Swedish tech-metal act Meshuggah, Norway's noir-rockers The Ricochets and Denmark's Wynona have all been added to the Roskilde Festival lineup.

Here's most of the nominees for the Spellemannprisen, Norway's answer to the Grammy:

Female pop soloist:
Lene Marlin - "Another Day"
Karin Park - "Superworldunknown"
Bertine Zetlitz - "Sweet Injections"

Male pop soloist:
Julian Berntzen - "Waffytown"
Thomas Dybdahl - "Stray Dogs"
Magnet - "On Your Side"

Pop group:
D'Sound - "Doublehearted"
Ephemera - "Air"
Number Seven Deli - "Falkner Street"

Electronica:
Snuten - "Welcome to the Jungle"
Ulver - "Teachings in Silence"
Xploding Plastix - "The Donca Matic Singalongs"

Rock:
Amulet - "Danger! Danger!"
Ricochets - "The Ghost Of Our Love"
Thulsa Doom - "And Then Take You To a Place Where Jars Are"
Turbonegro - "Scandinavian Leather"
We - "Lightyears Ahead"

Blues/Country:
Vidar Busk - "Love Buzz"
Amund Maarud - "Ripped, Stripped and Southern Fried"
Tumbleweed - "Once More, With Feeling"

Metal:
Dimmu Borgir - "Death Cult Armageddon"
Enslaved - "Below the Lights"
Old Man's Child - "In Defiance of Existence"

Hip-Hop:
Diaz - "Velkommen Hjem Andres"
Equicez - "State of Emergency"
Paperboys - "The Great Escape"

Jazz:
Atomic - "Boom Boom"
Toe Brunborg Quartet - "Gravity"
Karin Krog - "Where You At?"
Christian Wallumrød Ensemble - "Sofienberg Variations"
Håvard Wiik - "Postures"

Open class:
Anne-Lise Berntsen/Nils Asheim - "Kom Regn"
Hallvard Bjørgum & Co- "Free Field"
Motorpsycho/Jaga Jazzist Horns - "In the Fishtank"
Niko Valkeapää - "Niko Valkeapää"
When - "Pearl Harvest"

Music video:
Diaz - "Hvem er denne karen"
Folk og Røvere - "Utadæsjælåpplevelse"
Kaizers Orchestra - "Evig Pint"
Thomas Dybdahl - "Cecilia"
Bertine Zetlitz - "Girl Like You"

Best newcomer:
Julian Berntzen - "Whaffy Town"
Equicez - "State of Emergency"
Rebekka Karijord - "Neophyte"
Kurt Nilsen - "I"
Karin Park - "Superworldunknown"

Best song:
Maria Arrendondo - "In Love With An Angel"
David - "Wild At Heart"
Folk og Røvere - "Utadæsjælåpplevelse"
Lene Marlin - "You Weren’t There"
Kurt Nilsen - "She’s So High"

Go here for the rest: https://www.nrk.no/musikk/3399677.html

Other notables/honorable mentions:

Cult of Luna - The Beyond & s/t reissue (Earache)
Crushing doom in the vein of Neurosis and Isis, but with a touch of something else that separates them from the rest of the imitators. Hopefully these guys will tour the US because I bet they kill live.

Shout Out Louds - Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Bud Fox)
Broder Daniel - Cruel Town (Dolores)
These are two of the best Swedish indiepop records this year and I think I actually like the former a bit more than the latter. Broder Daniel has some better songs when taken on their own, but the Shout Out Louds made a better album. I was hoping the latest Bad Cash Quartet would rate too, but it was a huge disappointment.

Zyklon - Aeon (Candlelight)
Ex-Emperor guitarist Samoth proves he can move on and still make quality music. One of the few black-metal releases this year that really caught my interest. Either the scene is stagnant or I've lost interest, not sure.

Motorpsycho & Jaga Jazzist Horns - In the Fishtank (Konkurrent)
It's about time the rest of the world was exposed to these guys. I can do without that one awful funk track, but the rest of this is great stuff. Hopefully the increased international profile of this release will help them get their own music recognized and appreciated.

