‘Running With The Wolves’ EP features six mesmerising tracks from Aurora, released on 10″ vinyl. Icy, electronic beats are juxtaposed with Aurora’s soaring, captivating vocal delivery which fully confirm that the hype already behind her is completely justified. The creative process has been evolving for Aurora since the tender age of thirteen; Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Tolkien, Enya and all things fantastical have and continue to shape and inform her compositions. Mix in a love of the natural world and the resulting tracks simmer with a unique rendering of dramatic imagery, mood and emotion. For fans of Kate Bush, Emiliana Torrini and Lykke Li.
Posts Tagged ‘Norway’
AURORA – ” Running With The Wolves “
Posted: August 1, 2015 in MUSICTags: Aurora, Norway, Running With The Wolves, singer songwriter
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JENNY HVAL – ” My Mix “
Posted: July 31, 2015 in MUSICTags: Apocalypse Girl, Jenny Hval, Mixcloud, Norway
In the wake of Jenny Hval, the Norwegian musician and writer, releasing one of the favourite albums of the year, in Apocalypse, Girl, Here is an exciting mix for your listening pleasure. It’s “WEIRD”, Hval tells us, running from Birmingham dreamers Broadcast through to prolific experimentalist Robert Youngs via tracks from Copeland, Moon Relay and the excellent 11-minute B-side to Salon de Musique, the 1982 solo album from Suburban Lawns’ Su Tissue. Says Hval: “It’s a mix of songs I’ve been given by my friends recently (and absorbed like a sponge), plus a couple of my own recent favourites. My Dinner With Others, you could say (or It Was A Cold, Rainy Summer – we’ve all been stuck inside listening to music up here). Broadcast, Else Marie Pade and Copeland are my own contributions.”
Beyond immediately following this mix with a full play-through of “Apocalypse, Girl” – you can start with the new video for ‘Sabbath’ below – we’d recommend getting yourself tickets for her UK tour dates later this year
NOVEMBER
Thu 5 – The Hug & Pint, Glasgow
Sat 7 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Sun 8 – Soup Kitchen, Manchester
Mon 9 – Lantern, Bristol
Wed 11 – Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen, London
HIGHASAKITE – ” Heavenly Father ” Bon Iver Cover
Posted: July 2, 2015 in MUSICTags: Bon Iver . Cover, Highasakite, Norway
Highasakite cover Bon Iver’s ‘Heavenly Father’. As heard on NBC’s American Odyssey and triple j’s Like A Version. Watch the live video here: When Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon saw Norway’s Highasakite perform at the 2012 Oya Festival in Oslo, he fell in love. Soon the two bands were touring together. Now the only band I know that tours with a flugabone has taken one of s Vernon’songs and made it even more majestic than the original. The song is “Heavenly Father,” written and released for the soundtrack to Zach Braff’s 2014 film Wish I Was Here. Helene Håvik’s voice is gorgeous and if you don’t yet know Highasakite, this is a good place to start. Once you fall in love, go back and find “Silent Treatment”, the band’s ethereal 2014 album.
BERGEN FEST NORWAY – 15th-18th June 2015
Posted: June 17, 2015 in FESTIVALS, MUSICTags: Bergen Fest, Norway
Bergen is a funny place. all cobbled streets, custard-yellow wooden houses and cinnamon buns. Yet this twee capital of fishing and fjords, which is the biggest in Norway after Oslo, also happens to be at the centre of numerous underground DIY music movements. For a while it was the home of black metal, then gave birth to the Bergen Wave of the 1990s, progressing to a plethora of new rave bands a decade later and now spawning the new flux of Scandi “pop wave”. It is against this backdrop that Bergen’s annual music festival, Bergenfest, takes place. Now in its 22nd year, it has expanded from a festival orientated around local talent to one that attracts some of the biggest names on the festival circuit. This year featured Patti Smith, Tori Amos and Bastille alongside Röyksopp and Norway’s EDM wonderkid Kygo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IArEJ9-RNiI
It’s also pretty tiny. With only three stages, housed in the dramatically austere grounds of an 11th-century Viking fortress, the largest stage caters to a crowd of just 7,000. That most modern of anxieties, festival fear of missing out, fully eliminated by the fact barely any of the acts overlap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNfQodofUL4
It is under a bleak and ominously grey sky that St Paul and the Broken Bones take the stage on Friday afternoon, a setting that seems somewhat incongruous with this seven-piece soul band from Birmingham, Alabama. “Well hellooo Norway,” drawls singer Paul Janeway with all the cadence of a gospel preacher, before launching into an electric rendition of Dixie Rothko, accompanied by all the hip thrusting and ass shaking that makes him one of the most captivating frontmen around. It’s no easy feat warming up this shivering Nordic crowd, but as the saxophones kick in for a Sam Cooke cover and Janeway instructs everyone to “shake it like a bowl of soup”, an energy suddenly grips the audience. Beautiful cagoules are stripped off (this is city who knows how look impeccable in waterproofs) and beer cups thrown to the floor as the awkward foot shuffling gives way to some all-out shimmying.
