Dmitry Fyodorov iPhone app

Adrian Recordings has unveiled an iPhone app drum machine based on sounds from the new Dmitry Fyodorov album "Shapeless": https://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=257

Dmitry Fyodorov - Shapeless, the mixtape

The new Dmitry Fyodorov album "Shapeless" is out now, both as a (paid) digital download and also as a free mixtape. Go to the Adrian Recordings site to grab the latter: https://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=256

New Andreas Tilliander 12" coming in February

Adrian Recordings has announced that they will be releasing a new 12" EP from Andreas Tilliander on February 10 entitled "Showtime" featuring two new tracks and two remixes. Full details: https://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=254

Dmitry Fyodorov album gets release date

Adrian Recordings has confirmed the release of the new Dmitry Fyodorov album "Shapeless" for February 1 in Sweden, March 1 everywhere else.

Adrian signs This Is Head

Adrian Recordings has announced the signing of Malmö-based Krautrock act This Is Head and will be releasing their debut full-length "0001" this coming spring in cooperation with the band's own label Easy. This Is Head has previously released two vinyl-only singles, a 7" and a 12".

Strange Maps Advent Sunday mixtape

Adrian Recordings continue their Sunday Advent mixtape series with a contribution from Strange Maps, aka Petter Granberg of Park Hotell: https://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=251

Top 10s for 2009: It's a Trap!

The Bear Quartet - Carry your weight

Adrian Recordings is giving away the new Bear Quartet single "Carry your weight" (remember?) as a free download: https://www.adrianrecordings.com/default.asp?newsid=249

The Bear Quartet
89
Adrian Recordings

A new Bear Quartet album is always a big deal in these quarters and why should it not be? They have consistently proven themselves to perhaps be the greatest Swedish band of all-time. Constant re-invention, and, as justified with this decade's output, a move towards abstract. "89" finds The Bear Quartet delving into altermodern proto-metal, rhythmic and futuristic, a reminiscing of times lost to people, and peoples lost to time. Recently I revisited Fireside's "Elite", an aural documentation of societal ills in a world heading towards collapse. It dawned on me that "89" is its sequel--the post-collapse view of the plagues that brought down man. However, where it succeeds is to provide the starting point for lessons to prevent a dystopian cycle from forming. What The Bear Quartet have offered is much more than "music"; it's an oral history to be passed on, a way of life to be altered to prevent the hypothetical post-collapse in order for society to evolve.
- Matt Giordano

The Fine Arts Showcase
Dolophine smile
Adrian Recordings

As if it had not been obvious since this album was in the process, its impending release was instantly one of the most anticipated events of the year over here at IAT!. Yes, our expectations were high, and based on the three prior albums by The Fine Arts Showcase (including the Rough Bunnies interpretations) -- how could they not be? Gustaf Kjellvander has, under this moniker, established himself as one of the most consistent song craftsmen around, and with this landmark album narrating the breakdown of not only his relationship but psychological state, succeeds beyond the lofty expectation and standards already in place. The narration he gives us is honest, and more importantly, so balanced and self-aware of his vices and the role his actions played in his downfall -- what he conveys on "Dolophine smile" is something few modern albums contain: compassion. Listening to this album I feel as if I am there with Gustaf and Hannah, not as a voyeur but as a ghost, that same ghost that has been haunting Gustaf.
- Matt Giordano

Familjen
Huvudet i sanden
Adrian Recordings

I'm a big fan of remixes. In some ways, remixing follows in the jazz tradition of improvising upon others' compositions: quoting their musical passages, reworking and rearranging them, sometimes in a way that deviates very little from the original, though, as is evidenced by Pluxus' reimagining of "Det snurrar i min skalle", other times in almost unrecognizable ways. Familjen's tracks lend themselves quite easily to remixes by other electronic artists, though, as I'd assumed, seeing how wide a range of musicians fall into the category "electronic", there are some remixes that are not quite up to the standard of the others. Kasper Bjørke's remix strays so little from the original framework of "Huvudet i sanden" that I am not entirely sure what the point was. The version featuring Adam T's supplementary hip-hop lyrics drags Familjen's track so far outside of the musical veins that made it appealing, to force in the additional lyrics that the remix feels lopsided and schizophrenic. Both reworkings of "Feber" have a very 90s, Moby-esque feel to them, so these songs will trend one way or the other depending on your own personal preferences. The iffy aspects out of the way, the remix album hold some gems: Mike Dow's phenomenal remix of "Det snurrar...", Perfume Unicorn's fantastic and festive reshaping of "Huvudet...", the aforementioned Pluxus contribution - a luxuriously paced, dark emendation, and Boeoes Kaelstigen's 'hey day of the Haçienda'-reshaping of "Det snurrar...". It's a mixed bag, but the last four tracks I mentioned are well worth the sticker price.
- Lars Garvey Laing-Peterson

