Paper Thin Walls talks to Swedish indie/soul act Wildbirds and Peacedrums: https://www.paperthinwalls.com/singlefile/item?id=1387

Muzzle of Bees interviews Mathias Stromberg from The Bell who kindly mentions IAT in the process: https://www.muzzleofbees.com/2008/02/10/5-questions-with-the-bell/
The band will also be featured on KEXP's "Song of the Day" on Thursday: https://kexp.org/podcasting/podcasting.asp#song

Avantgarde-metal talks to Bjørn Dencker aka Aldrahn (DHG, Old Man's Child, Zyklon-B, Thorns, The Deathtrip, etc.): https://www.avantgarde-metal.com/content/stories2.php?id=49

Watch Ida Maria on "Later with Jools Holland": https://www.bbc.co.uk/later/shows/series31/episode02/idamaria/

MP3: Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy

Instead of our typical Göteborg-related post this week, we're taking an entirely different approach by asking an outsider to look in. Our guest: Sir Eric Beyond of Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde.

For the record, what city do you call home?

We call Stockholm our home.

So, when was the last time you were in Gbg?

We were in Gbg in December and played at Preview festival. It was arranged by the great label Kning Disk.

What's your impression of the city, its people and its music?

It's a great city for underground music, and the audience seems much more interested in alternative pop music than the Stockholm music scene. That is probably not true, but they seem happier.

Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound? If so, how would you describe it?

Yeah there is something in the way of singing that lots of Gbg bands have. Some perfect mixture of stupidity, "I dont give a fuck-attitude" and pure joy. Gbg bands are more "real". We, Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde, the creme de la creme in Stockholm, take pride in being fake. Which is very real to us.

BUT, I think there are many more girls making interesting (and crap) music in Stockholm, I am more interested in listening to that. Damn, I wish that I was a girl...

When you think of bands/artists from Gbg, who is the first to come to mind?

The first Gbg artist that comes to my mind is Dishdishdance, she, Malin Dahlström had a brilliant performance with dancers at the festival where we played. She rocks. Don't know if she recorded anything. The two little songs on myspace wasn't even close to what I heard live. Totally different story.

Lastly, what exactly are you working on right now?

NOW I am building a four meter high catapult that I'm going to use for shooting crap on the parliament building in Stockholm in April, to protest against Swedish weapons export.

We are also makin new music that will be released maybe this year, maybe next.

Sir Eric Beyond and the Avant-garde - Democracy

Absolut Noise talks to Swedish postpunk act Paper: https://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2008/02/robots-after-all.html

Interview: Firefox AK

Antenna talks to Thomas Bredahl from Danish punk-rock act Gob Squad: https://www.antenna.nu/newsstories/48.php

Pitchfork interviews The Raveonettes: https://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/48288-interview-the-raveonettes

Avantgarde Metal talks to Andreas Hedlund of Vintersorg: https://www.avantgarde-metal.com/content/stories2.php?id=48

MP3: The Skull Defekts - The secret

Saturdays in 2008 are devoted to the music of Göteborg. This week's guest: Joachim Nordwall aka The Idealist, head of iDEAL Recordings, also a member of The Skull Defekts. When I think about the new sound of Gbg, iDEAL Recordings and their contemporaries such as Kning Disk are exactly what come to mind. This is where art and music intersect to create something bold and innovative, something that hasn't been done before.

So how long have you lived in Gbg?

I've had Gothenburg as my base since 1996, but lived in London for a while in 1998 and traveled a lot.

Where did you move from and why?

I had lived in Paris and Umeå in the north of Sweden. Paris was great and I still see it as home when I go there and Umeå was kind of a disaster, so after one year of studies up there I needed to go south again and somehow ended up here. I didn't intend to stay for long, but accidentaly got stuck. It's quite easy to fall in love with Gothenburg.

Do you think that there's a particular Gbg sound or feeling? How would you describe it?

Yeah sure. Gbg is friendly, rough sometimes and very democratic. It's a harbour town which and the second biggest in Sweden, similar in size to Oslo I guess.

What advantages does living in Gbg offer artists? Disadvantages?

The music scene has always been pretty good here, especially punk and rock, but also experimental stuff and dance. There's clubs to play, plenty of rehearsal space and we fool ourselves that we are close to Europe since we're only a few hours north from Copenhagen. Berlin is close too, you can drive there in ten hours if you're fast and sober. Disadvantages are that Gbg is small, not much new blood is coming in and the art scene sucks. We have very few good galleries here even though some known international visual artists live here. But then again, there's plenty of bars and illegal techno parties going down. Good ways to get loaded.

I know you work with a lot of scene veterans, but who do you think are the up-and-coming talents in Gbg right now?

Sure - there are a few of course. I like Pistol Disco - a duo doing Suicide-like dark electronic crack pop. The Extended Head seems to be doing some great stuff, his latest demo was a killer old skool dance punk thing. Other than that, some of my fav acts are from here. Like Studio, José González, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words and Contemporary Punk Unit.

Lastly, how has the city inspired you? Are there are any particular pieces from The Skull Defekts/The Idealist/iDEAL that provide a good sonic reflection of the city?

I am finding inspiration in loads of places. I live here, but travel a lot so my inspiration is honestly coming more from other places. Home is where I rest and work. I rarely lift my head to actually enjoy the view if you know what I mean. Gbg is a good place to be left alone and I leave it alone too hahaha. The Skull Defekts are recording and rehearsing in a hidden part of the hospital here which is of course extremely inspirational. We're there at night time only and it's a rather weird atmosphere up there. It's hard to name something but if I would choose one GBG anthem on iDEAL I'd probably name Henrik Rylander's "Traditional arrangements of feedback" but maybe more that Henrik is very Gothenburg to me than an actual sound to the damn thing.

Unfortunately, you'll have to go elsewhere to hear that Rylander piece, as Joachim specifically requested that The Skull Defekts accompany this post. And really, who am I to argue? Especially when the selected track is so good.

The Skull Defekts - The secret

Time Out New York interviews Robyn: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/music/26015/swede-relief

Absolut Noise interviews Firefox AK: https://absolutnoise.blogspot.com/2008/02/interview-firefox-ak.html

Antenna talks to Øystein G. Brun of Borknagar/Cronian about what to expect in the future from both bands: https://antenna.nu/newsstories/47.php

What better way to start your Thursday than with a new Britta Persson interview? Check it out!