1995-1996

December 5th, 1996

Aquadays - from Gothenburg have decided to keep their name, and not change it to something else, as was previously reported in this column. They decided that it was a good name, and now they have started to write new songs and play together with the new member, Sara. Looks like we are going to see some new Aquadays songs in the near future! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Backfish - (AWSF) debut album producer Ken Stringfellow from The Posies are working six days a week with the quartet in order to be ready with it before christmas. Drummer David Johansson says that Ken has added something to their sound that no one else could have done. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Cam - (Soap) is currently mixing her debut album "Purr", due for Scandinavian release spring 1997. The video for "Heaven's Lost" is on high rotation in Brazil. The Brazilian realease of "Purr" is scheduled before Christmas. (Source: Soap News)

The Cardigans - (Trampolene) keep breaking new ground with "Lovefool". It features prominently in Baz "Strictly Ballroom" Luhrmann's new adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet". A good place to check out for more information is probably this place: http://web.idirect.com/~claire/index.html. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Clawfinger - (MVG) are in Stockholm composing new material for their upcoming album. The release is due to the fall of 1997. (Source: MVG News)

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) latest records, the single "Going Further" was released as early as October 18th, and the best-of compilation "Going Further" was released on November 21st in Sweden (where it was not supposed to be released at all according to the plans). It will be released in the rest of the world, country by country, from January 1997. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dorian Records - second compilation "True To You" due out this month (December) is almost ready to hit the shelves. Included on this one are: Dr. Saturn, Hanif, Supernova, The Wellmeant, Picabo, Diggers, St. Moores, Tambureens, neil armstrong, Morning Penguin, The Odds, Sandy Lyle, Popeye, Sparky, Curseflower, Vivid, Gentle Tuesday, Croc, A Sense of Reason, +1 sort of secret group so far. Some short information about some of the bands (more information about the rest can be found further down this page): Dr. Saturn are from Orsa and sounds like a mix between The Beatles, Birds and Ruthles. One of the members in Diggers from Alingsås is Aquadays ex-lead vocalist Klara Albinsson's brother. Sparky took their name from the Chevy song with the same name. Croc used to be called "Octopussy". Gentle Tuesday just released their debut s/t CD5 on Dorian Records (Dorian 03). Other releases on Dorian Records are: Saliva CD5 "Hooligan At Heart EP" (Dorian 01) 300 copies made, the "A Chance To Shine" compilation CD (Dorian 02) 1000 copies made. The new compilation CD "True To You" (Dorian 04) 1000 copies. A guess on what is going to be released as Dorian 05 is a CD5 with Fanscene. The next compilation due out in January 1997 will, among other things, have an exclusive track from Eggstone - the title music for the TV program "Thors Öga". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Doris Days - (Slask - Some Pearls) debut album 'Live in Poland' is distributed by Border, which means that you will find it (or can order it at least) in Norway and Denmark as well now. The label is looking into the Finnish market at the moment. The single, 'Quiet Withdrawal' is currently only available as a promo, but will be released soon. The Japanese version of the album was released in Japan on November 8th with the title 'Doris Days'. This version has four extra tracks. Which tracks these are? We will be back with the information soon. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Drain - (MVG) are writing songs and relaxing in Stockholm. They just bought a serious computer for serious song writing, so now they're on their way to another album. Interesting things are developing in the US and hopefully Drain will go over there to tour and promote their album "Horror Wrestling". (Source: MVG News)

Garmarna - (Massproduktion) are back again after their five week tour. They managed to cover Germany, Austria, USA and Denmark this time which resulted in generous reviews, radio interviews and so on. The band's last tour of the US included gigs with Joan Osborne in New York one day, and then gigs for blue-haired ladies in Macon, Georgia the next. This time they played more classic venues like Backstage in Seattle and Marquee in Buffalo. The tour in Germany, which was their fourth, was a success. They performed at the Malzhaus competition nominated by the press representatives, and has a chance to with the audience's prize as well. Their CD "Guds Spelemän" is currently at 18th place with a bullet in the US "New World Music" list pubished by CMJ (College Media Journal). The story on the front page of the magazine by Cliff Furnald is as follows: "I could write six reviews a year about this band if I could find an excuse. Hailing (or is that halling?) from Sweden, this rock band has one of the toughest, darkest, edgiest sounds to come around in a while. Garmarna is electrically powered, to be sure, but what it powers is unique. Stefan Brisland-Ferner's hurdy-gurdy stands as one of the most unique tools a rock band could use. You have to sit to play it, turning a crank that spins a wheel that rolls against a set of rosined strings and produces a sound in its acoustic state that would make hair curl and teeth sit on edge (imagine something more abrasive than bagpipes at dawn). But what happens to this instrument in the context of this band is wondrous: mysterious, softly threatening, as romantic as a Poe story. Layered around this are thundering drums, heavy on the bass-end skins, light on the cymbals; synths, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, viola and violin, jew's harp; enough drones to drown in. This would be enough to make the group a must, but over all of this are the vocals, especially those of Emma Hardelin. Here the band becomes a force; melodic, rhythmic, emotional. With Hardelin surrounded by her male counterparts, the resulting ensemble vocals have the impact I last remember on some early Steeleye Span records. Add Garmarna's innovative musical arrangements, a purely Swedish music that pays no tithe to tradition, and it rocks. I have raved about this band before, and I will rave about it again and again. Garmarna makes sure that rock music is not only the domain of American guitars and English haircuts. This group proves it can be native, in any tongue." The band also poses on the cover of the December issue of the magazine FolkRoots - the world's biggest folk musik magazine, which also features a long article about them. Next up for Garmarna is a release of their latest album in Korea (!). (Source: KonTur News)

Honey Is Cool - (MVG) is another new band on MVG. Karin Dreijer sings, John Jern plays the guitar, Staffan Larsson handles the bass, Håkan Hellström the drums and Paul Kjellman joins the band live when he is available. The band plays melancholic rock'n roll with lots of guitar. Micke Herrström, a very talented producer, is in Gothenburg doing pre-production with the band for the coming recordings in Stockholm. (Source: MVG News)

Komeda - (NONS / Minty Fresh) returned home from their nine day US promotion tour a few weeks ago with loads of stories to tell, apart from the packed gigs at Fez in New York and Spaceland in Los Angeles. In New York, Joseph Cultice (Björk, Tricky, Oasis etc.) photographed them for Minty Fresh, their US label. This meant that the members were dressed up in white spacesuits, were given electric spheres to hold in their hands and finally released on the streets. Member Lena Karlsson managed to squeeze in a recording together with Shudder To Think for the soundtrack to the movie "First Love, Last Rites" which is Jesse Peretz's (ex-bass player for the Lemonheads and music video director) debut movie. In Los Angeles, the band appeared on the fab morning KCRW radio show "Morning Becomes Eclectic", where among others, Mojave 3 and Slowdive have appeared in the past. This meant 45 minutes worth of live music and an interview in their usual format. (Interesting link there by the way, Beck has also appeared on the show, and now Komeda and Beck are touring Europe together.) The most fun of all, the band found the visit to Devo's studio to which they had been invited. And yes, Devo greeted them in surgeon's gloves. (Source: NONS News)

Mary Beats Jane - (MVG) have a new album ready! It is titled "Locust" and the release is scheduled for February 17th, 1997. This is the toughest album in years, they say. A single titled "Day In Day Out" will be released in January. (Source: MVG News)

Melony - (Soap) album "Satisfiction" is out in Scandinavia and Japan. A new single "2nd Man On The Moon" were scheduled for release late November in Sweden. Tour dates will follow this release. (Source: Soap News)

Peace Love And Pitbulls - (MVG) finally have a new record on the way. The mixing is going on right now in the MVG Studio with Stefan Glaumann. The release is planned for early -97. There will soon be a little tasty taste of one of the songs on the band's home page. (Source: MVG News)

Petrol - (Studio Blå) plans for the new video for the song and single "Walk By" have been cancelled. The record label did not approve of the recorded and cut video. Therefor they plan to release a video for the song and upcoming CDEP "Bad Day", which will be released in the middle of January, two weeks before the release of their debut album. The EP will contain a re-recording of 'Bad Day', the LP version of the same song, an acoustic version of 'Insane' + a yet to be decided song from the album. The band might also press additional copies of their first single "Walk By" due to a request from a company, who wants to give their employees a copy of the single each as a christmas gift (!). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Roskilde Festival '97 - The batch of 90,000 tickets for the 1997 festival was released on December 2nd. This year, to make it possible for more people to actually get tickets, they will only sell a maximum of 4 tickets to each customer. If someone wants to buy more, they have to contact the festival directly through fax at: +45-46321499. The request must include the reasons and documentation of who/what the customer is. Ticket sales close at the end of December, only to be opened again on April 1st, 1997, and continue as long as there are tickets left. (Source: Roskilde '97 News)

Slush Puppies - have ended their contract with the label Just 4 Fun after a long time of promises about a release of their debut album. The label agreed that it was a wise decision though, as their economic situation has not yet allowed them to fulfil the promise. The band is currently recording eleven new songs for their debut album, which will be released on another label, soon to be announced. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Starlet - (MVG) is one of the newest acts on MVG. They are a rock quartet, with the charismatic Camela Leierth on guitar and vocals, Johan Carlberg, guitar and Ricard Nettermalm, drums. Andreas Unge handles the bass at the moment. Their ambition is to be the best live band ever. (Source: MVG News)

Teddybears Sthlm - (MVG) have just made a new video for the song 'The Robots' - a Kraftwerk cover. Photo by Gösta Reiland. A new EP will be released including a new mix by Stefan Glaumann of 'The Robots', 'Kanzi' remix by Jocko Apa and two previously unreleased trax 'When Pigs Fly' and 'Bangin' On'. Music video production is another successful part of their lives. Besides their own videos, Klas has produced videos for: Clawfinger ("Tomorrow", "Do What I Say) Salt ('Honour Me'), Drain ('Crack The Liars Smile'), This Perfect Day ("Simply Irresistable"), Popsicle ('Not Forever') - together with Jocko: Fireside ("Kilotin"). Patrik and Jocko have done Bob Hund ("I Stället För Musik Förvirring & 'Dusseldorf') and Fireside ("Left Rustle"). (Source: MVG News)

This Perfect Day - (Soap) spent most of 1996 writing and recording new stuff. The new album "C60" is scheduled for Scandinavian release late February 1997. A brand new home page for the band is under construction, to be launched in December. It will include new and unreleased TPD stuff. (Source: Soap News)

The Wannadies - (BMG) new album "Bagsy Me" was released in Japan November 30th via Soap Records/Denon-Nippon Columbia. In the rest of the world the album is put on hold until 1997 and will be released by BMG. (Source: Soap News)

Waterbug - (AWSF) from Gothenburg have lost an old and found a new member. Patrik Jonasson (bass) has moved to Stockholm and quit the band. He was replaced by Björn Magnusson who also plays in a band called Slice. A completely new member has also been added, Peter Sjöholm, on keyboard. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

November 25th, 1996

Aquadays - are no more. Yes that's right. The band decided that they would drop their name, and never play their old songs again. All due to the member who quit earlier this year, Klara Albinsson. But, they will select a new name for the band in the near future and start all over together with new member Sara Assbring on vocals. Interesting enough the band (Aquadays) appears in Japanese magazine Lib Arts first Internet (WWW) issue released December 1st with an article and sound clips (RealAudio in ISDN format). So check out the URL: http://www.sumai.or.jp on December 1st! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Backfish - (AWSF) debut album producer, Posies own Ken Stringfellow, has arrived in Skellefteå! Media in Sweden just woke up and realized what was happening, so you will probably get to see a lot of interviews, reports and whatnot in the papers and on the TV in the near future. Ken has produced a bunch of bands/records in his past, including This Busy Monster: 1st 7" on Barsuk Rec. (co-produced w/Jon), Sky Cries Mary: _Until The Grinders Cease_ LP on New Rose Rec., France, (co-produced w/Jon & Roderick), Ross: _Sugar_ LP on Munster Rec., Spain. Produced/Engineered/Mixed, Parkinson DC: _Albanige_ LP on Munster Rec., Spain P/E/M, Teer: 2 songs on _Hullabaloo_ LP P/E/M, White Flag: _Against White Flag_ 7" on Munster Rec., Spain Produced/Mixed. So if someone have all of these and can spot a red thread, maybe we'll all know how the Backfish debut will sound! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Billboard - the US music business magazine will have a special issue on Sweden called (amazingly enough) "Sweden Special". The issue is released on December 14th, 1996. (Source: ExMS News)

Cessna - the indiepop chameleons from Tampere in Finland have recently finished recording for what will be their debut CD titled "Bordeaux", to be released on the US label Radio Khartoum. This 13-track package is expected to be out some time after New Year. If everything goes as planned, January 1997 will also see the release of the four-track 7" EP "Holiday on Ice", on an other US label, Jigsaw Records. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Coo - from Finland played together with Supperheads in Jyvaskyla on November 23rd, and will play in their hometown Tampere together with Romantic Visions and Tuna Flakes at Tulliklubi on December 20th! If you live somewhere even remotely near there, you better go! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dreamphish - is a new and interesting band from Estonia. The band formed about a year ago. The founding members Arpeau (guitars, bass) and Jan (guitars, bass) had played together for about three years when they found their genius female members Kaddi (vocals), MarjuSass (vocals, trumpet) and their drummer Margus. They have made some home recordings in the past, but is now at a point where they are able to work in a real studio. This can be heard on their latest demo "The First Band Session" which has two songs, 'Midnight Comes Around' and 'Ancestors'. Both songs are definitely in the jangly guitars / eerie female vocals / Simon Scott drums field, which should create some interest around these parts if I'm not mistaken. The band recently entered the Estonian radio chart at 4th place (in Tallinn) and 10th place (in Estonia) with the song 'Midnight Comes Around'. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fivel - (NONS) are on tour in Sweden at the moment. They played in Göteborg on November 11th, Eskilstuna (w/bob hund) on the 23rd. Next up is Linköping and Herrgår'n on thursday. After that they play in Lund at Smålands Nation (w/bob hund) on December 5th, Växjö at Kafé Kristina at December 6th, where P3 Live will record the concert to be broadcasted early next year, and finally in Hultsfred at Metropol together with bob hund on December 7th. Highly recommended gigs. The band entered ZTV Video Top List "Listan" this week at 7th place with their video to the song "Convict Grass", which looks like Curve's "Missing Link" video only there's no rain. Instead the whole band and the room they are in is filled with mud! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Lemonator - (Warner) spent four days recording a video for the song "Superb" from their latest single with the same name a few weeks ago. Apparently it features the band as "Lemonhumanoids" who lands on the earth to paint objects yellow, animatronics, and a live section where they play on a very very small stage in the middle of an empty soccer stadium. The video will be ready for release by the end of this week. Currently, the band has yet again entered the studio in order to record their upcoming full-length album to be released in February next year. The plans for the full-length includes "three fast punkpopsies and the rest will be moodier stuff, except for one country flavored popsicle and two slow, moody and melodic Kentish/Posies songs" according to the band. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Merrymakers - have dropped their production company StockHouse and their record label CNR Music. Instead, the band will concentrate on the interest they have received from the international market. Negotiations are currently being held with Virgin/Japan. The band is not sure if they want to find another label in Sweden or not at the moment, or go ahead on their own. Something that has proven fruitful for several other Swedish bands in the past. Time will tell. Check out their homepage while you wait: http://www.lillpite.pitea.se/merrymak. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

