Just bought… Kim Hiorthøy “Hopeness” and “For the Ladies”

Dotshop.se is closing and I just bought a bunch of albums. This also included the two Kim Hiorthøy EPs “For the ladies” and “Hopeness”. I like the Kim Hiorthøy sound very much. It’s both funny and sexy. I know, this doesn’t really describe his music. Maybe the electronica should have the tags light, minimal, melodious and ophisticated?
Hiorthøy debut is from 2000 and he has since recorded a couple of records. Both EPs are from 2004 and this is where the similarities are ending. While “Hopeness” is much like the sound I know from “My Last day”. It’s happy, simple and joyful. On the other hand “For the ladies” is a mess of silence, untouched field recordings and requires more patience than I’m willing to offer.
The artwork is not beautiful as mentioned at Boomcat.
The Milk Factory has a more positive review of the record.

Just listened to… Bat for Lashes

The first time I listened to Bat for Lashes was when I saw the outstanding music video “Whats a girl to do”.
A couple of days ago I bought the new album “Two suns”. It’s promising. She continues to place herself somewhere between Kate Bush, Tori Amos and PJ Harvey without ever being a copy of anyone.
I have also bought Lady Gaga and Lily Allen. Unsurprisingly the albums aren’t good. Lily Allen has a quiet similar way of singing all her songs. But I like the singles. Lady Gaga doesn’t have the crazyness lie in “Poker face”. On the album she reminds me of a copy of Britney Spears.

Best albums first half of 2009

This is my top 10 list of albums released in 2009 (listed alphabetically).

Animal Collective ‘Merriweather Post Pavillion’, Domino. Finally they made me understand why there is so much hype around them.
Animal Hospital ‘Memory’, Barge Recordings. Varied and layered soundscape par excellence.
Dan Deacon ‘Bromst’, Carpark Records. Unstoppable dance punk electronica.
Decorate Decorate ‘Instructions’, A:larm Music. Yes, they skipped the dots. Read my review here.
Julie Doiron ‘I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day’, Jagjaguwar. A female singersongwriter shows her personality.
Mountains ‘Choral’, Thrill Jockey. Warm, rich, detailed drone.
The Horrors ‘Primary Colours’, XL recordings. Absolutely stunning mix of Joy Division and Neu!
Tim Hecker ‘An Imaginary Country’, Kranky. Dense drone and overwhelmingly captivating.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs ‘Zero’, Interscope. Sexy and rocking with attitude and popular melodies.
Zu ‘Carboniferous’, Ipecac. Read .chrz review here.

I also want to promote a list of the five best albums I bought this year, but was released last year or earlier.

b.fleischmann, ‘Angst is not a weltanschauung!’. Morr Music. Read my short review here.
DM Stith ‘Heavy Ghost’. Asthmatic kitty records. Probably the record I’ve listened to the most. For fans of Radioheads new material.
Kazuki Tomokawa ‘ Blue water, red water’, P.S.F Records. Read my comment on Tomokawa here.
Mugison ‘Lonely Mountain’, Accidental records. Islandic singersong writer. Really nice, calm and lonely.
Paavoharju ‘Yhä Hämärää’, Fonal records. Folk-electronica from Finland. Mysterious and wise.

Never let me down: Depeche Mode at Parken, Copenhagen

I never thought I would share a Depeche Mode concert experience with 44.000 people. To me DM is something intimate, which doesn’t go along with thousands of people, who like DM for different reasons.
There were several highlights from the concert. “Question of time” was played with a driven, rusty and “motorhead”-like guitar. Also the visuals were very esthetic. When they played “Enjoy the silence” every single person had their hands in the air. From my spot at the grandstand it was impressing. Hearing “Home” live with Mikkel was a nice experience. And “Personal Jesus” was played in a different version and with great confidence.
I expected Stadium Rock to have a less good audio output, but DM really knew what they were doing. “Peace” and “Stripped” didn’t work and Gahans voice isn’t what it once was. Furthermore the theme “Tour of the Universe” was a stupid idea from the beginning.
Nevertheless it was nice to hear songs I have loved for so many years. (Thanks and love to Tobias for sharing)

Music from the Bedroom: Reigns and B. Fleishmann

I have earlier mentioned the agreement between Chrz and I giving each other a recording every quarter. In Q1 2009 I got Reigns “A house on the causeway” and now I’m finding reason and time to write a short note about it.

