Renown Norwegian singer/songwriters Ane Brun and Thomas Dybdahl will share the stage for the first time on the roof of the oslo Opera House on August 7. They will be performing their own material as well as duets and will be backed by the Opera Orchestra under the direction of Christian Eggen. Ticket info: http://www.operaen.no/Default.aspx?ID=27239&ProductID=PROD568
Kråkesølv are currently at Grand Sport Studio in oslo working on a new album for release this fall. If you can read Norwegian, follow their studio blog at myspace: http://blogs.myspace.com/krakesolv
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU, a special post-SXSW extra-mellow episode:
01. TALK 1
02. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words - Lost & losing
03. Raison d'Étre - Withstand the fire
04. The Bear Quartet - Carry your weight
05. TALK 2
06. Rasmus Kellerman - Five years from now
07. Jóhann Jóhannsson - Theme
08. Håkon Kornstad - oslo
09. TALK 3
10. Patrik Andersson & Vegar Vårdal - Gråtaren
11. Folkvang - Myrmark
12. Hello Saferide - Arjeplog
13. David Åhlén - Great is thy faithfulness
14. TALK 4
15. Tsukimono - Gloomy Sunday
16. Hearts No Static - Happy holidays
17. Ted Gärdestad - Come give me love
18. TALK 5
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.
EskatolIt's a safe bet that if you were to check a thesaurus entry for the word "furious" one of the synonyms you'd find would be Eskatol. This oslo six-piece is one of the few bands out there who have successfully managed to marry all-out hardcore aggression with metal technicality and melody to create an astounding body of work that sounds as if the two subgenres were made for each other. It's not often that this works but, by hell, it does this time! Best examples are evident on the likes of "Feierferd", "Med knyttet hånd", and "Hellig system" with their pure metal melodies and leads, touching on a math metal complexity in places and, above all, encrusted in an extreme hardcore angst that furnishes the album with integrity and passion. It's clear that Eskatol are a genuine band far from the confines of pandering to an audience or contriving a unique sound. Yes, their sound is unique, but the fact that it plays out so naturally shows just how authentic these guys are. There's an unbridled intensity on display here and, with only three of the fourteen songs clocking in at the 3:00+ mark, it's clear that there's a heck of a lot going on within each tune. It must be said that, as with most hardcore-based albums, "Blodørn" does have a few moments where there's repetition in the air. Thankfully, these moments are very few and far between on this. Crust, hardcore, death metal, melodic metal: Eskatol have all corners of the extreme covered. And for those of you who like your music extreme, Eskatol have you covered!
- John Norby
Wildbird & Peacedrums recently recorded a pair of new EPs in Iceland, five songs with the 12-person Schola Cantorum Reykjavík Chamber Choir and five with steel drums, and will be releasing them on 12" vinyl with CD and digital releases to follow eventually. They're also road-testing the new material and here are the dates:
05/14 - ATP Festival, Minehead (UK)
05/15 - Bishopsgate Institute, London (UK)
05/16 - Café De La Danse, Paris (FRA)
05/17 - Dampfzentrale, Basel (CH)
05/19 - Babel, Malmö (SWE)
05/20 - Jazzhouse, Copenhagen (DK)
05/21 - Blå, oslo (NOR)
05/22 - Södra Teatern, Stockholm (SWE)
Norwegian act Kaizers Orchestra are planning to spend the next three years working on an ambitious trilogy of records entitled "Violeta, Violeta" with the first volume due in November 2011 and the final arriving in November 2012. There will also be touring along the way, the bulk of it to transpire in spring of 2011. Read more: http://kaizers.no/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=90%3Akaizers-due-to-play-oslo-spektrum-next-year&catid=12%3Anews&Itemid=7
The Psyke Project will support US act Nachtmysterium for a number of UK and European dates in March:
03/19 - ighting Cocks, Kingston (UK)
03/21 - The Croft, Bristol (UK)
03/22 - Central Station, Wrexham (UK)
03/23 - Moho Live, Manchester (UK)
03/24 - Ivory Blacks, Glasgow (UK)
03/25 - The Well, Leeds (UK)
03/26 - Rock City Basement, Nottingham (UK)
03/27 - Islington Academy 2, London (UK)
03/28 - Engine Room, Brighton (UK)
03/29 - The Frontline, Ghent (BEL)
03/30 - Markthalle, Hamburg (GER)
03/31 - The Rock, Copenhagen (DK)
04/01 - Inferno Fest, John Dee, oslo (NOR)
The good folks at MIC Norway sent me a big box of CDs earlier this week as part of their "Listen to Norway" music promotion program, so to oblige them I will attempt to do some sort of weekly feature on one of the contents therein. I'm planning on listening to most of it anyway, so why not give it focus? Now as for the types of discs they sent me, there's a good selection of pop, rock, indie and metal stuff that I've either heard before or at least somewhat familiar with, so I decided to jump into the other stuff first. I know some Norwegian jazz, mostly through artists affiliated with or , and we'll get to those in coming weeks, but it's definitely the folk music that intrigued me the most. As regular readers should know by now, I love traditional Scandinavian folk, especially when it's done in contemporary fashion ala Detektivbyrån, but I'm also quite fond of the trad stuff, it's just that I barely know where to start with it so let us consider this to be a mutual exploration. There's a lot of folk music out there and I've listened to a damn lot of Hardanger fiddle this week and while I couldn't begin to tell you the history of the style or anything about the various regional variations, I know what I like and Valkyrien Allstars are a group I definitely can get into. According to the liner notes of their self-titled debut (2007), the trio got their start as the house band at The Valkyrien Restaurant in oslo though they definitely seemed to have moved beyond that now, having been nominated for a Norwegian Grammy and toured Japan (and released a new album "To måner", which I do not have yet). Musically speaking, they are at their essence, a Hardanger fiddle trio, though they do mix it up by adding a few extra instruments and vocals. But what I like best about them is their energy and enthusiasm, a similar trait I heard in Swedish act Hedningarna, the band that first got me interested in Nordic folk. "Å gjev du batt meg" is one of the group's mellower tracks, but I just love the vocal on it, especially frontwoman Tuva Livsdatter Syvertsen's rough-edged tone. It reminds me of Hajen/Jaw Lesson a bit, in fact they even kinda look similar as far as hairstyle is concerned. Anyhow, it's those little cracks at the edges that make it, and that's why I'm sharing this song today.
