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.»
2009 saw the release of many exciting and innovative albums hailing from the Nordic countries, some of which stirred up substantial attention around our very own island. »
Swedish folk-pop duo First Aid Kit take us through the thoughts and processes behind their debut album The Big Black & The Blue.»
Swedish folk-pop duo First Aid Kit release their debut album next week, entitled The Big Black & The Blue. Being folk-pop, we don't think the title has anything to do with the Steve Albini-led band, but you can never write off any more hidden influences.»
Hans-Peter Lindstrøm, who we can henceforth refer to by his surname, is one of the most universally fêted dance producers operating out there. Why, this very reviewer stopped just short of calling him a genius [in a DiS review last year] (http://drownedinsound.com/releases/14642/reviews/4137969). Chances are you won’t see many negative reviews of Real Life Is No Cool, the first album collaboration (they issued a couple of 12-inches some years back) between Lindstrøm and vocalist Christabelle, both resident in Norway. The only thing likely to generate dissent is the potentially stultifying consensus – like Merriweather Post Pavilion in 2009, anyone not feeling this has to live with it almost all year – but in the here and now, I feel like I’m on the side of truth, brother.»
Given that today saw our Song of the Day come from Swedish popstrel Lykke Li, it's probably apt enough that we give away a pair of tickets for the Ja Ja Ja Nordic music night, curated by our editor-in-chief, Sean Adams.»
Psychogeography is all in music. It's impossible to imagine For Emma, Forever Ago to come from anywhere but a log cabin in Wisconsin. Try and separate the Velvet Underground or The Strokes from NYC. Geographic origins impact everything – rural/urban/north/south etc etc etc. Iceland has always had its own particular psychogeography, musically, from Bjork, to múm, to Mugison, to Sigur Rós, a certain thread of organic electronica, and a connection to the wide wastes of glacial volcanic landscape.»
Kristin Anna Valtysdottir - aka Kria Brekkan - began her career with Icelandic monoliths mùm, though it seems she is loathe to al»
Everyone favourite Swedish brother-sister electronica combo The Knife are to return in 2010 with a new album, of sorts. It's a collaboration between them, Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, and is a studio version of their Darwin-inspired opera, Tomorrow, In A Year, (which was performed in collaboration with Hotel Pro Forma which will be released on March 1. »
There is something about the minimalist and deeply flexible nature of the hazily-defined music of ‘modern classical’ composers»
Although a 10/10 review for Efterklang's Parades the first time round may seem a little hyperbolic, it isn’t. It’s a record which is an unending masterpiece and, if at all possible, Performing Parades adds to it, together, not alone. A guiding hand suggests viewing Parades as a living organism, a record where, perversely, the personal is nowhere to be seen, a faceless yet natural treasure.»
Watch Efterklang perform two songs from their upcoming DVD Performing Parades with the Danish National Radio Chamber Orchestra.»
DiS gets an exclusive look at the shoot for The Raveonettes' video for 'Last Dance'.»
I don't know about you, but my mental picture of Reykjavik does involve much rain. In fitting with that belief, Örvar, Gunni & Silla offer their guide to a rainy day in Reykjavík in 10 Polaroids. This guide might not be very practical, but then »
As part of their takeover, DiS asked múm to pick a theme and make a mixtape for DiS. Here's what Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason has created for you.»
To kick off a special week of content from the skittering electronic Icelandic folks Múm, Örvar Þóreyjarson Smárason suggests three new acts from their home town that you should check out. »
For the last five Mugison’s been running the free Aldrei Fór Ég Suður festival (literally ‘I never went south’) with help from various locals, most notably his father, Papa Muggi, harbour master to Ísafjörður and also, oddly, a professional karaoke singer.»
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