There are many thousands of reworkings and cover versions floating around out there. If YouTube is a testament to anything, it’s to how bad most of those interpretations are, as thousands of wannabe teens strum their way heart heartedly through ‘Hey There Delilah’ before uploading and praying for some clueless record executive to take pity on them. But there are some that, thankfully, manage to make a decent job of it.

Or, in Die Neue Mythologen’s case, some manage to make a superb go of it. Anyone who manages to take on Beyoncé Knowles and wins is destined to go down in the history books, but when someone does it with the grace of this remix, it’s beyond astounding. The witch house genre has already set to pop music, with oOoOO taking on Lady Gaga’s Poker Face with ‘PCKRFCRMX’, but this takes it to the next level, a beguiling mishmash of samples strung together to create 6 minutes of post-pop heaven.

Translating to English as The New Mythology, the music is a rush on the sense – something that is probably highly connected to the fact that it’s techinically a side-project of Swedish electronic collective Pistol Disco. Whilst we might all be a little bit sick of Mrs. Knowles’ dominance over the airwaves at the minute, if the end result is the likes of this then we can only be pleased.

Expect an official release from Die Neu Mythologen later this year via Service.

Die Neue Mythologen: ‘Sweet Dreams (Beyonce Cover)’

There’s a passage in Anthony Bourdain’s exquisite travel and food opus A Cook’s Tour where the author rhapsodies on the ethos of the famous French Laundry restaurant in California’s Napa Valley. The success of the restaurant and the vision of its chef Thomas Keller is, Bourdain theorises, due to the intertwining of food with memory. Keller’s signature creations – such as miniature ice cream cones filled with salmon tartare – play on existing memory (that of childhood treats) and use nostalgia, formative experiences and invention to achieve their goals.

The very same could be said about Jens Lekman, whose records regularly riff on the familiar-made-new. Night Falls Over Kortedala owed much of its success to respectful nods at variety of genres and sounds – taking in soul loops, Tropicalia flourishes and lyrical conceits that bridged the gap between Morrissey and Stipe. And it did all of this in a way that didn’t feel contrived, plagiarised or dumb.

Listening to Lekman for me feels like I’ve come to a brand new place that somehow feels like home; safe, beautiful but with familiar features and an underlying atosphere of comfort and nourishment.

So a new song by Jens Lekman is a big event in my world – and ‘The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love’ is indeed a big song. While it’s archetypal Lekman through and through – layered, lush and deftly produced withough feeling overloaded – there’s a very real and noticeable development from Night Falls Over Kortadela that hints at where the next record might go.

String arrangements vaguely reminiscent of the Richard Hawley sound and an elegant chorus with a knowing crib from Weiss, Peretti and Creatore’s ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ are combined with a classic Jens lyric. As usual, heavy amounts of pathos dominate and a juxtaposition of the mundane with the poetic; in his own description of the song Lekman has explained “[it examines a world  that] forces you to keep your head held high and move on. A world that is fragile and beautiful.”

Trying to describe the song or evaluate it any further than this would be folly. Emotional response is the most important thing about receiving music. It cuts through all the critical bullshit, all the preconceptions, all the hipstery ephemera.

All that matters is this: I heard this song for the first time this morning and my heart melted.

Jens Lekman: ‘The End Of The World Is Bigger Than Love’

In the world of TV, film and theatre the concept of the three act structure is nothing new. In the first act we’re introduced to the characters and main locations; the second act introduces a confrontation or obstacle; and finally, our third act finds resolution through a climax followed by dénouement. From the chin-stroking highs of Seven Samurai and The Godfather to the goofball comedies of Sandler and Ferrell the three act structure is employed everywhere. But on an album? With their self-titled debut, Sweden’s latest (and probably only) neo-power-kraut seven-piece Ikons are here to show us that not only is it possible, the results can be very special indeed.

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ACT 1. INT. BEDROOM – MORNING
‘Slow Light’ enters quietly from a distance; the faders are pushed up to reveal a feather-light bed of synths which are soon joined by a driving, repetitive bass line. This is eight minutes of slow build; as the bass line hypnotises, ethereal synths intertwine with sparse, shimmering guitar lines and washed out rhythm.

