lifeiscarbon®

Songs Of Mystery And Truth

We’ve always assumed that most Scandinavian bands want make it out in the world beyond Scandinavia, if only because they recognize the economic implications of the limited population sizes in the region. Most bands launching these days establish a solid presence online (their own website, MySpace, YouTube etc), ensure that press friendly photos, information and translations are available and usually give free access to a couple of downloadable tracks.

Then you stumble across a band like The Bronson Brothers from Denmark who have so far made no concessions to an international audience with hardly any images online and absolutely no translation from Danish to English. We can only assume that the brothers have decided to let the music speak for itself. And how their music speaks! Pat and Clyde Bronson, with their choir boy haircuts, have clearly drawn inspiration from classic singles of the 70’s by bands such as The Zombies, The Monkies, The Kinks, Serge Gainsbourg and Velvet Underground. The lack of concession to an international audience is somewhat ironic given that the boys sing in English and happen to have chosen the same band name as a slightly better known German band.

With Winter behind us, we’re in need of some Summer listening and The Bronson Brothers are the perfect fit. Follow the link below to take a listen to the wonderful Initials S.G. and Love My Little Bird. They may look like a couple of choir boys but, as you'll discover, there's a darker edge to their lyrics.

Swedish Blondie

Whilst we primarily write about up and coming Scandinavian bands or at least one’s that are little know internationally, we do occasionally like to write about acts that have stood the test of time (as we did in the case of Kent). Fear not, we’re not likely to be writing about ABBA or A-Ha any time soon. It’s time to confess that we’ve listened a lot to The Cardigans in the last 10 years and followed their progress from bright 90’s pop-tunes with indie leanings to their current darker more complex rock ballads. If anything the The Cardigans have gone from strength to strength as evidenced by their last album, Super Extra Gravity, which was released to much critical acclaim. Take a listen to a track from it below.

The Cardigans - Nina Persson (vocals), Peter Svensson (Guitar), Bengt Lagerberg (Drums), Magnus Sveningsson (Bass) and Lasse Johansson (Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar) - originally formed as a band in 1992 in the town of Jönköping, Sweden. A classic tale of a band that lived together and recorded their first demo in a garage........

Harmonious Sound Of Noise

Next week sees the launch of the debut album by Death By Kite, an alternative and somewhat raw sounding rock band from Copenhagen. Their music is a distinctive mix of popish melodies, alternative harmonies and noise…. lots of it… as they walk a tightrope between cold war punk, noiserock and indie.

Bjørn Alexander Gøtzsche Lange (Vocals, Guitars), Sidsel Marie Hermansen (Bass, Vocals) and Kristian Kimer (Drums, Vocals) met in Autumn 2003, but it wasn’t until mid-2004 that they started playing together on a regular basis. Since they came from fairly different musical backgrounds and genres, it took some time for them to find a sound that suited all of them. Ultimately it was these differences that turned out to be the strength of their music. Music in which you will find references to bands such as Sonic Youth, Placebo, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Interpol, Joy Division etc. All combined into a unique sound, that sets this band apart from most other Danish acts.

Danish Ambient Space Rock

Danish ambient space-rock band Windermere has existed for a little over six years in its current line-up but it took the band a convoluted ten-year history prior to that to come together properly.

Windermere is actually the combination of two former bands each with their own distinct approach towards progressive music. One, Maroc Seven, was based on the tradition of the British indie scene whilst the other, Windermere, was a dark triphop-like ensemble. When the two bands joined forces in 2001 it created a unique mix of the different genres and formed the distinctive sound of the Windermere we know today.

To create that sound the band members have resorted to a rather unique approach to playing their respective instruments. Kim Oxlund (Lead Guitar & Synths) oftrn combines effects from keyboards and sequencing machines with the warm and dusty sound of an old tube amplifier. Hans Kjelstrup (Lead Guitar) and Jakob Skjoldborg (Vocals & Bass Guitar) sometimes use bows on their strings (much like Sigur Ros) to evoke a more ambient atmosphere in the music. Thomas Schultz-Hansen plays the drums, not with power and restlessness, but with a laid back stylistic approach that matches Windermere’s soundscapes.