Expect more folk discoveries and other new (to me) tunage in weeks to come.
Valkyrien Allstars - Å gjev du batt meg
The nominees for the 2009 Spellemannprisen (the Norwegian Grammy) have been announced:
Female Artist:
Ane Brun - Live At Stockholm Concert Hall (, )
Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From A Stone ()
Julie Dahle Aagård - Stompin' Feet ()
Noora Noor - Soul Deep ()
Male Artist:
Alexander Rybak - Fairytales ()
Martin Hagfors - Men and flies ()
Sivert Höyem - Moon Landing ()
Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio (//)
Pop Group:
Datarock - Red (/)
Donkeyboy - Caught In A Life ()
Kings Of Convenience - Declaration Of Dependence (/)
Kråkesølv - Trådnøsting ()
Montée - Isle Of Now ()
Electronica:
Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - 2 (/)
Mungolian Jetset - We Gave It All Away (/)
Röyksopp - Junior (/)
Vinter In Hollywood - Outbreak (/)
Rock:
DumDum Boys - Tidsmaskin (/)
Heroes & Zeros - Simian Vices Modern Devices (//)
John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen - For Sant Til Å Være Godt ()
Motorpsycho - Child Of The Future ()
Skambankt - Hardt Regn ()
Metal:
Code - Resplendent Grotesque ()
Immortal - All Shall Fall ()
The Cumshots - A Life Less Necessary ()
Årabrot - The Brother Seed ()
Hip-hop:
Chris Lee - Love Ghost (/)
Lars Vaular - D'e Glede ()
Tommy Tee - Studio Time ()
Jazz:
Håvard Stubø Quartet - Way Up ()
Kim Johannesen/Svein Magnus Furu/Tore Sandbakken - Kayak ()
Nils-Petter Molvær - Hamada (/)
Solveig Slettahjell - Tarpan Seasons (/)
Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned ()
Open Class:
Crimetime Orchestra - Atomic Symphony ()
Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like The Day (/)
Knut Reiersrud - Gitar (/)
Mari Boine - Sterna Paradisea (/)
When - Homage Series Vol.1: Sun Ra ()
Lyrics:
Anne Grete Preus - Nesten Alene ()
Kjartan Kristiansen/Aslak Dørum - DumDum Boys; Tidsmaskin ()
Stein Torleif Bjella - Heidersmenn ()
Sverre Knudsen - La Det Brenne ()
Tønes - Sobihob ()
Best Newcomer:
Alexander Rybak
Donkeyboy
John Olav Nilsen & Gjengen
Kråkesølv
Vilde Frang
More here: http://spellemann.no/
Monzano never made much of an impression on me in the past, but their new record "By this time last year every thing will seem younger" (due out February 15 via ) is easily the best new thing I've heard so far in 2010. "Cold waters" was previously featured on volume 2 of the "oslo" comp series and is the first song the band recorded for said album, an obvious example of leading with your best foot forward. I hear it as a toned-down take on the same sort of indie/rock territory covered by countrymates Lukestar -- similar androgynous vocals, similar twisting melodies and interweaving guitar lines, but with everything notched down a smidge. They never truly "rock out" per se, but they don't really need to (like the mandolin wasn't an immediate tip-off). As for the "Islands in the stream" references, this is definitely not anything close that duet's adult contemporary/soft-rock vibe, but I think they do emulate a bit of those Barry Gibb harmonies and a touch of his melodic lilt here. Say what you will about the Bee Gees, I think that's a good thing; this is a good song. Oh and good thing I picked up a Dolly Parton 7xLP boxset last weekend, or I might not have been able to cross-reference. I can't hang with most of her 80s output (cocaine sure did bad things to country back then), but there's more than enough good stuff in there to make it worthwhile.
Monzano - Cold waters
is Norway's best label and while I highly anticipate every release, getting something new from Haust is extra special because they are the label's best band. They have few peers when it comes to heavy, ugly, blackened hardcore. The band's next release before their sophomore album drops in May is a split 12" with fellow oslo denizens Next Life, yet another one of Norway's best (more on them at a later date), and it offers us 4 new ragers including the one I'm giving to you today, "Skate rock". Once upon a time, skateboarding and punk/hardcore went hand in hand; I was never any good at it, but I definitely got lots of music tips via Thrasher and/or my skater friends. In fact, that's how I got into underground music in the first place. Nowadays it seems like skating is more hip-hop oriented, but perhaps it was a lack of anthems that drove them away -- hard to believe it's been 23 years since Suicidal Tendencies released "Possessed to skate". We need a new song and Haust provides. Drop out of life with board in hand?
Haust - Skate rock