It’s an energy that’s kept up with an infectiously spirited set from Omara “Bombino” Moctar, the Tuareg singer and guitarist from Niger. His desert blues, characterised with rocky guitars, drums and whole lot of bass, seems made for the festival’s Magic Mirrors tent, which complete with red velvet curtains, stained glass windows and leather booths, feels like a cross between a brothel and a spiritual yurt for taking ayahuasca.
This atmospheric tent also plays host to Natalie Prass, whose beautiful vocals sound even better live than they do on record, less saccharine and more sweetly soulful. It’s a brilliant set, one of the best of the festival in fact, so it seems a shame it is played to a tiny crowd. Still, that does not put off Prass who slinks elegantly across the stage – at one point commenting that all the red velvet “makes me feel like Janet Jackson”.
Showing them all how its done, however, is Tori Amos, whose Saturday afternoon slot proves to be a fierce pinnacle for the festival. Straddling her stool and playing a piano with one hand and her keyboard with the other, Amos looks like she is having some sort of sexual experience on stage as she performs a set that covers the spectrum of her two-decade long career. “I’m so old I forgot my lyrics,” Amos tells the crowd, brandishing her notes in the air. “Look, it happens – but menopause can be hot too,” she says before breaking into 1994’s Take to the Sky, thrusting her crotch and ferociously smacking the piano as if to prove her point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h4eUEoGBgE
It is on Sunday afternoon that the dark skies of Bergen finally open up in apocalyptic style, just as Death Cab For Cutie take to the stage. Hypothermia is on the horizon by this point but as the opening chords of “I Will Possess Your Heart” carry out over the medieval castle grounds, I am instantly transported back to my angst-ridden teen years, filled with heartbreak it is a tight set and one infused with nostalgia.
The Bergen music scene, however, redeems itself with a Sunday-night finale from their most successful local export, Röyksopp. The Norwegian dance duo, whose latest album was apparently their last, favour of euphoric dance tracks, all pounding beats, billowing synths and strobe lighting, and they finally succeed where many others over the weekend have failed – getting this cool Nordic crowd to drop their inhibitions and lose their shit a little bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPKOX2d9mvM
Bergenfest has been voted “Festival of the Year” by its peers in the Norwegian Rock Festival Council and twice received the price of honour from The Tourist Board of Bergen “for excellent marketing of Bergen”.
open air and club festival in the city centre of Bergen. Open air shows take place in mediaval fortress and castle located in the city’s historic centre. Main stage capacity 6.700, second stage capacity 2.000.
Website: www.bergenfest.no
Line Up
Norwegian experimental artist Jenny Hval is not one to shy away from the provocative. Her’s latest album, “Innocence Is Kinky”, introduces a more aggressive element and experiments with genres, enhancing the subtler, stream-of-consciousness art-pop style of her earlier work. Her intimate, closely miked whispers—recorded over quiet loops—give way to screams and shrieks backed by noisy guitar jabs as she explores issues of sex and gender identity alongside often surreal imagery.
Look out for Hval this spring when she tours to the States and hits the road with Swans and Mark McGuire.
JENNY HVAL – ” Apocalypse, Girl “
Posted: June 2, 2015 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSICTags: Ambient, Apocalypse Girl, Jenny Hval, Norway, Oslo, Sacred Bones Records
Jenny Hval is a an ambient/electro-indie/art rock singer-songwriter and novelist from Oslo. In the late 1990s, she was in a goth-metal band, but since then, she’s been making music that people often compare to the likes of Laurie Anderson and Björk. She released two albums under the name Rocettothesky, and has released two under her own given name. Next week, her third album “Apocalypse, Girl” comes out on Sacred Bones Records.
I didn’t know too much about Jenny Hval Anyway, the point is that Jenny Hval is often compared to Björk, so I kinda feared that it was the “weird Björk” that people compared her to. The Medulla Björk. When I listened to a couple of the new Jenny Hval songs I was immediately smitten with her voice . Sure, this is some stuff that most people would consider “weird”, but I like it. If this is like Björk, this is like the late-90s Björk. Like Vespertine,
While I haven’t tracked down any of the older stuff, I’ve heard the new album, and I really like it. There’s some harsh moments though. The album is strewn with some pretty graphic references to male and female genitalia, and to sex. It’s actually fairly erotic. It’s not an album that you can listen to with your grandmother. It is, though, an album that rewards the listener for patience and thorough listening. Here’s one of my favorites:
This song has some elements that remind me of Broadcast, Oviously I’m not saying that Jenny Hval sings like the late Trish Keenan or like Björk. The synths and the drums sound like Broadcast. The overall “feel” of the song is kinda Björk-esque. Sexy and mysterious and weird. In the best kind of way.
“Apocalypse, girl” comes out next week. You can pre-order it via bandcamp here. You can also buy physical versions of the album, or bundle an LP with a t-shirt at the label’s web shop. If you’re looking at that t-shirt wondering what “soft dick rock” means, it’s a reference to a line in the first song from the album. That first song “Kingsize” is itself a reference to a collection of poems by Danish poet Mette Moestrup. The first line of the song is a line from one of Moestrup’s poems.
