NORDIC NIGHTS AT SXSW
(NYC, NY) From the Swedish folk of Asobi Seksu-labelmates David & The Citizens to the self-described “highway groove” of Funky Nashville this year’s Nordic Nights event at SXSW exudes talent. Now in its second year, Nordic Nights showcases a variety of bands from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland with the aim of introducing some of the nations’ freshest exports to American ears. The event will take place during SXSW at Uncle Flirty’s on March 15h & 16th. Check the lineup below.
Date: Thurs, Mar 15th & Fri, Mar 16th
Location: Uncle Flirty’s
Address: 325 E. Sixth St. Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 473-8891
Website:
Thursday March 15
8PM: Marit Bergman (Sweden)
9PM: Funky Nashville (Denmark)
10PM: Mammút (Iceland)
11PM: moi Caprice (Denmark)
12AM: Rubik (Finland)
1 AM: David & The Citizens (Sweden)
Friday March 16
8PM: Sister Flo (Finland)
9PM: Marit Larsen (Norway)
10PM: Vincent Van Go Go (Denmark)
11PM: JohnOssi (Sweden)
12AM: Grand Island (Norway)
1 AM: Reykjavik! (Iceland)
David & The Citizens – Stop the Tape! Stop the Tape! (SWE):
David & The Citizens were largely a secret in North American until Friendly Fire Recordings (Asobi Seksu, Faunts) scooped them up for a six-song, self-titled EP and full-length album “Until the Sadness is Gone”. We’re glad they did, their songs speak earnestly of the great subjects in life - love, loss, and despair - through buoyant melodies & beautifully crafted pop songs. Stop the Tape! is compassionate, thoughtful, often bittersweet. David & The Citizens were nominated for Swedish Grammy (Best Pop Group) in 2004.
MYSPACE HERE.
David & The Citizens - A Heart and a Hand and the Love for a Band.
The Kissaway Trail – s/t (DEN):
Energetic indierock dressed for big arrangements. In true testament to the power of the ‘net The Kissaway Trail landed record deals with both Bella Union (Britain) and Etch n’ Sketch (Australia) after creating a Myspace profile that perked ears at labels worldwide.
MYSPACE HERE.
The Kissaway Trail – Smother + Evil = Hurt.
Funky Nashville – Hitch a Ride (DEN):
Funky Nashville look likely to be the next big music success from Scandinavia in North America. Their music has the taste of the American prairie mixed with Scandinavian hues and the California surf - something that would fit comfortably on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack. Keep an eye out for them, Funky Nashville kickstart their North American tour at Canadian Music Week (March 10) before embarking on a promotional tour for their new album Hitch A Ride (Iceberg Records).
MYSPACE HERE.
Funky Nashville – Hitch a Ride
Moi Caprice - The Art of Kissing Properly (DEN):
Skillful song writing combine with intelligent lyrics and a unique capability for finding the pop tune in a romantic, melancholy framework on Moi Caprice’s The Art of Kissing Properly. Listen and take notes, the album’s garnered the band 4 nominations for the Critics Awards and 2 for the Danish Music Awards among those for best rock-album of the year.
MYSPACE HERE.
Moi Carpice – For Once If Your Life Try to Fight.
Mammut - Smekkleysa (ICE):
Reykjavik, Iceland quartet Mammut consists of three girls and two boys aged seventeen and eighteen. But they aren’t your typical high school band. In 2004, three months after forming, Mammút won the annual battle of the bands (Músiktilraunir) competition in Iceland. Their music has developed into something quite unique; distinctive vocals and angular guitars held together by brilliant melodic bass and innovative drums. Their eponymous debut album was released in Iceland in Spring 2006 on Smekkleysa (BadTaste), the label founded by The Sugarcubes and one-time home to Björk and Sigur Rós, to critical acclaim and which earned them an Icelandic alternative radio Number One with the single ’Þorkell’. Mammút are currently in the process of writing their debut English language album and performing live, both home and abroad.
MYSPACE HERE.
