2005.09.28
Babies have to be walked from place to place with their parents holding their hand. With a new Sigur Ros record what are we but little tiny babies? So, we need to be walked through the record – track by track. The kind (and somewhat odd) people from Iceland who gave us this wonderful record also came over to walk us in it, track by track, slowly.
Sigur Ros’ Takk Track by Track [15MB MP3]
@tinyWays
2005.09.23
When I first visited the Stereo Test Kit Records website, I thought this was a new Swedish label : their bands were Audrey, Chasing Dorotea, Club 8, Laurel Music and we are soldiers we have guns. And they had released a compilation about… Swedish indie, of course, with a funny title, “Records Make Great Pets”. So well, it was enought for me 1. to order online this great compilation and 2. to ask Huw Rees, the nice guy who runs the label, what was going on the the Swedish side of indie…
The bands you’ve signed on your label are Swedish. Is Stereo Test Kit based in Sweden too?
Stereo Test Kit was started by myself a couple of years ago in London. I can understand why you’d think that about my nationality, but I’m Welsh! There’s certainly not a policy for only releasing Swedish music, that’s just the way it’s turned out so far. I began by licensing a few acts from Labrador records, then got hooked onto other Swedish sounds. I’m sure there’ll be non-Swedish artists released at some point in the future, but we haven’t found each other yet.
You decided to start the “Records Make Great Pets” compilation series to “highlight the strength and depth of independent music from around the world”. The first opus is dedicated to Swedish indie. Does it mean that you think, you too, that something special is happening in Sweden at the moment?
I don’t think that there’s anything new or special happening at the moment, or at least nothing more than has been happening for some years already. There’s certainly more awareness of independent Sweden now and the internet has been a huge aid in gaining smaller bands more exposure and record deals outside of Sweden. I suppose that the consistent level of quality does still surprise me, even though I’ve come to expect it. As a vast generalisation, perhaps there’s a higher level of musical integrity in Sweden. It seems that bands are less likely to follow the prevailing ’scene’ than in the UK or USA – though historically that’s as much the fault of the bigger record labels in those countries as the bands themselves. Having a government that makes some effort to be supportive of musicians must help too.
Let’s talk about the compilation itself, now, and the bands. Some of them are more or less well known by indie kids (such as sambassadeur, Heikki, Audrey, Club 8…), others are totally unknown. How did you choose those 15 bands and why?
Five of the tracks are from releases on the label, so they were the easy ones to choose. Then it was simply (!) a case of finding another 10 songs that I loved and thought would fit well on the compilation. I listened to a lot of Swedish music over a couple of months, then chose the remaining tracks and asked the bands if they wanted to be included. Luckily everyone agreed. Even though some of the bands are less well-known, their tracks are just as strong as those by the more well-known bands. Hopefully some people will discover a few new names and then go and search out more music by those bands.
I guess you won’t reply to this one, but what are the 3 highlights of the compilation, to your opinion? Or the 3 best surprises?
I’m not sure about just 3 highlights, but I could give you 15 (insert tracklist here!). Actually, I can give you a highlight that ISN’T on the compilation. I’d loved to have included Leafless by Boy Omega (featuring Emelie from Audrey), but it’s a new song, so wasn’t available at the time – you can hear it here though.
There were a few surprises – the Iamuse song took a few listens to take-hold, but then became one of the first tracks that I wanted for inclusion, similarly for the Music 77 song. I’m surprised every time that I hear an El Perro Del Mar song, because I forget how much they sound like musical medicine. I’m surprised too that Caroline Soul and Melpo Mene aren’t more widely appreciated, because they’ve both got some great songs. The compilation is released as a mid-priced CD, so maybe more people will be more willing to take a chance and have their own surprises.
So you started with Swedish indie. Are you already working on the next compilation?
Volume 2 in the Records Make Great Pets series will feature bands from Canada. Next maybe Scotland, then Australia, then who knows. Before that, the new EP from we are soldiers we have guns is released in October, then the Audrey album will be out early next year. For me, those are two bands that epitomise the qualities that I regard so highly in a lot of Swedish music – they’re doing it for themselves in the first instance, without pandering to others, or worrying about what style will sell records …. and that helps to create some fantastic music.
The track listing of this compilation and links to each of the compilation bands’ websites can be found at: www.stereotestkit.com/pets.htm
2005.09.21
Forget the rumours about that terribly tasting black stuff you find in Finland and other Nordic countries. Salmiakki is black, good and even unhealthy. Perfect stuff.
