The Tough Alliance
In an over-saturated Swedish music scene, The Tough Alliance have delivered glistening electronic dance pop on their new album, A New Chance. They’ve been brought to the forefront by indie darling Jens Lekman who has claimed that they are his new favourite band. The album only lasts for half an hour, but what it lacks in time, it makes up for in sheer exuberance, with whistles, whoops, bongo basslines and frantic guitars all meshing seamlessly.
Tagged: electronic music, pop music, Swedish bands
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Why am I so fond of The Knife’s latest track? Yes, the opera chanting opening takes me down memory lane: reminiscent of Edea’s theme song, reminding me of childhood Final Fantasy VIII playstation days. But ultimately this collaborative effort with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock is ambitiously rich in sparkling percussion and takes the listener on an ethereal journey to Darwinism.
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Luke Jackson’s debut album, And Then Some
In the Spring of 2006, a seven-year email correspondence culminated in the meeting of Luke Jackson and Magnus Börjeson. Jackson had long been a devoted fan of two of the Swedish musician’s former bands: Beagle and Favorita, and the two songwriters finally met in Paris where Börjeson was mid-tour playing in The Cardigans. By the end of the weekend, Jackson had accepted an invitation to record in Sweden, which he took up in January 2008. He set to work in the studio with Magnus on bass and Christoffer’s Brainpool bandmate Jens Jansson on drums. Upon his return to London, he sent the rough mixes of the songs to renowned London-based string arranger Robert Kirby (who has orchestrated works by Nick Drake, Elvis Costello, and Elton John). Kirby loved the songs and offered to write orchestrations for the album and accompany Jackson to Sweden to conduct the necessary recording sessions with nine players from Malmö’s Opera Orchestra. It is the collision of these two worlds which makes his album, And Then Some, so compelling. Densely layered guitars and vocal harmonies fuse with sweeping string lines, none of which ever draw the ear too far from what lies at the heart of Jackson’s music.
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Also by KATE BARNETT
I’ll admit it, on first listen and in a terrible figity mood, i jumped though the tracks, looking for the instant gratification of a big melody before switching to something else. Despite a few negative reviews from others also too quick to judge, the response to this album has been so astoundingly positive, it’s impossible to dismiss. Written after emerging from a period of social isolation and centered around issues of a man and his dying lover, The Antlers’ album, Hospice, slowly creeps up upon the listener. With delicately constructed chords and small movements, the journey of the album unravels loneliness, isolation and deep catharsis.
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It takes guts to be simple. Overcrowding, overworking and over-thinking are far easier. London-based artist and illustrator James Joyce shows how good color choice, clever concepts, and a keen eye for type can get you work with big clients, such as Wallpaper, Nike and Penguin Books, to name a few. Read more
I can tell how much I like a designer by the the speed at which I bookmark their site. With Rob Lowe (aka Supermundane), it was on the home page. That’s a pretty good sign. Supermundane is a multi-disciplined creative who impressively creates all text himself for every project he does. Prepare yourself to be jealous.
YOU'RE SAYING (4)
francis said | 1 April, 2008
these guys are seriously hot, i recommend it highly. blissed out summer love, bit of early rave mixone of my news favsed with catchy, gritty, pop.
francis said | 1 April, 2008
these guys are seriously hot, i recommend it highly. blissed out summer love, bit of early rave mixed with catchy, gritty, pop. one of my news favs
Lost At E Minor: Music, illustration, art, photography and more » The Tough Alliance dig Dr Dre said | 1 May, 2008
[...] wrote about hot Swedish electro duo The Tough Alliance a little while back, so we thought it was time we had a chat with Eric Berglund, one half of the [...]
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Politically charged but humorous in his lampooning of late-capitalism, corporate media, and institutional art, Ivan Puig also manages to create viscerally striking installations, visual puns, kinetic sculptures, and crazy musical instruments. Read more
I’m totally into building my own chicken coop when I get around to keeping hens, but the stylish Nogg Coop is pretty awesome.
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Some of these Free Crappy Portraits are not that crappy, and regardless of the skill of the artists, they’re all incredibly entertaining.
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This t-shirt, featuring 79 fictional weapons from movies, TV, video games, and comic books, is a really great way to get nerds to stare at your chest.
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Francoise Nielly’s Yellow series
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The return of the Brionvega rr226
Italian brand Brionvega has resurrected the classy Radiofonografio piece first created in 1965. The updated version is just like the original turntable/radio unit, but also has a CD/DVD player.
Michelle Blade’s psychedelic artwork
Michelle Blade’s washed out paintings are deceptively simple, her washy acrylics creating psychedelic textures and conjuring ghostly figures from the past. Read more
Nerd-attack! Man, this TARDIS zipper robe is so much cooler than any Star Wars crap people are hawking this days. This is for the true gangsta nerd.
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If you have a Twitter feed that focuses on cool pop cultural things and you’d like to swap Tweets with Lost At E Minor and other like-minded Twitterers, drop us a note (with Tweet Swap in the title). We have a system in place and we’d like to have you in on it! [illustration by Brad Fitzpatrick]
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Eduardo said | 2 December, 2007
Wow, I want this right now.