Norwegian Frost

Norwegian electropop duo Frost make melodic pop songs about changing the world backed by tasteful electronic sounds - more often than not touched by the all-embracing hand of techno, electro or modern disco. Last week Frost released Love! Revolution!, their third album and this time the music leans more towards upbeat space-pop with catchy songs wrapped in a hard-hitting yet dubby production.

Frost was initially formed in 1997 in Tromsø, Northern Norway, by singer/writer Aggie Peterson and Norwegian Dub Disco entrepreneur DJ Rune Lindbæk. Together with the assistance of Torbjørn Brundtland (now of Röyksopp) in addition to a few other hired hands, they produced the album Bedsit Theories in 1998. The album did well in Norway, and the single Clouds across the moon - a cover version of the Rah Band classic - received heavy rotation on MTV in the summer of '98.

In 1999 Aggie and Rune released the single Endless Love, with remixes by Röyksopp and Illumination/Chilluminati – of which Per Martinsen (also of Mental Overdrive), was one half. This saw the beginning of a long collaboration between Aggie and Per, and in 2001 they released the album Melodica together. Since then the pair have collaborated as Frost.

Money, Money, Money

It’s taken Anders Wendin quite some time to find the perfect way to express himself, first in the mid-nineties band Superwed, and then in one of Sweden's most popular live acts, the intense ska-punk band, Monster. It’s only in the guise of his alter ego Moneybrother (basically Anders with his backing group The Panthers) that he finally seems to have found his true voice.

And what a voice! Moneybrother’s fusion of soul, reggae, pop and scrappy rock is all centered around Wendin's powerful vocals that seem to range from a soulful Marvin Gaye to an angry Joe Strummer. At times we’re reminded of Van Morrison whilst at other times the band border on an over exuberant and slightly chaotic sound that’s akin to Dexy’s Midnight Runners.

Our Kind Of Girl

Kind Of Girl are an interesting new Pop/Rock/Indie band from Denmark and the latest lifeiscarbon® favorites. The Copenhagen based band comprises of Sissel Olander (Vocals and Guitar), Rune Buhr (Bass), Joel Gjærsbøl (Guitar) and Emile Carlsen (Drums).

The band claims to draw inspiration from a wide range of artists such as the Cardigans, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Aimee Mann, and Garbage but during their heavier moments they remind us of our favorites, the much missed Cocteau Twins. We've totally fallen for the band's love forlorn lyrics and Sissel's wonderful voice.

Loud Is The New Quiet

Very simply, the Shout Out Louds are four boys and one girl from Stockholm in Sweden who play music together in a band. And such wonderful music it is! We love so many of Shout Out Louds tracks that we had real trouble picking a single track to feature on lifeiscarbon®. Take a listen to the one we finally selected, below….

The band was founded in 2001 by childhood friends, Adam Olenius (Vocals, Guitar), Ted Malmros (Bass) and Carl von Arbin (Guitar)and were joined soon afterwards by Eric Edman (Drums) and Bebban Stenborg (Keyboards). Shout Out Louds have so far released a debut album Howl Howl Gaff Gaff and four EPs including last year’s superb The Combines which featured a new song I Meant To Call and four remixes of tracks from Howl Howl Gaff Gaff.

Love And Misery In Scandinavia

As usual we’ll start with the basics, but for once we won’t mind if you skip over our ramblings and immediately take a listen to the track below. It is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful and haunting tracks we’ve ever heard. We simply can’t stop playing it..

Love And Misery is a duet between Tobias Froberg from Sweden  and Ane Brun from Norway, and is taken from her latest album Duets in which she collaborates with a number of different musicians. Ane Brun is well known in her native Scandinavia but Tobias Froberg is yet another case of 'love the track but don’t know who it’s by'.

His story sounds eerily like that of Jose Gonzalez. An artist from Sweden that no one here has ever heard of, has one of his songs used in an electronics commercial (this time for Panasonic rather than Bravia) and suddenly gets huge amounts of press and airplay in the States. Leaves Sweden for tours of the US and UK, and hasn’t looked back since.

New Life For Danish Electropop

Time to let you in on one of Scandinavia's best kept secrets. Carpark North is a Danish electropop/synth rock band comprising of Lau Højen (guitar/vocals), Søren Balsner (bass/vocals) and Morten Thorhauge (drums, percussion, effects). Despite the young ages of the band’s members – two guys are 24 and the other is 23 – Carpark North have proved themselves to be skillful musicians and computer programmers.

