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Sunday April 26th 1998
HappyDeadMen have *not* split up!
HappyDeadMen was previously reported to have quit by another source
on the net, but this was not quite what had happened with the band.
On the contrary, the band is still alive and well, but are in the
process of changing name, and with that, label as well. Their latest
album "Bullfights Every Sunday" which has only been released in
Japan so far (in February 1997 no less), will finally be released
in Sweden and everywhere else but Japan on Torpedo Records. The
street date is set to May 20th. This will not just be a release of
the same album though - a couple of new extra tracks have been added
as well. For more information contact Torpedo Records at:
info@torpedo.m.se.
Recording, releasing, playing: Barusta
The much hyped (and probably worth it too) band Barusta (Starboy) have an EP
on the way called "The Game". Produced by Ebbot Lundberg and with a
release date of May 13th. June 1st marks the day when the band
enters the studio to record their debut album. A release is set to
August/September. If you're interested in seeing them play live,
you should go to Fritz's Corner in Stockholm on May 2nd, where they
play together with label mates Freinds.
Cinnamon II
Cinnamon
(Soap Records) start recording their second album this summer (in June)
and the tentative release is set to "winter".
More bliss from Loudean
Scan-Indie favourites Loudean (Soap Records) release their second
single called "The Best Show" on June 8th - conveniently right
before their appearence at the Hultsfred Festival. The yet unnamed
debut album is scheduled for a release in September.
A second Melony album on the way
Melony (Soap Records) have spent some time recorded a couple of
songs for their upcoming second album. The rest will be recorded
during the summer, and everything should be ready for release
around October.
This Perfect Day in the US
The latest album from This Perfect Day (Soap Records) "C-60"
will be released on Sony/550 Music in the US May 19th. The
single "Could Have Been Friends" has already been released
and reportedly added to a lot of radio playlists.
Primal Music / Monolithic News
The second Monolithic Minds compilation (volume 2) was released last
week, April 22nd, on Primal Music's sublabel Monolithic. Ten tracks
with Swedish drum'n'bass artists Eclectic Bob, Grand Nip, Yoga, Baxter,
Friend, Juicehead, Spinform, Quant, Darchives and Perphane. Note that
Baxter and Yoga are primarily (pun intended) signed to the Primal
Music label and that Spinform are signed to RUC (Recordings Under
Construction). Baxter (the two Eclectic Bob guys Ricky Tillblad and
Carl Herlofsson together with Salt/Grand Tone Music and Sin-all-time-
favourite-singer Nina Ramsby) contributes with an instrumental remix
of one of their own songs. Baxter's debut album will be released late
summer/early autumn on Primal Music in the Scandinavian/Nordic
countries, Maverick in the US and Warner everywhere else. Yoga have
their debut album on the way, which will be released on May 25th and
not sound like anything else, if you believe what they say. If you'd
like to see some of these bands play live, there's an all-nighter at
Rangus Tangus (the basement at Snaps, Götgatan 48, Medborgarplatsen)
in Stockholm on May 7th, which starts at 9pm (21.00).
Depeche Mode Tour Scandinavia
Depeche Mode return to the road this autumn. The band embark on an
extensive two-month UK and European tour in September and October,
with further dates in the US to follow in November and December.
