Today Joachim Dahlbergs Vindkraft is releasing the second single from the upcoming album “Med blod som bläck”. It’s the song “Tankekraft”, which is also the song that made me stop and react to the power of Joachim’s music. Here is his story about the song:

– I wrote Tankekraft about five years ago in a small flat in Hägersten I rented from Syster Sol. It was right in the beginning of maybe the most difficult period of my life, and I’ve probably never felt so bad as I did then. The reason for that is what the upcoming album, which I have named “Med blod som bläck”, is all about. 10 songs, and each one of them is about the same thing, in kind of a chronologically told story drawn from my own experiences. Tankekraft, which is part four of the story, was the first song I wrote for the project, and it’s one of the first songs I ever wrote in Swedish. It may also be the most angry song I have.
(transl. from Swedish)

Joachim Dahlbergs Vindkraft’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music

Orange Red is the solo project of the musician Jonas Love Williamsson, hailing from Göteborg. In October he released his debut EP “Ocean” through the French label Scandinavian Crush. Inspired by shoegaze from the 90’s and ambient music from the likes of Brian Eno and Angelo Badalamenti he has created beautiful soundscapes with songs that walk the line between melodic synthpop and moodsetting musical landscapes. Clean guitar figures and dreamy, distanced vocals are embedded in glittering, sweet and retro-sounding layers of synths accompanied by electronic beats. It’s quite a varied album, though, and there are plenty of diversions from this theme. Here are a couple of songs from the EP.

Orange Red on Spotify – on Apple Music

The German band Griswold, hailing from Augsburg in Bavaria, released the EP “Glue” in September. They have played together for more than 14 years, but this is their first official release. The write that they get their inspiration from David Bowie, Daniel Johnston, Neutral Milk Hotel and Wayne Shorter among others. It ends up in a varied, warm and close folkindie, which they season with shifts between a low-key, acoustic sound and a bigger, more dramatic expression. They like to experiment with dynamics, rhythms and various sounds, but without leaving the popmelodic road and the Autumn-like, melancholic ambience. A quite pleasant new acquaintance which you can taste here below in two tracks.

Griswold’s site – on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music – on Bandcamp

Last year Vita Bergen released their debut EP, which gave them quite some well-deserved attention. Three of the songs from the EP are also present on their first album “Disconnection”, released a week ago. When they showed us one of the new songs in Spring, “Alexia“, I thought it felt like they were going in a somewhat new direction towards a darker and rawer sound. Where they were heading becomes very clear when I listen to the starting track of the album, the postpunk-sounding, dystopic “In the City”, a song with an intensely pumping bass and cruel guitars where the synths have moved into the background. The strong, earlier songs “Disconnection” and “”Curtains” form the hit backbone on the album together with the new  “Closer Away”, but are now placed in the right environment, where it feels like they have washed away the sweetness and replaced it with an unpolished blackness. Having said that there are plenty of graceful beauty in the songs, in the melodies and in grandiose soundscapes, sometimes closing in on the bombastic. A varied and enjoyable album.

Vita Bergens hemsida – på Facebook – på Spotify – på Apple Music

Raring is the name of a new duo who released their debut single “Tillfällig fördrivelse” last week. It’s about noisy and surprisingly catchy indierock which sounds like it was recorded in a punk garage at the end of the 70’s. Listen for yourself:

Raring on Facebook – on Spotify – on Apple Music