Bass dominated again on ‘Afrika’, this time given the space to spit and snarl as it hammers out a single note. Guitar chord-stabs collide in the distance as a vocal mantra repeats.

AFRIKA
Hurry on sundown.

ACT 2. EXT. CITY – MID-AFTERNOON
With the main components introduced, drums and bass once again take the lead on ‘Honey’. High-pitched synth alarms in the background as a biting guitar hammers the same chord over and over again. A lyric is thrown at the mic seemingly at random.

HONEY
Honey.

This is the warm up for ‘Imperiet’, the album’s centrepiece and one of only two real songs (in that it they feature lyrics that constitute more than three words) present on the whole album. 80′s drums, saturated in tight, close reverb, are matched with a New Order bass. Double guitar lines scream out melodies.

IMPERIET
Crushed by the wheels of history. We worked hard.

With so much pace and urgency this is dance-floor-filling, fists in the air stuff. At the risk of using a dirty word, this is what Kasabian would sound like if they weren’t a bit shit.

Bringing us down and out Act 2 are ‘Guns’ — a fuzzy, dark instrumental with twisting distortions and a lazy disco beat — and ‘Domine’. Ambient swells loop back on themselves as the album finds its most introspective moment. A sample of ‘The Origin Of The Universe’ plays under an almost dubby bass line.

DOMINE
If galaxies are moving apart now, they must have been closer together in the past. If their speed had been constant, they would all have been on top of one another about 15 billion years ago.

This is the welcome calm before the storm.

ACT 3. INT. CLUB – NIGHT
It’s the most ridiculously low-slung bass line you’ve heard in quite a while — and it’s fucking awesome. ‘The Hawk’ is five and a half minutes of punk rock fuzz instrumental psychedelica…God knows what. Everything we’ve heard before is here and all hell is breaking loose. Drums thrash, bass drives and guitars scream as layer after layer of noise is thrown on the pile. If this is the albums climax then what follows has to be its dénouement.

‘Seconds’ brings things down with baggy rhythms and glistening guitars before we launch into our closer: ‘Bye’. Through massive washes of Jesus & Mary Chain reverb and distortion comes a barely legible vocal parting gesture.

BYE
I’ll give you anything. Bye bye bye.

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Listening to Ikons’ debut it’s no surprise they have been spending their time opening for Spiritualized. Built on a bed of hypnotic repetition, mood and feel, the album has an ebb and flow that is only appreciated when listened to as a whole. There is so much going on here that there should be something to please everyone; indie kids into Doves will find Jimmy Goodwin bass grooves, shoegaze fans will be wrapped in sheets of warm, thick, distorted reverb.

Musically, it could be argued that Ikons follow a script which has been written before; with big albums from the likes of The Horrors, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and Delphic, rehashes of My Bloody Valentine, New Order and the C86 scene are ten-a-penny right now. However, with Ikons cherry-picking influence as they see fit and making them their own, the revival has never sounded this good.

On the 15th February 2010 expect a “An existential and cosmic odyssey – A transcendental adventure” to pop your ear drums as Ikons release their eagerly anticipated new album.

It shall be self-titled and it shall be released on Service, Sweden’s premier label, on CD and vinyl. We’ve had it at TLOBF Towers for a number of weeks now and it’s a great, impressive, heaving neo-shoegaze-krautrock flip-flopper of an album.

Watch the video for the track ‘Slow Light’ below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Floating in on the last fine breeze before winter hits, Stockholm, Sweden’s Lake Heartbeat provide enough blissful pop melodies on their debut record, Trust In Numbers, to remind us what summer felt like before our memories of it begin to fade. The Swedish duo, consisting of Janne Kask (formerly of Brainpool) on vocals/programming and Kalla Kåks on guitar/bass, are notoriously reticent in regards to promotion for the record, but their feelings and moods are laid quite bare within the lyrics and melodies on these searching, earnest pop numbers. There is a wistful, jaunty quality to these tracks that is hypnotic and pleasing, and while any depth you might be searching for within these songs might be as deceiving as the beachfront facade that graces the cover of the album, I’m not sure that digging any deeper is the point to these songs. They are kept intentionally light and airy, at once both elegant and buoyant, thanks to the stylish production of Studio mastermind Dan Lissvik.