The new tour is entitled 'The Singles Tour 86-98'. This is the first
time Depeche Mode can been seen in concert since the summer of 1993,
when their 'Devotional' tour was seen by over two million people
around the world. The European shows coincide with the release of
a new singles compilation album, which will also include new
material the band are currently recording with producer Tim Simenon
in London. A single with a new song will be released before the
album. Note that the band will also perform these new songs on the
tour. Tickets to the Swedish gigs can be bought from BiljettDirekt
(Phone: +46-(0)77-1707070) or directly from the venues for 275 SEK
+ service fee (usually 20 SEK) starting Monday May 18th. In
Scandinavia, the dates are as follows (all in September):
9th - Helsinki, Hartwall Areena (SF) ** PREMIERE **
11th - Copenhagen, Multi Hall (DK)
12th - Gothenburg, Scandinavium (S)
13th - Stockholm, Globen (S)
The Smashing Pumpkins at Skansen
As strange as it may seem, Smashing Pumpkins will play on the
Solliden stage at Stockholm's Zoo Skansen on May 25th. This is
a part of a special "play at cool places" tour the 'kins have
in store for the world. Apart from Skansen, they will play
at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia and at the Guggenheim
museum in Bilbao, Spain (which should create an excellent
backdrop for the band IMO). The band will play new songs from
the upcoming album "Adore" which is their first album in three
years - and released on June 1st. A preceding single "Ava Adore"
is released on May 18th. Tickets in Sweden are 190 SEK +
service fee and they go on sale on monday (tomorrow) April
27th. BiljettDirekt (Phone: +46-(0)77-1707070) is the place
to call.
Swedish Booking Agencies grab the net
Both Luger and Motor BA:s have moved on to secure their sites
on the Internet. Motor, who could previously only be reached
through their Moonfire-address, have acquired the www.motor.se
URL, and Luger, who were previously stationed at BA EMA Telstar's
website, have finally hired a webmaster (not a day too soon if
you ask me - but then again, I actually suggested myself for
the job two years ago... :-)) who's workload must be enormous
- which has resulted in a soon-to-be-ready site at www.luger.se.
Sunday April 19th 1998
Acid House Kings on the net
For those of us who like the more twee-ish edge of the Swedish
indie pop scene, Acid House Kings must be mentioned among the
very best. Good news then that they have their own homepage
on the Shelflife label site! Their pages also contain info
on the related bands Semester, Sunshine Boys, Red Sleeping
Beauty, Poprace, Starlet and Club 8. Check it out and listen
to the beautiful 'This And That' from their CD "Advantage Acid
House Kings".
Doris Days Finally Celebrated
When label Some Pearls (Slask Records) released Doris Days'
debut album "Live In Poland" at the end of 1996, nothing
really happened - apart from a couple of really good reviews
in papers, magazines and fanzines. And from online media
(which we won't mention) "I have not heard something this
beatutiful and addictive from Sweden in a long time." who
rightfully labelled their music "urban trip-hop" and who
also spread the word and the music around the globe. Now
almost two years later and through a licence deal in Japan,
the Brits have been awakened. The single "To Ulrike M." re-
released two months ago on British label Dorado including
three new remixes is included in play lists on both UK and
Swedish radio these days - and the mentioned 12" received
the "12-inch of the week" award on P3 Dans recently. A new
(really new) single is on the way, but will not be released
until autumn. Until then, why not dig out Doris Days' first
single "Places" - released on BarnsligaSkivor/Some Pearls
in 1993? Or their very first release ever "Cricket Buddhist"
a 9-song cassette released on BarnsligaSkivor 1992.
Swedish Morning paper "Svenska Dagbladet" published an article
about the band on friday last week - read it here (in Swedish).
Dryad receives award
Unsigned Stockholm-based rockers Dryad which you possibly have
read about here (if not, check out the interview) are starting to get the attention they
deserve with well attended gigs in central Stockholm as a result.
The band also received the Kulturhuset / Lava Demotek ("House of
Culture" sort of) in Stockholm "demo of the winter" award, and will
make their festival debut at the Mera Hitlåtar festival in
Handen outside Stockholm this summer. If you have a chance,
check out the next issue of the magazine "Chili" where they
are featured. And if you want to see them play live in the near
future, Cage (in Gamla Stan in Stockholm) on wednesday is their
next stop.
gusGus are on the move
Icelandic gusGus (4AD), along with designer Linda B. Arnadottir,
introduced their first collection of clothing called Product
for "Cry Lab" (fashion company managed by the band) at the
world Art Fair Expo '98 in Portugal in February. The Icelandic
government selected the band to represent Iceland at the event.