The cover has nine pictures of a foggy landscape. All pictures are looking the same and not looking the same. And this is how I feel about this record. It reminds me of something. Maybe Tarwater as the slow-mo melodies and the recording sound like something from the bedroom. Apart from the parallel to Morr Music there are less clicks and it’s less withdrawn.
To some extent this is a sad record, but as the sadness ends where the story begins and I keep listen to the record as I get familiar with the fog. And as I get familiar with the fog, I see and explore the differences as I listen more careful to the music.

In the beginning of this year I bought B. Fleishmann “Angst is not a Weltanschauung”. The record is from Morr Music and in some way this marks the record inevitable. I bought the record after a review at Cokemashineglow.
Opposite to Reigns the lyrics from B. Fleischmann are mostly personal. It gives the album strength and intimacy.
My favourite track is with vocals (and written) by Daniel Johnston. Johnston is a broken like when a car is broken – but it can get damn (beautiful) sincere in all the misery (look at “Don’t Play cards with Satan”). “Phones, machines and king kong” is actually a simple track with simple (bedroom made) melodies and an unusual heartfelt vocal. It left me speechless wanting to tell the world about it.

Roskilde Festival 2009

One year ago I said I wouldn’t participate in the wild and wonderful Roskilde Festival. Two days before I changed my mind and saw memorable performances by MGMT, Battles, Girl Talk and Shantel, while Yeasayers and others have gone into oblivion.

Again this year I am not going. But if I were, there would be plenty of bands to see. The smaller stages have my attention as always. I believe Pet Shop Boys, Coldplay as well as Oasis and Trentemøller are going to kick as at the Canopy stage. But there are a some other bands I would like to promote.

It’s both Karen O’s rock’n’roll attitude as it’s the good melodies and details in the production that convince me Yeah Yeah Yeahs are going to play a great concert. Fever Ray has released a promising album. I’m not sure what to expect – as The Knife only played a few concerts this could both be spectacular or disappointing. I’d also promote White Lies and Friendly Fires for their 2009 dark sound and popular and danceable tunes.

More dark and metal I would love to hear Zu. They are from Ipecac (Mike Patton label) and is all about drone riffs, monster drums and jazz-saxophone. They have some kind of the same approach as Lightning Bolt. I have never seen Isis live, which probably would be enough reason for me to see them. And talking about the heavy stuff I would recommend both Mono and Wolves in the Throne Room.

It’s not going to be heavy all of it. Den Sorte Skole, Hauschka and maybe Shogu Tokumaru have made some impressing releases lately and their approach are never more far out than I think of dancing or dreaming myself far away. Especially Danish act Den Sorte Skole is a must see.

More crazy and edgy you’ll find Gang Gang Dance and Deerhoof. Sometimes Deerhoof gets somewhat annoying in a childish way. Sometimes Gang Gang Dance get too arty farty. However Roskilde Festival must be the perfect place to see these two bands.

After this I’ll probably need to rest and relax. Both Jenny Wilson and Marnie Stern could be nice to see. And The Whitest Boy Alive indeed. If you pass the Lounge stage I’ll recommend you to see the poet Morten Søkilde. His exploration into the sound of syllable is both amazing, beautiful and a somehow kitsch.

Have a nice festival!

Review: Mostly Other People Do The Killing – This is our Moosic

Free Jazz? Maybe it isn’t that dangerous, complacent and closed around itself? The screaming saxophone on “Fagundus” and other tracks can obviously not be avoided. And the approach of a non-linearity, stratification and fragmentation of musical ideas is quite challenging for the listener (me). However the concept is an opportunity for each part in the ensemble to explore the expected as well as the unexpected. In the inner sleve Mostly other people do the killing (MOPDTK) – or actually Moppa Elliot – states the influence of Ornette Coleman. This regards both terms on how we look at “correct/ incorrect” as well as the notion on “freedom in improvisation”.

In many ways this underlines the impression I have of “This is our Moosic”. Although the music is tight and outstanding, the notation and structure are more guidelines than routines. This gives a playful and completely overwhelming bunch of superiority.
“Two boot jacks” (and other tracks, but this most outspoken) is some kind of gimmicky, when borrowing from the New Orleans Jazz. MOPDTK jump in and out of the music history and context and play with the conventions, rules and expectations. None the less is the cannibalisation of jazz history what I really like. They play with both conscious and surprise to undermine their seriousness – only to create a new perspective and musical experience.

And gosh they play fast. Sit tight. Jazz heroes are here to stay.

