After 13 years as a guitarist, DiaVandy heard an electro song for the first time, “NY Excuse” with Justice. He was immediately caught, bought a midi-synth, and more or less quit playing the guitar.

He now produces electronica under the name DiaVandy, and in collaborations such as DVMH, together with Malin Gustafsson. He’s working on an album with a political message, to be released in early Fall, a project that’s called “Democracy” which will involve several guest artists.

You can listen more to DiaVandy on Bandcamp or on Myspace.

Cellardoor
Moonbeat

Empire Express slowly build their instrumental songs around a simple theme, to finally land in grandiose sound walls or to explode in sparkling rock crescendos like in “Valleyland – part 2” here below.

“Valleyland” is also the name of the debut album which was released in January, an album they’ve been working on for two years. You can listen to the album on Spotify or on Soundcloud. You can also visit their site.

Valleyland (part 2)

It’s not too often I receive non-electronica instrumental music. It’s nice then to listen to Folkvang’s colourful tones.

The band name comes from nordic mythology and gives us a hint of the music’s ambience. I find their roots in the seventies’ progressive rock, within the softer, ambient and melodic parts of that genre. It’s often enshrouded in a northern Swedish melancholy, which testifies about large unpeopled landscapes, lakes, solitude and the stillness of nature. There is a nordic calmness in the music, which feels pleasant to enter and be inside.

Folkvang released their first album this year, and you can listen to it on Spotify or listen to parts of it on Myspace. You can also meet the band on Facebook. Here is a song from the album:

Ensamhetens Famn

Some claim that Magna Carta Cartel sounds like music for movies that haven’t been made yet. And I have to agree with that. That is how it feels when they change scenes from one song to another. And the music gets that little extra touch when that idea sticks in my mind.

Their debut album “Goodmorning Restrained” was released last year. Half of the tracks are instrumental and the others contain vocals. Thematic songs, pop and rock lays the foundation, powerful, dramatic and impeccable, almost perfectionistic. The vocals are laidback and dubbed in a style you often hear in electronica, which also makes the vocal songs feel more uniform than the  mood-shifting instrumental tracks.

You can download the entire album “Goodmorning Restrained” on Sounds of Zilence and you can meet the band on Facebook or on Myspace.

Metropolis Flow
So Long

Clemens, aka Claes Björnelius, is the topic today. It’s mostly about instrumental, beautiful music that has a nice peacefulness inside. Some parts symphonic, sometimes a feeling of Björn J:son Lindh-känsla or something like in the example below, “The Brick”, with Air-vibes. It feels many times grand, like it was taken from a movie.

He also presents several collaborations like for example with Michael Ehrnstén or with Karl in the Peter Gabriel-inspired “The Picture” below.

On Clemens site you can listen to his music and download it.

The Brick
The Picture