This first collection will be introduced in Paris from October
98. On the music side, the band recently completed the song
"Monument" for the untitled Depeche Mode tribute album, which
is to be released in April on A&M's 1500 Records. They are
about to remix tracks for David Byrne, Underdog and the upcoming
Björk single "Hunter" (to be released in June), though which
tracks has yet to be decided. gusGus own and new second album
will be out in September. A tentative title has been revealed
to be "Treasures In Lava" and the album will contain about 10
songs. The first half has been entrusted to Herr Legowitz for
the drum kits, samples and loops, while the rest will be mixed
by Biggi and Steph. Movie-news: The song "Gun" is on the
soundtrack for the film "Suicide Kings" starring Christopher
Walken. The group is now working on a new song for the Ben
Stiller film "Permanent Midnight". And finally, video-news:
The next gusGus video will be "Barry" (now in post-production
in London).
Komeda on tour + new video
Celebrated NONS popsters Komeda are on the road in Sweden at
the moment. On thursday they are back for the second (third?)
time in Linköping at Herrgår'n, but if you don't live there,
they do play in Malmö two days later. 23/4 Linköping and
25/4 Malmö that is. A new video is on the way as well - this
time it's to the song "Cul de Sac".
Leslies reveal name of US label
Swedish sooth-popsters Leslies who were previously reported
(see older news updates) to be on the way to release a 7"
single called "That's Me" in the US have now revealed the name of the label:
"American Pop Project", which is run by Mel Chaplowitz. No
word yet if the band will have to change their name on it
or not (see older news for info on this).
Dorian Records
The planned indie double CD compilation which was to be released
in December last year never happened, as you probably noticed.
Now news dropped in today directly from the label owner Roger
which said that he is still (!) trying to put together a compilation
(or two actually) - one twee-pop and one 'regular' indie-pop.
So here we go again! :-) More information is on the way.
P3 Pop Monday 27/4
Swedish National Radio channel P3 on monday between 19.03-22.00
is, as usual once a month, "Pop Monday". Playing live between
21.03-22.00 is Sophie Zelmani (Warner) and guests between 19.03-
21.00 are Tommy 16 (AWSF - also playing live) and The Confusions
(Massproduktion). A special about Finnish pop with the spotlight
on Supperheads (Warner) can also be heard this night.
Wednesday April 8th 1998
Fly is Easy is Fly
A couple of days ago Fly (Dolores) decided to change their name to...Easy! Yup,
happy days are here again. The three members of old Easy together with
the three new ones thought they were close enough to being the original
band to still be called Easy. The Fly album, which should have been
released now, is dealyed until June and according to Isse at their record
company Dolores they will have to reprint about 3 000 albums. The name
change is due to one English record company called Fly, two American
bands called Fly, one German magazine called Fly, an Indian restaurant
called Fly, two Jamaican 70's rock troubadours called Fly etc. etc.
Fly is Easy. Or? Well, yet unconfirmed rumors (heard after the above
was written on the Scan-Indie mailing list) say they may still be
able to keep Fly as their name. More on this when something happens.
Coo heads back to the studio
Dreamy guitar manglers Coo from Finland (who Scandinavian Indie
has a contest with this month - don't forget to check it out)
are on their way back to the studio this month to record some
totally new stuff. Their second demo which was recorded not
long ago will hit record companies, labels and radio stations
at the beginning of next month. (homepage)
Doktor Kosmos Stjärnjerry on the radio
Doktor Kosmos (NONS) and the rock opera "Stjärnjerry" which
you have read about here several times before, and which
safely can be said to be a success, is now re-broadcasted
twice, in the middle of the night, in its radio version on
Swedish National Radio! Channels P3 and P4 are the ones to
watch and the program to tune in on April 13th and 14th -
between 03.03 - 04.00 (yup, that's _am_) is "Frispel".
The show's homepage, where you can find more info about
it all can be found here.