Back in 2003 the band's debut album, the self-titled Carpark North, breathed much needed new life into the Danish Electropop scene. The album, which was produced by Joshua, a.k.a. Jon Schumann, who has also produced albums for Kashmir and Mew, included the band’s first hit single Transparent and Glasslike.

The Ones Who Disappeared

It obviously makes sense for bands from Scandinavia that have an ambition to gain an international audience to write and perform it English, and most do just that. A few have been brave enough to follow a different path to international acceptance; in addition to releases in English, Björk has continued to put out albums in Icelandic and Sigur Ros have invented their own language that rather neatly sidesteps the whole issue.

Occasionally there is a great Scandinavian band that tries to write and perform in English but feel that they simply can’t achieve the same poetry and meaning in their lyrics as they can in their native tongue. Kent, our all time favorite band from Sweden, is a prime example of such a band.

Sideburned Laptop Troubador

“Selfish, childish… troubled, tragic - we’re having fun anyway.”

With cello and eerie pianos, Eberg’s recent album Voff Voff is dark and whimsical, like the landscapes of his native country, Iceland. It's a reflective collection based on memories of childhood, songs and games, past loves and drunken promises. A series of dramatic acoustic ballads touched by a delicate electronic hand. Eberg has a deeply melancholic humour, like a drunk cracking a joke through tear filled eyes over his own state of affairs.

You may well have already heard Eberg. Moving To Wales, his single first single from Voff Voff, whose skitterjitter beats, deployed on both voice and drum, fell down the stairs to cartoon effect, became a surprise hit. It went straight onto the UK BBC 6 music playlist, directly to 31 on the iTunes worldwide chart, and was strongly supported by Hew Stephens at Radio 1 who said described it as "Like dipping your nads in ice cream when they’re on fire".

Dark Music From The North

Martin Aston of The Times once wrote "If your band hails from the Norwegian port of Bergen you will sound melodic and sweet (for example Röyksopp and Kings of Convenience). Oslo, meanwhile, is a haven for punk. But if youre from the north's ragged archipelagos, where winter and summer extremes compete to send people mad, then you stand a great chance of turning out music that is as intensely dark and broody."

Madrugada, is a prime example of a Norwegian band that creates intensely dark and broody music. Much of the credit for this must go to their singer/song writer Sivert Høyem. With his mahogany voice and fine poetic line in paranoid disaffection, Sivert Høyem has often been compared to Nick Cave, Iggy Pop and David Gray. His handsome, weary, tobacco beaten voice sounds particularly haunting on the achingly beautiful ballads that he composes. Take a listen to his latest single below and find out for yourself.

Scandinavian Stooges

lifeiscarbon® has fallen in love again. We love 120 Days….a new band from Norway….and their debut album has gone straight to the top of our carbonsounds™ playlist.

We're not the only ones to have fallen for them. Norwegian music journalists voted 120 Days (the band's self-titled debut album) the Album Of The Year for 2006. Rather surprisingly, a Norwegian act hasn’t won this poll since 1993 as it usually goes to an international artist. And if that wasn’t enough, Norways 2nd largest newspaper Dagbladet ranked 120 Days best Norwegian album release of the year and Aftenposten (Norway’s 3rd largest newspaper) ranked it as the 2nd placed 2006 album release.

Take a listen to Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out and Be Gone by 120 Days (mp3 below) and you might begin to understand what all the fuss is about.

GusGus Forever

Widely acclaimed as an avant-garde group of musicians and performers, GusGus mixes together different mediums to create a unique musical sound. Their trademark style has an ethereal quality, combined with funky bass, drum sounds and the intelligent use of technology. Innovative and challenging, yet accessible and dance-floor friendly.

GusGus, from Reykjavík, was originally founded in 1995 as a film and actor’s collective but somehow became better known for their electronic music. Since then, they’ve been much in demand as collaborators and have remixed several famous artists, including Björk, Depeche Mode, Moloko, and Sigur Rós. They also released Desire with Ian Brown in January 2004.

Their music is eclectic and hard to define. Although primarily classified as techno, trip-hop or house music, they have experimented with numerous other styles. Take a listen to a track by them, a lifeiscarbon® favorite, and judge for yourself. (mp3 below)