Pokerface, aka Staffan Heidevik, released his new album “Transeo” a little while ago. It’s an exciting album full of experimentation and if I attempt to describe it I’d say it’s about a dense and dramatic mix of  jazz-electronica and progressive rock , largely instrumental. Sometimes I hear something that reminds me of David Bowie and his experimental music from the nineties.

Interestingly half of the songs are recordings from concerts, which I really like as it brings out the depth and the grandness in the music and a sensation of a massive live experience.

The album is a collaboration between Staffan, guitarist Mattis Karlsson, drummer Olle Prim and multi-instrumentalist Per Ericsson plus a number of guest musicians, among them Mike Lloyd and jazz virtuoso Bryan Baker.

Listen more on Spotify and visit Pokerface on Facebook.

Krtek Ve Snu
Beginnings and Endings

Already the title of Chicagojazzen’s new album “Misantropi för nybörjare” (“Misanthropy for beginners”) challenges and plants questions. And the music lives up to this challenge. It’s instrumental, experimental, lo-fi, but basically beautiful creations with contagious melody hooks and rhythms.

It feels like someone has taken a perfectly carved statue with perfect lines, and in an artistic pathos used axe, hammer and saw on it, to make it more real. Or maybe just to challenge, or expose something. Listen here below in a couple of tracks and in a live recording by SVT.
Visit Chicagojazzen on Myspace.

Dagens Outfit
VI

Mi Mes Favorito Es Junio (live from Berwaldhallen):

The Faux Noise tell us that they get their inspiration from the early seventies and the music scene around Andy Warhol. And I can understand that, even though The Faux Noise’ music doesnt’ feel retro, rather like a contemporary interpretation.
The feeling I get from this is that I am in a river delta, where sound is flowing in from many directions, occasionally it’s raining, and in the middle of all this chaos I find a strong raft that safely brings me out to the sea, accompanied by beautiful melodies. Thrilling and interesting.

On their Soundcloud page you can listen to their music and also to a bunch of interesting remixes of their songs. You can also visit The Faux Noise on their site. Here is “Save Me” and the video to “I Can’t Stop Breaking You Down”:

Save Me

I Can’t Stop Breaking You Down:

I Can’t Stop Breaking You Down from The Faux Noise on Vimeo.

That I Am You We Are is different from most bands I’ve heard, is clear to me already after a minute or so in the first song “Love Song For the Mob”, from their EP “Masquerade”. An oriental-inspired melody played by transverse flute and accordion turns into something more folkish and  Phoenix and Anahitas voices give the song a somwhat different character.

The five songs on “Masquerade” are quite different from each other, where they vary the instrument set from song to song. They experiment with flutes, piano, accordion, guitars, djembe, trumpet and no set seem to be the same as the other. I can’t help thinking about that I’m listening to a mini musical, where the scene changes from song to song.

It’s different and interesting. You can listen for yourself below to the track “Love Song For the Mob”. On their Myspace page you can find more songs from “Masquerade”.

Love Song For the Mob

Already in 1980 Pål and Conny laid up their plans for wHaT iF. These included Pål’s yet unborn daughter Linea, so obviously they had to wait a little :-) In 2005 the time was right and the band wHaT iF was born. The one who waits…

I’m now listening to their third album “The Final Meltdown”, a really enjoyable album. Playful and experimental, catchy melodies, varied and a with a nice ambience. Linnea’s voice and the experimentation reminds me sometimes of Björk, while the concept, the atmosphere and the radiovoices gives me a lot of Roger Waters vibes.

You can find the band on wHaT iF’s site, on Myspace and on Jamendo. On Jamendo you can download, not only this album, but all three albums.

Listen to and download three tracks from “The Final Meldown”:

Rainy Days
Dream of Peace
Running Over Fields