Leslies to release a 7" in the US
Swedish breeze popsters Leslies found out there's a US band with the
same name this week, when asked if they were the ones playing in
Washington D.C. Tony Ivarsson (vocals) comments:
- I'll be damned. We had no idea. Unfortunately our name is only
registered in Sweden, so we can't do anything about it. We do have
a paper saying we were first with the name though. It'll be even
more interesting when we release a 7" single in the US in June - on
a small label I can't give you the name of yet...
gusGus recording their new album
gusGus (4AD) from Iceland have been busy setting up their new studio
in Reykjavik, and now they are working hard on their second album
which is due out in september. The weekend of June 5-6 should be a
special one in Iceland as Gusgus is putting on a festival where a
whole bunch of Icelandic bands will be playing and gusGus will
unveil their new record at the event.
Sobsister added to the P3 Playlist
Really small label Absurd Records own Barb Wire (tm) pop band
Sobsister
will be added to the Swedish National Radio playlist
on tuesday. The song qualified is the number 7 on their debut
album "Schlaraffenland" released saturday last week. And what
is number 7 then you ask? It's the gorgeous 'Thursday Knight
Mr Cool'! Worth noting is also that their pre-album single
"Wardrobe" was picked up by the national radio two days after
its release. At the moment, they are touring (and yes, they
will come to Linköping! - sorry about the local nationalism
there ;-)) Their current tour dates are as follows:
8/4 Växjö, 9/4 Eskilstuna, 17/4 Malmö, 25/4 Emmaboda,
and 28/5 Linköping (full tour date info)
Starboy Recordings has moved + website
Stockholm based record label Starboy Recordings (Robot,
Freinds, Barusta) has moved from S:t Eriksplan to the
southern parts of the city and into the same building
as the Luger booking agency, record label Startracks,
web entertainment company Moondog and venue Fritz's
Corner. The new contact information is as follows:
Visiting address: Högabergsgatan 33, 2tr. Phone 1:
+46-(0)8-6152950 (Hansi - A&R, promotion), Phone 2:
+46-(0)8-6152960 (Johan & Linda - Ads, production,
economy), Fax: +46-(0)8-7145065. Their mailing address
is still the same as before on the other hand (see
Record Labels). Starboy Recordings'
website was also finished last week - and it is
designed by none other than Scandinavian Indie list member Elin! Check
it out here.
Arvika Festival Update
The Arvika Festival (10-11 July in Arvika, Sweden) had some
trouble with their release list to which people managed to
send their personal greetings this week due to a bad
configuration, but quickly repaired the damage and added
Caesar's Palace (S) to their line-up (full info).
Emmaboda Festival Update
Sweden's most down to earth summer music festival Emmaboda (7-8
August in Emmaboda, Sweden) have added a bunch of great names
to their line-up. Here are the new names straight from the
organizers (full info):
Bad Cash Quartet (S), Easy (Fly) (S), Komeda (S),
Mazarine Street (S), Polythene (S).
Spiritualized and gusGus to Hultsfred Festival
A new release of names added to the line-up from the Hultsfred Festival
(11-13 June in Hultsfred, Sweden) came in today -
where Spiritualized (UK), gusGus (IS) along with the previously
reported (now official) Rakim (US) are the big guns. Worth noting
is also Finnish favourites Larry & The Lefthanded. Cancelled
this week: Anouk (NL). Here are all the new names (full info):
Anders Widmark Trio (S), Bad Cash Quartet (S), Broder Daniel (S),
Evil D (US), Growin' Pains (S), Gus Gus (IS), Jonas Lönnå (S),
Kaah (S), Ken (S), Larry and the Lefthanded (SF),
Lars Winnerbäck (S), Petter (S), Rakim (US), Spiritualized (UK),
Steel & MC Nitro (S), Stephan Grieder (svek) (S), Terranova (D),
Thumb (D), Unfinished Burritos (S).
Sunday April 5th 1998
The Verve + Sonic Youth + Soulfly @ Roskilde Festival 1998!
