“If you love music, this is the place to come,” said Mikolaj Ziolkowski, the chief organiser of Heineken Open’er. We were sat backstage in a tent on the disused military airport in Gdynia, northern Poland, where his festival takes place.»
Drowned in Sound's albums of 2011 countdown continues, as does the ponderneering on the year that was from our editor...»
In the first edition of Nordic Noises we take a look at some of the best Nordic releases of 2011 so far, as well as what's recently been happening and is on its way.»
Here, you will find all five-parts of Kevin Perry's fascinating feature with Björk, in which they talk about education, about feminism and Lady Gaga’s outfits, about why she’s like 'carrot soup and tequila' and Coldplay are like 'chips and sausages', about political activism and aluminum mining and even about the lack of punk spirit in proprietary software, a topic she acknowledges she probably shouldn’t talk about. We've compiled all the parts here so that you can read it all in one go or save it to your Kindle/phone using a text-only tool like Instapaper or Readability»
With the 2011 edition of Iceland Airwaves fast approaching (it kicks off next Wednesday, October 12 in the country's capital!) we thought "what better time to have a look at what is being produced and made over there than now?". So John Rogers takes a look at what's going down in the local environs and picks a few bands he reckons you should hear, 'cos, well, they're worth it. Read on...»
Björk discusses Lady Gaga, feminism, collaborations and her future plans in the concluding part of her interview with DiS' Kevin Perry. She also reveals her tour plans and her incredible roster of instruments including the vast barrel harp known as the Sharpsichord and then there are a further four 10-foot pendulum-harps whose strings are plucked by gravity’s pull. There is a pipe organ controlled by midi files and a celeste which has been re-fitted with bronze gamelan bars to create a hybrid called a Gamaleste. In order to play the bassline on ‘Thunderbolt’ she will have a twin Tesla coil system suspended over the stage. You know, because a single Tesla coil is just never enough, is it? »
This week's Spotifriday playlist featuring Nils Frahm, Ólafur Arnalds, Goldmund, New Look, Neon Indian and more...»
Björk tells DiS' Kevin Perry about her involvement in environmental protests, her petition that 25% of Iceland signed, how she wrote her political manifesto and how the whole experience informed her work on Biophilia. She also discusses her own financial situation and how she managed to fund the unique and innovative instruments used in the Biophilia live show.»
Björk talks to DiS' Kevin Perry about piracy after he challenges her over whether working closely with Apple creates a discord with her 'punk ethos'.»
In the second part of Kevin Perry's interview, Björk describes in her own words her wildly ambitious Biophilia 'app album' for iPad and iPhone. Zeroing in on a star within the Biophilia galaxy enables you to hear the song as Björk recorded it, or to play a game which will involve you manipulating the music in some thematically-appropriate way. For example, on ‘Virus’ you play the part of a cell defending itself from viral attack, while on ‘Thunderbolt’ you draw Tesla coil charges which alter the bass lines you hear. »
Over the last two decades Björk’s vibrations have established her as pop music’s preeminent innovator, a fearless and restless proponent of the avant-garde whose discography defies the staid categorisation of genre. When DiS' Kevin Perry meets her on a summer afternoon in West London her enthusiasm for her work is infectious and the ebullient conversation as eclectic as you’d expect. We talk about education, about feminism and Lady Gaga’s outfits, about why she’s like 'carrot soup and tequila' and Coldplay are like 'chips and sausages', about political activism and aluminium mining and even about the lack of punk spirit in proprietary software, a topic she acknowledges she probably shouldn’t talk about. »
Aaah, the morning after the Guinness the night before. Don't know about you but I'm in the mood for some nice ambient 'jams'. It's the end of the week, it's the playlist (here) of what we've covered on DiS over the past seven days and yeah, it's rather 'chill'... »
I've had 'world music' on the brain recently. Travelling around playing Metronomy shows in different countries, I've noticed a common phenomenon in pretty much every hotel room I've stayed in - that of a supposedly regional MTV channel playing occasional »
Breezy strings, doom-drenched death-metal, synth-pop, submerged harmonies, summery ukeleles and icy xylophones are - as this playlist attests - just some of the sounds of the Nordic region, compiled as part of Nordic Day to celebrate DiS curating a Nordic night tonight in London info.»
On this playlist we've mixed theme tunes from TV shows and songs from horror movie soundtracks with some ghoulishly titled tracks from some of DiS' favourite acts, plus some gothic ridiculousness from Cradle of Filth and found Burroughs reading some Edgar Allan Poe. »
To celebrate the launch of DiS' brand-spanking-new picture galleries, we asked our snappers to share their favourite shots of the last year or so, and here they are...»
DiS's Sean Adams tells his own tale of Glastonbury 2007 - from the backstage to the moshpit and right up to the stars - in three parts. Here, he finds Björk magical, the Monkeys rather muted, and Martha on song...»