MIDEM Cannes 97 - the Swedish representation at the yearly French riviera music business gathering, which takes place January 19th to 23rd 1997, is already bigger than ever, and there is still time to register! So far 48 companies (39 in 1996), and 126 representatives (103 in 1996) have registered. (Source: ExMS News)

Petrol - (Studio Blå) released their debut single "Walk By" on the Diesel sub-label "Studio Blå" on November 4th. The single was produced by Magnus Frykberg and pressed in 5000 copies. It is hopefully currently available from your local record store. The two girls write all the material themselves, but had to receive help from extremely known musicians to record the single, as they do not yet have a fully dedicated band. At the moment they are trying out a band called "Y-Front" in order to manage the gigs planned for the band before Christmas. If you are a faithful Selected News reader, you already know that their sound can best be described as a mixture between Lush and the Cardigans, only with a large portion of pop thrown in the blender as well. If you want to read more about them, check out the latest issue of Nöjesguiden or Pop magazine. If you want to see them, why not take a look at ZTV program "Tryck Till" where their video, cut by Stakka Bo, to the song "Walk By" will appear very soon, or keep an eye open on TV4's "Sen Kväll Med Luuk" in December, where they might just appear one night if everything goes as planned. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Red Sleeping Beauty - the amazing Swedish band from Stockholm finished the mixing of their new album called "Soundtrack" a week ago. The album will be released on Spanish fab label Siesta Records in January 1997. At the same time, the album will also be released in Japan. Songs included on the new album are: The Young Pretenders, Certainly, Soul Provider, How Do You Kill Your Food?, The Things I'd Say, It Happens, Nervous, Your Opinion, Summer At It's Best, The Light That Guides You, Enough, You're All There Is, Casino, Classic. And if you didn't know it before, RSB are: Kristina Borg (vocals), Mikael Matsson (guitars, keyboards and bass), Niklas Angergård (vocals, guitars, keyboards and bass) and Carl-Johan Näsström (bass and guitars). Additional musicians on the new album are: Johan Fågelström (trombone), Jan Fernkvist (trumpet), Jakob Blombäck (flute), and Dennis Lindqvist (drums). The new album was recorded at Acetone Studio, engineered by Håkan Göstas and produced by Red Sleeping Beauty. (Source: Siesta News)

Russian Love - (Zen Garden) from Finland have released their first single from their forthcoming album "Gala Brutale" only on the Internet! The song released is called 'That's What They Tell Me When I Sleep' and is available at the official Russian Love homepage in RealAudio, Shockwave and normal WAV file formats. Note that this single will not be available anywhere else. URL: http://mimas.otol.fi/~matron/russianlove.html. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sandy Lyle - spent the weekend between November 15th and 17th recording five new songs for a CD5 called "Rock" which the band will release themselves around December 9th, 1996. The band has changed somewhat, from the nicer and friendlier sound to a not so nice and more guitar filled sound. If you have read the Scandinavian Indie reviews of their earlier demo tapes, you have some idea to what they sound like anyway. Only 500 copies will be made, so if this sounds interesting, you can order the EP directly from the band by contacting Rami: rami@hem.passagen.se. You might also be able to find copies at Pet Sounds in Stockholm late December. The price will be about 50 SEK / copy. Songs on the CD5 are: 'Your Stone', 'The Only One', 'Moon Queen', 'Illusions', and 'Stars Burn and Fall Inside of Me'. Check out their homepage at URL: http://www.e.kth.se/~e95_rni/sandy.html. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shredhead - (NONS) quits! Yes, after four years, two albums, one mini album and two singles, the Umea jazz/rock/hardcore/funk/punk/popsters throw in the blanket, put down their basses, tune down their guitars to minor, pack the snare drum, sell the tour bus and shut the door to their rehearsal room. The members feel that they have pushed their own, quite special, genre as far as they could, and have therefor reached an end. An end that comes when they are at the top. (Source: NONS News)

Siesta Records - the fab record label in Spain have started to move in on the Swedish music market. The label has established close contacts with, among others, list favourites Harry Lime Records and North Of No South! This has opened up a whole new chance for everyone involved to check out each country's healthy moments of cool breeze pop. At the moment, this new contact making has made it possible for two of Siesta's best bands, La Buena Vida and Minema to appear on the new Harry Lime compilation CD "A Twist Of Lime" which was to be released on November 28th, but will now probably be pushed a bit into December. You won't regret paying Siesta's homepage a visit: http://www.get.es/siesta/index.htm. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Slowball - the Stockholm based record label, have updated their information presented in the last Selected News. The Push Kings 7" single can now be found at Freak Scene, Pet Sounds, Melotronen, Dolores and probably Jukebox in Lund as well. Outside Sweden, you can find it from: Apartment Records (Norway), Naptime (Holland), Studio Muscle (Belgium), Cargo UK and Rough Trade (UK), Surefire, Cargo, Darla, Get Hip, Sqealer, Parasol (USA), Outside Music, Sonic Unyon, Scratch (Canada). The compilation tape is available outside Sweden from Bacchanalian Revel (UK), Studio Muscle (Belgium), Naptime (Holland), AJAX, Road Cone, Blackbean & Placenta, Squealer, Jigsaw (USA), Scratch (Canada). If you'd rather get the 7" and cassette from the label directly, the prices are: 7" 40 SEK, MC 30 SEK in Sweden. Scandinavia (but not Sweden): 7" 45 SEK, MC 40 SEK. Outside Scandinavia 7" 5œ, MC 4œ (UK Pounds). All prices includes postage & packaging. Distributors are welcome as well. Please check previous Selected News about Slowball for more information on these items. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Supperheads - (Warner) released their new album "Lunch" about two weeks ago and a new single called "Umbrella Song" a bit earlier. The album has an apparent title considering their previous album which was called "Breakfast" (released on Tangerine Records). The new album is a bit rougher on the edges, but it is definitely still pop! The band has also received a completely new official homepage: http://www.presspyroo.fi/supperheads. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Yvonne - (Energy) a close friend of the band has confirmed somewhat airy rumors spread earlier this month. These rumors said that the band had started to plan their next album, and were looking for a possible producer. Possible was apparently Jörgen Cremonese (from Whipped Cream) who went to Dalarna with the band last week to try out and test ideas with only analog equipment. These now confirmed rumors also said that the band's second album should be out around March/April 1997. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

November 12th, 1996

Cloudberry Jam - (Stockholm) yes that is right. Stockholm Records are licensing Cloudberry Jam from NONS. A worldwide release, promotion etc. is planned for the band. Everything that is released by CBJ is therefor released on Stockholm Records from now on. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fireside - (StartRec) appears on Alternative Nation on MTV Europe on Tuesday November 19th, 1996! Nick Hutchings at Alt.Nation brings the news: "Fireside - the Swedish Fugazi are dropping into the studio to chew the cud with Toby and take their pick of the underground." This week (Nov. 12th) is Aphex Twin night, on Alt.Nation. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Mainstream - was the name of the fanzine with independent content that Daniel Claesson (Fidget) and his friend Patrik Lindgren made early in their careers. They managed to release four issues, before they both went to a larger publication, evening newspaper Göteborgs Posten. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Phlegm - is a band from Stockholm. They have released three cassettes on Stockholm label Loosercore, and one cassette on UK label Bacchanalian Revel. If you are a completist when it comes to issues of the Sound Affects magazine, you'll find a demo review in there somewhere as well. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Slowball Recordings - is a record label in Stockholm with a homepage in Holland (!). The label has just released a 7" single with the US band Push Kings (who were single of the autumn in the latest issue of Sound Affects, though not with this single). The label has also released a compilation tape with the following bands: Mountain Goats, Push Kings, Will Simmons, Nothing Painted Blue (USA), National Heroes, Brown Tower (UK), Bingo Trappers, Furtips (Holland), Wio, Napkin vs Soda, Osmose, Mote, Dodes'ka-den (Belgium), Mr Potatohead (Germany), Phlegm, Bent Spanner Arty Banner, In a Spring, Pluxus/Gonk and Stefan & Oskar (Sweden). They will release a one sided 7" single with Phlegm and a US band called 6 Cents & Natalie together with US label Blackbean & Placenta soon. The Push Kings 7" single on Slowball can be found at Dolores, Freak Scene, Pet Sounds and Mellotronen. The single and the compilation tape can also be ordered directly from the label: Slowball Recordings, Timmermansg. 19.1, 118 55 Stockholm, SWEDEN. Phone: +46-8-6432777, Fax: +46-8-51010364. Email: t-sevjon@jmk.su.se. Homepage: http://www.cpedu.rug.nl/~S861898/disco/dislab/s/slowball.html. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Smash Hit Wonders - (SunSpot) have a showcase planned for November 21st in Stockholm at Hannas Källare thrown together with the release of their debut album Love Your Wife. The showcase starts at 9pm, but the band will be available for interviews etc. during the whole day. (Source: SunSpot News)

November 7th, 1996

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) is the only band that will play at the opening party for the Stockholm Film Festival at Café Opera on Friday November 8th! (Source: NONS News)

Daybehavior - (NONS) are in the news with the soundtrack to the Swedish film "Ellinors Bröllop". Plans for the band includes a showcase at Copenhagen club "X-Ray" in Denmark, an interview on Danish National TV and an appearence on the new radio channel "Eurospot" broadcasted throughout most parts of Europe. (Source: NONS News)

Doktor Kosmos - (NONS) presents his brand new rock opera "Stjärnjerry" at K in Stockholm this saturday, November 9th. The release party starts at 7pm. (Source: NONS News)

Penniless People of Bulgaria - (AWSF) as still considering if their brand new video for "Velocity" is good enough for "worldwide" distribution. It is filmed in northern Finland, and I'm told it is very funny, so let's hope we all get to see it some day! The band has also recorded some of of their European tour gigs, which they are thinking about doing something with. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Ray Wonder - (NONS) are on a release and interview tour! The first stop was at "Sjögräs" in Stockholm November 6th, then they're going to Göteborg on November 7th, where they will be at "Klara Kök & Bar" between 3pm-6pm. And finally the band will sit down at "La Couronne" in Malmö on November 8th from 5pm-7pm. Interviews will be made by Expressen, Kvällsposten, Kristianstadsbladet (papers) ZTV-Nytt, Musikmagasinet (TV), and Musikjournalen Pop (radio). The band will also play in Malmö at KB on November 8th. (Source: NONS News)

November 4th, 1996

Dada Girl - from Finland have replaced their bass player! The band's new bass player is Mikko Raisamo from Finnish favourites All Stars. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fireside - (StartRec) will also be opening for Sebadoh (last Selected News told about Loosegoats opening for them in Stockholm) on their tour, though this time it is in Munich (Germany) on November 6th! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Gentle Tuesday - from Eskilstuna are working hard! There are plans in the making to release a 7" single on US label "Kitty boo" this winter! Stay tuned! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Happy Todd - from Kalmar will go to the studio in a few weeks time to record songs for an upcoming CD single which is to be released on Spinsign early 1997. The Spinsign compilation CD previously reported about here has been cancelled on the other hand. The band opens for Bob Hund in Kalmar at Studentkåren on November 6th. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Lemonator - (Warner Finland) have decided on a release date for their upcoming CD5 "Superb", and that's on November 11th, 1996! If the single will be released outside Finland or not has not yet been decided and no release date is set for the album yet either. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Penniless People of Bulgaria - (AWSF) enters the studio this week in order to record seven new songs. A CDEP is planned for release on AWSF early 1997. The band has also recently made a video for the song "Velocity". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow Soundwave - play at Underground in Göteborg on November 29th, so those of you who are not in Linköping to watch Soundtrack of Our Lives know where to go instead! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Wilma - (BMG Finland) is a band one should supposedly look out for, according to many sources. They are a band that has recorded three albums so far. They sing in Finnish and have a female singer. The music is something in the vein of Portishead and Radiohead. Sort of moody pop with sequencers, guitars & quiet vocals. Sometimes orgasmic guitar walls and sometimes low, calm and simple. Very melodic. They appeared on the Finnish top-list program "Listan" on FTV last thursday, where they played two songs from their new and recently released album "Suuri Valkea". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