Randy - Welfare Problems (Burning Heart)
I don't listen to much punk-rock these days, but Randy always delivers. Looking forward to the US tour in February.

The Cardigans - Long Gone Before Daylight (Stockholm Records)
I was really put off by the mellow 70s vibe at first, but once I got over it I found out there were some pretty great songs here. Definitely not what I was expecting, but worth a second glance if you passed it over before.

Ricochets - Ghost of Our Love (White Jazz)
Tiger Lou - Trouble And Desire (Startracks)
Mustasch - Ratsafari (Majesty/Capitol)
Seven Feet Four - Departure/Arrival (Coalition)
Four solid releases from four very different acts. Nothing life changing here, but all still quite good and definitely worth investigating.

Jaga Jazzist - The Stix (Smalltown Supersound)
Supersilent - 6 (Rune Grammofon)
v/a - Money Will Ruin Everything 2xCD + Book (Rune Grammofon)
Norway is really a hotbed for experimental genre-expanding music right now and these three releases are a great place to start. You won't find that elusive "next big thing" here, just music that will make you think. Both Smalltown Supersound and Rune Grammofon are labels to keep an eye on.

Top ten: 2003

Adressa's top 10 Norweigan CDs of 2003:

01. The Ricochets - The Ghost of Our Love
02. King Midas - Romeo turn
03. Magnet - On Your Side
04. Thomas Dybdahl - Stray Dogs
05. Johndoe - Rastløs Rock `n Roll
06. Julian Berntzen - Waffy Town
07. Sgt. Petter - It`s a record
08. Dipsomaniacs - Praying Winter
09. Motorpsycho & Jaga Jazzist - In the Fishtank
10. Lionheart Brothers - White Angel, Black Apple

Read more: https://www.adressa.no/kultur/article.jhtml?articleID=462217

It's not too dissimilar from the Dagbladet list (see 12/09), but here's the top 21 records of the year from Norway's Aftenposten:

01. Equicez - "State Of Emergency"
02. Magnet - "On Your Side"
03. Thomas Dybdahl - "Stray Dogs"
04. King Midas - "Romeo Turn"
05. Vidar Busk - "Love Buzz"
06. Turbonegro - "Scandinavian Leather"
07. Ephemera - "Air"
08. Rebekka Bakken - "The Art Of How To Fall"
09. Tord Gustavsen Trio - "Changing Places"
10. Supersilent - "6"
11. Enslaved - "Below The Lights"
12. El Corazón - "El Corazón"
13. Karen Jo Fields - "Chase The Blue"
14. St. Thomas - "Hey Harmony"
15. Dimmu Borgir - "Death Cult Armageddon"
16. Bertine Zetlitz - "Sweet Injections"
17. Kaospilot - "Kaospilot"
18. Cloroform - "Hey You Let's Kiss"
19. Kaizers Orchestra - "Evig Pint"
20. Jaa9 & OnklP - "Bondegrammatikk - The Mixtape"
21. Ricochets - "The Ghost Of Our Love"

Nominees for Norway's Alarm awards:

Rock:
Turbonegro - Scandinavian Leather
King Midas - Romeo Turn
Ricochets - The Ghost Of Our Love
Amulet - Danger! Danger!
Sgt. Petter - It's A Record

Pop:
Julian Berntzen - Waffy Town
Magnet - On Your Side
Ephemera - Air
Thomas Dybdahl - Stray Dogs
Karen Jo Fields - Chase The Blue

Metal:
Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon
El Caco - Solid Rest
The Cumshots - Norwegian Jesus
Enslaved - Below the Lights
Thulsa Doom - ...And Then Take You To A Place Where Jars Are Kept

Hip-hop/Rap:
Paperboys - The Great Escape
Equicez - State of Emergency - Generation Equiz
Jaa9 & OnklP - Bondegrammatikk - The Mixtape
Spetakkel - Spetakkel
Diaz - Velkommen hjem, Andres

Electronica:
Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band - A Special Album
Pleasure - Pleasure
Xploding Plastix - The Donca Matic Singalongs
Tøyen - Did You Bring
Erlend Øye - Unrest