Roskilde Festival (25-28 June in Roskilde, Denmark) sneaked out
some really heavy names for the 1998 festival during the night
between saturday and sunday. Sonic Youth (US) - with their 14th
album "A Thousand Leaves" to be released on Geffen on May 12th, and Max
Cavalera's new band Soulfly (BR)
- who's self titled debut album is out on April 21st on Roadrunner,
were immediately added to the news section on their entry page,
but The Verve (UK) was just added to their huge line-up (and
Radio Tarifa (E) was removed - which probably means they have
cancelled) - perhaps a way to see who checks the list and who
just check the first page? Sneaky, we have already seen news headlines
today only mentioning Sonic Youth and/or Soulfly - but as we're always checking
the full line-up, we don't care. ;-) It is Good News in
any case! (full festival details here)
Midtfyn Festival with third release
Midtfyn Festival (1-5 July in Odense, Denmark) moves on and
presents a bunch of new artists and bands this weekend. A lot
of domestic bands as you can see, but there is at least one
band in there not to be missed: Unun from Iceland! Their
gig last year at Roskilde was one of my personal favourites
and it doesn't compare to anything else. Expect a lot of fun
and a lot of noise mixed with gorgeous guitar filled pop.
Here are the new Midtfyn names (full festival details here):
Audioweb (UK), Baal (DK), Bleeder (DK), D:A:D (DK),
Del Amitri (SCOT), Faithless (UK), Ginnman/Jørgensen (DK),
Inside The Whale (DK), Johnny Madsen (DK),
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band (US), Lars H.U.G. (DK),
Phish (US), Psyched Up Janis (DK), Ruby Fruit Jungle (DK),
Sorten Muld (DK), The Corrs (IRL), tv-2 (DK), Unun (IS).
First release from SommarRock 98
The first release of artists and bands who will play at the
SommarRock Festival 98 (16-18 July in Svedala, Sweden) is now
here (full festival details here):
Jerry Williams (S), Wilmer X (S), Cajsa-Lisa Ejemyr (S),
Two Piece Puzzle (S), The Deadbeats (S), Sweet Boys (S).
Thursday April 2nd 1998
Sound Affects back on the Web again
The Swedish No.1 pop magazine Sound Affects is back on the Internet
after leaving their previous website pretty much untouched since its
first appearence. The webmaster says the editorial staff weren't
that interested in helping out or sending material to be added to it
and without their interest, the site 'died'. Now the webmaster has
released 'v3' of the site on his own and in a much simpler format -
easier to handle for one person in his spare time, even without the
help of or backing from the editorial staff. The site is only
available in Swedish, and you can check it out if you click right
here.
Cobolt with new material
The slow but heavy trio Cobolt (ex Refused and Blithe members) from
Umeå have just finished the recordings of their second album scheduled
for relelase this autumn. A new song will also be included on the
upcoming 'Definitivt 50 Spänn' compilation. The band's debut album,
'Eleven Storey Soul Departure', was released on Ampersand late -97 and received
good reviews and was somewhat compared to the Red House Painters.
Fidget Live in Stockholm April 7th
Are you looking for a chance to see Fidget play live in the near
future? Do you live in or close to Stockholm? Then you're in luck!
The ingenious popsters from Gothenburg will play at Tantogården
in Stockholm on Tuesday next week (April 7th). It's a "Volume"
night (unsigned bands play every second tuesday, usually there's
no fee) so hopefully we'll see interested label people in the
audience as well. Fidget's April Fools day joke was the extra
special news that they would tour with the US Lollapalooza
Festival this summer.
Komeda's third album is a Success
A week has passed since Komeda's third album was released on NONS,
and the reviews have been stunning (to say the least). Here are
some (badly translated) clips:
* In Sound Affects - Reviewer Magnus Kvist lists the album on his
'favourites' list, awards it with 4 1/2 (out of 5) points and says
he can't understand why they're not selling ten thousands of copies
of it in Sweden when he hears "It's Alright, Baby" and cranks up
the volume.
* In Göteborgs Tidningar - Reviewer Kai Martin adds Komeda twice
to his "best right now" list, of which one is the first place. It
can't get more fun than this in 1998, he beams.
