Posts Tagged ‘Stockholm’

THEM COMES SILENCE – ” Strange Kicks “

Posted: August 7, 2017 in MUSIC
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Sweden’s captains of thundering post punk, noisy psychedelica and dreamy goth-gaze are back in the same pitchblack waters as before. As follow up to the self titled debut, the quartet now presents Then Comes Silence II. The fascination for doom, darkness, death and the ghastly and terrible is intact and the band navigate a steady course towards the same destination.
The debut album from 2012 attracted attention widely and was praised for its apocalyptic message and dystopian soundscape.
That same year, Then Comes Silence were requested to be the opening act for A Place to Bury Strangers for their Stockholm visit, the first live-appearance for the Stockholm quartet. This was followed by a performance at the prestigious Roskilde Festival in Denmark. All in all an eventful journey in less than one year.
The work on the sequel began as the debut was still hot off the presses. In a short time span, the band had to undergo some serious changes as two members left the group. After this alteration and intense sessions, the result is on the horizon.
As before, the singer and bassist Alex Svenson (Sad Days for Puppets) is the main composer. This time Svenson has achieved something even more black and gritty than the debut album. Anna Eklund (Sad Day for Puppets) also returns in the duet and single “She Lies in Wait”.

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – ” Sweden Broadcast Olympic Stadium 1988 “

Posted: February 9, 2017 in MUSIC
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DYNAMIC LATE 1980S BROADCAST FROM THE TUNNEL OF LOVE TOUR For Bruce Springsteen, the 1980s were as turbulent as they were rewarding and accomplished. The release of 84 s Born In The U.S.A. and the quintuple live LP collection Live/1975-85 were met with the kind of success very few music artists ever achieve. Selling in excess of 50 million copies combined (and counting), their respective triumphs and the subsequent media frenzy pushed Springsteen onto rock s top table, and between 15th June and 10th August 1985, every one of his seven studio albums featured on the UK Albums Chart, the first time in history that an artist s entire catalogue had charted simultaneously. His 1980s output concluded on a surprisingly sombre note however, with the release of Tunnel Of Love in 1987, an album on which Springsteen recorded most of the instruments himself with only occasional appearances from members of the E Street Band. The tone was more subdued than his mid-decade output, reflecting on his failing marriage to Julianne Phillips through slower, reflective ballads. But, while nowhere near as successful as Born… or Live…, the record still garnered a respectable four million sales worldwide. In 1988, Springsteen and the E Street Band embarked on the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour, which further bemused his faithful audience. In comparison to the Born In The U.S.A. Tour, each show began more theatrically with the band entering to the sound of a five piece horn section. The band s usual positions on the stage were switched, and backing vocalist Patti Scialfa – whose relationship with Springsteen would be made public during the European leg of the tour – took centre stage. Spontaneous onstage antics were also kept to a minimum. Many of Springsteen’s most popular live numbers were dropped completely from his now shorter sets, replaced by a selection of B-sides, previously unreleased tunes and covers. In spite of this though, the shows were warmly received by critics and fans alike, with Springsteen s Rocking The Wall performance in East Germany on 19th July, before an audience of 300,000, becoming recognised as one of the most historically important concerts of the era. The gig included on this CD was recorded on 3rd July 88 at Stockholm s Olympic Stadium. Simultaneously broadcast across FM radio in exceptional audio quality, Springsteen mixes some older numbers – The River , Adam Raised A Cain , Born In The U.S.A. – with a selection from Tunnel Of Love, as well as playing covers from the likes of John Lee Hooker and Edwin Starr. The result, which thanks to this release can now be heard by all, is a truly dynamic, albeit unconventional, live performance by Bruce and the E Street-ers.

LES BIG BYRD – ” Stockholm Death Star “

Posted: December 26, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Stockholm’s Les Big Byrd has appeared more and more in my internet destinations, and, if you’re reading this, they have likely been appearing more frequently in yours too. It seems they’ve got a new release of some sort every few months – all the better for fans of their fast paced, mad synth space rock. This time it’s “Stockholm Death Star” – a four song EP – put forth by Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe’s A Recordings as if to demonstrate just how prolific they are, there’s since been a further Les Big Byrd release, a 12″ picture disc). If you’re familiar with “They Worshiped Cats,” the band’s 2014 debut full length, this one follows partially in its footsteps and partially veers off, allowing for paced structuring and a few more traditional hooks than the former.

the opener, “Stockholm Death Star,” is a tight, instrumental, motorik endeavor. It’s full of weird flourishes that seep into the pounding riff that underpins it all. It’s the sound we’ve come to expect from Les Big Byrd but somehow bigger than their last effort.