October 24th, 1996

The Bear Quartet - (AWSF) have not gone mad! When we heard them last, it was on the latest AWSF compilation "Give Ear!" where their song 'Red Star' had been remixed by Tea Al? (same as on A Shrine's latest releases) which gave it that ambient/techno feel. Their new songs show that they are back to the Bear Quartet we know though, and the band enters a studio in Gothenburg in November to record their new album. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Blithe - (AWSF/Alias) recently toured the US, and apparently everything went okay. Favourite cities were Boston (where they played twice, and where people came to both their shows just to see them) and New York (at Brownies) and Chicago. The band is going back to tour the US again this spring. This time they will be on tour for two months! All their records are currently available in the cities they played on the tour (on Alias). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Carpe Wade - (AWSF) appears to be the new pop heroes of Skellefteå. Everyone is listening to them, and their gigs are always packed. They have booked the studio from this saturday (October 26th) and have a month to record their new album (to be released as soon as it is ready). Apparently the band has received a lot of attention outside Sweden as well, and will probably be the next West Side band on their way to conquer new territories. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dada Girl - from Finland will, if everything goes as planned, be included on the Dorian Records compilation CD released in January! (see below for more information about the Dorian Records compilations). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dorian Records - owner Roger has changed his mind about the upcoming 2CD compilation. Instead, it will be two separate CD compilations, one to be released in December, and the other in January next year. On the December one, we will find bands like Dr Saturn, Supernova, Picabo, S:t Moores, The Wellmeant and 15 additional bands (a total of 20 bands). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dune - from Halmstad, and one of the bands included on the first Dorian Records compilation CD will have these songs on the upcoming Harry Lime compilation CD called "A Twist of Lime" (release: November): 'Swing Me' and 'Blue Boy'. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - (Mega) released a 7" promo single (1000 copies) with 'My Prawns' and 'Semi-Naked' on October 11th. The real CD single "Semi-Naked" with 'Semi-Naked' and 'Teddybear Baby' is planned to be released on November 29th together with a (not completely decided yet) gig at Studion in Stockholm. Their debut album, with working name "No Boogie Coming Your Way" is still planned to be released early next year. The title comes from the song 'Hey Little Sister' on the album, which is a duet between Nina Natri and Jay Jay Johansson. Their own label on Mega is called "Prodik" - the name was chosen from two things, first an article in Pop magazine where children got to say what they thought about various kinds of music, and one called Prodigy "Prodik". Second, it was the name of a drink (1/2 vodka, 1/2 Baileys + a few drops of Roses Lime) invented after their gig at Herrgår'n in Linköping in March this year. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Gentle Tuesday - from Eskilstuna are just about to start shooting a video to the song 'I Keep On Doin It', which will also appear on the upcoming CDEP "Gentle Tuesday E.P" to be released on Dorian Records on November 25th. None other than Roger (label owner) and his brother are the ones behind the camera. The video will be recorded in and outside Halmstad featuring the band driving along in a car, with a destination not to be revealed yet. If you can't wait for the CDEP to be released, you can find the band's 7" EP "Chanson De Geste" from mailorder companies around the world like Mind The Gap, Cowly Owl! and Delcious Goldfish. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Loosegoats - (StartRec) 's single "Country Crock" has been seriously delayed due to problems at the CD pressing plant. It will hopefully be out when you read this, but most of the record stores have ordered it together with a bunch of other new Startracks singles (Candysuck, Monster, Fireside and Refused), all to be released on November 4th, so do not be surprised if you can not find it before that date. Another brand new item: the band opens for Sebadoh in Stockholm on November 23rd! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Mirrormaze - is a newly formed band from Jönköping, with Staffan Björk (from The Wellmeant) on drums. They are said to sound somewhat like Pixies, which ought to be enough to generate some interest. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Pondicherry - a band that played at Trästocksfestivalen this summer is no more. The members of the band have split up and some have formed new bands, and one of these bands (that the Pondicherry guitarist joined - but now on bass) wrote an instant hit about 48 hours after he joined (it does sound a bit like a mix between The Wannadies, (old) Popsicle and (old) The Bear Quartet)! West Side are keeping the name of this new band a secret until they have something more concrete to say. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Popöga - one of the best swedish pop/rock magazines can now be found on the net! Official pages can be found at: http://www.algonet.se/~popoga and their e-mail address is of course: popoga@algonet.se. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Popundret - (AWSF) plays at Herrgår'n in Linköping tonight and at Kalmar Nation in Uppsala tomorrow. The band comes with a stand-in on bass (Niclas Wiklund (guitar) from Stardog) because their ordinary guy on bass (Martin Wiklund) has an exam he does not want to miss. Jon has never played with the band before, so it will definitely be two interesting evenings to say the least. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sound Affects - issue #32 (the best Swedish Pop Magazine) is out (subscribers should receive it today)! Non-subscribers have to wait another week before it hits the stores. Be sure to read all the 92 record reviews and 6 retro record reviews as well as the fantastic Fidget article! :-) Next issue will be out on December 12th, and will contain articles about (among others) Juliana Hatfield (she's in the studio as we speak!), Kula Shaker, Jaguar, Loosegoats (interview takes place on sunday in Linköping), Ben Folds Five, Mufflon 5 and Pusjkins (from Linköping). Definitely a must get issue! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Stardog - (AWSF) are playing a couple of gigs in Sweden in November, dates and venues are yet to be decided though, so stay tuned. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Stargazer - has pulled out from the Dorian Records compilation roster, due to other interesting projects involving the Planet Of Noise label. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Tuk Tuk Rally - (Beat Butchers) breaks up! Here is the band's press release: The circle is closed and the bag is full. It is time to close the books. It is time to end. Five years full of energetic song-writing comes to an end, and now we are taking different paths with our sights set on new projects. Everything started once up on a time by a kitchen table with an acoustic guitar and a harmonica, which later turned into various live performances, radio and tv-appearences. Happy days, dumb days, hectic days.... With this, we want to thank all those who have been there, who have turned our festival gigs into, to us, unforgettable memories, the few chief mourners for their brave support a pale tuesday night at Tre Backar and those who have bought our records. With our feet steady on the ground and the flag at the top, we hereby announce that Tuk Tuk Rally no longer exists. Thanks and salute and later and goodbye! T.T.R 961021 (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

The Wannadies - (BMG) yes that's right - the band has broken their contract with MNW and were signed to BMG yesterday. It looks like the "rumours" one could read about in evening papers earlier this year were true. The new album "Bagsy Me" is therefor delayed and will not be released until January 1997 throughout Europe. (Source: Z-TV Nytt / Scandinavian Indie)

The Wellmeant - from Jönköping, and also one of the top bands on the first Dorian Records compilation CD will also be included on the upcoming Harry Lime compilation CD "A Twist of Lime" to be released in November. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

October 20th, 1996

aBLe - (Harry Lime) are about to shoot a video for one of the songs on their recently released debut album "Prestigeless Lovesounds", though they have not decided for which song yet. The band "Jumprope" from the US who are included on the upcoming Harry Lime compilation CD "A Twist of Lime" to be released in November, was recently reviewed in a San Francisco magazine where they recieved the highest score, and the reviewer said that "they remind me a bit of aBLe." (!) The reason behind this might be that aBLe, together with Leslies and Pineforest Crunch, are currently receiving airplay on a SF radio station. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Blake Carringtons - have been (and still are?) in the studio recording something exciting. They say it will be a lot of Stones and Jon Spencer, though in Formula 1 speed, that is to say, they have changed their style! Stay tuned! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Brazzaville - formerly known as "Tongue Gongue", that's right, they did finally change their name, after months and months of hints from reviewers, friends and whatnot, that the name had to be changed. :-) (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Bunboy - a newly started Uppsala band featuring Erik Hellström and Anders Nilsson from aBLe made their debut at Kalmar Nation's pop festival September 27th in Uppsala. Their sound can be described as american rock, powerful music mixed with sensitive, more silent pieces, sort of like Pavement and Superchunk. Stay tuned for more news about this band! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

The Cardigans - (Trampolene) 's concert at Lee's Palace in Toronto, Canada on September 7th will be broadcasted on the CBC "Real Time" program on November 16th. The set list is as follows: Iron Man, Your New Cuckoo, Sick and Tired, Hey Get Out of My Way, Step On Me, Love Fool, Fine, Been It, Celia Inside, Rise and Shine, Carnival, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. The broadcast starts at 6pm PT (9pm ET) (i guess for Sweden that would be +6 hours?) Check out: http://realtime.cbcstereo.com. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Doris Days - (Some Pearls) release their debut album "Live In Poland" on October 25th following the video and single "Quiet Withdrawal" released earlier. Doris Days is the first band on Slask Records' sub-label Some Pearls. The members, Lisa Carlioth, Markus Gylling and Mike Barrett are originally from Linköping, but live in Stockholm today. The album was put together with help from Erik Holmberg (member of the band DIVE and producer of Stina Nordenstam's album "And She Closed Her Eyes"). The upcoming Scandinavian Indie review reveals a sound that best can be described as extremely pleasant urban trip-hop/ambient. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Eggstone - (Vibrafon) 's gig at the Lollipop Festival was recorded by Swedish National Radio (P3 Live) as many of you could see, but even though everyone thought that the gig was great, the band was very displeased, and felt that they were just too "rusty" because they had not played live for such a long time, so they told P3 Live that they didn't want them to broadcast it! And therefor, P3 Live will not broadcast the concert. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fireside - (StartRec) are busy with their international career. Their second album "Do Not Tailgate" has been out on the international market about a month now. They have recently toured the US and will go on tour in Europe during the autumn (starting october 31st in Amsterdam, Holland). Their new single, called "Interlace" is released in Scandinavia on October 21st. Two editions of the single is released: 1) a 2-track CD5 with "Interlace" (from "Do Not Tailgate") and "Styrofoam" (from the "The Fantastic Four" album released on A West Side Fabrication in 1994), 2) a 4-track limited edition CD5 with two extra tracks: an old lost and suddenly found demo-track and their Prince-cover from the "Purple Pain" compilation. Check out: http://www.cabal.se/startrec/fireside/. (Source: Startracks newsletter)

Gentle Tuesday - from Eskilstuna are next to release something on the now well-known label Dorian Records. The band will release a CD single, and the release date is set to November 25th. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Happy Todd - from Kalmar will be included on an upcoming compilation album released by a Nykoping-fanzine called "Spinsign". The band appears on the compilation with two songs. More information will follow. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Lemonator - (Warner) from Finland have, as you can see, been signed to Warner Records. They were signed after having opened for none other than Bon Jovi (!). It is not as scary as it seems though - the band got picked out from 400 (!) competing unsigned bands for the slot! They say the crowd at the concert really liked them, and after the gig they received offers from several record companies. After some negotiation with Warner, BMG, PolyGram and several indie labels, they decided that Warner was the best option, expressing their excitement about their music, and not concerned about the fact that they opened for Bon Jovi, which apparently was the main reason for some of the other labels. In fact, Warner had also contacted the band prior to all this. Their debut album is going to be produced by Janne Haavisto & Tom Nyman. First up though is a single (and a song) called "Superb". It is a loud, fast, melodic tune in the style of their previous "hit" Dinosaur. Release date is set for late October/early November. The album should be out early February next year. The band was also recently picked as Helsinki's best popband by the bi-weekly City-magazine. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Leslies - (Harry Lime) ' debut album "Totally Brilliant", which was released during the summer of 1996, has sold about 3.500 copies in Sweden so far. The album will be released in Japan on major label Columbia/Nippon in November. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Loosegoats - (StartRec) released their EP "Country Crock" on October 14th, and are currently touring Sweden together with Dipper and Pornostar (on the Popstad Lund tour) which is said to start in Lund on October 22nd (Mejeriet) (though they did play in Gothenburg on the 19th) and end in Umeå on November 1st (though they are scheduled to play in Sundsvall on the 2nd) where they will hand over the "Popstad" label to Umeå, which has been voted the new Popstad. After the tour, the band will spend a month in the studio to record their debut album, expected to be released in February next year. More info at: http://www.cabal.se/startrec/loosegoats/. (Source: Startracks newsletter / Scandinavian Indie)

Lousy - (Sappy) recently released a 6-song 7" single on Canadian label Sappy Records. This single is now available in Sweden through Freak Scene, Delicious Goldfish (both in Stockholm) and Hot Stuff Records (in Älmhult). You can also order it directly from the band by contacting magnus@lousy.pp.se. There was an interview with Magnus from Lousy on Stockholms Student radio a couple of weeks ago and the single was put on their A-list, which means they are playing a song from it every day. Lousy have also received airplay on the Canadian National Radio and on several College stations. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Memento Materia - have released a bunch of new records. First upp is Covenant with their CD "Sequencer" and CD-maxi "Stalker". The band is probably Sweden's biggest electro-techno hybrid. They are going on tour in Germany in November together with Steril and Haujobb. Second band: Mesh with their CD "In this place forever". This band is actually from Bristol, and is said to administer the heritage from Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails very well. Third and last: The April Tears with their CD5 "Heart shut down/hardcoming", which will be released in the middle of November. Swedish indie popsters to be reckoned with. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

P3 Live - the program on swedish national radio recorded these artists and bands at the Lollipop Festival in Stockholm this summer: Stereolab, Lionrock, Pharcyde, Wu Tang Clan, Chemical Brothers (Vegas stage) and Beck, Bob Hund (Stage 1) and Eggstone, Leila K (Stage 2). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Raj Harder - a Rock Festival in November? That's right! Raj Harder takes place in Köping between November 1st and 2nd. Bands currently listed on the line-up include: Abhinanda, bob hund, De Lyckliga Kompisarna, Eläkeläiset, FleshQuartet, Girliegerm, Guineapigs, Hellacopters, Human Error, Kung Sol, Liberator, Mindjive, Nåid, Sator, Singer, Somersault, Souls, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Stun. About 10 additional bands are to be announced. Info: Tickets: 2-Day ticket - 200 SEK (1-Day ticket is only released if the 1.500 2-Day tickets are not sold one week before the festival takes place). Phone: +46-(0)70-5442420 (Peter) or +46-(0)221-21050 (Per). Address: Raj Harder, Box 166, 731 24 Köping, SWEDEN. Festival Phone: +46-(0)221-23010, Fax: +46-(0)221-23016. Further information can be found on the Web at: http://www.koping.se/stadskult/. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Refused - (StartRec) are now seriously making use of vast opportunities of the WWW. Sick of all the record companies' tiresome homepages, they have, together with Cabal, tried to create a little more entertaining homepage with more information, more exclusive material and more links to use. During the autumn, their pages will go through some serious updates, and feature goodies like these: Gig guide, Video footage, Competitions, Live footage, exclusive premiere for the Di Leva/Refused co-operation song, their "Handbook for Revolutionaries, part 1" (which is out of print) and "Handbook for Revolutionaries, part 2" which is only released on their homepage. That is to say, check out: http://www.cabal.se/startrec/refused/. (Source: Startracks newsletter)

