2005.07.30
So many geniuses on a small island, and now all these fantastic people, photographers, graphic designers, fashion designers in one small book. I’m so jealous, if I could make a wish, I would like to be the vacuum sucking all their talent combined. Instead, in the coming days, I will present the work of every single smart ass in this wonderful almanach.
For now, you can check out the Annual Form Islandia 2004 on PDF.
2005.07.29
Yesterday I suddenly realised that we have hardly written about sigur rós on Noisedfisk. No introduction needed, though… I missed the gig they played in Paris a couple of weeks ago, unfortunately, but they will tour the world next October and November. And this time, I won’t miss them, promise.
In other news, they will release a new album september 12th, it will be entitled “takk” which is, as you probably know, the icelandic word for “thanks”. And I was particularly touched by this quote from jónsi about “takk”, courtesy of nme: “it’s a bit more happy, with a bit more hope in it. the lyrics are small adventures, maybe like children’s stories or something. i think the songs are quite simple and naí¯ve and they have a central character to them. there’s one called glósóli, and he wakes up and everything is dark outside and he can’t see any light. he thinks that the sun is gone and somebody has taken it from the sky, so he makes a journey to look for the sun. he finds it in the end.”
Yummy! I just can’t wait…
Visit the comprehensive sigur rós website.
2005.07.29
Annie, along with Röyksopp, Timo and many more, is from the Bergen’s electronic music scene. Her music his very dancefloor-electro-popish, way more than Röyksopp and far from IDM. Picked from her biography: “Come on Kylie, your time is up.”
iTunes is offering this week the single Me Plus One from her album Anniemal. And if this is not enough, another free download (Always Too Late) is available on her website.
Photo: Warner
2005.07.27
Thanks to the Danish radio station DR, you can listen to the last concert of Efterklang at Vega, in Copenhagen.
Efterklang live at Vega, CPH, Feb 19, 2005 [Real Audio].
2005.07.27
This CD, one of the best compilation of Icelandic music released in recent years, has been released in solidarity with the people of occupied Palestine. The money raised will be used for the youth of the most densely populated refugee camp in the West Bank, Balata. If those are not two good reasons to get this disc… Oh, and the artwork from Ragnar (once again) is great.
2005.07.18
This comes a bit late now, but anyhow, Pori Jazz Festival has just started for the 40th time. This year the most popular performers carry such names as Lauryn Hill, Jamie Cullum, Roy Haynes or Charlie Haden, but for keeping the standards really high, a group of Norvegian jazz musicians have packed their instruments and flown to Finland. To mention some of them, Karl Seglem Band, Arve Henriksen and Supersilent will show up on wednesday in a series of concerts called Norvegian Soundscapes. (Hopefully I’ll be able to review them later.)
Of course, as the festival takes place in Finland, our beloved neighbours will get their chance. Among other Swedes, Lisa Nilsson and Blacknuss will step on stage with their soul and groovejazz.
Some of this year’s Finnish artists are saxofonist Jukka Perko, Anne-Mari Kähärä with her outstanding line-up (Marzi Nyman and Jarmo Saari in guitars, Pekka Kuusisto in violin and Zarkus Poussa, percussions), young soul funk pop jazz ensemble MP4, and the pioneer of Finnish hip hop, Giant Robot.
Pori Jazz Festival in Pori, Finland, 16.7.-24.7.2005.
Read more at www.porijazz.fi.
2005.07.10
Lars Dahlström has some very nice shot of Dalarna, Sweden. Being a talented photographer, there’s also a lot more to see on his website.
2005.07.10
While enjoying your stay at the nearby IceHotel, visit Kiruna, a sweet small arctic town, home of the last great wilderness in Europe. Beside offering three-week-long night in winter only lightened by auroras, the town is also a leading place for space technology and research.
So no wonder when a local company, Xero, is proposing parabolic flights for the public. Aboard a special aircraft, you’ll experience 15 times 30 seconds in a zero-gravity environment – just like astronauts in training!