Up next, “I Woke Up in a Dream,” while still utilizing the steady beats and bass, channels a more laid back feel, something much more like dream pop than the preceding track. The slow delivery of vocals elevates the spacey interludes toward something very much like a pop song; it’s catchy, too, in different way than anything we’ve heard from them before. Only “Vi Borde Prata Men Det Är För Sent” from their debut hinted at this type of sound.

“Vapour R.I.P.” slows the whole thing down and polishes the record nicely. While still showcasing those reverb drenched guitars, washes of synth and electronic flourishes, the closing track is something like a ballad, complete with the pre-chorus builds. “They Worshiped Cats” had nothing quite like this.

If it’s to be believed, the band met Newcombe in a record shop and got talking, which eventually led them to Newcombe’s studios. One can only hope that was the case. Either way, if “They Worshiped Cats” didn’t convince you, “Stockholm Death Star” will. We’re dealing with a prodigious, versatile crew.

DOG ORCHESTRA – ” Feb 1st “

Posted: August 22, 2016 in MUSIC
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Dog Orchestra never fail to take my breath away. The Stockholm-via-Berlin duo are making some of the most visceral electronic pop on the blogosphere. Case in point: “Feb 1.” Swirling, euphoric and dreamlike, I feel as though the best way to describe this song is a personal fireworks display for your ears only. For more emotive gems like “Feb 1,” be sure to check out their mini album Meow, Dog Orchestra’s debut EP,

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FREE – ” Live in Stockholm ” 12th December 1970 – “Midnight Hour”, Radiohuset

Posted: July 18, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Set List:

01. The Stealer 00:00 – 03:55
02. Fire And Water 03:55 – 08:15
03. Ride On A Pony 08:15 – 13:05
04. Heavy Load 13:05 – 19:30
05. Woman 19:30 – 24:30
06. Love You So 24:30 – 30:15
07. All Right Now 30:15 – 35:20
08. Be My Friend 35:20 – 41:40
09. Mr. Big 41:40 – 48:50

recorded for Sveriges Radio in Sweden,  from a concert given at Radiohuset in Stockholm on December 12th, 1970.

Free were one of the great groups to come out of the late 60s and early 1970s. And even though they were together for a relatively short period of time, left an indelible mark on music. A live sets from Free’s prime are featured on this bootleg, from a concert in Stockholm on December 12th, 1970. The sound quality is good enough to make one wonder whether this was recorded with an eye for official release, and the performances are solid, drawing from an assortment of songs on their first four albums. Unfortunately it doesn’t have much of their quieter, more subtle material, though the cocky strutting blues-rock side is well represented.  There’s no real reason why this shouldn’t be issued officially,

Blue Vinyl Edition
Live at Radiohuset, Stockholm, Sweden, December 1970.
Comes with free bonus CD of the show

Paul Rodgers – lead vocals
Paul Kossoff – guitar
Simon Kirke – drums
Andy Fraser – bass, piano

DRAKKAR NOWHERE – ” How Could That Be Why ? “

Posted: July 16, 2016 in MUSIC
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Drakkar Nowhere capture the wind in their sails with a sound that’s boundless, expansive and, perhaps, guided only by the light of the sun and stars.

That Drakkar Nowhere ended up somewhere at all is itself more a result of circumstance than careful course-charting. The history of the album traces back to the summer of 2012, when two members of the New York-based Phenomenal Handclap Band (bandleader/keyboardist/producer Daniel Collás and vocalist/guitarist Morgan Phalen) found themselves creating new music in the kitchen of a rented apartment in Stockholm, Sweden. Their new project caught the ears of nearby musicians, including members of Dungen and The Amazing, and before long, this extended family of international musicians were recording the songs that would firmly put them on the path to nowhere – Drakkar Nowhere, that is of course.

