Scandinavian Culture Viewed, Reviewed & Interviewed
2006.02.26
— Music
I’ve wanted to write about this wonderful woman for a while now, ever since I saw her live for the very first time: last summer at the Malmö Festivalen when I barely knew who she was. But I just never could find the time to write.
Anyways, this pretty 26 years-old swedish song-writer will blow you away, first when you listen carefully to her record, and then when you go see her live (she’s going to be busy this spring, touring). Her first demos caught the attention of the Cardigans’s singer, who kindly signed her on her own Stockholm Records and released her album in Sweden in 2003. Then followed some shows in the mother land; the people of sweden and the national press all fell in love with her cute and melancolic songs. In 2005, she played a few shows abroad, got signed to Universal and released her album in Europe three days ago.
The album is called “Somebody Outside” and it’s really good. Probably the best thing I’ve heard from Sweden last year. And then when you go see her live, you are freezed by her charming voice and her pretty songs. She either plays with a band (friends mostly) or by herself. She is a very “solitaire” person so maybe you should listen to her record by yourself as well, to feel her music a little better.
Stream a few songs and amazing videos on her website and check when she’s coming near you !
2006.02.20
— Music
I don’t know why I had never listened to Jens Lekman more carefully. It must have been laziness or a dangerous lack of attention. Fortunately, a friend of mine recently said that his last album, Oh You’re So Silent Jens, was a marvelous gem with plenty of cute songs… Then I read somewhere that Jens Lekman proposed free downloads of some of his first EPs on his website… Finally I read a long interview on Pitchforkmedia, thanks to which I suddenly realised that a singer-songwriter who was ready to quit music and to work at a bingo hall must, undoubtedly, be someone great. And believe me, he is. Great.
Jens Lekman played a fantastic concert a couple of days ago close to Paris. This was one of the most fantastic concerts I’ve been to. Even though it was a bit short, one hour, we were quickly transported to Göteborg and convinced that, yes, for sure, “The Avenue” had to be destroyed. Fantastic arrangements, great brass section, funny ukulele (or was it just a small guitar?), touching voice. The Swedish crooner is fun and didn’t hesitate to play a final acoustic song at the bar, with this tiny guitar, some 20 minutes after the show ended, while the ones who had stayed were simply in heaven. Well, that was my case, at last.
I don’t know much about Jens Lekman apart from his music and the Pitchfork interview, but after all, what’s the point? On his label website, they write: “His timeless elegance makes the big, beautiful suburban pop songs sound like they’re already classics. Which they are.” Yes, they are.
Jens was wearing a t-shirt with a big E on it. It related to a single recently released on his swedish label, by The Embassy. Which urged me to listen to their EPs and to the first LP released on Service by The Embassy, Futile Crimes. And it’s much better than the last…
Don’t forget to visit this compulsory fan-website about Jens Lekman, Maple Leaves. That’s where i found those cute words: “I’m not here to save the world, but if I can just save Göteborg, or make two teenagers in a small town in Norway fall in love… then it’s worth it.” Jens Lekman
2006.02.09
— Music
I can’t believe it. I heard about Hello Saferide a few days ago and “Introducing”, her debut, is already one of my favourite on my ipod, at least the few songs I found for free download on various websites.
Hello Saferide is Annika Norlin from Östersund, Sweden. She was 7 when she started writing songs for herself and her mum. 19 years later, she released one of her songs on a compilation, a song titled “Highschool Stalker” about a young girl addicted to altavista and yahoo search engines, a girl who spends hours spying on a boy and drinking coffee with the boy’s mum. A girl not unlike Anna herself… Then she released her proper debut “Introducing” which is, as I just said, full of great pop-songs.
Think Anna Ternheim, but a funny and witty Ternheim* (see her journal on her website, read her lyrics), and I hope you won’t be fooled by what you can read about the music in various reviews: it’s far from “bubblegum pop” or from “tweepop”, in my humble opinion… even though you can sometimes hear some handclaps, some shalalas, some jangling guitars, some trumpets… But there’s something else in her music, something which makes it much more original, touching and interesting than simple tweepop: it may be the slow and sad songs whispered with a soft voice, it may be the catchy and folkish voice and melodies, it may be the lyrics which are great short stories precisely describing, in a few words, complicated feelings and trivial moments with the same elegance. It may be her charm.
Hello Saferide official homepage, on myspace, on her record label.
Photo: Mikael K Jansson
* No, I’m not saying that Anna Ternheim is not funny nor witty. What I mean is that her songs are probably even sadder… Anyway, I’ll let another Noisefisk editor write about Anna Ternheim, (’cause yes, I’m not supposed to be the only editor down here…)
2006.02.08
— Music
If there is a direct link between France and Iceland, it’s probably Stormy Weather, a movie where the Icelandic-born film director Sólveig Anspach returns to the medical environment she already explored in her debut “Haut Les Coeurs” (High Hopes). Sólveig Anspach left Iceland originally for film school in Paris, directed a couple of documentaries and fictional movies… with this one, she returns to her home city, Vestmannaeyjar, like the silent and mysterious Loa (Didda Jónsdóttir).
The film is centred on the close and ambiguous relationship between the psychotherapist Cora (Élodie Bouchez) and one of her patients, a silent and nameless reclusive woman, literally lost in a psychiatric hospital in France in the first part. When it is discovered that the patient is actually Icelandic, Cora suddenly decides to follow her, to leave the continent and visit Loa in her lost island. There begins the second part of the film, with desolated landscapes, storms, wind, alcohol, depression… Cora finding herself defenseless…
You can interpret the film the way you want, focus on the doctor-patient relations based on this fascinating interdependence or rather on the attraction/repulsion effect of Iceland… Whatever you’re interested in, you’ll be astonished by the two main actresses and by this fantastic and poetic story.
