternheim - The Night Visitor
Jonathan Johansson - Klagomuren
Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Veronica Maggio - Satan I Gatan

Best Producer:
Christian Walz
Johan Eckeborn
Masse Salazar
Shellback
Tobias Fröberg

Best Rock:
Deportees - Islands & Shores
Eldkvarn - De Berömdas Aveny
Kebnekajse - Idioten
Me And My Army - Thank God For Sending Demons
Samling - När Mullret Dövar Våra Öron Blir Vi Rädda

Best International Success:
Avicii
Little Dragon
Lykke Li
Opeth
Swedish House Mafia

Best Lyrics:
Anna Ternheim - The Night Visitor
Jonathan Johansson - Klagomuren
Mauro Scocco - Musik För Nyskilda
Melissa Horn - Innan Jag Kände Dig
Veronica Maggio/Christian Walz - Satan I Gatan

Best Innovator:
Avicii
Deportees
Erato
Looptroop Rockers
Veronica Maggio

More here: http://www.grammis.se/

Koko - Never listen

A second taste of the new Koko record, coming out in early 2012 via Fashionpolice Records. Once again, Koko is Emil LunDGRen and Sven Johansson and Sven's bandmate Elina Johansson from Dear Euphoria contributes guest vocals. Recommended!

Koko - If I could win

Koko is a new act featuring Emil LunDGRen and Sven Johansson and "If I could win" is the first sample of the duo's forthcoming album "K:O". Sven's bandmate Elina Johansson from Dear Euphoria contributes guest vocals here and elsewhere; likewise, Johan Ivansson (Tove Styrke, Erik Hassle) and other famous Stockholm-dwellers lend their talents to other tracks. More details will be revealed in time, meanwhile just enjoy this one song.

MP3: Koko - If I could win

New Ed Greene CS EP on the way

Via Swedesplease comes word that the terminally underappreciated Ed Greene has a new EP on the way via DIY indiepop cassette label Fika Recordings: http://fikarecordings.com/2011/05/fika008-ed-greene/
Skip right to the streaming preview here: http://eDGReene.fikarecordings.com/

New documentary: Iceland: Beyond Sigur Rós

Iceland Music Export on "Iceland: Beyond Sigur Rós", a new not-for-profit 30m documentary on the Icelandic music scene which is available for free streaming online: http://www.icelandmusic.is/News/1684/Iceland--Beyond-Sigur-Ros---New-Music-Documentary--/default.aspx
Featured artists include Ólafur Arnalds, Hafdis Huld, Mugison, BlooDGRoup, For A Minor Reflection, Seabear and more plus a number of behind-the-scenes folks such as journalists and producers.

Nordic By Nature: new mix, clubnight

Berlin-based Scandinavian music clubnight Nordic By Nature has a new mixtape for January: http://soundcloud.com/shibie/nordic-by-nature-honey-jan-mix
They also have a show booked for January 31 featuring Iceland's BlooDGRoup at the Levee Club: http://www.nbnberlin.de/tickets.html

SuperCharger - Handgrenade blues
(VME)

The debut from this Danish crew serves as a lesson in the craft of fusing rock'n'roll nostalgia with heavy metal thunder. As the band name suggests, the album is, indeed, a super-charged dose of metal that drives with an unwavering passion throughout. More often than not, it references a multitude of legendary rock acts in such a deliberate manner that it's clear these guys have absorbed all the essential ingredients of their favorite bands and cooked up their own blend of metal'n'roll that, while definitely familiar, is quite unique. There's a distinct Southern feel on here, so much so that you would be forgiven for thinking that SuperCharger hail from the USA rather than Denmark. As for the variety of bands that are referenced, there are simply too many to mention in detail. From the offset there's a Guns n' Roses thing going on, particularly in the use of the piano and the riffing style they employ. The guitar aspect continues throughout the album, albeit mainly in the small nuances heard in the background here and there, while the use of the piano regularly conjures up visions of Axl and Co. in their "Use your illusion" years. There are also regular nods and winks to Mötley Crüe, Aerosmith, AC/DC and even the likes of Little Angels and Status Quo, all executed with a metalized style that affords it a sound unique to SuperCharger. A great little discovery for fans of any of the aforementioned bands and, I would dare say, an eye-opener for fans of Southern rock.
- John Norby

Radar - Where others were honest (I'm a lie)

Norrland crust/metal/prog act Moloken, a 2009 favorite, are touring Scandinavia later this month and one of the bands they're playing a string of dates with is Finnish act Radar. Generally speaking, I'm not too crazy about their style of post-metal, but the new EP they recently sent me has a pretty cool 3D cover and the included glasses allowed me to properly view Robyn's video for "Don't fucking tell me what to do", so that's gotta be worth something -- hence this post. It's kind of weird, in the space of a month of so I got a whole bunch of new music in a similar vein and, again -- while not being a huge fan of this stuff, was pleasantly surprised to find it all to be of above-average quality. I already covered Kausal who might just be the best of the lot, but Radar are pretty decent too despite one major piccadillo: I don't care if you want to sing cleanly or scream harshly, but please don't try to do both. 99% of the time it sucks and Radar are no exception. Individually, they do fine with each style... when performed together, it's way corny. That's why I'm posting a track with purely melodic vocals for fellow discerning listeners -- you get the heaviness and the glory and none of the distracting bullshit. RIYL Khoma!

Oh, and those Moloken tourdates:

09/15 - L'Orient, Linköping (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/16 - Sugar Bar, Stockholm (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/17 - Ungdomens Hus, Uppsala (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/18 - Ungdomens Hus, Oskarshamn (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/19 - tba, Karlskrona (SWE) w/This Gift is a Curse
09/23 - Nuclear Nightclub, Oulu (FIN) w/Radar
09/24 - Lutakko, Jyväskylä (FIN) w/Radar
09/25 - S-Osis, Turku (FIN) w/Radar
09/26 - Kuudes Linja, Helsinki (FIN) w/Radar
09/29 - tba (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
09/30 - tba (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
10/01 - Garage, Oslo (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline
10/02 - Fru LunDGReen, Trondheim (NOR) w/Manhattan Skyline

MP3: Radar - Where others were honest (I'm a lie)

Ed Greene back with new music, no label

Stockholm-based twang/indie act Ed Greene is back with a new album, but no label to release. Check out three brand new tracks over at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/eDGReene