The Tranq, hailing from Örebro, recently released their debut EP “Peninsula”. It’s an EP and a sound with the roots firmly set in the eighties dramatic alternative rock/pop: the big rooms, the guitar sound, the snare drum, the lead synths, the male choirs and the drama expression in the vocals. And good for us they don’t take it too far, but pour some indie vibes into the mix as well, creating their own sound.

About the band name they tell me that they liked the harsh pronounciation of the name and the touching points with the song lyrics, which they want to be imbued with a subtle and calm social criticism.

You can listen to the four songs on their Soundcloud page or on Spotify. You can find the band on Facebook and on their site.

Kalinga

Normally you will find Oskar Blondell in the band Ben Hogun as a lead singer, but as a side adventure he has also started the solo project The Forest Green. According to Oskar it’s his own uncompromising art project, where he can test his limits and do whatever he likes.

It sounds like perfect conditions for creating interesting music, and it also shows in his songs. You can listen here below to the first song he published, “Slowmotion”. A couple of days ago he released another, “Only One”, and more are on their way. He also tells me that he’s started a collaboration with the deep house duo Vildmarken, which we will know more about later on. You can follow his music on Soundcloud.

The name The Forest Green comes from the colour of his old favourite cardigan, which he was wearing when he created the first song. He also thought it perfectly described what he wanted to achieve with the project.

Slowmotion

The duo Old Amica, which I wrote about earlier this year, have now released their debut album “Debris”. They continue to explore their special sound landscapes they introduced us to in their earlier releases. They write that although there are no overall theme for the album, many songs is about loosing the feeling for a home.

And the music in itself has no obvious genre home. There is a feeling of folk music and influences from for example Neil Young, but the acoustic parts are equally interwoven with electronic pads, sound figures and beats, in songs that can be experienced as ambient as well as traditionally built melodic songs. It’s mellow and reflects solitude and vast landscapes, but there is also a warmth and softness, well maybe humility is a better word, like if they have covered everything with a nice blanket to rest on.

Johan Kisro, one half of the band, tells that the band name originally comes from a sailing boat named “Amica” that his family owned when he was a kid. When they duo started playing together he found some old photos of the boat and thought that it would fit as a band name. Old Amica, which could be translated to “old friend”, refers to the two members as well as a symbol for people and events that pass by in life. A nostalgic feeling in other words, which is reflected in the music.

You can listen to the album on their site or on Spotify. They also have a Facebook page. Here are two songs from “Debris”:

New Start
Summer Morning Light

Support the artist: Buy “Debris” – on iTunes – on Amazon

Bring the Mourning On releases another track for free from their album “Going, Going, Gone”, which I wrote about earlier this year. It’s the excellent “Eye of the Beholder”, which you can listen to and download below, accompanied by a video made by Björn Wahlström (Idle Hands).

You can listen to the entire album on the band’s site, on Bandcamp or on Spotify.

Eye of the Beholder

Buy “Going, Going, Gone” – on iTunes – on Amazon

Andreas Österberg wondered what everyone is listening to as they ride buses and trams through the cities. He ended up creating a soundtrack to a tramway line in Göteborg, line 11 from Bergsjön to Saltholmen.

The music, both instrumental and with vocals, catches the atmosphere around the stops along the line and is also adpated to the time it takes to ride the tram from the start in Bergsjön to the last stop in Saltholmen.

To the project; Det Mekaniska Undret he calls it (“The Mechanical Wonder”); he’s also added video clips for each distance, filmed riding the tram. A brilliant and skilfully implemented idea you can follow through his blog. Listen more on Bandcamp, on Youtube or on Spotify. Here are a couple of tracks/stops and one of the clips:

Bergsjön
Mariaplan med Svartsjön