Jenny Hval (b. 1980) has in recent years made a name for herself as a writer, journalist, recording artist and sound artist both in Norway and abroad. When her third record Viscera was released in 2011, Italian Vogue described her as:
This is an incorrect tag for Peter Bjorn and John. If this non-artist appears in your charts, do yourself and last.fm a favour. Fix your artist tags.
Supersilent is a Norwegian improvisational avant-garde / electroacoustic group from Oslo, Norway, formed in 1997 and signed on Rune Grammofon. The band reportedly never rehearse together or communicate about their music outside of live sets and studio sessions. Supersilent was formed when the free jazz trio Veslefrekk (Arve Henriksen on trumpet, keyboardist Ståle Storløkken, and Jarle Vespestad on drums) played a concert with producer, live electronics artist and self-described "audio virus" Helge Sten (a.
Guitarist Ivar Grydeland and percussionist Ingar Zach, prime movers and catalysts for free improvised music in Norway, got in touch with Christian Wallumrød after hearing his “Sofienberg Variations” on ECM and they have since worked together in diverse combinations including, since 2004, ‘Dans les arbres’ a project completed by French clarinettist Xavier Charles. Their radical all-acoustic improvisation explores sonorities and textures that frequently sound electronic, and also often sounds ‘composed’ – with echoes of Cage and the New York School.
Le Futur Pompiste, which released one marvelous album in 2004, Your Stories and Your Thoughts, before the vagaries of adult life scattered them far and wide; and Cats On Fire, whose debut long-player, 2007's The Province Complains, captivated all who were lucky enough to hear it (among them the writers at superlative U.K. magazine The Word). It was inevitable that this pair of bands, whose music shares a poise and sophistication rarely heard anywhere, never mind within the modest environs of Finland, would find each other.
The year is 2013...
The Old Continent is on the brink of total collapse. After two pyrrhic victories the Fifth French Republic groans under the yoke of Berlin at long last, making once proud France the 17th state of Germany. To secure some hope for a sixth French Republic, the French music label Season of Mist has shown remarkable vigour and artistic courage to forge an alliance with the only triple-A rated band in Europe: The Monolith Deathcult (TMDC).
Oh No Ono is an experimental pop quintet from the tiny Danish town of Aalborg. Their music, intricate and otherworldly, defies conventions and expectations (and sometimes gravity). The ten dense, hypertextured sour-sweet-sad opuses found on their US debut album, Eggs, are truly breathtaking to behold; the band creates bewitching pop symphonies that unfold themselves more with each successive listen.
What happens when you put a bunch of bloodthirsty, music-loving goblins together? Well, a lot of disembowelment, but also a lot of catchy tunes. Formed six millennia ago, and practicing only every other leap year on a full moon, the band has perfected their brand of crushing goblin metal. On a cold, dreary winter night in July of 2006, Nicholas Von Doom and Tim were in the woods engaging in general tomfoolery when they stumbled upon a mysterious cardboard box with their names crudely inscribed with a Sharpie® Permanent Marker.
The Knife is an electronic duo from Stockholm, Sweden formed in 1999. The band consists of siblings Karin Dreijer Andersson (formerly of Honey is Cool, now Fever Ray) and Olof Dreijer - who also run their own record company, Rabid Records. The group rarely makes public appearances, most of their promotional photos feature the members wearing masks, and formerly refused to perform live concerts. However the group has showed themselves in public wearing masks formed as bird's beaks, similar to those used by medieval doctors.