Umeå melancholy indie act Väärt will release their new album "Palla orka" on August 22 and you can now check out the video for the first single "29 tills jag dör" at PSL: http://blogg.svt.se/psl/2012/08/20/premiar-vaart-29-tills-jag-dor/
Great band, well worth checking out.
Peter Dolving (ex-The Haunted) is crowdsourcing his next record: http://www.fundedbyme.com/projects/2012/08/house-of-dolving/
Norwegian indie act Highasakite seems to be getting a lot of post-Øya buzz despite their culturally insensitive/offensive/appropriating stagewear and Paste is one of the many on board. Head over there to read more praise and to stream their new "Indian summer" EP: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2012/08/album-stream-highasakite---indian-summer-ep.html
All-star Swedish label collective will release new albums from both Kriget and Woodlands this fall: http://www.ingrd.com/2012/first-news-for-fall/
Kriget, as mentioned before, is the instrumental act of Per Nordmark (Fireside, Britta Persson, etc.), Crille Roth (Monster, Hets) and Gustav Bendt (Moneybrother, Club Killers). Woodlands, on the other hand, features Sara Wilson (First Floor Power), Niklas Korssell (Tutankamon, The Plan) and Marcus Holmberg (Komeda).
The Scrags' long-awaited 7" "Void lodge" will be officially released on via and will include the track "Cold wind" on the flip. Help the band celebrate with a show at Bar Brooklyn/Strand in Stockholm on September 5.
"Halos" is the lead single from the new Boy Omega album "Night vision", due out September 7 via . Download the track for free here.
Look for Khoma to release a new limited odds'n'ends comp this fall called "All erodes" which will feature various unreleased material recorded during the sessions for the band's previous three records.
New from Norwegian artist Sandra Kolstad. Look for her new album "(Nothing lasts) Forever" to be released on September 28 via .
New music from the always wonderful Johan G. Winther, out now on . Says the label:
"I've been friends with Johan Gustavsson for a long while now – first through his music as Tsukimono (glitchy noisy drone dreamy electronics stuff that somehow stayed undiscovered by too many people) on labels such as and . Later on I organized some gigs for his instrumental rock band called Scraps of Tape. Some time ago Johan found a battered cd-r with old recordings he made for his grandmother, playing them to a couple of friends (who some of you might know: Nils Frahm & Peter Broderick) – who encouraged him to do something with those beautiful recordings. After some months of thinking and tinkering he finally sent me "For Ingar Gustavsson". A lengthy album, humble, restrained and precise and with a lot of respect. Imagine Arvo Pärt as a bedroom musician, laptop processing his Für Alina pieces with the same understanding and confidence that he originally composed them. Stretching them out into wise, vast wintry landscapes. Embracing life/eternity like only the elderly can. You never fell asleep so calmly."
VERY highly recommended.
Switch Opens have announced that they'll be putting out a new digital EP on August 30 called "Joint clashes" which will feature five versions of the title tune; the original plus a new version, a remix by The Field and Faroyna and a guitar improv take by Kalle Skarin.
Norwegian DIY/hardcore label is calling it quits: http://www.nakkeskudd.com/
Kudos to Way Out West press chief Joel Borg for calling bullshit on Swedish newspaper GT's crass anti-vegetarian meat party: http://www.dagensmedia.se/nyheter/pr/article3518797.ece
I'm not one to so quickly invoke Godwin's Law, but fuck them for making light of a serious issue.
A preview of Swedish experimental/industrial/avant pop label 's lineup for September which includes new cassettes from Ekman (NL), Imiafan (SK), and Militær Enhed (?).
For more on Øya, here's coverage of Day 3 and Day 4 from Under the Radar.
Pitchfork went to Øya and went on the black metal sightseeing tour and also managed to catch locals Disaster in the Universe, who they graciously dubbed "The worst band in Norway (and, possibly, the entire world)": http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/8916-ya/
They also made an effort to catch at least some other Norwegian acts, singling out Susanne Sundfør, Highasakite, Pow Pow, Young Dreams and Årabrot as standouts.