Lead track ‘Mystery’ quite clearly displays the band’s blueprint early on, with an infectious, driving bass beat layered on top of an understated but still indelible guitar riff, all building to a memorable, swirling chorus. It’s diaphanous and radiant, and provides a stark contrast to the heartbreaking lyrics at the core of the song. ‘Southbound’ has a pensive, dreamy nature, and ‘Blue Planet’ creates a mood of simmering loneliness out of the mesmerizing bass line and imploring lyrics. There are genuine sentiments conjured by these subtle songs, and that is a testament to the talents of Kask and Kåks, as well as to the steady hand of Lissvik, who keeps things nuanced and textured while never burdening the songs under needless weight. Lake Heartbeat’s lighthearted, spirited numbers often hark back to the golden, elated tones of fellow Swede’s The Wannadies more poppy numbers, just with a modern, more produced sound and a subtler guitar influence.

The second half of the album takes a welcome turn towards darker, more beat driven songs, with the exception being the overly poppy but impossible to resist ‘Golden Chain.’ This song is a healthy dose of billowy optimism in a world often besieged by dread and doubt, but features a carefree subject that crashes with the sunrise along with their naive dreams of revolution. For there is indeed an edge to Lake Heartbeat’s overt rosiness, it’s just usually expressed through Kask’s often desolate lyrics, which continually diverges from the smooth, upbeat melodies generated by the group. The moody assertiveness of ‘Making Conversation’ is a clear standout on the record, with the dynamic beat paired with sanguine guitars and strings, as well as Kask’s confident vocals. It’s a swaggering, self-assured song that’s more than welcome on an album where the band refuses to push the listener around, instead just relying on whispering in their ear to get their point across.

The album closes appropriately enough with the subdued acoustic melancholy of ‘Let It Die,’ which eases the album out the door with the whisper it came in on. There are a lot of pleasurable, highly evocative sounds on Trust In Numbers, ones where the listener can feel both lost and found without really trying too hard. The hard work should be left to the professionals, and these guys obviously can craft a lovely pop song. And as long as you don’t try to dig too far beneath the surface of these songs, they can take you anywhere you choose to go.

Lake Heartbeat: ‘Mystery’
Lake Heartbeat: ‘Blue Planet’
Lake Heartbeat: ‘Mystery (Ydre Rymden Dansskola Remix)’

Welcome back, friends. Let’s talk about music, shall we?

First off, did you hear the new song by Pistol Disco? I’ve written about them before, I know. But this song is just too epic not to mention. It’s called ‘Bad Wisdom’ and you can download it for free from www.pistoldisco.com. If the story of Pistol Disco was a movie, this song would be the scene where Alex and Mikael are riding their steeds trough some dusty plains. Just before taking off into space, obviously.

As I’ve mentioned before, Alex has done some work on the debut album for the Service act IKONS (who are going to be massive, if anyone wonders) and one of the members, Carl Hedén just finished a new song with his other project together with Pär Bourghardt, called Outmen. The song is called ‘You Might Be In a Band’ and it’s a truly beautiful pop song, complete with kind of Ennio Morricone-esque guitars and percussion. One of the most spot-on songs I’ve heard in months. They a currently working on new material and it’s going to be really exciting to hear what comes out.

A band that both Carl and I love is the legendary The Bear Quartet who just released ther 14th (!) studio album called 89. It’s a great record, shifting seamlessly between genres like heavy rock, dub, kraut and pop. Listen to the brilliant track ‘Halmet’ over on their MySpace page. The core members of The Bear Quartet are Mattias Alkberg (poet and also a solo musician, check it out!) and Jari Haapalainen who have produced numerous Swedish acts, such as The Concretes, Frida Hyvönen and Laakso.

Mooooving on.