Rolling Stone - the Australian version of the famous magazine are planning to have an article about Scandinavian Indie in one of their upcoming issues. That is, not _this_ Scandinavian Indie, but independent music coming from Scandinavia. They say that the recent explosion of indie bands from Sweden that has been hitting their shores and radio airwaves lies behind the decision. Burning Heart and North Of No South distributors in Australia have helped out with information, as the swedish independent music that is growing popular there seems to fall into two broad categories - surf-punk and its harder components (ie. Millencolin, 59 Times the Pain), and something they call "quirky" pop, mentioning The Cardigans and The Wannadies. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow Soundwave - from Gothenburg will play at Underground in the same city soon - stay tuned for the exact date. While you are waiting, you might want to know that their new demo has just been mastered, and is almost ready for distribution! The band has also added a new member on bass. Erik is his name, and isn't that a great name!? :-) (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Startracks - will start a label called (surprise!) "Startracks" this autumn! They are currently managing Fireside, Loosegoats and Refused, but will have bands like Candysuck, J Church (US), Monster and Nine on the label. More bands are to be announced. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Yvonne - (Energy) 's debut album is to be released in Germany in November, though it will not have the same song order, and will include the song 'Drifter', released earlier on the single "Wires" and also appeared on the first Kittenish compilation CD. An official homepage for the band is also in the making. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

September 26th, 1996

The Cardigans - (Trampolene) have a major success on their hands with their new album "First Band on The Moon". The album is currently number 1 (international album chart) and number 4 (international/national album chart) in Japan. The single "Lovefool" is number 1 on the Tokyo Hot 100 Airplay list. All for the second week running! "Lovefool" is numer 5 (singles) in Finland, number 3 on the M&M Border Breakers List and entered the UK singles chart at number 21. The album is number 18 (album) in Finland and entered the Danish album chart at number 38. (Source: Topp40)

Dipper - (Vibrafon) from Malmö (Hansi Friberg - manager) who also appears in the next issue of Sound Affects, was signed to Vibrafon Records this week. In the list of other artists they are influenced by, they list Wire, Jesus Lizard, Magazine and Moby! They first single called "Butterfinger" is released in October. (Source: Topp40)

Loosegoats - (StartRec) has kicked out member Jens Löwius (vocals, guitar) right when the band is on their way to strike gold. The reasons behind what happened differs depending on who you talk to (ie. the band or Jens himself) but according to the band, it was because "he was a bad guitar player, and we didn't agree on some things". Watch the Selected News for Jens' story. The band celebrated the release of their new CDEP yesterday in Stockholm at Eldorado/Blue Funky, and are apparently looking for a new member on guitar. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Mazarine Street - (Fine Tone) are going on tour throughout Europe together with Beck! The band's recent gig at Studion in Stockholm saw Japanese visitors from Burrn! (Source: Topp40)

Starlet - (MVG) was finally and thoroughly signed to MVG Records! After a long summer and autumn of rumors and "not quite signed yet" messages from the record company, the contract was finally signed! (Source: Scandinavian Indie, Topp40)

September 25th, 1996

Dorian Records - are working on their follow-up to the popular first compilation CD "A Chance To Shine". The working name is "True To You" (anyone see the connection?). The new compilation will be a Double-CD (2CD), and will include loads of great bands! Ready at this moment are the following Swedish bands: A Sense of Reason, Curseflower, Doktor Saturn, Dune, Femton, Gentle Tuesday, The Git Shields, Grape, Hanis, The Immediates, Kerouac, Korova Milkbar, Lugi, Morning Penguin, Octopussy, The Odds, Picabo, Popeye, S:t Moores, Sandy Lyle, Stargazer, Supernova, The Tambureens, Vivid, The Wellmeant. There will be another 10-15 bands added to this list before the two discs are full. Planned release month: December. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - (Mega) are resting after having spent a month in the studio recording and mixing their upcoming debut single and album. Nina Natri, the band's restless soul, takes Karate lessons, while remembering the summer festival gigs. Especially when Liberator made a hole in the stage at the Angelholm festival and that Gud I Brallan stayed and watched when they played at the Emmaboda festival. Nina also says there's a rumor saying that there are plans for a Swedish Pop Festival in Helsinki, Finland! Stay tuned for more info about this and more! Their debut single is released October 14th. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

HappyDeadMen - (Trampolene/Polydor) 's new album to be released in Japan in January 1997 (on Polydor) and in Sweden (on Trampolene) in February 1997 is called "Bullfights Every Sunday". The album contains 12 songs. The CD cover is designed by Erik Söderström. A single, "A Lovesong" will also be released and it contains one extra song not available on the album. In combination with the Japan release, the band will take the first available flight there to play a set of tour dates. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Harry Lime - (the Eskilstuna record company)'s new compilation called "Twist of Lime" has been delayed, and is re-scheduled for release in November. Bands ready for the compilation are: Doolittle, Dune, Jumprope (US), Peat and Rottingdean. Each band contributes with two songs. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Lousy - (Sappy) 's 7" single "Kewl" released on Canadian record label Sappy was reviewed in one of Canada's biggest music papers called Exclaim. Here's what it said: "LOUSY - KEWL (SAPPY, BOX 25097, MONCTON, NB E1C 9M9) This first Canadian release from Sweden's Lousy is a six-song collection of short punk bursts that eloquently captures restless melancholy with a equally refreshing here-goes-nothing vocal technique. Yet amidst all their thrashings, they still had the smarts to thrown in twists of real rock keyboards. Rock'n'roll idolizes adolescence, and while Lousy's teen musings about holding hands, eschewing popularity and not getting a letter returned from your first love are appealing enough, it's the maturity of self-realization that's at the core of these songs. Reviewed by Christian deBruijn" (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Ludox - (RMD) from Denmark will support The Cardigans on their tour between October 5th and October 13th! The Cardigans picked the band themselves from 5 possible candidates. For the list of dates, please check the Scandinavian Indie Bands Gig Guide. With the exception of Copenhagen, where the concert is placed at Pumpehuset, all venues have a capacity of about 1.000 to 1.600 persons, and all venues are expected to be sold out. The tour coincides with the release of "Orange Juice" - Ludox's latest and 4th single, which was released on September 23rd. For more info about Ludox; contact Allan Grauenk Grauenkor at RMD: http://www2.dk-online.dk/users/RMD/uk/index_uk.htm. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Prune - are just about to start recording their new demo. The band is busy recording it from September 26th to 28th, so stay tuned for a "hot off the press" review really soon! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Strawberry Songs - the Eskilstuna record company that released a compilation CD single called "e-pop" a while ago have a success on their hands. 1000 copies of the CD5 were made, and today there are about 50 copies left. The CD5 contains what the label want to call "new-old pop", something they believe is coming on strong. A sequel to the "e-pop" compilation is in the making, with a working name of "More e-pop". Bands ready for the compilation are: Lament, Panic and S:t Moores. Recording work will start on October 13th, and everything must be ready by the middle of December, because the CD5 will accompany the label to next year's MIDEM (which takes place in January 1997). Release date is set to the end of January or early February. Another CD in the making is called "En Ko På Isen" (A Cow on the Ice), which is a tribute to the old band "Gå å Bada" (Go and take a bath). Four bands appear on the CD, one Kurdish, one Finnish (who sounds like Imperiet), one Death Metal band and one Chinese punk band. More information will follow. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sulky - (Dolores) are working on demos right now for a full-length album to be recorded this autumn/winter. The album is planned to be released early next year. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

August 28th, 1996

Backfish - (AWSF) members Anna and Kattis are currently involved in a film project. The film is called "Domino" and will be premiered by Christmas time this year. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Beat Butchers - the punk/rock/pop label announce a fantastic oportunity to see a large number of Beat Butcher bands - all on the same night! The festivities will take place on October 12th, 1996 at Kolingsborg in Stockholm. There's no age limit, and all Beat Butchers bands that are able to play, will play! Ticket information, a time schedule and more information will posted right here as soon as possible. The label urges press and media to get in touch with them for press-, photo- or film-passes, as soon as possible - please send e-mail to: beatbutchers@wineasy.se. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Beat That! - Records release a compilation CD called "Pop Nation - Best of Blekingska 94-96" on September 9th. A complete track list of the CD is here supplied by the kind Rottingdean members: 1. Honey Is Cool - Zanzibar, 2. The Cardigans - Fine, 3. Souls - Shuffle, 4. Brainpool - Smile, 5. Superswirls - Tune In Your Superswirls, 6. The Bear Quartet - It Only Takes A Flashlight..., 7. Chevy - My Girlfriend Says, 8. Colubrids - At All, 9. Loosegoats - Suburban Slut, 10. Mutts - Somebody Has To Be Me, 11. Rottingdean - Fall Away, 12. Mazarine Street - Cat, 13. Yvonne - Cut A Smile, 14. Gluebellies - Her Favorite Crooner, 15. Cloudberry Jam - Nothing To Declare, 16. The April Tears - Heart Shut Down, 17. Tommy 16 - 27, 18. Ludo X - Audience, 19. S.P.O.C.K. - Astrogirl, 20. Lustans Lakejer - Segerns Sotma, 21. A Shrine - Silent. Border distributes. The release party is held on September 6th. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Blissful - (AWSF) have been roaming around in the studio the last few weeks, working on their upcoming album to be released in September. The studio is said to have looked somewhat like a warzone when they left it. Can this be a hint to what the album will sound like? (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dune - was said to have been signed to Harry Lime Records in an earlier Selected News. This is not so. The band has _not_ been signed by Harry Lime. Sorry for any problems this error might have caused. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - (Mega) are still in the studio, though everything is almost ready. The next week will be spent mixing everything, and then they are all set. The album release date has been moved to January next year, but a single will be released on October 14th, and if you're lucky, you might see them perform live in November when they plan to go on a short swedish tour. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

HappyDeadMen - (Trampolene) went back to the studio on monday this week to mix their upcoming album to be released sometime this autumn. They are very pleased with the recording and promise a wide variation of sound such as country, bossa, and "normal pop" with strings and trumpets. Their song on the upcoming Stockholm Label Group Japan-compilation CD is "Not The Only Sucker In Town" and was mixed already in April. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Honeycave - with HappyDeadMen member Patrik Jonsfjord are on their way to be signed by Danish Mega Records. British labels have also shown interest in the band lately, but it looks like another swedish band (remember someone here saying that this might be some sort of sign a while back?) goes to Denmark. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow Soundwave - moves on and entered the studio on August 24th to start recording their new demo. This is of course very very good news - but the downside of it all is that the band can only afford to record it, but not make copies for distribution, at the moment! We're all hoping that this problem will be resolved soon though. The band has lost a member (bass) who moved to Malmö recently but that has not stopped the band and their plans to release a 7" on a german label and they might also release an EP on a swedish label later on, though please note that nothing is decided yet. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sound Affects - one of the best swedish pop magazines will release two more issues this year. The next issue is due on October 17th, and the second sometime in December. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Starlet - (MVG) the latest band signed to MVG will be concentrating on touring in Sweden throughout 1996 only to make the drastic move to "move" to the US afterwards, where GreenTeam management (Salt, Fireside) will take care of them, and put them on the road there for a while. After that, and we're talking 1997 now, they'll come back to Sweden and make a nest in a studio, recording. The band consists of Camela Leierth (vocals, guitar), Johan Carlberg (guitar), Elias Modig (bass) and Ricard Nettermalm (drums). If you have followed the "Selected News", you might remember that Elias played with Mouth as a stand in for a while. That MVG and GreenTeam have taken this band under their wings is no wonder. A quick listen to an advance tape reveals a sound that is very close to Salt, both musically and vocally, only somewhat heavier, and with a touch of the orient. Truly a band to look out for, so keep your ears open! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Watershed - (Elephant Tanks) from Stavanger in Norway started about a year ago. They have spent the past year writing songs and this has resulted in the demo "The Debbie Putmanns Recording" which contains 7 tracks and is 50 minutes long. The band lists such infuences as Afghan Whigs, Kyuss, Motorpsycho, Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr, which also might explain why they call their music "prog-lo-fi-pop". If you want to know more, please contact the band at kulturm@netpower.no. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

August 11th, 1996

Chewinggum Weekend - (Bums) was finally signed to a label, though not a swedish one! "Bums" is really a danish label. Are we supposed to notice a trend here? (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dorian Records - the label that released the neat compilation CD called "A Chance To Shine" a while ago is already planning on a second compilation CD, though the name and a couple more bands has yet to be decided. Bands decided so far are: The Wellmeant, Morning Penguin, Supernova, Stargazer, Curseflower, Sandy Lyle, Lugi, Honeys, Popeye, Disko and Dr. Saturn. There are 300 copies of the compilation ("A Chance To Shine") left (1000 copies were made) and if you are interested in ordering one, contact Dorian Records, Seminariegatan 3, 302 32 Halmstad, Sweden - Phone: +46-35-133226. The price is set to 100 SEK (plus postage and packaging). Foreign orders are also welcome. If you live in Tokyo, Japan, you might want to know that Tower Records there has 100 copies in store. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dune - (Harry Lime) was very recently signed to Harry Lime Records. One of the band members is actually the owner of Dorian Records. More news will be posted about this soon! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - (Mega) will be hiding in the studio in Varberg (south of Gothenburg) after their Emmaboda Festival gig. There they will record their forthcoming debut album throughout August and into September, produced by Magnus (again). Those t-shirts Expressen Fredag wrote about they would wear at the Lollipop festival turned out to be the truth, though the band has not idea who "talked" - it was supposed to be a secret... (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fly - have been rehearsing all summer, and as a result, have not played anywhere but at the Emmaboda Festival this weekend. At the festival, three interested record companies were there to watch & listen. This will hopefully will result in a contract in the near future. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Harry Lime Records - are working on a follow-up to their "In The Limelight" compilation CD. The new compilation will have bands like Rottingdean, Jumprope (from the US), Peat, Dune and A Sense of Reason. More bands are to be announced. The CD is planned to be released in October. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Norwegian Indie - info and news. Thanks to Julie Forchhammer at Tilt Management & Booking, here's a pretty good overview of groups they handle, and of course, a good look at what Norway has got, something that Scandinavian Indie has lacked information about for a long time, sadly enough. But here it is! If you want to know more - just ask on the mailing list!
Slut Machine: Hardcore band from Bergen. Sounds like Tad, Sick Of It All, Pantera, Jesus Lizard etc. They are releasing their debut album in september. Cane: An indiepop band also from Bergen. Female vocal, they have been described as a mixture between Bjork and Nina Hagen! Cane are signed to Warner Records, and will release their debut album in the beginning of 1997. Gluecifer: A twisted hardcore band from Oslo. Some of the members used to play in O'men. Played at this years Quart-festival and got good reviews. Red Harvest: A difficult band to describe. They play a kind of goth/industrial hardcore, but you have to listen to them to understand what I mean. They are signed to Voices Of Wonder. Their third album is released September 9th. Sloane: An indiepop band from Bergen. Unsigned, up and coming, charming, melodic. Sister Sonny: A Sonic Youth like band from Bergen. Unsigned, promising, unpredictable (in a good way). Unfortunately they are not sure if they want to put 100% in their music or not, just wait and see... Peachfuzz: Young, unsigned indiband from Bergen. Two girls and two boys. (Female vocal). They started this spring, but have already impressed a lot of people. Charming, Slowdivish, popish, naivish. Vampire State Building: From Oslo. Industrial techno rock. Are laying low at the moment due to lack of time. (Source: Julie Forchhammer)