Hval’s latest novel is called Perlebryggeriet, (which means “Pearl brewery”) and it hasn’t been translated from Norwegian. So if you’re fluent in Norwegian, you should buy her book . They say it’s set in a “fictional town somewhere between Glasgow and Melbourne” and that it’s about some kids living together while their house turns itself inside out. I got a big kick out of that “between Glasgow and Melbourne” line. That’s a distance of 17,000 km approx.
The MEGAPHONIC THRIFT – ” Interlopes ” and ” Bergen Reveals “
Posted: April 14, 2015 in MUSICTags: Bergen, Norway, The Megaphonic Thrift
“Interlopers” is the new single from The Megaphonic Thrift’s new album “Sun Stare Sound”. bring their seedy kaleidoscopic disco to Psych Fest this year,
The Megaphonic Thrift is composed of four Norwegians from Bergen, a rainy scenic city on the west coast of Norway. Joining forces with the collective desire to create a new sonic adventure, Richard Myklebust, Linn Frøkedal (The Low Frequency in Stereo), Fredrik Vogsborg (Casiokids) and Njål Clementsen (The Low Frequency in Stereo) created The Megaphonic Thrift. They have been described as a “Master class in sonic terrorism” and a “trashing, sciatica-shock assault on noise rock” by Drowned in Sound, and acclaimed for being “Face-meltingly intense” by NME.
The band released their debut album “Decay Decoy” in March 2011 on the UK label Club AC30. The album achieved universal acclaim and received very good reviews in multiple blogs and magazines. In March 2012 the band released their second and self titled album. “The Megaphonic Thrift” received hugely positive reviews on multiple music blogs and influential publications, nationally and internationally.
The Megaphonic Thrift is also renowned for their energetic live shows. they set up a perfectly tuneful song, then carefully unravel it strand by melodic strand– all in about four minutes. The result is a surge of scribbly, dissonant guitars, propelled by a percussive bass line and drumbeat that punishes the hi-hat and cymbals.”
The band has several European and North-American tours behind them, and has amongst other things performed at SXSW, CMJ, The Great Escape, PopKomm and Roskilde, as well as several support shows for Dinousaur Jr, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, Band of Horses and A Place to Bury Strangers.
The Megaphonic Thrift has just finished the recording of their third full length LP together with producer Jørgen Træen (Kings of Convenience, Jaga Jazzist, Motorpsyho) in renowned Duper studio. The album is to be released by YAP Records (Datarock, Noxagt, Ungdomskulen) in the autumn of 2014.
HANNE KOLSTO – ” One Plus One Makes One Out Of Two “
Posted: March 8, 2015 in MUSICTags: Hanne Kolsto, Norway, SXSW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFXwIS0kFdg&t=43
Hanne Kolstø is a musical trapeze artist. She evolves, pulsates and lives to find what is true for herself, and she does so while balancing high above the circus ring. Her music exudes confidence, but the underlying uneasiness poses a constant threat to the comfort of the listener. You look up and keep your fingers crossed.
“Forever Maybe” is Hanne’s fourth album in four years, and there are more doors open to different genres than before. However, there are still airy vocals, soaring under the canvas ceiling, and still it sounds like something coming directly out of nature. After all, that is where she belongs.
She drew a full tent crowd at Øyafestivalen this summer; a concert rewarded 6 out of 6 by national radio station NRK P3. Her last two albums were both nominated for Best pop album at the Norwegian Grammy awards. In addition, all singles from these albums have been playlisted on NRK P3.
SEA CHANGE – ” Lets Dance ” and ” Bursting ” plus ” Bridges “
Posted: February 14, 2015 in MUSICTags: Electronic Pop, Norway, Sea Change
Sea Change is Ellen A. W. Sunde’s alter ego, named after the Beck album.
Her live performance includes Hilmar B. Larsen known from Det är jäg som er Döden and Jakob Jones from While You Slept.
Born in the south of Norway in the late 80s with a natural fascination for noise, improvisation music, tiny acoustic instruments and synth pop.
She creates a beautiful loop-based sound that contains beats, vocal harmonies and 80s choruses with an own ability of making it magic and mysterious ambience. Still there is a wide range within her music. It can be massive, putting the lower frequencies of the sound system to the test or gentle, almost like the wonderful nature of silence but always immersive.
SUZANNE SUNDFOR – ” Delirious Remixes “
Posted: February 10, 2015 in MUSICTags: Electro-Pop, Norway, Susanne Sundfor
Susanne Aartun Sundfør (born 19 March 1986) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. She is the granddaughter of linguist Kjell Aartun. She was born in Haugesund and later moved to Oslo. Sundfør decided for music to be her profession at the age of 23. She said in an 2013 interview, ‘I think I only decided that this is something that I wanted to spend my entire life doing after I released ‘The Brothel’, ’cause that was the first time I really felt like I had ‘found’ a sound.’
The Fat Angel Sings 