A song I’ve been listening to a lot lately is the atmospheric ‘Morning and Evening’ by Cosimo. I don’t think I’ve mentioned Cosimo before, but I do believe I’ve written about his other band; Nhessingtons. It’s a fantastic song, that sounds kind of like a mix of Khonnor and Panda Bear only with more of an etno feel to it. I can’t think of any other way to describe it. It’s just unique. I command you all to mail bomb him and force him to put up more songs on his MySpace.

If you by any chance come to Göteborg some time, make sure to visit the club I just started together with my friends from record label Force Majeure (who just moved here from Stockholm). The club is called HOUSE OF LOVE (join our Facebook Group) and it’s a follow up to the SUMMER OF LOVE parties I had with Joel and Henrik from Air France some months ago.

Speaking of Air France. Do NOT miss their remix of Saint Etienne’s track ‘Spring’. It is (as always with AF) simply stunning.

At the very same moment as I’m writing this, my dear friend Andreas (singer in Boat Club) sent me their remix of the Lake Heartbeat song ‘Southbound’. It sounds like the memories from all your childhood summers, only better. I don’t know when it’s going to be released, but I assure you that it is worth waiting for.

Before I go, here, take this promotional mix I did for the club.

Your friend,

Victor

Cosimo: ‘Morning and Evening’
Outmen: ‘You Might Be In A Band’
Pistol Disco: ‘Bad Wisdom’

Dan Lissvik. Gothenburg belongs to him.

Hi there, it’s been a while. You ok? Great. Me too.

Have you heard about The Crêpes? No? Then let me tell you about them. I assume that you are familiar with The Embassy and Studio? Well, The Crêpes is a duo consisting of Fredrik Lindson from The Embassy and Dan Lissvik of Studio. They just released their first record What Else?, which is already sold out, I’m afraid. Me and some friends went to a garage sale hosted by Dan and Fredrik and judging by the amount of people who bought the record, I’m really not surprised. I couldn’t afford the record myself, since I got no real job and therefore no money, but Fredrik was kind and provided me with some wine from a carafe. Good enough.

The record is stunning in a modest way. It’s a straight pop album under 30 minutes long. It’s uncomplicated and simple in a sense but every little rattle of the tambourine is carefully planned. The sound is more related to sixties pop than the balearic sound you are used to, which is truly liberating and to some, provoking.

This pop album is a hommage to the pop format. Just liten to the song ‘Sugar’ and you will understand what I’m talking about. The album is released on Information, the label run by Studio. The next release on that same label is the debut album by Fontän (swedish for fountain).

Fontän released a single called ‘Early Morning’ some time ago, which was really great. Their album, Winterhwila, will be released sometime this month.

The album is something quite else. Listening to it feels like running down a mountain. Seriously, it’s a breath-taking experience. Almost overwhelming and frightening. It’s like the raw power of nature. A fucking earthquake.

If Studio’s music is the beach and D. Lissviks solo album is the desert then Fontän is most definitly the mountains.

The album is atmosperic, quite rock oriented and occasionally reminds me of the works by Tangerine Dream, German kraut legends. I was gonna write that the album has a late 70’s feel to it, but it’s unfair to call it anything but contemperary. Watch out for this one, because its huge and it’s coming your way.

Moving on.

Dan Lissvik (Yes, again…) has recently produced the first single from the new Taken By Trees album. The track is called ‘Watch The Waves’. Victoria Bergsman sings hauntingly beautiful, as always, and Lissviks production is spotless. The album is released 7th September and you can pre-order it and receive a bonus disc of music over at Rough Trade.

I suddenly realised that i haven’t written about Lake Heartbeat and for that, I am truly sorry.

Lake Heartbeat consists of Swedish indie legend Janne Kask and Kalle Kåks. Mr. Kask played in a somewhat classic indie band called Brainpool and music journalists all over the counrty are of course thrilled about his comeback.

If you ask me, Lake Heartbeat is way better than Brainpool ever were but I’m not gonna talk about that. The band have released some singles on the heavy weight center piece of Swedish labels; I’m talking of course about Service.

