Hello, is this thing on? I'm still retired from running this website, but I never stopped caring about Scandinavian music and apparently some people still care about what I have to say on the subject, so check out this interview I did this past summer with the nice folks at the Blue Monday Podcast: https://www.xn--blmndag-fxab.se/43-kalabalik-2019/ I probably should've posted this back when it first went up, but better late than never, right? And who knows, perhaps I will see you at Kalabalik på Tyrolen next year! Otherwise, feel free to keep up with me and my own solo musical endeavor Harsh R.
It's been a long time coming, but I've finally got something new up and running at my new blog site Harsh R: The State of Swedish Industrial
Check it out, let me know what you think, spread the word! Look for more entries in the series soon along with more posts on the miscellaneous dark-themed music I've been listening to, Swedish/Scandinavian and otherwise.
Stick a fork in me, I'm done. After 10 years of near-daily blogging I have decided to walk away from It's a Trap!, a decision that I have weighed for quite some time and one that did not come easily. This site has been a major part of my life the past decade and while I treasure that time greatly, both via the music and all of the absolutely lovely people I've met along the way, I've become increasingly tired, burnt-out and simply far too busy to give it the attention it truly deserves. So, rather than let you bear witness to my slow descent into a crispy shell of bitter cynicism, I'm getting out while the getting's still good. Thanks to all of the amazing bands and labels who I have worked with and whose art has inspired me, thanks to everyone who ever contributed an article, review or even an email recommendation, thanks to Jonas for handling the clubnights so admirably and most of all, thanks to YOU for reading! I doubt I'll ever stop caring about music, Scandinavian or otherwise, so I'm sure I will eventually resurface somewhere else before long. Until then, keep in touch!
Saturday night at Debaser Malmö! The very last It's a Trap! Clubnight EVER! And we're going out with a bang too with two of Sweden's finest hardcore acts, Out of Vogue and Anchor, gracing the stage. Be there!
Next week! Come celebrate the autumnal equinox with an evening of Swedish hardcore at Debaser Malmö with Out of Vogue and Anchor! As always, It's a Trap! Clubnights bringing you the best Scandinavia has to offer. The requisite FB event invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/407303379333860/
I'm back home again and back at work after a two-week Swedish excursion -- thanks to all my friends, new and old, for hanging out and being awesome! In the meantime, I've got myself a mountain of junk to climb out from under so expect updates this week to be terse. I'll be back on top soon enough.
Been meaning to get this written up for over a week now, but I haven't found the time and now that I'm about head out on vacation to Sweden for a couple weeks, I figure I need to get at least something up. So without further ado, here's my picks for the best releases of 2012 so far (in alphabetical order):
Agent Side Grinder - Hardware () Beastmilk - Use your deluge () Diskoteket - Det ska se ut som slutet () Magnus Ekelund & Stålet - Supernova EP () Nitad - Rastlös & vild () Susanne Sundfør - The silicone veil () Tvärvägen - Staring directly into the sun () Vånna Inget - Jag ska fly tills jag hittar hem ()
On the cusp/too early to tell: Anchorless - Every nook and cranny () Norra Kust - s/t () Westkust - Junk EP ()
Reissues: Missbrukarna - Zooma in en zombie () Ratsia - Jäljet ()
Listen to a selection of these records below via Spotify:
I'm leaving for a 2-week jaunt to Sweden this coming weekend and am utterly and completely overwhelmed with work I need to finish before I depart, so please forgive me while I concentrate on the things that need doing. Not that there's a whole lot going on right now to report anyway, but expect little-to-no updates before August and enjoy a nice little classic tune from Umeå favorites Isolation Years in the meantime.
Tomorrow night on July 12 Club It's a Trap! presents the hardcore stylings of Stockholm-based heavies This Gift is a Curse plus local boys Vervain at Debaser Malmö! Be there!
Tomorrow, June 5 - It's a Trap! Clubnights presents a night of top-shelf Swedish indierock with Soviac, Tennis Bafra and Åbe at Debaser Malmö! Free entry before 10pm too, so you have no excuse! Do it.
Just confirmed for It's a Trap! Clubnights on September 22 at Debaser Malmö: a night of Swedish hardcore featuring old-man upstarts Out of Vogue with support from legends-in-their-own-time Anchor! Be there!
OMG! Just confirmed for Tuesday, June 5 at Debaser Malmö: Soviac + Tennis Bafra + ÅBE! A five-star lineup of indierock allstars, all in the same place at the same time! And that's not that all, we've also got heavy crust-metallers This Gift is a Curse and hardcore act Vervain on Thursday, July 12! And let us not forget Division of Laura Leein May with Anchor and Keep Shelly in Athens! Get stoked, people.
Major site update underway, please bear with us. Things should be working now, more or less. If you happen to see anything acting funny, please let me know via the contact form in the header menu. Thanks!
I was pretty excited to see that famed link repository memepool.com had recently come back from a long hibernation, I'm even more stoked to see that It's a Trap! got a mention last Thursday. Thank you isosceles!