Boeoes Kaelstigen
Pan European
Adrian Recordings

Ladies and gentlemen, Boeoes Kaelstigen has all of the potential to be the next big thing from Scandinavia. Their brand of smart, calculated electronica is catchy and, most of all, gets all the right parts moving. From start to finish, "Pan European" flows like cognac down the throats of the willing; ending in the spectacular second movement of "Flir"-a sweaty populace. This is meant to be played in those über-hip back alley bars, with dim lights and smoke in the air. This is meant to be played from the club to the bedroom. Boeoes Kaelstigen's "Pan European" is one of the sexiest releases of the decade.
- Matt Giordano

Printer
EP
Adrian Recordings

Printer marks their foray into international territories with this EP, a small compilation of some of their better work off the album "Rhizomatic baby" and their recent "I can take more". The group's sound is very cool, slick electronica and almost has an old-school trance feel to it at times. Which is impressive when you consider that the group makes use of traditional instrumentation for the most part, and plays live sets to good effect. My initial impressions of the overall sound of the group weren't very good, however; their sound is almost too cool, much too slick. Like the sort of thing one would expect to see in a trendy[sic] car commercial, or worse yet, something pushing Skyy Vodka. Further listens however, reveal more substance to the band than the casual listener will take away from them. While not perfect, the lyrics are far better than your average vocal techno, ranging from sombre and pensive ("Don't expect") to mildly disturbing ("Minds out"). On the whole, while this EP has me looking forward to hearing more from the group, I'm going to save my higher marks for a full-length release from them for the simple fact that this compilations seem less like a labor of love to me, and more of a marketing strategy. Till next time, Printer. Till next time.
- Heinrich Souza

The Fine Arts Showcase
Sing Rough Bunnies
Adrian Recordings

It's hard to follow up a record like TFAS's stunning "Radiola". Doing so with an album of cover songs by close friends Rough Bunnies seems an odd choice, but it works surprisingly well. Lyrically, there's very little difference - the same characters are back, only now Frida and Anna are writing the songs instead of appearing in their titles. And the same topics of drinking, drugs, and love gone wrong remain the focus. The wit is still there (in "You should be in love with me" - which I hope will be the next single - the protagonist offers "we could watch TV / until our eyes get dry / from being inside / and we could only go out when it was spring outside" as though that's appealing). The title sounds hokey, but truth is, Gustaf Kjellvander is a real singer, one who cares about every tiny turn of phrase and who's got a voice that can transform songs that sounded mediocre at best in their original versions into shining moments of pop brilliance. These songs may lack the depth or diversity of his own, making the album more like a candy bar than a satisfying meal, but who doesn't like candy? And bonus points to Kjellvander for leaving the gendered pronouns intact (I especially like hearing him sing "seems like the meaning of my life is to drive my men away").
- Nancy Baym

Familjen
Det snurrar i min skalle
Adrian Recordings/Hybris

As the first song of the album goes: Nu händer det igen ("It is happening again"). A Scanian artist takes the special Scanian accent and makes it into an integral part of the music. Originally from Hässleholm, the same town that gave us Sophie Rimheden and Andreas Tilliander, one-man band Familjen gives us yet another electro hero. Filled with playfulness, without rose-eyed 80s nostalgia, Familjen feels very modern. He blends naive 80s melodies, 90s beats and 00s glitches into a cohesive whole. That combined with his squealing 303s and subtle guitars makes it all sound like it was recorded tomorrow. Album standout (and former IAT MP3 Of The Day) "Det snurrar i min skalle" should become one of the biggest hits of the summer, but the album is filled with songs almost as good. Finally, the lyrics must be mentioned. Familjen has a way with words, and has a knack for finding phrases that catch on. Music you can dance to, plus makes you think? Shocking!
- Hanzan