FROM THE ARCHIVE: Originally posted Feb 9th 2007... So there’s me, in bed, still in that delightful state of being neither fully awake nor out cold, and the girlfriend’s leaping about and the curtains are open and it’s all “snow snow snow” and the radio newsreader’s telling me not to travel unless I really have to and I’m desperate to drift off again but before I know it the duvet’s off and I’m marched to the kitchen window to gaze at a garden smothered with six inches of the stuff...»
It's October first... Happy Birthday to us! And now for an indulgent dose of nostalgia as DiS' founder looks back at previous incarnations of the site»
Many of you may remember that we ran a competition on DiS a few weeks ago to win a trip to Iceland to see Björk and Sigur Rós. That trip happened this weekend, and we asked our randomly selected competition winner, Adam Brooks, to keep a photo-journal of his trip to Reykjavik»
DiS decamped to Reykjavik at the weekend to see Björk and Sigur Rós play a gig in protest against the blighting of the country's beauty»
With ATP firmly on DiS's agenda for the next two weekends, we invite some industry types to suggest their favourite acts yet to play the celebrated festival, and you to DiScuss the potentials»
With Björk touring the UK now DiS has chosen to explore the Icelandic maverick’s back catalogue to produce an editor’s-choice Top Ten from across the spectrum of the singer’s work to date»
A week, just over, on and we’ve had time enough to let those Brit Award nominations sink in. Now we're wondering: who's actually going to win, and do we want them to? Here, the DiS office picks its ideal winners, and compares them to the favourites at the bookies. Snap? Rarely»
Festival fever starts early in 2008 as DiS heads south... further... bingo... for the annual Big Day Out festival in Australia. Our man on the Gold Coast takes in Arcade Fire and Björk while dodging questionable domestic rock acts and wrestling rugger thugs. Spirits are high and rising»
We’ve had our albums of the year and our tracks of the year, and here DiS bids you adieu for 2007 with our favourite features of the past twelve months, for your instant-click consumption and eye-aching reading pleasure. Starring Animal Collective (pictured), LCD Soundsystem, Battles, Panda Bear, M.I.A., Gallows, Beirut, Björk and more»
The year that Björk returned to “strong, dirty, physical” music, met Laura Barton, and blew her mind»
Noted for work with Björk and The Sugarcubes, One Little Indian has a fine history with Rocket From The Crypt and, most recently, Asobi Seksu on its roster. Founder Derek Birkett plays DiS Q&A»
This week's DiScussion – if the title isn't too much of a giveaway – focuses on songs to while away off-sick-with-a-cold time. After all, something has to fill the space ‘tween Neighbours and Neighbours»
Send one DiS writer to the first-ever Connect festival? We think not. Here, three intrepid festival-goers – Jordan Dowling, Dom Gourlay and Dave Kerr – bring us their experiences of three days that can only be summarised as: a muddy festival in Inveraray, Scotland. With some ace bands, as it happened…»
Six months into 2007 (almost...) and there’s already a not-so-proverbial shit-tonne of albums in contention for the coveted Album of the Year ‘gong’ at DiS – again, the winner will be selected by you, the readers, from a shortlist compiled by us. Yup.»
With Paris Hilton languishing in a prison cell somewhere in California, what better time to reflect on a month in wonderful albums? Like, whateverrrr…
Harnessing the energy of a rare minute in which a disparate range of artists from the past and present can look to the future and plausibly congregate on the same bill, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California has steadily become world renowned as the proverbial melting pot, tripping over itself with cultural icons both obscure and ubiquitous...»
Volta finds Björk taking a few steps backwards in order to leap forward – the new album, out on May 7, possesses its fair share of Vespertine and Homogenic echoes but manages to feel entirely fresh at the same time. Propulsive, attention-grabbing songs sit shoulder-to-shoulder with tracks that are so soft and delicate the slightest surge in volume could shatter them irreparably...»
You’ve waited, we’ve waited. At times we daren’t hold our breath just in case, by fair means or foul, our final top six – the records below – were somehow prevented from coming to public attention. Yet here we are: the conclusion of Our 66...»
We're compiling a phat list of videos we would like shown on MTV2's 120 Minutes, especially ones you'd almost never see. What we'd like is for you to suggest some of your favourite videos of the past six years (with links to youtube.com or Google Video, if you can find them) and say why you like it. Why? Because we'll be running quotes from you lovely people across the screen when our selections are broadcast...»
This Tuesday’s DiScussion piece focuses on best-of releases, past, present and future. What bands have ever really earned a best-of? Who's due one? DiScuss...»
Chromatics Björk told us last year “It’s a really interesting point, because obviously I’ve been doing gigs since Debut and I’ve tried to solve this riddle ten times! It’s like the tenth time I’ve tried to solve this same riddle, in a wa»
Twitter
Main /
Feed /
Site Status /
Live /
Link your account to Twitter
Facebook
Like
Last.fm
Group
SoundCloud
Group
MySpace
Page
Friendster
Profile
RSS
Site feed /
Subscribe via email