(Summary from absoluteastronomy.com:)
“Salmiakki
Salmiakki is a salty treat (like candy but salty) that many people in Finland love. Many agree that it is an acquired taste.
Salmiakki candies are almost always black. The only other colors used are white and variants of grey. Since pure ammonium chloride is a white powder, the reason why black is the preferred colour for salmiakki is somewhat unclear. It might be partly to provide a “tougher image” for the candies, and partly because of the liquorice used to vary and soften the salty flavor.
The canonical shape for salmiakki candies is a four-cornered lozenge. This shape is so popular that in Finnish, the word “salmiakki” can sometimes refer to the lozenge shape, instead of the candy or the salt it is produced with. This is particularly common in computer science when discussing the Unified Modeling Language. Round salmiakki candies are also very common, either disc-shaped or complete spheres.
In addition to being used in candy, salmiakki is also used to flavor vodka and distilled rye brandy.
Salmiakki is extremely popular in all five of the Nordic countries, but is lesser known elsewhere in the world. Most non-Nordic Europeans have heard of salmiakki, and sometimes tried it, but are generally not especially fond of it. A notable exception is the Netherlands, where salmiak (salmiakki) is very popular. Because of this, the Netherlands have been called “the sixth Nordic country”.”
(read the whole article)
More info in Finnish:
The Finnish Salmiakki Association
The Salmiakki Club (with a unique top ten salmiakki list!)
If that’s not enough, learn some Finnish and get “Salmiakki”, the ultimate book about all different kinds of salmiakki (by Jukka Annala) from Nemo Kustannus.
2005.09.21
Our mapping for the most wonderful Nordic record labels is going to continue with a wonderful Swedish company, Häpna. Records, some made by Swedish bands and some by international names, seem to carry simple – but dauntless – beauty-following aesthetics. As popular as it is nowadays, natural sounds intertwine with electronics creating light soundscapes and beautiful harmonies. Luckily these records sound honest, though. They are full of drones and whirring sounds that’ll satisfy your needs for pop and art at the same time.
My picks:
Sagor och swing
Tape
Hans Appelqvist (nowadays on Komplott)
Loren Connors & David Grubbs: “Arborvitae” (not Swedish but still beautiful)
2005.09.21
Iceland Review is a great propaganda tool for Iceland, so great that it wouldn’t be surprising if it was owned by the national tourist board… In this classy magazine, you’ll find many elegant photographs of typical icelandic landscapes and short articles about the icelandic artistic scene and the icelandic way of life… If you’ve been to Iceland before and bought the Review at the Reykjavík tourist office or found it at the airport, you won’t forget it, maybe you’ll even subscribe and you will get totally obsessed by Iceland eventually. That’s what happened to me.
I’m a frequent visitor of their website, too, not only for the daily information about Iceland but also for those funny articles written in the “Daily Life” blog section by foreign journalists about the country and what’s happening there. And they’ve just created a new “Multimedia” section which is worth visiting: every Saturday, you can listen to new icelandic music, thanks to a collaboration between Iceland Review and the Reykjavík record label/store 12 Tónar. This week’s posting is Stórsveit Nix Noltes’ Eastern European dance tune “Daichovo”, off the band’s album “Orkídeur Hawai” – “Hawaiian Orchid.” Last week was Flís, who “started with traditional jazz, then moved on to more experimental improvised music ranging from drum and bass to ambient, reggae, polka and beyond”.
2005.09.18
Apparently they have existed for a long time as their first record “MSEO” was released back in 2002 (whether it was a CDr or not). But I only discovered them today, so, ladies and gentlemen:
A 5-7 member band from Finland, using toys, synthesizers, computers, poor quality field recordings and rock instrumentation to create something very experimental and unique, distorted and lo-fi, yet emotional and very pretty. Something that has definitely not been heard too much before. Influenced by e.g. Boards of Canada, The Beatles, Radiohead, HIM and Johnny Cash, they gathered an album “Yhä hämärää” (”Still dark”) during 2001-2005, and released it last July under Fonal Records. Check out the (low quality) MP3 of the track “Valo tihkuu kaiken läpi“, as well as the album lyrics (inc. english translations) at the label’s site.
I’m really hoping to hear more from this orchestra sometime in the future, they sound like something that will only get better by time.
2005.09.16
All honnors to Lars Von Trier this week on Noisedfisk!
