Posts tagged with Swedish bands
January 27, 2009 | New Music | 
by Casper Johansson |
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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December 2, 2008 | New Music | by Gerry Mak |
I almost forgot — metal is really about being drunk, pissed, offensive, and satanic. I have Bestial Mockery to thank for this. Their no-frills black thrash is barebones and snarling without being too dead-pan serious. These guys from Sweden are clearly having a blast worshiping the Dark One in the tradition of old-school bands like Venom, early Bathory, and Sodom. Nothing too original here, but it’s fun as hell.
October 29, 2008 | New Music | by Gerry Mak |
Metal icon Peter Tägtgren has produced the harshest and most underground music of the European metal scene — Immortal, Dimmu Borgir, Celtic Frost, among many others. His own band, Hypocrisy, is one of the most revered melodic death metal bands in the world. Read more
August 20, 2008 | New Music | by Gerry Mak |
Diablo Swing Orchestra are a Swedish band straight out of a Tom Waits nightmare. They sound exactly like their name suggests, making dirty, raucous swing, updated with some punky power chords, but the operatic Swedish vocals and nearly death-metal growls separate the band from the swing revivalists of the late ’90s. Definitely not the kind of band one would expect coming out of a Scandinavian country. But hell, there’s no rule that says creepers and fuzzy dice don’t go well with Viking helmets.
August 3, 2008 | New Music | by Gerry Mak |
Anyone who thinks black metal is too rigid and narrow a genre to have room for innovation would do well to check out Lifelover, a Swedish band that defies every convention of black metal while still remaining miraculously kvlt. The sextet wafts between languid, hallucinatory grooves that channel Iggy Pop and latter-day Cure to unhinged freak-outs that sound as if they’re emanating from the deepest, coldest forests of Norway.
May 1, 2008 | New Music | 
by Francis Andrews |
We 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 group. Read more
April 14, 2008 | New Music | by Zolton |
Peter Morén, one third of the Swedish group — Peter, Bjorn and John — that gave us some of 2006′s catchiest moments with their collection of eminently whistlable tunes, has a wonderful debut solo album out called The Last Tycoon. Read more
January 23, 2008 | New Music | by Ari Stein |
Lykke Li is Swedish, 21 years-old, and has 2008 written all over her. Read more
November 29, 2007 | New Music | by Kate Barnett |
In an over-saturated Swedish music scene, The Tough Alliance have delivered glistening electronic dance pop on their new album, A New Chance. Read more
I have such a soft spot for all things adorable. That most certainly includes the work of artist Tamar Mogendorff. Her stitched creations are a bit The Nightmare Before Christmas and a tad Raggedy Anne, but what I wouldn’t give to have a few of these strewn throughout my apartment.
Jason Hackenwerth must get invited to a lot of parties with his amazing balloon-animal-making skills. I’d like to see an average clown or magician make elephant-sized plankton and protozoa. Read more
Oh man, what I wouldn’t give to be able to sing like Neil Finn. His voice rasps with all the sincerity and integrity of a thousand heartfelt melodies. Heck, I’d probably trade my prized collection of Archie comics for just the chorus on this song. Driving Me Mad? You betcha(dupa). This man is a treasure. Bow low indeed.
The controversial and multifaceted International contemporary art exhibition Trailblazers hits Sydney this month. Boutwell Draper Gallery will grace multimedia works by pioneering Australian, American and European artists from November 19 onwards. I’m thrilled to see groundbreaking pieces by Ben Frost, Kill Pixie, Copyright and Cleon Patterson [above], to name a few. The vast array of paintings, photography, sculpture, installation, video and digital arts is on display until December 13. C’mon, you know you want to culture your soul.
I’m enjoying the writing on the recently launched The Epi-Cure blog, which discusses the ‘latest scientific studies on health and nutrition’, and features interviews with ‘expert scientists, dieticians, and nutritionists’. The site’s founder and editor, Michelle Grey, also runs tasty, healthy recipes from New York chef Benjamin Towill, including today’s installment: Stuffed Zucchini Flowers [above]. Hmmm hmm. Read more
Yat-Kha are a stunning Tuvan band that combines throatsinging and traditional folk music with straight-up rock. Their album ReCovers is an awesome collection of covers of songs by Led Zeppelin, Joy Division, and Motörhead among many others, reflecting their general approach to music on the rest of their impressive catalog. Despite the modern elements, the Moscow-based group still conjures the vast steppes and endless skies of the small Russian republic in southern Siberia.
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Australian footwear label THE HORSE was founded upon an ethical vision of highest quality Italian leather for the fashioned gentleman, the discerning lady, and the recalcitrant youngster. Even better, they’re offering you 10 percent off until the end of September with the promo code ‘kareena’.
WE'RE POSTING / SOME OF THE BEST
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
Matthew Dear’s Black City album totem
Our friends at Ghostly International are releasing Matthew Dear’s Black City album as a limited edition ‘totem’. A what? A totem – a limited edition metal bar used to access a private music chamber. Cool! Read more
Christoph Niemann illustrates a nightmare flight
New York Times illustrator Christoph Niemann has created a brilliant visual diary outlining the peril and pitfalls that beset the everyday passenger based on his recent experience flying from New York to his home town of Berlin. Read more
Here are a couple awesome pieces by Matt Leines that were recently on display in the Doubting Thomases exhibit at Nudashank gallery in Baltimore. Gives me ideas for Halloween. Read more
A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
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The Illuminated Sea Cookie Pin by Stephanie Simek mixes underwater wonders and light to add a little sparkle to your wardrobe. The sea cookie, a member of the sand dollar family, is back lit by a white LED. When turned on, the light illuminates all of the creature’s natural patterns and intricacies. Read more
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