Review: Decorate Decorate – Instructions

‘A child is a rose is a name is a punch in the face’

Does this remind you of the author Gertrude Stein? Well this might be because this very author (along with Morten Nielsen, Michael Houellebecq and others) seems to be a source of inspiration for leadsinger Auring Grimm. He explores the lyrics to let the vocals be more than just an instrument of the band. In the text we find a lot of ‘letters’, ‘stamps’ and ‘words’. The themes are deprivation and love, but there are also themes such as dreaming and letting go (“Away”). I hear the Nordic desolation and melancholy through the album.

In “Brothel” the music is dragging you down, while you listen to the words ‘Look at the water’. I believe the way they drag the listener down to the water is intentional, and I think they succeed in their efforts often. Favourite tracks are “2000 Needles”, “Brothel” and “Away”. It may also be the catchy “Paper cuts”.

On the other hand “Montmartre” seems more blurred than raw, and “Different strengths of white” has many unnecessary effects and seems a bit too polished. It could be a matter of taste?

‘We are unknown addresses / and our hands / are full of letters’

Decorate Decorate have matured. Their mini-album ‘Normandie’ had indirect references to the darkness of Joy Division. Today the band plays more than dark rock. The vocals are British and the music has beautiful references to British shoegazer. Furthermore I must point out that the music and lyrics are more complex. It seems as if the members have opened up as a band. The feelings, presence and intensity are multiple and more various than before. The album is still growing on me.

Bonus: the new ending of “Europe has no heart” is actually a part from an early demo called “Eternity”.

Review: Dim Dim – Whip

Last year I bought Books on tape “dinosaur dinosaur” out of curiosity and without exploring the album or artist any further. It’s an okay album with some fun and light stuff – but not more than that. At least not for me.
Maybe history is repeating itself this year. I just got Dim Dim “Whip” without knowing what I was in to and should expect. I think it’s important to be updated on new music, but also to dive into unfamiliar music.

I must have heard “Sheena” somewhere on a mp3-blog? It’s a good track that doesn’t hesitate at any moment, but just steadily keeps exploring its own peculiarity.
The tunes are very playful and toy-ish, both twisted and cute. One of “Whip”s qualities is that it never gets repetitive. But it might also be one of its flaws. Sometimes it seems like Dim Dim is scared the listener might get bored? But accept the fact and enjoy the 18 short tracks. They are positive, alternative lounge tracks that cartoon figures might like to dance to.
Whip is the 6th record from Jerry Dimmer. I think it’s tight and the samples are never overdone.

At the end of the record it’s just a guitar and a childrens choir playing. At some point surprising, but it’s also a very smooth transition. And a final note to self: Artwork is fancy and fits the mood of the album.

Discover and get discovered : Fairtilizer & Thesixtyone

A couple of bands have got great attention on MySpace and afterwards got signed by major labels. The interaction between band and user getting to know the known and unknown audience / band is a powerful platform.

MySpace is by far the dominating player on this market. But there are other interesting sites definitely worth checking out.

Thesixtyone.com
Thesixtyone.com has a lot of features that should encourage users to listen to new songs, share and commenting on them through letting people get achievements. Both bands and users raise in levels according to their activity and likeness.
There is almost no editorial stuff. The creation of top lists is through the users “hearting” songs. But it’s really nice to explore new mostly unknown bands / songs. Going through the toplists contain a lot of quality; these are professional upcoming (pop and indie) bands. I kind off miss the surprisingly interesting or different band. But that says more about me than the great site.

Small note: I’m not completely sure how the upload from artists works. Alphabeat has two profil pages. I guess that wouldn’t be the case, if it actually was Alphabeat who was behind? Such flaws were also the case with MySpace a couple of years ago.

Fairtilizer

“Fairtilizer is a Do It Yourself Music Club providing tools and services for artists, labels, and media to share, promote, and distribute today’s best new music.”

Fairtilizer – as Myspace – needs the artists. But from my user perspective Fairtilizer manage to bring up new music to my attention. The editorial content is spare but helpful including featured tracks as well as “Club members”. And for the new users the hitlists provide new, exclusive! tracks. There are four sections. Hip/ Rap, Indie, Techno and Cover. Off cause I gotta love the cover section (wuhu!), but with the narrow offer of music genres, it’s more a niche site. To me it has a great appeal, but in all it has less users than Thesixtyone.com.

Small note: Alphabeat is the top 1 band in indie with an acustic Daft Punk Cover (Digital Love).