Rock Summer Riga - '96 festival incurred a loss of 100,000 lats ($50.000) for its organizing firm Rock Summer Baltica. The festival was held on July 12-14 in Riga and brought together such international acts as ZZ Top, Bjork, East 17, Midge Ure, the Mike Flowers Pops and many other foreign and Latvian bands. Organizers of the festival owe money to different hotels, air companies and other services, and the concrete losses will be calculated in two weeks, reports Dienas bizness. The festival will be held again next year if Rock Summer Baltica manages to pay off its debt. (Source: The Baltic Times)

Surreal - from Varberg are finished with the recording and mixing of their upcoming debut album "Friends of Soap & Water" on the Recordia label, though they have not decided when to release it yet. Taking care of booking the band is our friend Hansi Friberg nowadays. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Violett - the band who opens the "A Chance To Shine" compilation CD is actually the same band that sent a demo to ZTV program "Knesset" (the one they made a video for), though back then the band was called "Alexis". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

August 3rd, 1996

Ceilidh - the record company based in Linköping will be no more after the upcoming compilation album release (this month). Label owner Ola Hermanson says that he is done with that part of his life, and wants to put his effort behind Trampolene Records and his biology work at the University. The compilation will be distributed by Amigo and Border. Watch this space for info on an exact release date soon. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) album "Another Moment Follows" has sold Gold in Sweden some time ago. Now they are following up their album with a "greatest hits" album to be released on Polygram (probably Trampolene). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fireside - (StartRec/American Recordings) has finally been given their own web pages on American Recordings web site. You ought to check them out right now for information, sound clips and whatnot! http://american.recordings.com/American_Artists/Fireside/.
Fireside will be broadcasted *LIVE* from the last stop on the Lollapalooza tour in the US on August 4th via Internet (audio only). Their set time is 2:40 PM CA, 1:40 PM PST - which means 22:40 in Sweden this Sunday! Where to go? Well, take a look at: http://lollapalooza.com or http://www-imusic.com, though be aware that swedish newspaper Expressen only listed the first one in yesterday's paper, so it might be wise to use the second one. After Fireside you will be able to hear Screaming Trees, Rancid, Soundgarden, Metallica and Ramones (doing their last gig ever).
More Fireside: Graphic Audio, a US company will create an Electronic Press Kit for the band. The EPK is a film, basically, featuring live performance footage and interviews from their LA visit, where they played the Viper Room. It works like this. You go to the Graphic Audio website and quickly download (2 minutes) a video player. Then you can choose videos to watch from their site without having to download them. It's a new thing and it works somewhat like RealAudio, only this includes both sound and motion and is called VDOLive. You can find Graphic Audio at: http://www.graphicaudio.com/. The Fireside EPK is scheduled for August 15th. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Hipnose Records - is a record company in Finland where you can find bands like Homespun, Going Public and Sandbugs. If you have been a subscriber to Scandinavian Indie for a while, you have already heard of Homespun - a young and talented band from Kouvola, a small town in the backwoods of southern Finland with a sound that has been described (by Kimmo on the list) as "the best thing coming from Finland in the Sebadoh / Dinosaur Jr / Pavement / The Bear Quartet / slacker / loser-indie category!" On Hipnose, you cand find their four-track CD "Fabio Fitness And More". Going Public has released two albums "Ancient Heart" (on Gaga Goodies) and their latest one "Hooligan" on Hipnose. They have also released three 7" singles on Hipnose and one EP called "Emotionmotion" on Gaga Goodies. If the names Troggs, Magazine, Saints, Velvet Underground, Triffids etc. mean something to you, you ought to check this band out! Their homepage: http://www.kouvola.ksaok.fi/~aylatalo/bands/gp/. Sandbugs is the label's next release, and is said to be better than Buffalo Tom! If all this sounds interesting contact: Timo Ranta or write to him at: T.Ranta, Viertolantie 14 C 22, 45 200 Kouvola, FINLAND. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sandy Lyle - played for an audience of about 250 at Studion on July 12th. If one looked close enough one would also find that record company CNR Music was there to watch and listen. The gig went extremely well, and the band played both new and old songs including "Mr. Anderson" and "Lovely" for example, though in new and more guitar-rattling versions. An extra number was necessary, and for that, they had selected the Scandinavian Indie favorite "Dirge"! A new demo is in the making. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Soundfront - the record company based in Uppsala has filed their bankruptcy petition. On the label were bands like Face Down, Candysuck, Crawley and Buckshot O.D. What will happen to these bands will be decided when Roadrunner, who has got a option contract with the label, decides what bands they want to sign for the European and American markets. (Source: Topp40)

Stockholm Label Group - will release a compilation album with among others The Cardigans, HappyDeadMen, Cloudberry Jam, Ray Wonder, Sonic Surf City, Speaker, Naked and Pineforest Crunch. The compilation is meant mostly for the Asian market. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Trampolene - news: The band Riviera is signed and ready to take over your ears in the near future. Sonic Surf City's latest album "Surf Don't Walk" is a success, and has climbed radio charts all summer. They are also ready for release in Asia (on Polydor). HappyDeadMen start to mix their new and upcoming album on August 20th. Naked are going on a worldwide tour, starting with Germany in September. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Trästocksfestivalen - the swedish "Woodstock" this year in Skellefteå might have been the last festival ever! The police blaimed the organisers of the festival for the large amount of alcohol flooding outside the festival area (!) and Jocke and Affe (organisers) threatens to drop everything because they feel that they are doing their best and can not be held responsible for what happens outside the festival area. Newspaper "Norra Västerbotten" printed an article where Jocke said that if there will be a festival next year, it will be a lot smaller and with Skellefteå-bands only. A meeting on August 13th where the Police, arrangers, social offices, cultural offices and others will hopefully shed some light on this matter. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

July 11th, 1996

McBain - is the title of an international indiepop 20-track compilation tape featuring bands from the US, Australia and three Scandinavian acts: Red Sleeping Beauty (tracks "Breaking Up" & "Sick and Tired"), Celeste ("Sunny Side") and Cessna ("My BlueAnglia"). Among other artists are Allen Clapp, Cat's Miaow, Moving Pictures, Shoestrings and many others. The tape comes with the issue #2 of the "Runaway Balloon" zine featuring a Red Sleeping Beauty interview. To get a copy of the tape/zine, write to Yuan-Min Liu at ymliu@mit.edu, or if you live in Scandinavia, send US $6.00 (that includes postage) to him at: Yuan-Min Liu, 19619 E Loyola Circle, Aurora CO 80013, USA. Please remember to state that you want the Runaway Balloon issue #2 (with the McBain tape). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

July 5th, 1996

Beat Butchers - The Solar Lodge Contest is now closed and over! And the lucky 5 winners (who will receive a signed copy of The Solar Lodge's latest CD "Fast Money Music" in the mail shortly) are....: Pär Häggblad - Uppsala, Dan Andersson - Bromölla, Mats Dahlberg - Umeå, Magnus Lindhe - Färgelanda, Daniel Ondrejik - Fagersta. Congrats! And to those who did not win this time, you still have a chance to win a copy of the "Definitivt 50 Spänn 5" compilation CD! Check out the contest pages soon, because that contest closes July 20th! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Blake Carringtons - have been working hard with a bunch of new songs and material lately, and will put their soul, money and time into a new demo, which is to be recorded during August / September. Who sad that no news is good news!? (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Bob Hurts - (yes, you read this one right too), a Norwegian indie band with a sound they describe themselves as "an American band trying to sound like the Beatles" actually negotiated with Silence Records (the swedish label that swedish band Bob Hund is signed to) about a contract a while ago. They did not get one though, as one of the reasons were that the label wanted the band to change their name, strangely enough... (and the band did not want to do that). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Brandgul - (Beat Butchers) have spent a couple of days this summer recording a new video. While recording it at a friend's house, his neighbor, none other than Gothenburg ice-hockey team Västra Frölunda's goal keeper, stuck his head out the window and asked what they were doing, and gladly accepted the invitation to join them, fully dressed in his ice-hockey gear! The video includes breaking of dishes, a goal keeper and body painted girls. Release is set for the end of July. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Celeste - the swedish band from Stockholm have a song on a US compilation CD released by label Le Grand Magestrie sometime this summer. The CD is an "EL" tribute, and Celeste performs Louis Philippe's "Every Word Meant Goodbye". The band usually consists of Jonas Mann, Jari Haapalainen (Bear Quartet/Mary-Go-Round) and Erik Domellöf (Seashells) in the studio, but on their latest session, Jiri Novak (Cinnamon) has joined the band. The fruits from this last session, four new songs, will probably be released as an EP this coming autumn, but it is not yet decided on what label. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dry Dive - 's album "Ass Hole As Possible", recently reviewed by Scandinavian Indie, was only distributed (350 copies) to the bands' friends by themselves, but will now be released on the label Deaf And Dumb at the end of August. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - (Mega) signed Mega's contract last monday! The record company agreed to everything the band wanted, which, for example, included their own label, a "release no longer than six months after recording" request and some money. The band went out to dine in downtown Gothenburg with the label representatives afterwards to celebrate. Their debut album will be recorded in August, and it is planned to be released around November this year, though five songs have already been pre-recorded. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fireside - (StartRec/American Recordings) are going on the Lollapalooza tour in the US, starting July 18th and ending August 4th. You probably knew that, didn't you. Right. What you might not know, is that they are playing the second stage of the tour together with Jonny Polonsky, Satchel, The Melvins, Sponge and Soul Coughing. Jeff Eyrich (Salt's US manager) and Per Kviman (A&R at MVG)'s management company, GreenTeam is taking care of the band in the U.S. and American Recordings are working on dedicated pages on their Web-site for the band as well. They might just be ready today, so why not check out http://american.recordings.com? The next swedish bands brought under the wings of GreenTeam are rumored to be The Drowners and Starlet. Lollapalooza tour dates coming up next! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Lemonator - from Finland (recently reviewed by Scandinavian Indie as well) will spend the summer playing at various festivals around Finland. This means that their planned debut album has been delayed, and will not be released until this autumn. The band is also looking for record companies outside Finland interested in working with the band (see contact address on the "Scandinavian CD Reviews" web-pages). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Salt - (MVG/Island) came back to Sweden on June 24th after ending their third US tour this year on the 23rd in Minneapolis. Jim Tegman borrowed Jeff Eyrich's laptop after the first gig on the tour and sent this (edited version, in swedish only - sorry) message: "Hej Erik, Salt här rapporterandes från det förlovande landet i väst. Vi har precis avslutat den första spelningen på den här turne'n med Screaming Trees, spelningen om jag får säga så själv var jävligt bra, mycket folk och bra respons man får bara hoppas att resten av den här turne'n blir lika lyckad." And apparently the tour was a very good one. Right now, the band is resting a bit - Nina Ramsby and Jim Tegman are spending their vacation "not in Stockholm" though Daniel Ewerman decided to stay in the city. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sandy Lyle - from Stockholm (recently reviewed..) will play at Studion in Stockholm on friday July 12th. Three bands are on the menu that night - Sandy Lyle, Hollow Ground and a third band, not yet decided. Tickets are 50 SEK, which you pay at the doors. Be there before 21.00! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Scandinavian Indie - is starting to get pretty known on the net! Yay! :-) * The site has yet again been linked into IBM's AQUI - the second time this year. Check out AQUI at URL: http://www.aqui.ibm.com. * A more surprising place to find Scandinavian Indie is in the soc.culture.nordic FAQ for Sweden (part 7)! Albeit it is a badly updated FAQ, there, under the title "e-mail addresses", it says: statsministern@sb.gov.se (Prime minister, Carl Bildt), unckelmin@utb.gov.se (Per Unckel, minister of education), twonews@basys.svt.se (Rapport, TV2 news cast), chefred@expressen.se (the editor-in-chief of Sweden's biggest daily, Expressen), 70247.3516@compuserve.com (Radio Sweden International), vetenskap@sr.se (Radio program 'Vetandets Va{rld', 'The World of Knowledge), itk@utb.gov.se (IT-commission. IT stands for "Informationsteknologi", the commission works with issues related to computer networks and other modern ways of communication.), chief@lysator.liu.se (Erik) (He runs a mailing-list dealing with Scandinavian indie-pop). * And finally, Europe Online, a pan-European multilingual online service on the web, for Europeans, by Europeans, launched their preview of the Europe Online Swedish service this week. I received an email sayin that "In this site we include links to the top Swedish websites in different categories." And they chose Scandinavian Indie as one of the links! Europe Online can be found at URL: http://www.europeonline.com. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow Soundwave - are going into the studio in August to record a new 24 channel demo! This was decided after the band started to receive letters from several labels, MVG, Momento Materia, MNW and Energy Rekords, all wanting to hear more. The band will spend three days in the studio, and hopefully, the demo will be out at the end of August. Right now, drummer (and bass) Nicolas Janco is spending his vacation together with his girlfriend Jennifer on Gotland. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Smash Hit Wonders - (Sun Spot) are recording their debut album in Gothenburg right now. Producer is none other than Kent Norberg from Sator. It is Kent's debut as single producer. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sulky - from Gothenburg released an EP called "Knishes Shipped Free" on Dolores Records recently. Sulky used to be called Sex Dwarfs, before that Fiuggi. The band consists of Jan Skoglund, Henrik Rylander, Adam Wladis (who all used to play in the extremely wellknown band Union Carbide Productions) and Anders Svensson (from Eldarens Hus, who released a couple of records on Virgin back in the 80's). You can read more about the band at URL: http://inter.westnet.se/sulky/index.html. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