More informations on their really cool website.
2005.07.10
“Imagine a hotel built from thousands of tons of snow and ice, and re-built every winter : that is IceHotel, in the little village of Jukkasjí¢rvi, in northern Lapland, Sweden. In IceHotel there are double rooms and suites for overnight guests, a lobby, a pillar hall, film auditorium and of course the famous Absolut IceBar – where folk from all over the world socialize till late.”
A hotel from ice, and nothing else. Even the glasses at the bar are ice. Even the bed! Crazy swedish architecht :) Well, even if I hate having feet cold when I sleep, I wish I could visit and spend a night there someday. This hotel is built every november, to be ready mid december. The nature makes it disappear in the near River Torne next spring.
It’s also a very original destination if you want to surprise your fiancée: there’s a ice church where you can celebrate your wedding!
More information on the IceHotel website.
2005.07.08
If you live in the UK or -even better- in Sweden, you’ve probably heard of sambassadeur before, thanks to their single Between the Lines, which was kind of a hit in both countries. If you don’t, you’d better hurry and download this fantastic song as soon as possible. “Between the lines” is an appropriate title for this interview, too: Joachim Läckberg was kind enough to answer my questions, even if the band has been rather busy in the past weeks. That’s why you’ll have to interpret some of their short answers and, consequently, read “between the lines”. I’ll give you some clues, if I can.
Where does the word “sambassadeur” come from?
We took the name sambassadeur from a song or album of Serge Gainsbourg, I think it’s called Les sambassadeurs. We think that French pop from the 60’s is very melodic and focuses on strong melodies and since melodies are important to sambassadeur we like artists like Gainsbourg, Gall and Bardot.
[Between the lines: I would have liked Joachim to talk about Scandinavian culture as well, but I'm not sure it is that important to sambassadeur, after all. Two members of the band have studied in France, one in the south in Avignon and the other in the north in Reims, and when I first e-mailed, they answered in French (and I realized that they're fluent in it). That's probably the place where they discovered French pop.
But this music is not their only influence. In some reviews, you'll read about Belle and Sebastian, My Bloody Valentine, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Go-Betweens. As for me, I'd say that most of their songs are kind of close to Camera Obscura, the Aislers Set and the Radio Dept.]
You are signed to the Labrador label, which seems to be the best Swedish label at the moment. Does it mean something to you?
To be on the Labrador label means freedom to us. We do almost everything ourselves from album covers to recording songs, we record everything at Daniel Permbo’s appartment on his computer. We’re good friends and fans of Suburban kids with biblical names.
[Between the lines: sambassadeur members are Joachim Läckberg (Guitar), Anna Persson (Vocals and guitar), Daniel Tolergård (Bass), and Daniel Permbo (Vocals and guitar). The band was formed in 2003 in Göteborg. Since then, they released 2 EP and one LP on the Labrador label. Labrador could be as famous as creation or sarah records, with so many great bands: the Radio Dept, Acid House Kings, Club 8, [ingenting]… You’ll find many mp3s to download on their website. Don’t expect post-rock experiments: this is pop, you know.
Suburban Kids with Biblical Names want to “turn all the dance floors into a burnings inferno of Ba-ba-ba” to quote the Kids themselves. I’ll write about them in the next future…]
How would you describe your new album?
It’s hard for us to say… It contains twelve songs that we’ve recorded the last two years. We like the songs and hopefully others will too.
[Between the lines: oh yes, we do love those songs… And by the way, the album contains a cover of a Gainsbourg song, "La chanson de Prévert", which is quite nice and sweet. The album could be described as "an offspring between shoegazer and tweepop" (I read this somewhere, but don't remember where exactly...) ]
What’s the best novel and the best film by a scandinavian author/director in your opinion?
En kärlekshistoria by Roy Andersson. Fanny och Alexander by Ingmar Bergman.
Thanks to Joachim
