Karin Ström has managed to achieve quite a lot in her life. She has written two books, “Bensin” (“Gasoline”) and “Feber” (“Fever”), worked as a journalist on Svenska Dagbladet, Elle and a few more and also been dumped by a record label!
I don’t know if it’s because of these experiences or if it’s due to the fact that she has been living in London and Los Angeles or simply that she is just fantastic, that makes the music sound exciting, vibrant and very international.

It’s like a mixture of Irma Schultz and New Order, or Eva Dahlgren and Pet shop boys or…, ah it sounds like the panning synth melodies goes like pin balls in my head with Karin’s soft, but distinct voice caressing the music.

Karin has made a remix together with the Malmö guy Miki, , the captain, which is performed by Miki with his typical, kind of aristocratic skånska (dialect in Skåne, in the south of Sweden)

Listen and download the music:
Kaptenen Datadamen remix
Silent Night

Visit Karin:
Karin Ström on Myspace
Karin Ström’s official home page

Keep cool,
Jeppe

Jonna Enckell, singer in Project Hate MCMXCIX, has released her solo debut album “Siren On” under the same name as the title. And she has travelled far from the death metal areas where her band resides.

This is music made of far softer tones. It is a grand, piano-based music, with classical influences and bordering territories where Sarah Brightman has been the queen for quite some time.

Jonna has a very beautiful voice and it is very easy to dream yourself away to the melancholic melodies. I get images of vast landscapes, maybe of green Irish hills or the whipping waves against high cliffs, and I feel that this might as well be the soundtrack to a big epic movie.

Here you have four beautiful pieces to take in, listen to and download:

Purple Heart
The Gift
Salitine
Alarm

Visit Siren On and Jonna on her home page
and on Myspace

Around 1995 Carl Nordström started to play with music software and synths. After experimenting for a while through techno, house, drum n bass, hip hop, he finally found his own sound expression and the road that awaited for him.
Affictionados, like sub-tunnel beats, swept in city noise and that could have been created from the concrete from the big city.

The songs have a common melancholy that may be compared to The Cure dressed as Elvis Costello. A dark, heavy experimenting electronica vs hip hop brings me to the depth of what is expected from a beat maker. Carl has worked through the album “Affictionados” with the production and the arrangements. But the real spin is guest plays from musicians and artists from all over the world, like Kissey Asplund, Séamus, Crippual, Tessa Saxell and Torin Williams.
Download the entire album >>Here! (for free!)

I’m really turned on with the opening song, “Baby”, with a delayed drum loop that stands out in the the hip hop sampler arena. The songs shift, change and swap strategies; never far away from the main theme, but all the time innovative and lead to
The door of the lounge bar with the song “Always and Always”, considering a more monotone way of walking, to be in the background, sitting in the sofa and the closing time for the bar. But something happens as Kissey Asplund starts to sing about 2:43 in the song. A fresh warm tone that colours the arrangement mustard yellow. She is good! Really good!

What are you working with now?
“Today Affictionados stands for itself like a project where I have worked with a number of different styles, that I can’t name anything else than “beats”. I sample all kind of music I find and that I feel have that extra special, and I put it together into something that I would like to call my own.
Right now, I’m working with a record that’s hopefully finished by the end of the year. Besides that I’m turning records at CAFÈ RASOIR in Malmö with a DJ-crew called OH NO, NO DECKS.”

In my opinion Carl is a fantastic producer that’s ahead of his time. I’m looking forward to what’s being melded together for the years to come.

/Jamin

Baby
Always and always ft Kissey Asplund

Affictionados on Myspace

Affictionados’ home page

The Deer Tracks started out as a studio project and a side project for the two members Elin Lindfors (Twiggy Frostbite) and David Lehnberg (Leiah, Ariel Kill Him). After a lot of attention on the net, they ended up playing on the Rookie festival in Hultsfred, and the project quickly evolved into something more serious. The 27th of august, they released their debut album “Aurora” on Despotz Records. This summer they have toured around Sweden, they have played at Hultsfredsfestivalen and are now on their way to scenes in London and Finland in the early autumn.

You can listen to and download two songs from the album below. It’s beautiful, it’s emotional, it’s playful and becomes almost epical when the songs reach the crescendo. The bright, fragile and almos hypnotical voice of Elin is beautifully complemented by David’s voice. “Slow Collision” catches my attention most, and it feels like the entire song is built upon a short and simple repeating melody, a melody that has a real hook and turns into a fanfare in the end of the song. Brilliant!
On their Myspace page you can listen more.  Visit also their remix page on Myspace.

Slow Collision
Yes, This Is My Broken Shield

Other blogs about The Deer Tracks: GirlSonic, IndieHere, Rock Sellout, Quarterlifeparty

Slow Collision:

The video is built upon the paintings of the artist Scott Belcastro as you can read about here.

Also, checkout The Deer Tracks performing live at TV4.

I remember the first time that a voice really entranced me. It was when I heard Björk perform some kind of wordless misty song that was absolutely fantastic! If you replace the part about the fog, but with the same capacity of spellbinding the listener, you get Frida in Spectroscope.

It is exciting, fantastic and fascinating to listen to Spectroscope. They deliver music that doesn’t resemble any other artist I can think about. Drums and bass form the base of their music together with synth pads, and on top of this Oscar adds an outstanding guitar playing that makes the sound very unique. Together with the vocals I mentioned, you get a result that’s really good.

Well, I suppose you have gathered by now that I like this pretty much. ;-)

Decide for yourself by listening and downloading two tracks:
Oxygene
Claus

Visit the band:
Spectroscope on Myspace

Keep cool
Jeppe

(translated by Pär/Blindmen)