June 7th, 1996

Beat Butchers - the record label have opened yet another contest on their web-pages! This time it is a "Definitivt 50 Spänn 5" contest, where you can win copies of the mentioned CD. The contest closes July 20th, so check out the new Beat Butchers contest page on the Web by clicking Here. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) will record two new songs and re-record two older ones ("Elevator" being one of them) for a compilation CD that PolyGram will release soon. PolyGram will also handle more and more of the band's business, through the deal they have with NONS. A single with the two new songs will also be released. The band is on the rise in Australia as well, and will probably go there in the very near future. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Daybehaviour - (NONS) released an EP in Japan tuesday this week. The songs on the EP are taken from the two singles released in Sweden before. They are thinking about going to Japan as well. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - will announce what label they have decided on around the time of the Hultsfred Festival. The band played at Underground in Gothenburg on May 26th and got a good review for it in paper Göteborgs Posten. Last friday, the band also went in as newcomer in the "best right now" list in the Gothenburg edition of evening paper Expressen. If you want to see the band this summer, you will be able to do so at the Ängelholms festival, Emmaboda festival and Lollipop festival. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fireside - (StartRec) are going on the Lollapalooza tour in the US. They will be on the tour between July 15th and August 3rd. (Source: Luger Booking Agency)

The Merrymakers - (CNR) will perform a "roof-concert" in the middle of Stockholm on saturday (June 8th) starting at 11.00. The address: Hagagatan 23, which is the Medborgar school building. This is part of the On Stage festival, also kicking off on saturday. That festival is held in the Vasaparken, where The Merrymakers will play as well, but at 16.00. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Skylten - the venue here in Linköping have a small festival for the younger audience tonight (June 7th), held outside the venue, at the same time as Starmarket and Kent are playing at the University. Bands playing outside Skylten include Cloudberry Jam, Flakes, Chickenpox, and Outlast. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

June 5th, 1996

Aquadays - received a phone call in the middle of the night not long ago. Who was it, you ask? Minty Fresh! The label in the US that handles Cardigans, and more recently Komeda. They had visited the Scandinavian Indie pages, read about the band and became interested enough to ask them to send a demo tape. The band's planned debut CD has been delayed, but is still planned to be released on Dorian Records in July-August. Martin and Lisa (two of the three members) are getting married on midsummer's eve by the way. Congratulations! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Beat Butchers - the record label based in Stockholm have opened their new contest on their Web-pages! This time it is a Solar Lodge contest, and you better answer the simple questions in a hurry by clicking Here!. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

The Cardigans - (Trampolene) are on their way to the US. They will play eight dates starting in Hoboken at Maxwells on June 10th then 11/6 New York at Tramps, 13/6 Providence a WBRU Live Show, 14/6 Chicago at Double Door, 16/6 San Diego at Open Air Theatre, 17/6 Los Angeles at El Rey Theatre, 19/6 San Francisco at KCRW Bene and finally 20/6 San Francisco at Bimbo's. The band will also play a number of festivals in Europe. Roskilde in Denmark, Kalvoya (Norway), Open Air Festival (CH), Rocking Athens Festival (Greece), T In The Park, Phoenix and Chelmsford (UK), Belga Beach Festival (Belgium) and Galway (Ireland) as support to Radiohead. (Source: Motor Booking Agency)

Coach Bob - the rest of ex-Suredo recorded a demo with three songs, during the autumn last year under the name Auntie Nell. The band changed their name to Coach Bob this spring, when Ulf Stenport (previously on drums) changed to guitar and Cloudberry Jam-member Per Byström joined on drums. Apparently they are planning to do some recording late this summer, and will try to get some gigs this coming autumn! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Definitivt 50 Spänn - (Rabb) the 50 SEK compilation CD series continues. This is the fifth in the series and it is going to be released on June 11th. Rabb records is a gathering of the Birdnest, Kamel and Beat Butchers labels. The following bands are included: Brandgul, Guineapigs, Human Error, Johan Johansson, Ellen Jamesians, Coca Carola, Svart Snö, Radioaktiva Räker, Hydrogenium, Sober, Robert Johnson, Köttgrottorna, DLK, Skumdum, Mögel, Charles, Åka Bil, The Solar Lodge, Roger Karlsson and Big Fish. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

The Drowners - (AWSF) played at AWSF's own club in Skellefteå "Pele" on May 18th and Jeff Eyrich (A&R at Island Independent US and Salt's US Manager) was there to watch and listen. Apparently it was Salt who had recommended the band as "Sweden's Best"! Jeff said that he had a great time there, and described the band as "great, raw, young, unpolished but really good." He will hopefully be back in Sweden for the Trästocksfestivalen. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Jumper - (WEA) recorded a demo in Håkan Göstas (from Love Scuds) studio (which is the old Sunlight Studio) a while ago, and this demo (which was one of the three first from Håkan's studio) got them signed to WEA. They are described to sound like "a poppier Kent". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Popundret - (AWSF) and The Drowners had a combined release party at AWSF's own club "Pele" in Skellefteå at the end of January this year. Popundret was first on stage, and Ekan said "Hi, we're Popundret and this is OUR release party... and then some other band is playing too I think." When The Drowners came on stage, Leif said "Hi, I'm Leif and this is MY release party." of course. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Riviera - (Trampolene) also recorded a demo in Håkan Göstas studio some time ago (with Håkan Göstas on bass), and the demo got them signed to Trampolene. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Salt - (MVG) are back on tour in the US. This time they travel together with Screaming Trees. The schedule looks like this (all dates in June): 11 Boston, MA at Avalon Ballroom, 12 Philadelphia, PA at Trocadero, 14 Carrboro, NC at Cat's Cradle, 15 Atlanta, GA at Cotton Club, 16 Birmingham, AL at City Stages Festival, 17 Knoxville, TN (tba), 18 Cincinnati, OH at Bogarts, 20 Cleveland, OH at Odeon, 21 Detroit, MI at Phoenix Center/CIMX, 22 Chicago, IL at Metro and finally on the 23rd Minneapolis, MI at First Avenue. (Source: Jeff at GreenTeam)

Speaker - (PolyGram) actually recorded a demo in Håkan Göstas studio a while ago, and what do you expect? Yes, this demo (which also was one of the three first from the studio) got them a record contract with, that's right, PolyGram. A single is scheduled for release any day now. A very successful studio indeed. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Starlet - played in Stockholm May 20th, and Jeff Eyrich (see The Drowners news) was there to watch and listen. He could not say enough positive things about the band, and the band will most certainly be signed to MVG here in Sweden in the very near future and to GreenTeam (Island US) in the US. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

The Wannadies - (Soap) have been included on two compilation CDs lately. One is a double CD set called "Untitled" released in the US (probably also in the UK). It contains 40 tracks all together. The other one is number 15 in the "Volume" series. It is called "Technology Alert!" and is a double CD set + a CD-ROM disc for Mac/PC - and the usual 192 page booklet. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

May 23rd, 1996

Ceilidh - the songs on that compilation CD you have been reading about here is actually almost completely decided on, and that means that a list will follow here: Brainpool - "At School", Cardigans - "Rise & Shine", Cod Lovers - "Bye Bye Pain", Dream - "Love's a Drug", HappyDeadMen - "Science Fiction", Lunchroom Manners - "Pete Best", Nashville Neurotics - "Lost Highway", Persuaders - "Her New Candy", Saturday Kids - ?, Sister James - "This Current Doom", Sonic Surf City - "Surfin' Kitty", Stevepops - "Waiting For The Summer", Suredo - "Sonic Atmosphere", Thee Expression - "Inspire You", The Bear Quartet - "Headacher". (Source: John B)

Copenhagen - Rockfestival suffered a blow today when Prince cancelled. The reason apparently was that he wanted to spend some time with his pregnant wife. (Source: ZTV Nytt)

HappyDeadMen - (Trampolene) played a secret gig in Stockholm last week, though it was not a secret for long. They played for 1600 students in an area as big as Gröna Lund with everything you could imagine at such a location. Other bands that played were Vildsvin, This Perfect Day and Thore Skogman! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Jaune - a band that is said to have a sound similar to Smashing Pumpkins-Jam-Popsicle will play in Borås at Kåren on friday (May 24th). Rumors say that this band is somewhat of a favourite among a couple of major labels, which usually means that a contract is not far away. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Roskilde - festival in Denmark announced it's almost complete program on May 20th, and with that, information regarding the whole event. As this information is pretty lengthy, you will probably be better off checking out their web-site: http://www.Roskilde-Festival.dk, or the Scandinavian Indie Other Festivals 1996 Page. But, noting the Scandinavian link, some of the scandinavian bands playing has to be listed here: Denmark: Passion Orange, Ruby Fruit, Jungle, Baal, Merzy, Bleeder, Grope, Hotel Hunger, Boghandle, Kashmir, Strawberry Slaughterhouse, Psyched Up Janis, Pretty Maids, D.A.D., Fire Music, Sort Sol and Dizzy Mizz Lizzy. Sweden: No Fun At All, Kent and Pineforest Crunch. Norway: Bel Canto. Finland: Eläkeläiset, Iceland: Björk. And two I'm not sure where they come from: Kinky Vibes and Rinneradio. I just like to add a few other names that blows me away: Cocteau Twins, Sebadoh, Spain, Mazzy Star and Cypress Hill (yes my music taste is pretty stoned, I know). But like stated before, please check their web-pages for the complete information. (Source: Roskilde Festival)

smart! - ex-Stevepops rumors say that, and I quote, "totally brilliant song 'Almost Summer' (their finest to date and the only popsong I've heard concerning hayfever) from the Toodle sessions may be released as a Stevepops/smart! split 7" as soon as the first Smart! works are starting to appear." The band rehearsed for the first time this week (though without a drummer - drummers sign up!). They share the rehearsing place with Fireside and Monster. (Source: John B)

May 18th, 1996

Ceilidh - song titles for that CD compilation soon to be released, which you have read about previously in this column, are starting to appear: HappyDeadMen's contribution on the CD is - "Science Fiction". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Island US - are in Sweden to take a look at Swedish groups Starlet and The Drowners. It is Salt's US manager, Jeff, in fact, who is in this country on a short visit. He will be present at the Drowners gig in Skellefteå this saturday (May 18th) and in Stockholm at "Orangus Tangus" for the Starlet gig on monday May 20th. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Komeda - (NONS) played a very well received gig at Herrgår'n here in Linköping this thursday. The place was packed (and I almost didn't get in to see them myself) and the audience demanded to hear more when the band said goodbye, so they decided to play an extra number which consisted of two songs. If one would do a bit of name-dropping, one would say that there were people there from SA, Skrikhult, Östgöta Correspondenten, Cloudberry Jam, aBLe, NONS, Anders N. Productions, Puffin and Trio Lligo. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Lousy - will release a single on Sappy records in Canada in about two months. The tracklisting is as follows: A: Kewl, Heavy Metal, Okay. B: Ouch!, Blunt, Teentime. All songs are taken from their latest "unofficial" demo tape. Sunday records in the US has also expressed their interest in the band as well as swedish Air Chrysalis Scandinavia! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Stevepops - who these days are called Smart were to release a 7" on Ceilidh a while ago, but now it looks like this will never happen unfortunately. Label owner Ola Hermanson says that the only way it can be released is if they decide to do it themselves. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Tongue Gongue - also played a very well received gig at Herrgår'n together with Komeda this thursday. Unfortunately, the queue outside the place made it impossible for me to get there in time, so I had to resort to ask the people who did see them. A big thank you goes to the female member of the band, who assisted me during the Komeda gig: THANK YOU! The same name-dropping list under the Komeda section goes for this band too of course. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

May 11th, 1996

Cardigans - (Trampolene) are working on their new album, that is going to be released this autumn, right now. Their last album "Life" have passed the 1.000.000 copies sold mark, and it keeps on selling. (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

Ceilidh Productions - will release a compilation CD with everything owner Ola Hermanson has ever made on the label. This means tracks from, among others, Bear Quartet, Brainpool, Cardigans, HappyDeadMen, Stevepops and Suredo. Almost everything is ready and the release date is set to sometime in June. Cat.No: CEI 039. A compilation with old surf-pop from sold out vinyl records is also planned. (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

Coach Bob - is the new name that the former members of the band Suredo (all but Mikael Myrnerts) and Cloudberry Jam drummer Per Byström have chosen for their new band. They are currently rehearsing a lot, and hopefully, we'll see them live soon! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Drug - (Ceilidh) is a band from Vadstena. Ceilidh is releasing their debut album "The Quest of The Source of Sentimentality" right now! (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

HappyDeadMen - (Trampolene) are recording new material (which you already know if you keep an eye on this column) and everything is planned to be ready this summer. The new album will probably be released in Asia first (this autumn) and next spring in Europe. (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

Naked - (Trampolene) have received a very good response in Europe. They currently top radio lists in Holland and Germany and are also now ready for a UK (and probably German) release through Polygram. (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

Riviera - (Trampolene) is the latest addition to the label. The band has spent time in the studio recording. In June it is time for the mixing, and singles will probably be released this autumn. The band is fronted by Claes Molander (from The Varlets) and sounds like "a mix between all hit songs ever made", says Ola Hermanson at Trampolene. "Phil Spector, Sam Cooke, The Rutles and Beach Boys in a wonderful mix!", Ola adds. (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