And yes, D. Lissvik has produced them too. Lake Heartbeat sounds like a brilliant cross breed of Prefab Sprout, Pet Shop Boys and contemporary pop. Need i say more? Join the Service Clan and you will be treated well.

A new single by the stunning Ikons (who I wrote about in my first column) just got released. It is called ‘Skull City’ and was produced by Alexander from Pistol Disco. The debut album is currently being mixed and is on its way. Also, a new act who just got signed to the Service family are Korallreven. The first single ‘Loved-Up’ is a lesson in tropical shoegaze. Like a cool drink in some pretty colour. Maybe blue or green. With love from Pitchfork and Gorilla vs. Bear, these guys are well worth your attention.

A band connected to Ikons is Boat Club, which is two dear friends called Andreas and Magnus. They sometimes help Ikons out on stage. Shakin’ a macara or two. Boat Club have been working on new material for a while now, I’ve heard it and it’s just great. You won’t believe it when you hear it. Remember where you read it first. You’ll thank me, I promise.

I’d also like to officialy thank Andreas in Boat Club for letting me eat for free at his restaurant, Kalimera. The finest in Gothenburg. I’ll pay you back – promise.

And oh, you didn’t miss the last Air France single, did you? If you did, look it up. It’s called ‘GBG Belongs To Us’ and was released in three parts on a website with the same name. One part is the song, another is a video and the last part is a very useful guide to our home town, Gothenburg. I think I’m mentioned in there somewhere (something about holding illegal parties – who knew?).

Finally, please accept this mix i made for the independent Swedish magazine Domino.

Your friend in Göteborg,

Victor

[mix] ‘augusti 2009′ (a mix by Victor Svedberg)
[mix] ‘Live Forever Or Die Trying’ (a Service label sampler)

[mp3] Fontän: ‘…You Too’
[mp3] The Crêpes: ‘What Else?’
[mp3] Air France: ‘GBG Belongs To Us’
[mp3] Lake Heartbeat: ‘Mystery’
[mp3] Taken By Trees: ‘Watch The Waves’
[mp3] Taken By Trees: ‘Watch The Waves (Memory Tapes remix)’

[stream] IKONS: ‘Skull City’
[stream] Korallreven: ‘Loved-Up’

Favourite dance?
I believe it was Aristotle who first said, human is a dancing animal.

Best place in Sweden to set an old English epic?
Southern Sweden.

Would you say that the use of baseball bats in your stage shows glorified violence?
I would say that all music, on some level, glorifies violence. Music is a very primal need. Like sex and violence fit so incestuously together, well so does music. And music and sex for that matter (laughs).

Best stock reading-out-script joke?
When the stupidest character says the stage directions, rather than performing them.

Favourite brand of mineral water?
Highland Spring.

Favourite part of the whiskey-making process?
Peat firing.

Greatest environment tragedy in British history?
Draining of the fens.

How do you believe syphilis originated, and why?
I believe that it was brought to Europe from the New World in the sweet, mushy flesh of potatoes stolen from the natives, who were also raped. This was, naturally enough, a punishment for the rape (as you might imagine, rape always comes with a punishment- this is the etymology of the word)

In Sweden, how does anyone see anything in the winter, if it is always dark?
Give up and hibernate instead. Some migrate south, particularly fishermen who rely on the hot seas of the south in winter for their livelihood.

Have you two out of TTA actually ever been on a slightly homoerotic motorcycle ride together?
This is how we get to the studio every morning.

Thanks Henning or Eric!

mp3:> The Tough Alliance: ‘Holiday’
Taken from the album The New School, out now via Service.

Service Label
Sincerely Yours Records

If you were to live in the bountiful land of music and wonder that is Gothenburg, goodness knows why you’d want to hark back to the dank streets of ‘80s Castlefield for inspiration. But along with fellow Swedes The Tough Alliance, Air France and Lake Heartbeat (all except Air France on the marvelous Service label), The Embassy’s second album throbs lasciviously with the Haçienda’s housey pulse whilst retaining its cool Scandinavian allure – and none more so than on opener ‘Some Indulgence’. Instantly, pretty much everything about it conspires to let you know that Tacking is going to be a grand pop record – from the lo-fi Joy Division-esque guitar jangle to synths that glow with the lustre of teenage romance, and breathy orgasmic percussion which contrasts endearingly with singer Fredrik Lindson’s awkward drawl.