It would be a bit much to propose that the album’s origin in a Stockholm kitchen reveals an “everything but the kitchen sink” approach to the music made by Drakkar Nowhere. In fact, the true revelation of the album is that such happenstance can result in an album that sounds so fully realized, so utterly complete – as if by setting no course, by rejecting no ideas, Drakkar Nowhere arrive at a destination of their own creation.

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Both Collás and Phalen took inspiration from their Swedish surroundings – in particular, the enchanted forests that surround the neighborhoods of Bagarmossen and Midsommarkransen. And given the talents and histories of the collaborating musicians, it’s no surprise that the ever-evolving shadow of what we might broadly call Swedish psychedelica should perfume the proceedings as well. What is surprising – and what makes the Drakkar Nowhere album one that benefits from repeat listens – is how unobtrusive those influences are on the album’s ultimate sound. Drakkar Nowhere present a combination of influences – cosmic jazz, syrupy soul and mutated prog among them – in such an effortless manner that they don’t really feel like “influences” at all. As a result, Drakkar Nowhere have built an album that may have listeners ears recalling the crystalline harmonies of the Brothers Gibb more often than it does Träd, Gräs and Stenar.

No destination, no influences – just nowhere. And in the hands of Drakkar Nowhere. it’s clearly the place to be.

LITTLE CHILDREN – ” Every Little Light “

Posted: May 10, 2016 in MUSIC
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Little Children’s musical language obviously builds on love of music with intense emotional charge, but their expression is entirely their own. Their soundscapes are sometimes desolate and sparce, sometimes impalpable and intangible as air; other moments are hazy with an occasional burst of force of conviction. You want references? Try some Nick Drake and Bon Iver, pour one part Midlake, add the dazed desert dusk anthems of The War On Drugs, Dandy Warhols or Kurt Vile, and you’re still only half way there. Lutti’s personal songwriting, sense of melody and unparalleled voice has a rare cinematic quality that earned the band soundtrack contributions to international TV-series such as Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, Arrow och The Originals.

Travelling Through Darkness, Little Children’s glorious breakout EP, builds on the majesty and melancholy of the band’s musical history, and tells of the leaving and of the longing that connects as much with Smalltown, Sweden as the tribulations of complex affection. Travelling Through Darkness is a cathartic collection of songs which contrasts perfect musical harmony and minor key melodies with stories of doubt, defiance and imperfect relations. Crisp guitars are adorned with ethereal strings and a tapestry of percussion details, making the EP a masterwork of ethereal but jagged beauty. The title track is the perfect example: a duet with legendary Swedish songstress Titiyo which blends intertwined vocals with irrisitable melodies,

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LITTLE CHILDREN – ” Another Day In Travelling In Darkness ” EP

Posted: May 8, 2016 in MUSIC
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Swedish musician Linus Lutti and his band Little Children have just released a fantastic new single, “Every Little Light,” and it’s one of his most up-tempo songs to date. Lutti has been around our radar for a number of years, and while we are big fans of the introspective heartbreaking numbers we have come to know and love, it is great to hear the sounds of unbridled enthusiasm in the song’s rock n’ roll riffs.

Linus has stated ”The song is about running away. Letting go of everything and getting out. Erasing your whole life, starting from scratch. It’s about the end of something but also about a beginning.”

This is something we can all relate to, that and his recent turn to the music of Bryan Adams for inspiration. “Every Little Light” definitely has some “Summer of 69” vibes going for sure,but when I first heard it I thought it was War On Drugs  and there’s nothing wrong with that.

 

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and the E.STREET BAND – ” Tunnel Vision ” Stockholm 1988

Posted: May 6, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Upon its release in October, 1987, Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love proved an unexpected follow-up to the phenomenally successful Born in the USA. Musically it was a departure – The E-Street Band, who had been prominent fixtures on all but one of the New Jersey singer-songwriter’s albums previously, were present but only partly contributing to the material, most of which Springsteen performed himself using synthesisers and drum machines. More significant was the lyrical subject matter of this new material. Where he had made his name articulating the struggles of everyday, blue collar Americans, with Tunnel of Love Springsteen switched his focus to examine the intimate struggles of relationships, and this was apparently autobiographical.
In 1984, during the Born in the USA Tour, Springsteen had been introduced to actress Julianne Phillips. A whirlwind romance followed, with the pair wedding in secret on May 13th the following year. Yet just as quickly as it had been ignited, the passion between the couple subsided, and it would later become clear that Tunnel of Love was in part a document of the breakdown of this relationship.