Salt - (MVG/Island) came back to Stockholm tuesday this week after finishing their second US tour. Nina Ramsby already appeared on ZTV's program "Tryck Till" friday. Their manager Jeff says that the band has grown a lot during the past month and that their performance has become really strong. Not included in their set before, the song "So" has now been added, although it is different from the CD version. A new video has also been shot for the song, which means that Island has finally decided to release it as their new single, together with non-album tracks. The release date is not yet set. All of this has meant that the new version of the "Honour Me" video that you have read about in this column before, has been put on hold. Tour news: an opening slot on a summer tour with Everclear, Space Hog and Tracey Bonham is available, and Salt has been proposed to fill it, though Everclear has yet to decide if they want Salt or not. This is one of the biggest US summer tours - all three bands are really happening in America right now, and it would be a great tour for Salt to be on. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sonic Surf City - (Trampolene) released a single "Let's Make Love" a few weeks ago, which got 4 "plus" (out of 5) in swedish evening paper Aftonbladet. Now, the album "Surf Don't Walk" is released on May 15th on an Europe/Asia basis but negotiatons with US labels are being held. The release party will be held at Kammaren in Norrköping on May 16th. The band then plays in Uppsala, Klubb Dacke (24/5), Stockholm, Studion (25/5) (free), Linköping, Herrgår'n (30/5) and Uppsala again at Kalmar Nation (31/5). (Source: Scandinavian Indie/Ola Hermanson)

Unimedia Productions - who were the people behind bringing Cloudberry Jam and Honeymoons to the Dublin Castle club in London reports that several indie promotors are begging them to bring Cloudberry Jam to London again, but it all depends on the band's future plans and their label North Of No South. They also report that Honeymoons managed to make some really influential friends through the gig. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

May 7th, 1996

A Shrine - (West Side) will release their previously labeled "DJ Only" single "Didn't It Feel Good" (WeCD 124) as a normal release. The single contains two versions of the song with the same name as the single, one "original version" (4.48) and one "modular mix" (8.45). Both versions can best be described as GOA Trance. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

A West Side Fabrication - will release this year's Compilation CD in time for the summer holidays. Everything is recorded, and ready, except for a DAT from Puffin. Even the cover is ready to go, even though the compilation is yet un-named! What can one expect to hear then? Well, it contains 18 new recordings, all previously un-released tracks from the whole West Side stable, except Blue. "- Watch out for the Backfisch and Carpe Wade tracks especially", says Jocke at West Side. "- They will blow you away!" A video will also be shot for the Carpe Wade song "- Because it is so damn good!", Jocke continues. Other upcoming West Side releases includes Mufflon 5 (in August) and Blissful (in September). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Aquadays - are planning to release their debut album on Dorian Records on June 14th, which means that the band will spend most of the month of May in the studio. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) plays yet again in Linköping. This time together with Flakes at Skylten on saturday. This is a members only party by the way, but you can buy your member card at local record store Get Back Records, or possibly at the doors on saturday. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Dalarock 96 - July 11 - 13 in Hedemora adds a couple of new names: Shane MacGowan and the Popes, Mazarine Street, and Visions. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fly - the new band formed by the members of the now dead and gone Easy are right now in the process of deciding what label they want to be signed to. A bunch of labels were represented at their gig in Stockholm, Studion together with Fidget on May 3rd, and several expressed their interest in signing the band. "- It was pretty hard to continue with Easy. We've completely given up that thought and are putting all our strength behind Fly now. It is great to start over again with something new like this!", answers Johan Holmlund on the question to why Easy is no more. They have only played a few gigs so far; Together with Lousy at Chalmers in Gothenburg, with Fidget in Stockholm and at Underground in Gothenburg which, according to Johan, was the best one. "- The reason for not playing more is that we want to record as many songs as possible for a forthcoming album. Actually, the reason why we have played at all is mostly that we want to try out our songs." He describes their sound as "fuzzy british indie". Demo tapes exist, but they are in the process of recording a promo at the moment which will better represent their sound. Festivals they will play at this summer is so far only Emmaboda, but Lollipop Stockholm is also very probable. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

HappyDeadMen - (Trampolene) are back in business. It has been three years since their last album, "Game, Set, Match", and now they are in the studio recording a new album that will contain 13 songs. Two of them, "Snowfall" and "Heavy Metal Rules" has previously been available on the Japan-only compilation CD "Winter Gift". Last autumn, the band went on a 10-day promotion tour (including gigs) of Japan, which went very well. The new album will be released sometime this autumn. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Honeymoons - (NONS) who played at Dublin Caste in London, UK April 30th played for a full house, though little has been said about it in the press. "- Probably because they are not that known yet." says Robert at NONS. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Komeda - (NONS) and Eggstone (Soap) were supposed to play at the opening of the new club "Wonderwall" in London, UK tonight as you may remember from a previous note in this column. Well, the whole thing has been delayed, and no new date for the opening has yet been announced. Supposedly, the two bands were to play at the Dublin Castle club in London, UK, but according to Robert at NONS, that deal went down the drain. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Rottingdean - have planned to start recording a new demo tape sometime in the beginning of June. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow Soundwave - from Gothenburg will receive yet another rave review for their demo tape! This time it is in the next issue of the swedish music magazine "Release" (out May 20th), where they get 9 points out of 10! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Super - (Odor) have spent time in the studio lately to finish the recordings on their new single. Their contract with Odor is for two albums and two singles, reportedly. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Trästocksfestivalen - in Skellefteå this summer adds yet another name to their excellent line up: The Wannadies. This is the band's only appearence (yet) this summer in Sweden if you do not count the Brännbollsyran in Umeå in May. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

May 2nd, 1996

Kent - (BMG) are in trouble. Three members of the band have been charged for assault at Strömstad Police Department. Reports say that two youngsters that hung around in Kent's hotel-room at Hotel Laholmen after a gig in said city, refused to leave when the band asked them to. The whole thing ended in a fight where one of the youngsters got his front-teeth kicked out and the other was thrown down some stairs. The three members have been questioned by the police. Their statements reveal that they all plead not guilty to the charges. (Source: ZTV Nytt)

Roskilde Festival - is sold out. On April 29th, all the 90.000 tickets had been sold in advance. And this at a time when they have only announced 1/3 of the artists appearing. No tickets will be available at the gates, unless you're between 10 - 13 years old, and going together with an adult. (Source: Roskilde Festival Information)

Salt - (MVG/Island) release a new version of the video to "Honour Me", re-edited by the video commissioner at Island Records in the US. Reportedly, it is said to be "way better" than the older one. Right now, the band is touring the US together with Seven Mary Three and Edsel, but indications from the management hints that something big is in the works tourwise. Stay tuned! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow Soundwave - who played at Hemulen in Gothenburg together with Broder Daniel on saturday last week reports that it went very well, even though their bass amplifier broke down at first. MVG Records did not come to the gig though, but said that they would when the band played at a venue closer to Stockholm. Two other labels were there, Sun Spot and FineTone, and both are highly interested in signing the band. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Velvet Belly - (BMG) member Anne Marie Almedal is studying music science in Rotterdam, Holland, which means that she is only part-time star in the band at a time when everything goes better and better for the band. A new single called "Mystery" will be released later this spring. (Source: ZTV Nytt)

The Rest of the News in April, 1996

Drain - (MVG) made a video to the song "I Don't Mind" with Wayne Isham, who directed Metallica's Enter Sandman, behind the camera. The video is based on drummer Martina Axén's recurrent nightmares and is said to be extremely scary. (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 12-Apr-96). "- I have big troubles with authorities, I have been fired from every job I've had, can't take it when someone tells me what to do. I didn't do that in school either. I quit school when I was 13. The last job I had was at Burger King, I got fired after six weeks that time.", drummer Martina Axén says in an interview in the magazine Kerrang. (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 19-Apr-96)

Kent - (BMG) member Markus got beat up by a girl when he went to school (fourth grade). (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 12-Apr-96)

Mazarine Street - (FineTone) received 3 "plus" for their debut album "The Beast Of..." by reviewer Per Bjurman in Aftonbladet Puls. He says: "I was pretty impressed when I, last summer, saw these young Gothenburgers play nice glitter-pop at the Emmaboda Festival. But I'm even more impressed when they now make their debut with a bunch of raw, noisy, Stooges-coloured firecrackers. Very promising." (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 19-Apr-96)

Monostar - are on their way to be signed to EMI. "- Everything is actually ready. We're just waiting for the management to give us the go-ahead" says Eric Palmquist (vocals, guitar). Several record companies have displayed an interest for the band from Gotland, though these days they live in Stockholm. The biggest interest comes from EMI. A talent scout has seen them live several times and has been listening closely to their demo tapes. The same talent scout recently signed Busty, fronted by Carl Lundell, who is a close friend of Eric's. "- It's great for him and the band. And at the same time, it's an incentive to us.", says Eric. Similarities and differences between Monostar and Busty? "- We probably have the same influences, Neil Young, and that lot, but what comes out of it differs." Eric has been writing and recording new songs during spring, and started to work at Studion in Stockholm about a month ago. The other members of the band are: Linus Larsson (guitar), Carl Silver (bass) and Jimmy Harlevi (drums). (Source: Gotlands Tidningar, 06-Apr-96)

Nöjesguiden - the free Stockholm entertainment magazine asked a bunch of artists if they dance? Here are some of the answers: Jennie Medin, Cloudberry Jam: "- Yes, to everything but techno. I actually met my boyfriend on the dancefloor." Q: How do you dance? "- Like a windmill. I flap my arms a lot. At the Emmaboda Festival I happened to lose my balance and fell down some stairs, it hurt a lot in my caudal vertebra." Henrik Berggren, Broder Daniel: "- Yes, sometimes when I have been drinking so much that I don't know what I'm doing. Some acrobatic exercises and one or two somersaults. But very rarely. Q: Do you headbang too? "- Yes, but not in the traditional way. I more shake my head sideways." Karin Dreijer, Honey Is Cool: "Sometimes, if it is a party. I get happy when I dance, but it has to be sexy music, that is, not guitar-pop." Q: What is the worst? "- Pulp and Oasis!" PA Wikander, Popsicle: "- Well, not really, I feel too old. Mostly cheek-to-cheek to old classics from my youth. Q: Any dance memories? "- I remember that all the boys who danced cheek-to-cheek with good looking girls sagged a lot. That was hard to look at. I'm not sagging at all. (Source: Nöjesguiden, April 1996)

Popsicle - (Telegram) were asked if they would like to do a duet with the swedish "dansband" Arvingarna on TV4's program "Sen Kväll Med Luuk" by the producers of the same program. The answer? A fat "No!". Maybe Popsicle still wishes that Arvingarna will be killed in a tragical bus accident. (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 05-Apr-96) The band is back in the studio again, recording new songs for an upcoming single with producer Niclas Frisk, even though there still are a couple of good single-tracks on their latest album. (Source: Expressen Fredag, 19-Apr-96)

Salt - (MVG/Island) from Stockholm entered UK Independent list at spot 20 with the song "Honour Me". (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 12-Apr-96)

Scents - (Soap) received 2 "plus" (= "passed") for their latest self-titled album by reviewer Per Bjurman in Aftonbladet Puls. He says: "In more temperamental-filled songs, like for example 'Now This!' and 'Virgin Snow', Scents competes with the top of the swedish indie-pop wave survivors. But the well-combed people from Skåne seem, for some reason, to want to make cool coctail-pop and when they do, they are just a second- ord third-grade Eggstone." (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 19-Apr-96)

Shredhead - (NONS) received 3 "plus" (= "good")(out of 5) from reviewer Håkan Steen in Aftonbladet Puls for their latest album "Melting Pot". He says: "It rocks dynamically and intelligently and there are lots of pop-threads to continue on. And that Nina Ramsby from Salt is a guest on a couple of tracks certainly does not make things worse." The album received 3 "wasps" (out of 5) from reviewer Martin Carlsson in Expressen Fredag. He says: "To find a swedish group that jumps with more life and movement than Shredhead is almost impossible. Johan Sellman's funk-mouth rattles like a muffled Anthony Kiedis and the fiery hardcore-comp creates a thorough pressure, not to mention a resounding swing." (Source: Aftonbladet Puls, 05-Apr-96. Expressen Fredag, 19-Apr-96)

Soundtrack Of Our Lives - (Telegram) were finally signed to.. that's right, Telegram, after slow negotiations with a bunch of different record companies. Ebbot Lundberg (vocals) who recently turned 30, notoriously wild ex-singer in Union Carbide Productions tells about Telegram-boss Klas Lunding crying when he heard the group playing live. Not just because they were so good, but also because he felt sorry for them. The reason? That they would be a success first when they were so old. (Source: Nöjesguiden, April 1996)

Stardog - (West Side) received a 2 "wasps" (out of 5) from reviewer Martin Carlsson in Expressen Fredag, for their latest album "In Order To Disorder". He says: "Chilly weight, just about right agressively without being slow or speedy, rather monotonous after a while. On the other hand, the melancholy pop-ballad 'Never Be The Same' stands out like a lyrical Popsicle at a death mass. More of that, please." (Source: Expressen Fredag, 12-Apr-96)

Waterbug - (West Side) from Gothenburg made their debut last year with one of Record-sweden's most kept secrets. The album, called "Supercalifragilisticepialidocious" has, according to the band, sold about 1.000 copies. The fact that it, a) was good and b) got pretty good reviews in the press, does not make the buyers' powerful non-interest more comprehensible. Their new album, "Monday Morning Quarterback" is a lot more artful and radio-friendly, than the debut, which was a tasty excess in swedish lo-fi. Kjell Nästén, who has produced The Wannadies and The Bear Quartet, was called in to make Waterbug's music a bit more easy accessible. But the album is not super-slick - their sound is still both awkward and full of go. Patrik Jonasson (bass) says, though without bitterness: "If it doesn't work this time, we might as well just quit. It feels like a win or lose situation with this album." (Source: Nöjesguiden, April 1996)