Vincent Van Go Go – Do U Know? (DEN):
Vincent Van Go Go create warm, summer sounds all year round. Influenced by an inspirational trip to Rio de Janeiro VVGG mix reggae, pop, funk, and soul with a taste of hip hop, Latin and jazz to create infectious songs that keep crowds moving. MYSPACE HERE.
Vincent Van Go Go – Do You Know (radio edit).
Grand Island - Say No To Sin (NOR):
Grand Island play a tight, energetic and dirty hybrid made from bluegrass/disco/hardcore and rock ’n’ roll. Think sulphur vocals, heavy organs, banjo fingers from ‘76, desert bass and big city drums. Its joyous, uncompromising, and rhythmic.
MYSPACE HERE.
Marit Larsen - Under the Surface (NOR):
’Under the Surface’ is the aptly-titled debut solo CD from this extraordinary young Norwegian singer-songwriter. At just 22 years old, Larsen has created an album that is both beautiful and playful and that also reveals a maturity far beyond her years. Not surprising, considering that she has already held her own in the rough-and-tumble world of the music business for a decade.
MYSPACE HERE.
Marit Larsen – Under the Surface.
JohnOssi – s/t (SWE):
After only 3 shows in demo clubs and ”a boat in Stockholm”, JohnOssi signed their first deal. A Scandinavian tour with the Soundtrack of Our Lives ensued. They’ve also headlined club tours and festivals throughout Sweden, leaving their tiny Stockholm-based record company in search for someone to help spread their music across the Swedish border.
MYSPACE HERE.
Marit Bergman - I Think It’s a Rainbow (SWE):
Marit Bergman cites influences as diverse as Madonna, X-Ray Spex, Discharge, Sonic Youth, Roberta Flack and Mary J Blige. Her sophomore release I think It’s A Rainbow came out on Sony/BMG Scandinavia
MYSPACE HERE.
Rubik (FIN):
Combining nearly hysterical guitar screeching and ambient landscapes with twisted pop melodies Finnish quartet Rubik have drawn comparisons to Elbow, Mew and Deus. But as seen on their now sold-out debut EP People Go Missing, released in 2005 via New Music Community, their music really is strong enough to stand on its own. And lucky for us Rubik have just finished their debut full-length due out this year.
MYSPACE HERE.
Sister Flo - Tragician’s Hat (FIN):
Sister Flo’s debut album Boys of Cat sold out in five months in their native Finald. So we’re looking forward to checking out their new album due out later this year. In the meantime we’re tiding ourselves over with the hushed vocals and driving Americana instrumentation of White Noise on their Myspace page. Think Finland’s answer to Midlake.
MYSPACE HERE.
Powersolo – Egg (DEN):
What do you think of when you hear the name “PowerSolo”? In Denmark the moniker apparently conjures the trash-rock psychobilly legacy of Hasil Adkins, the Cramps, and Southern Culture on the Skids. Powersolo may be a power trio, but in this case, the prog-metal acrobatics of Rush are replaced with something they call “donkey punk.” It’s all accomplished by just two tremolo-loving chicken-scratch, rail-thin guitarists Kim Kix and Atomic Child and drummer J.C. Benz playing his trade on a snare, bass drum, and floor tom. The fact that this exercise in B-movie punk-a-billy is coming from Aarhus, Denmark, adds plenty of delicious cognitive dissonance.
MYSPACE HERE.
Reykjavik! - Glacial landscapes, religion, oppression & alcohol (ICE):
Reykjavík! has garnered some attention in the time since they started heaving out amphetamine-fuelled ’guitorgies’, as their press quotes bear witness. Last April, the band finished recording their debut album ‘Glacial Landscapes, Religion, Oppression and Alcohol’ at the celebrated Greenhouse studios with master-recordist Valgeir Sigurðsson (collaborator to Björk and producer to Bonnie Prince Billy and múm). The album received highest marks wherever it was reviewed, and was nominated for the Icelandic Music Awards as ‘Rock album of 2006’ and voted ‘Album of 2006’ in two separate critics polls.
MYSPACE HERE.
Reykjavik – All Those Beautiful Boys.