At the moment, we seem to be in a position where location has once again become a defining genre for different groups of bands – Grizzly Bear, Dirty Projectors and St Vincent don’t sound particularly similar, yet snuggle cosily next to one another for defining how it feels to be young, avant garde and making cerebral, complex pop in NYC, and over the past couple of years it’s seemed as though the same is true of Gothenburg. The Embassy don’t sound like their labelmates – they’re far more shy than The Tough Alliance and not as eloquently grandiose as Jens Lekman – or their hometown brethren The Knife, El Perro Del Mar or Wildbirds and Peacedrums – but the exuberance present in all their respective records conjures an enviable picture of minted life in the sou’westerly Swedish city. So much of this album is just pure ecstasy that Rough Guides should consider adopting it as their guide to the city – the sunny xylophone ting and winsome violins of ‘It Pays To Belong’ to walk the cobbled streets of Haga, the old town, the mellow ‘Information’ to cycle down the coastal path to the southern archipelago amidst an encroaching feel of melancholy as you look back at your friends and realise that summer won’t last, and ‘Was That All It Was’ to dance at Pustervik’s Pingisklubben night, gleefully hitting ping pong balls off the table after a few too many pear ciders before shaking it to the awesomely old school saxophone solo.

Screw Williamsburg and its hipster gentry – Tacking is the latest addition to the recent glut of brilliance proving that Gothenburg (anyone noticing a sub-trend here?) is a heady force to be reckoned with musically.

The Embassy: ‘Was That All It Was’

The Embassy are Sweden’s prime pop professors and designers behind the Göteborg scene, which includes acts such as Air France, El Perro Del Mar, The Tough Alliance and Studio (of which the two latter even named their own labels after Embassy songs).

Their latest album, Tacking, finally gets a release in the UK on July 20th. And it’s a very good slice of prime electro-pop. They’re winners of various awards, but still an indie phenomenon in Sweden and unfortunately pretty unknown internationally.

In 2005 The Embassy’s debut Futile Crimes was voted number 3 of the 21′st century’s best 100 records by 100 Swedish music luminarie… perhaps Tacking will see them win more prizes…

The Embassy on Myspace

Admittedly, Jens Lekman made this mix available up on his website about a month ago – but I’ve only just discovered it thanks to fellow Lekman uber fan and TLOBF staff writer Laura Snapes.

I’ve just finished listening to his adorable mix May 17th, Two Thousand and Fine: ‘The Summer Never Ends’ and had to post it up.. It contains some priceless commentary from the great man, some little snippets of the samples he used on his last album Night Falls Over Kortedala and also the recent single from fellow Service Records labelmates and super influential Swedes The Embassy.

Tracklisting is:
(excerpt from) The Summer Never Ends /// I Really Think That We Can Make It Girl /// Nicolette Larsson – Lotta Love /// The Embassy – State 08 /// (excerpt from) New Directions /// Coke Escovedo – I Wouldn’t Change A Thing /// Filippo Trecca – La Morte Dell’erminia /// His name is Mikael Carlsson, her name is Alicia Keys /// Lamont Dozier – Blue Sky and Silver Bird /// Cat Stevens – If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out /// Jeff Perry – Love Don’t Come No Stronger /// Good News – Australia /// Baby’s Gang – America /// American Breed – Always You

Just click here and scroll on down to the May 17th post to find the link.

In other Lekman related news. I also discovered a video by a band called The Sweptaways today which features Jens on vocals. It’s pretty nice and probably the only new Jens-related material we’ll hear in 2009 – watch below whilst you’re waiting for the mix to download.

Click here to view the embedded video.

MFMB / Photograph by Emma Hartvig

The first in our new series all about the burgeoning Swedish music scene; Nya Vågen (or The New Wave) sees Victor Svedberg disect what is happening right now in Gothenburg, Stockholm and Malmö.