The DVD is in French and Icelandic, with English subtitles. You can buy it here.
2006.02.05
— Music
It’s always great news when a new real magazine is created, even though you can find almost eveything you need on the internet. This new Ondskan magazine is written in Swedish, which will probably be bad news for those of you who know nothing of the language. But for the others, who desperately try to learn it and to understand/remember how words should be placed in a correct sentence, it will probably be a nice opportunity to study a bit more while discovering some new bands. ‘Cause Onsdkan will be dedicated to music, indiepop and electronic music in particular, from all over the world but with a specific focus on scandinavian bands. In the first issue, which was published a couple of days ago in Sweden, you’ll find interviews, reviews, articles about Erik de Vahl, Milky, Pet Shop Boys, Taxi Taxi, Arvo Pärt, Van Dyke Parkas, Webstrarna, West End Girls, The Field, Markus Guentner, Most Valuable Players, Otur or Psapp… Ondskan is gathering a nice bunch of Swedish contributors that some of you already know: Anton Gustavsson (from the fanzine En Garde and from Sonic), Billy Rimgard from Cricket, Hanna Fahl from P3 Pop and The Jet Set Junta, along with Stefan Zachrisson, who used to run Benno…
I know nothing about the twins hiding behind Taxi Taxi, a swedish band who’ll probably remain a secret to me until I receive my Ondskan magazine. They look very young, but they make fantastic tunes, somewhere between pop and folk, with dark voices, delicate arrangements and a disturbing atmosphere that I thought such young girls would be unable to create. There’s nothing much on the Internet about Taxi Taxi apart from their myspace webpage, where you can listen to those two great songs: To Hide This Way and Old Big Trees. Enjoy!
You can order Ondskan through their website.
2006.02.04
— Music
Associated Press — Saturday February 4, 2006
Thousands of Syrian demonstrators stormed the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus today, setting fire to both buildings in protest against caricatures of Islam’s prophet.
Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators who had move on to the Norwegian embassy after setting fire to the Danish embassy, about six kilometres (four miles) away. But the protesters broke through police barriers and set fire to the building, shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great).
A Norwegian news agency quoted an unnamed embassy employee as saying no Norwegians were inside the building at the time.
Protesters then moved toward the French embassy, some nine kilometers (six miles) away.
Earlier in the afternoon, a peaceful protest outside the Danish embassy escalated quickly when demonstrators began throwing stones and then broke through police barricades. Some scrambled up the concrete barriers protecting the embassy and climbed into the building and set a fire.
“With our blood and souls we defend you, O Prophet of God,” they chanted.
Some removed the Danish flag and replaced it with a green flag printed with the words: “There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God.”
The building, which also houses the embassies of Chile and Sweden, was believed to be empty.
Thick, black smoke rose from the three-story building for about an hour before firefighters were able to put out the flames. The structure was badly damaged and blackened but remained standing.
Ambulances rushed to the scene and dozens of policemen stood guard, trying to keep the protesters away. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
In response, the Danish Foreign Ministry issued a statement advising Danish citizens to leave Syria without delay.
The demonstrators were protesting against caricatures of the prophet Muhammad that were first published in a Danish newspaper several months ago.
Protesters have been staging sit-ins outside the Danish embassy in Damascus almost daily since the furore over the drawings broke out last week.
On Wednesday, Syria recalled its ambassador in Copenhagen for consultations over the caricatures. That same day, an anonymous caller told the Danish embassy in Damascus that there was a bomb in the ambassador’s office. The building was evacuated, but no bomb was found.
The cartoons, first printed in Denmark and then published elsewhere in Europe, have caused offence in the Arab and Islamic world, in part because Islamic law is interpreted to forbid any depiction of the prophet Muhammad. Aggravating the affront was one caricature of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse.
The Danish government has expressed regret for the row, but refused to become involved, citing freedom of expression.
Photo: Louai Beshara/AFP
2006.02.01
— Music
I recently discovered the myspace community and, little by little, i realise it can be a great tool to discover those new bands we’re all looking for. The website itself is ugly, but there’s something magic in the idea: you find your favourite bands, you play some of their songs, you identify them as your “friends” if you like, you get inspiration from those users who like the same kind of music, some of them might even add you as “friends” (even though you don’t really feel like meeting anyone), and the merry-go-round can go on and on and on… But one day, you visit the webpage of a band you’d never heard of… and you realise they deserve something on Noisedfisk! (i’m being pretentious, i know).
‘Cause I’d been looking for a great-new-indie-pop Norwegian band for ages. Obviously, you’ve got the Kings of Convenience, who are… the kings probably… the reference… But the band i stumbled upon on myspace is not from Bergen. They are from Trondheim, they are Kawaii and it’s no surprise if they played, during their tour in the US, with the Trembling Blue Stars: “Our sound is mostly pleasant and sweet, but not without substance. We worship vintage synths/drum-machines, boy/girl vocals, pretty harmonies, toys, disarming lyrics, xylofones, guitars… everything that comes in hand actually. The songs were recorded in the corner of a tiny kitchen, and turned out to be a rather pleasent semi-tweelectronic feast… homemade and sweet, but haunting and challenging as well.”
Visit as soon as possible their myspace webpage where you can listen to 4 of the songs taken from their debut, “If it shines, we have it”, released by Shelflife records in 2004. “Talk, Sleep or Fuck” is undoubtedly my favourite.
You can also visit their official homepage.