Check this Swedish interview posted by Stéphane.
More:
2005.09.15
Just read this weird interview in The Copenhagen Post, an online magazine about Denmark, in english. You can see it as revolting, or silly, or funny, depending on your opinion on the people Lars Von Trier, the famous Danish film director who made “Breaking the Waves” and “Dancing in the Dark”, is talking about. So you’d better have a look at the article and watch the interview. Then make up your own mind and don’t hesitate to post a comment here…
Film instructor Lars von Trier lashed out against fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen, US President Bush, Icelandic musician Björk, and his fans in an interview on Swedish television.
There seems to be no end to the humiliation fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen has to endure in the year of celebration of his 200th year anniversary. After bicentenary festivities publicly proclaimed as failures and the near-bankruptcy of his memorial fund, Denmark’s beloved national author found himself the object of scorn of Lars von Trier, the mischievous genius of Danish cinema.
Characteristically, von Trier did not make any attempt to restrain himself in an interview with journalist Stina Lundberg Dabrowski, the Swedish equivalent of America’s Barbara Walters and Britain’s Michael Parkinson, on Swedish national television, SVT1.
‘I can’t stand H.C. Andersen,’ von Trier said. ‘His stories are the worst faggot bullshit (Swedish: bí¸gskräp, ed.) that exists. I hate that sort of thing. I hate all that fairytale atmosphere.’
Von Trier added that H.C. Andersen, who many modern biographers believe to have been gay, had always sought public recognition, and had ended up as a stale establishment in literature.
Von Trier, on the other hand, said he never tried to cater to public demand.
‘I make films for the public that I am,’ he said. ‘I don’t respect the public. Eighty percent is too stupid to be my public.’
He added that his international breakthrough, ‘Breaking the Waves’, had been meant as a joke.
‘I decided to create a story that was so unlikely and filled with clichés that no one would fall for it,’ he said. ‘And of course, everybody fell for it. You just have to do something stupid enough, and then you’ll do fine.’
Von Trier expressed his admiration for the actresses he had worked with, and said he himself was more woman than man. His admiration, however, did not include musician Björk, whose clashes with him during the filming of ‘Dancer in the Dark’ almost led to the film’s demise.
‘Björk isn’t a woman, she’s a little troll,’ he said, adding, however, that he had had a decent working relation with her. ‘She’s an evil bitch, who tried to ruin the film from the beginning. She walked in the first day thinking: ‘Here I come, and you’re going bankrupt’.’
Von Trier added that he had wept in desperation and hurled a chair into a television set during his fights with the singer.
He also repeated his description of US President Bush as ‘an asshole’, and said democracy had the same problem as his films.
‘The problem with democracy is that people are too stupid. The elect the wrong people to parliament,’ von Trier said.
The instructor’s recent censure of other Danish filmmakers, whose films he has called superficial and ’shit without content’, has enraged many of his compatriots.
The country’s hottest male star, Mads Mikkelsen, recently declined an offer to appear in von Trier’s upcoming dogma film, saying he made ’shitty films’.
Make up your mind by watching the interview online in Danish and Swedish.
2005.09.15
Iceland Woos America With Lamb and Skyr (NY Times).
“The trick is finding a way to sell it to America’s food elite. A group of Icelandic agricultural and tourism officials think they’ve found the angle in a clunky but straightforward slogan: ‘Sustainable Iceland since 874.’”
I could die, right now, for a Pylsur!
2005.09.14
If you’re planning to visit Copenhagen in the next few weeks, or if you live in or close to the danish capital, maybe you should have a look at the upcoming world event for design in innovation, INDEX:. It takes place every four years in Copenhagen and will be officially launched September 23rd. This exhibition is more than an exhibition, since it features:
INDEX: is also an international network of designers, cooperations, organisations and design institutions that collaborate in disseminating and applying the latest knowledge within the field of design embraced by the INDEX: event.
INDEX: only features the kind of design that considerably improves life for large numbers of people. They call it “Design to Improve Life”. For instance: the designer Michael Rakowitz has designed a temporary shelter for the homeless in the form of an inflatable plastic igloo that utilizes surplus heat from the city’s air ventilation shafts to inflate the shelter and keep it warm… The awesomely designed Ice Hotel, located just outside Kiruna in Sweden, is erected every year when winter sets in and has succeeded in securing enough exciting workplaces in the region to discourage young people from migrating to bigger cities…
Visit INDEX: website