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What’s that noise? It’s the sound of young Sweden. A Sweden more creative and alive than it’s been for a long time.

Ok, really. What IS that noise? Well, it’s Pistol Disco, of course. A duo consisting of Alexander Palmestål and Mikael Enqvist. Their kraut-rock influenced music is a facinating experience. Listening to them is a journey through history, passing acts like Neu!, Spacemen 3, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Silver Apples but it all leads to something truly unique and beautiful. A dreamy world of noise and rhythm.

Having released two records, Pistol Disco are have just finished working on their third album Evergreen wich will be available on vinyl and as a free download in early March.

Alexander wrote the following in a text message to a friend in Stockholm:
“The record is more or less done, its amazing. A modern day fusion of good and bad. Its my baby. I’ll defend it like Kevin Rowland, its not a record, its personal.”

In the wait for Evergreen, listen to their remix of ‘Guns’ a minimalistic rock track by Ikons, a band that not too long ago signed to the highly influential swedish label Service. Ikons are a great new act, currently working on their debut album. If I am to guess what the album will sound like, I’d say a cross breed of the krautrock grandfathers in Hawkwind and early Manchester post punk.

Ikons take the most basic things of rock music and repeat it over and over again. In a way like The Field, acclaimed techno artist from Stockholm, who use layers of cut up samples to create very interesting electronica. Ikons seem to work in the same way, only its rock music. Ola Borström, label boss of Service, describes Ikons as ”The sound of atom fusion” wich is a brilliant description. Ikons were the opening act for Spiritualized when they did three shows in Sweden, wich of course was totally appropriate.

A band that recently played with Ikons is MFMB, a new band with members in Stockolm and Malmö. MFMB released their first EP The Fine Detail for free on their website. However, their new song ‘Heat Like This’ is something else, it’s an amazingly catchy post punkish conga track that give us all a reason to wait for more new material. MFMB recorded the EP in Studio Möllan, the same place where Malmös finest, This Is Head, record their songs.

If MFMB draw influence from early post punk and shoegaze, This Is Head take theirs from funk and monotone rock. The result is nothing but groovy. This Is Head haven’t released any records (yet) but apparently they are an amazing experience live.

Another act, a slightly newer one, is PWR or Rasmus Svensson. Friend of Pistol Disco and the man behieind their stunning artwork. Rasmus is, truly, an artist. Believe me on this one.

Having released music behind various alter egos such as Chaos Trough Programming, Smycken (feauturing the equally as talanted girlfriend Hanna) and Full På Folköl his latest two projects are him flying solo as PWR. He is also working on another project with Hanna Nilsson called Night Piano.

Rasmus is the kind of person who seems to have an endless amount of creativity. Apart from making music he produces various zines, posters, prints and runs his own recordlabel Push The Button Multimedia. PWR is psychedelic dance music, not too far away from some of Animal Collectives work, only it sound younger and a lot more exciting, to say the least.

So, we have covered Gothenburg and Malmö, finally we have Stockholm left.

Gothenburg gives us both the dreamy, the intelligent and the experimental new kraut music. Malmö the funky and the dancable, while Stockholm gives us the more new wave and punk influenced new kraut rock.

I think of two bands in particular, Audionom and Paper.

Audionom have been around for some years but they haven’t released an album for four years, that’s why I’m glad to announce that ther new album Superior is to be released in the end of February. Audionom is a classic band to me, just as 1999, another variation of the band that sounds a little less kraut and a lot more post punk. Audionom have an energy and power that is truly rare. The new single, ‘Inside’, is a new waveish pop punk anthem, desperate and mad.

Members from Audionom can also be found in Paper, a band that draw more against a more punk take of kraut. It’s repetitive, it’s loud and it’s addictive. Calle Olsson of Paper also makes music solo under the name Paddington DC, and has also appeared in The Bear Quartet, a classic swedish indie pop band.

So there you have it. A small scene. The scene doesn’t have a name yet. What should we call it? Nu Kraut? Noise Pop? Whatever. No time to waste. Let’s just listen, shall we?