Jazz:
Atomic - Boom Boom
Supersilent - Supersilent 6
Come Shine - With The Norwegian Radio Orchestra In Concert
Håvard Wiik Trio - Postures
Paal Nilsen-Love / Ken Wandermark - Dual

Song:
Ephemera - Girls Keep Secrets In The Strangest Ways
Equicez - Barnslig
Ricochets - The Ghost Of Our Love
King Midas - Romeo Turn
Turbonegro - Fuck The World

Live:
Turbonegro
Ralph Myerz & The Jack Herren Band
King Midas
Equicez
The International Tussler Society

The Alarm awards aren't quite as respected as the Spellemannprisen, Norway's version of the Grammy, but are considered more of a stepping stone for young artists. Go to the Alarm site to vote for your favorites: https://www.alarmweb.org/2003/

Even though I think I already posted everything covered in it already, The Ricochets have issued a brand new Ricochets.net/PRESS%20RELEASE.031111.dot" target=_blank>press release today. (in Norweigan)

The Ricochets are confirmed to play the Eurosonic Festival in the Netherlands on January 9 next year. Details are here. Other Scandinavian acts set to play include Ane Brun (NOR), Baby Woodrose (DK), Don Johnson Big Band (FIN), Hell On Wheels (SWE), Mew (DK), Ralph Myerz & the Jack Herren Band (NOR), Soulvation (NL), The Soundtrack Of Our Lives (SWE), and Under Byen (DK).

Norway's The Ricochets are heading out on a tour of Northern Europe in January to be followed by some dates in Finland and maybe even a stop in St.Petersburg, Russia. They are also planning to hit the UK in February or March, but nothing is confirmed yet. Here's what they've announced so far:

01/07-11 - tba
01/12 - Szene, Vienna (AUS)
01/13 - Fisherman's Cafe - Langenau (GER)
01/14 - Gawwerk - Winterhur(CH)
01/15 - ISC - Bern (CH)
01/16 - Club W 71 - Weikersheim (GER)
01/17 - Underground - Cologne (GER)
01/18 - Patronaat - Haarlem (NL)
01/19 - tba
01/20 - tba
01/21 - Winston International - Amsterdam (NL)
01/22-27 - tba

Ricochets.net/audiovideo.r1.html" target=_blank>Go here to download 10 full-length mp3s from Norway's The Ricochets. They also say they will be adding some live video footage from Månefestivalen in Fredrikstad to the page soon, too.

The Ricochets got themselves an online forum. Beware of pop-ups and spyware.

The Ricochets have been confirmed for the Iceland Airwaves Festival on October 15-19 in Reykjavík, Iceland. They'll be the only representative from Norway alongside local acts Singapore Sling, Minus, Daysleeper, Gus Gus and more. Details: www.icelandairwaves.com
The Ricochets have also announced they'll be doing a 16-day tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland this coming January. Nothing confirmed yet, but I'll be sure to keep y'all posted.

I first linked to a Norweigan article about it on 08/07, but now it's being carried elsewhere: ex-Aqua singer Lene Nystrøm punched out Danish record producer Jens Otto Paludan at his 40th birthday party after he reportedly made comments on her 'seductive dance moves' (as MTVE.com puts it). Her debut album "Play With Me" comes out soon and she will be posing for Playboy in the near future. "However I don't undress completely," she told BT magazine. "But I feel comfortable with doing that right now, because I've never felt better, physically and mentally. I have trained very much, two hours every morning with a personal trainer, and never felt that I looked so good in a bikini."

Check this out for profiles on a number of the Norweigan artists appearing at this year's Popkomm in Cologne, Germany. All four bands featured (x.lover, Silver, The Ricochets and Helldorado) are set to play a free show at the Underground Club there on August 14.

The Rasmus have announced they will play the Popkomm music industry conference/festival in Cologne, Germany on August 15. Other Scandinavian acts set to appear at various events during the festival include Si Begg, Silver, Ricochets, Helldorado, x.lover, Luomo, Covenant, The Gathering, Xploding Plastix, St. Thomas, Boomhauer, Thee Ultra Bimboos, and Screamin’ Stukas. More info: www.popkomm.de