* In Café - Reviewer Kjell Häglund recommends the album and writes
that Sweden's most exciting pop band has never sounded better.
* In Nöjesguiden - Reviewer Kristoffer Triumf feels that five songs
on the album are indispensable floorfillers for the mingle parties
in 1998 and that 'A Simple Formality' is the coolest vocoder song
ever. He also put it on his "best right now" list.
Extra chance to see Doktor Kosmos "Stjärnjerry"
Doktor Kosmos (NONS) and his rock opera "Stjärnjerry", which is put up in
Stockholm at Pistolteatern only (apart from one single show in Umeå
during the 'Umeå Open Festival' this weekend) is a success! The
shows have been packed and therefor they have decided to add a date
to the upcoming schedule of shows. All shows start at 8pm (20.00) -
and here are the remaining dates: 13/4, 20/4, 21/4 (added show)
and 27/4. Tickets can be bought at the theater (+46-(0)8-303000)
or at the Infocentret at Kulturhuset.
Arvika Festival reveals a bunch of Artists & Bands
The festival (July 10-11 in Arvika, Sweden) released the first
artists and bands at the release party yesterday evening ( apart
from the impressive Sisters of Mercy (UK) who were announced
last week ). About twenty (20) more will be added before the
line-up is complete. Here are the new names (complete info):
Antiloop (S), Backyard Babies (S), Bad Cash Quartet (S),
Covenant (S), Daf.Dos (D), Freewheel (S), Gluecifer (N),
Grand Tone Music (S), Incka (S), Kent (S), Liberator (S),
Lok (S), Orup (S), Rammstein (D), Refused (S), S.P.O.C.K (S),
Sisters of Mercy (UK), Space Age Baby Jane (S),
Speaker Bite Me (DK), Titiyo (S), Weeping Willows (S),
Sophie Zelmani (S).
Umeå Open Festival changes
This weekend, the first major music festival in Umeå takes place,
and the line-up and schedule has been reported here several times
before. But as with most festivals - artists and bands cancel,
schedules are re-arranged, and everything goes bazooka. Instead
of posting the whole updated thing again (the schedule has changed
mondo) - check out the Festivals area
which is always updated with the latest information. Short note about
changes in the line-up: Friend cancelled and Hab (DOT Records) (US)
replaced them. Mos Def cancelled and Scratchaholics (see the Mazarine Street Interview for more on Scratchaholics)
replaced.
Bollnäspunken Festival tickets available now
The 3500 tickets to the Bollnäs Punk festival (29-30 May in Bollnäs,
Sweden) have now been released. 100 SEK for one day and 180 for two.
New (April 1st) bands added this week are: Crass (UK), Dead Kennedys (US) and
Discharge (UK) - but the real ones are Rebell-Robert (S), UK Subs (UK) and
The Vibrators (UK). The arrangers have also compiled a 2CD from the 1997
festival which is sold on their website (complete info).
Even more Festival Updates
The Karlshamn Rock festival (5-6 June in Karlshamn, Sweden) added a
few names this week: Blue Öyster Cult (US), Freak Kitchen (S) and
Peps Down Home Bluesband (S). Provinssirock (12-14 June in Seinäjoki,
Finland) added: Valtava kääpiö (SF), and apparently hip-hop legend
Rakim (US) (from Erik B. & Rakim) will be added to the Hultsfred
(11-13 June in Hultsfred, Sweden) line-up - though this is not yet
official (complete info).
Kent's April Fools joke
Kent (BMG), the webmaster of their official site, or someone with
access to the site, had a fun day yesterday when it was April Fools
day. Someone simply linked the first page directly to the offical
Jumper website (www.jumper-se.com) so when you thought you were
going to the Kent site,
you actually ended up at Jumper's.
Gigs you should Know about
Espinoza 5 - 15/4 Stockholm, Kulturhuset (w/Ghandi)
Fidget - 7/4 Stockholm, Tantogarden (Volym)
IOTA - 1/5 Goteborg, Pusterviksbaren (w/Pluxus)
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