The public was unaware of Springsteen’s marital discord when he and the E-Street Band embarked on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour in February, 1988, and both critics and fans were instead focused on the new stage show, which was as unexpected as the album itself. Backed by the ‘Horns of Love’, a five-piece ensemble, the bombast and raw energy of the past was replaced by a more muted and precise approach to performance, while the set-list proved static and surprising, Springsteen digging up rarely performed numbers and proving reluctant to simply run through established favourites. The private entanglements of the band leader would themselves come to light as part of the stage show, however, with backing singer Patti Scialfa, who had joined the E-Street Band three years previously, became an increasingly prominent part of the performances, her vocal partnerships with Springsteen brimming with sexual energy.
The show presented on Tunnel Vision, recorded in Stockholm and simulcast on radio stations across the US, captures this new formulation of the E-Street Band in what would be a live production unique to this tour, with Patti Scialfa coming to the fore on soaring versions of ‘Tunnel of Love’, ‘Cover Me’ and ‘Brilliant Disguise’. It is a remarkable document of Bruce Springsteen in the process of re-evaluating both his life and his music, with his band fully committed to this new approach.

1. Tunnel Of Love
2. Boom Boom
3. Adam Raised a Cain
4. The River
5. All That Heaven Will Allow
6. Seeds
7. Roulette
8. Cover Me
9. Brilliant Disguise
10. Tougher Than The Rest
11. Spare Parts
12. War
13. Born In The USA

HONEYMILK – ” Psychrocker ” feat De Montevert

Posted: February 13, 2016 in MUSIC
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Honeymilk, however, have an even more intense life in Stockholm. While skulking the bars and venues of their city, they observed that one musician we all know: full of hubris and swanky clothes, posturing before practising, talking without thinking, thinking about everything but what really matters: music. So Honeymilk decided to make a song about this Honeymilk sound like a smiley-faced flashback to Manchester’s La Hacienda glory days, cut through with The Strokes-like suaveness and grit. With a smack-full of drums, overlayed by clasping guitars and finalised by Julian Casablancas-like vocals, their music comes together to create a qualitative sonic rock melody.”
Music Week

A youthful Charlatans gone wayward after sneaking lessons from Primal Scream, Soup Dragons and The Stone Roses

Honeymilk are a psychedelic/indie-rock act from Stockholm who have recently been gathering media attention by the likes of Q Magazine, Music Week and KEXP Radio. The band consists of Marcus, Albin, Nikki and Erik and play a blend between The Strokes, Ty Segall, Wilco and Velvets. The Sweden-based quartet are about quality and energy alike.

After having spent countless nights on the sticky dance floors of overpriced bars in Stockholm where posturing musicians polish their image, Honeymilk have had enough! ‘Phychrocker’ started out as a protest song against the superficiality of the Swedish music scene.

Honeymilk wanted to write a song about “people with more arrogance than they merit. People with a bigger idea of themselves, than their talent can live up to,” the band says. When they had finished writing the song, they came to the conclusion – to their greatest disappointment – that they actually wrote it about no other than themselves. “Psychrocker is simply a tribute to Honeymilk.”

The sound of Honeymilk glides across the room in a smoothly flowing wave as the guitar paints colourful rainbows for the ears to enjoy. A firmly anchored bass and percussion gives the output a rolling direction of travel, whilst the vocal calmly brings the elements together as though folding a mousse together.

‘Psychrocker’ features de Montevert, stage moniker for Ellinor Nilsson. It was produced by Mats Björke (Mando Diao, Thorsten Flinck, etc.) and was mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London.

Honeymilk is Nikki Nyberg (Guitar) and Marcus Admund (Vocals), Tomas Hellberg (Bass), Erik Fritz (Drums),

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