April 29th, 1996

Busty - (EMI) singer Carl Lundell's famous father Ulf Lundell speaks out about his son in the latest issue of "Upp & Ner" magazine. "- I said to him: 'Why aren't you singing in swedish, it is such a golden opportunity right now? Those who are get everyone's attention immediately.' But he read somewhere that they're really interested in bands from Scandinavia in the UK right now... It's okay with me. He's got to make his own experiences. I don't know why someone would want to look that way, but he probably does. Eyeshadow, glitter, ink on the eyelids, too tight clothes..." (Source: Aftonbladet Puls)

Scandinavian Indie - received a "4-Star" site review by The McKinley Group's online editorial team. By this review, which is the highest rating an Internet site can achieve in Magellan, they mean that the site has excelled in each of their criteria for evaluating web sites, namely "Depth of Content," "Ease of Exploration," and "Net Appeal." Sites awarded a "4-Star" review will be republished as part of licensing agreements with Time Warner's Pathfinder, AT&T, The Microsoft Network, IBM, Europe Online, NYNEX, and other information providers. The review is as follows: "Independent music in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries seems to be flourishing, and "Scandanavian Indie" is dedicating to covering this burgeoning scene. You can listen to the latest demos from a number of bands while you read reviews of the work. The site includes many in-depth band profiles with photos, plus a comprehensive concert and festival listing. The producers of the site exude enthusiasm for their subject matter, making an impressive and well-organized page that much better." Rating Summary: Net Appeal: 9, Depth of Coverage: 9, Ease of Exploration: 10. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

This Perfect Day - (Soap) reload and will not give up, even though their latest album "Don't Smile" was something of a failure. The quintet from Skellefteå, pioneers of what is called swedish indiepop, continues stronger than ever. According to rumours, they are making a Smashing Pumpkins, that is a double-CD. (Source: Aftonbladet Puls)

April 27th, 1996

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) appeared on swedish national television's program "Nöjesrevyn" thursday april 25th (re-run on saturday), playing a couple of songs and chatted with the hosts during the show. The band play next in Stockholm at Gino on May 1st and then in Linköping with Whale and TNT at the "Herrgår'n 10 year celebration week" outdoors if the weather allows on the 2nd. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Honeymoons - (NONS) is the next swedish band playing at the Dublin Castle club in London. The date: April 30th. (Source: Topp40)

Sound Affects - the nice swedish Pop magazine will have the next issue (30) out by the beginning of May. The issue contains articles about Lush, Popsicle, Stereolab, Tommy 16, Marion, Seam, Leslies, Superchunk, High Llamas. Other than that it will feature articles about Detroit Rock and a Festival guide. The reason for stating that it would be out in June earlier? Just to stop people from calling and asking when/if the next issue will be released. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

April 25th, 1996

Aquadays - who appears on the Dorian Records compilation CD (800 copies made) called "A Chance To Shine", to be released around May 6th, have changed their song from "Spacious" to "June". The band also have plans to release their debut album this summer, also on Dorian Records. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) went to see Sonic Youth on their first night in London, UK. This was of course the night before their gig at the Dublin Castle Club. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Eggstone - (Soap) and Komeda (NONS) will play in London, UK at the opening night of a new club called "Wonderwall" on May 7th, 1996. (Source: ZTV)

Fidget - have received clear offers from four record companies, and will decide on which one of those they are going to select after they have played in Stockholm at Studion on May 3rd. The band will probably also play at Lollipop in Stockholm this summer, though that is not 100% sure yet. They want to play at the Hultsfred Festival, and want us (Scandinavian Indies) to help them out by sending e-mail to the Festival stating that we want to see them at the festival! Messages can be something like "Please get Fidget from Gothenburg to play at the festival this year! They are the greatest..." etc. The Hultsfred Festival has email address: hultsfredsfestivalen@motor.se (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Gatufesten - the festival in Sundsvall July 4-6 is starting to get their artist schedule ready. Here is the list (so far): Hoola bandoola band, Kent, Garmarna, Louise Hoffsten, Pineforest Crunch, Popsicle, Rob'n Raz, Papa Dee, Robyn, Fistfunk, Infinite Mass, Sven Ingvars, Rebecka Thörnqvist, Stefan Andersson, and Leningrad Cowboys. (Source: Anders Thorsell)

Lousy - has received very positive reactions from a UK management company called Jam X. The company also has it's own label called Superior Quality Recordings with distribution around the world by Polygram. One of the bands in their stable is The Bluetones. A&R people from the company are planning to come and take a look at the band in the near future. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Salt - (MVG/Island) 's song "So" will go on the radio first this week on WFNX in Boston. It will also be the second single from the Mission Impossible Soundtrack (though it is not in the movie). The first single is the Mission Impossible Theme reworked by Larry & Adam from U2, which is said to be pretty wild. Meanwhile, in Sweden the video to "Honour Me" was premiered on ZTV's "Tryck Till" April 19th where it got the grade "svänger" - which means that they think it will be a hit. (Source: Scandinavian Indie, ZTV)

Shallow Soundwave - play together with Broder Daniel at Hemulen in Gothenburg on April 27th. They will play all the songs from their demo tape + two new songs. The band has added a new guy on guitar, Olof, but he will not perform live with the band yet. Two record companies, MVG Records and Sun Spot Rec. will be on the spot to check them out, which probably means that there is a very bright future for the band. They have also been added to STIM recently, and they also appear on the Dorian Records compilation CD, which you already know. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

April 17th, 1996

Fidget - the planned showcase April 12th in Stockholm was moved to the club "O" at the last minute, and they had to start as early as 19:30. "So that we wouldn't disturb the guests at Sturehof" Daniel (guitar) explained afterwards. The gig went very well, even though an effect-pedal did not want to work from the start and a cord that did not want to stay put in Daniel's guitar. A&R people from ten (!) record labels were present in the audience, which made the band very nervous, but they were very well received and played an extra number too. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Roskilde Festival - in Denmark June 27-30 adds a bunch of new names to their already impressive list of bands/artists appearing: Bel Canto (N), Bluetones (The) (UK), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (AUS), D.A.D. (DK), Foo Fighters (US), Frontline Assembly (CAN), Kinky Vibes (N), Mole Session (The) (S), Schweinhund (N), Underworld (UK) and Walkabouts (The) (US). (Source: Roskilde Information)

Salt - (MVG/Island) are starting their next US tour the day after tomorrow in Baltimore. That we know. But their US label, Island, has not decided whether or not they will actually make a CD single of the song "So". If it will be released, it will also come with a couple of non-album tracks, which means new songs. There is no change in the plans for the 'Mission Impossible: the Soundtrack' CD though. "So" will still appear on it. The CD will be released in the US in May and the movie comes out at the end of May (also in the US). (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Sound Affects - one of the best swedish Pop magazines will not release their next issue in June, as stated in current issue. This is no surprise to its readers, as it has taken about a year between issues lately. What is a surprise is that the new issue will be released at the end of April (!) instead! Time for miracles! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Trästocksfestivalen - the Swedish Woodstock (yes it is for free) that takes place in Skellefteå July 19-20 will have a very strong emphasis on "indie" music this year, says record label guru Jocke at West Side. Indie Mecca sort of. The line-up will start to be presented in about a week, but as usual, most of the West Side bands will perform. The festival will be opened on July 18th with a big party in downtown Skellefteå with all the West Side bands, but from what I know, this is not a public happening. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Wannadies - (Soap/Indolent) entered the UK single chart directly at number 18 this week with their single "You And Me Song". Indolent will because of this start to promote their album(s) once again. The band will go on a 10-gig tour by themselves in the UK starting at the end of April. (Source: ZTV)

April 3rd, 1996

Anders N. Productions - is a new booking agency, that recently started in Uppsala. And as a private alternative to the arrogant giants, they are now busy contacting bands and venues. Behind the agency, we find Anders Nilsson (guitar in aBLe) and Magnus Skarbo (vocals/guitar in Blake Carringtons) with their wide net of contacts. At the moment, they handle Sonic Surf City, Honeymoons, aBLe, Blake Carringtons, Fanscene and King Here After, with more on the way. Interested bands/venues can contact Anders at +46-18-100506 or Magnus at +46-18-260132. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Beat Butchers - competition is over, and the winners are: Ludde Berntsson, Haninge, Johan Helmstad, Gothenburg, Pär Häggblad, Uppsala, Jörgen Jörälv, Sundbyberg, Mattias Kling, Norrköping, Leif Lindgren, Gävle Håkan Lindström, Västerås, Malin Ljungqvist, Nyköping Tyrone Lundgren, Hofors, Tor Luttropp, Bromma Jimmy Nilsson, Karlstad, Magnus Nord, Örebro Mårten Sahlen, Stockholm, Brad Samuelson, San Francisco, US. If you're on the list above, there's a copy of the 1996 Promo in the mail for you. Expect it within a week. Congratulations! (Source: Beat Butchers, Scandinavian Indie)

Busty - fronted by Ulf Lundell's son Kalle have released an EP, which, if I may say so, is brilliant! Full of guitar-walls, a bit of limping vocals, but not in the old Broder Daniel school, fortunately. They have also made a video to the song "Lovestreamed", that got a good review on Z-Tv's "Tryck Till" last week. (Source: Scandinavian Indie, Z-Tv)

Lousy - will play together with Fly (the ex-members from Easy) at Chalmers in Gothenburg April 13th, 1996. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Roskilde - festival 96 adds yet another mind-boggling name to their list of artists: Neil Young & Crazy Horse. Also, swedish group Kent has been added. Tickets are on sale now. (Source: Roskilde Information, Scandinavian Indie)

Salt - (MVG/Island) will appear on the soundtrack to the movie "Mission: Impossible" starring Tom Cruise, with the song "So". "So" is also their forthcoming second US single, to be released on April 29th. A video to the song will be shot in New York City starting April 14th. From April 18th to May 5th, Salt is back on the road in the US again. This time they have the middle slot between Girls Against Boys and Edsel. The tour starts in Baltimore, goes down the east coast, crosses the country, and goes up the west coast to end in San Francisco (see tour date list below). Nine days later, Salt will start up again in New Orleans May 14 with Seven Mary Three and tour through June 20th. They will again be playing the middle slot - the opening act is Poe. This is going to be a bigger tour, playing in houses 1500 - 3000 capacity with a few big radio festivals (20,000 - 50,000 persons) along the way. It will cover the entire US except for the northeast. That tour date list will be posted here soon. (see the Scandinavian Indie Gig Guide for Swedish bands touring outside Scandinavia for the tour date lists!) (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Scandinavian Indie - secret Web-page contest is over, and the two winners are: Eric Ekwall, Stockholm, Johan Helmstad, Gothenburg. You will receive the special limited edition Scandinavian Indie t-shirt in the mail in about two weeks (the easter holidays messes up my schedule). Congratulations! Due to the fact that only 8 people found the hidden link to the page, this kind of contest will not be repeated. Stay tuned for a new contest in May! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Shallow - have finally changed their name, due to the number of bands with the same name, which has been discussed a lot here earlier. Their new name is Shallow Soundwave. Recently they received a "5++" review for their demo in Göteborgs Posten's friday edition "Aveny", where the highest score usually is "5". The reviewer, Magnus Johansson wrote that it was the best demo he had heard, ever. They also got a pretty good review in british Melody Maker, where they called them "fairly mesmeric" and compared them to Curve and Spiritualized. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Soundtrack of our Lives - (Telegram) former Union Carbide, have been signed to.. that's right, Telegram. The band will release an EP in May-June. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Surreal - correction: the band will _not_ release a demo with the newly recorded songs, but a record with the title: "Friends of Soap and Water". Release date is set to: April 30th, 1996. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

March 30th, 1996

Carpe Wade - (West Side) have recorded at least fifteen new songs the last few weeks, which of course sounds promising. But, they have thrown away about eleven of them because they are changing their style - from hardcore with a bit of pop, to pure pop! The West Siders are-a-changing! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Cessna - from Finland will appear on a US compilation tape, soon to be released, together with (among others) swedish bands Celeste and Red Sleeping Beauty. More information will be posted when the tape is actually out. (Source: Kimmo)

Emmaboda - festival 96, August 9-10 lists the following artists as ready now: Bob Hund, Mouth, Naked, Popsicle, Pineforest Crunch, Sobsister, Silverbullet, Broder Daniel, Fly, Lousy, Brick and Chester Copperpot. A total of 30 artists will play at the festival. (Source: Popöga)

Fidget - had a very succesful gig in Linköping on thursday, which resulted in an extra-number - something the band usually do not do, said singer Nina Natri. There's someone in Gothenburg who is working on a homepage (pretty much ready) for Fidget right now, the band said, though they didn't remember the address. Stay tuned to this "column" for it! (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Herrgår'n - the "student" venue here in Linköping celebrates it's 10 year anniversary in May. Three bands will play on a selected night for the celebrations, and rumours say that two of the bands are Lustans Lakejer and Cloudberry Jam. More info about the festivities will be posted closer to the event. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Hultsfred - festival 1996-goers will also be able to see Chester Copperpot from Gothenburg, who are performing at the festival this year. On the down side, Afghan Whigs cancelled. (Source: Motor Agency, Scandinavian Indie)

Lousy - from Tenhult have climbed up to a number 8 spot (from 10 the week before that) on the "most played singles/demos" list at a radio station in Calgary, Canada with the song "Heavy Metal". You can check out the top-list at: http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/students/VOX/Columns/top40.html. (Source: Magnus Johansson)

Scandinavian Indie - changes postal address! Though it's just the Zip-Code that changes from "582 51 Linköping" to the NEW -> "584 36 Linköping".

Skylten - the Linköping venue run by the local organization "Rock d'Amour" are looking for bands who want to be opening acts for forthcoming gigs at the venue. They say that they will pick local bands first, but sending them (Not Kevin, as told before) a demo cassette/CD anyway can't hurt. Contact Rock d'Amour at: Rock d'Amour, Oskarsgatan 3, 582 73 Linköping. (Phone: +46-13-313638, Fax: +46-13-313568). (Source: Kevin)

Souls - (Telegram) new album "In Between Bird And Fish" has been delayed once again, and will not be released until August this year. (Source: Z-TV Nytt)

Super - from Finland are now recording basic tracks for a forthcoming single. Stay tuned for more information. (Source: Kimmo)

Surreal - from Varberg, recorded a new demo at the Recordia Studios at the same time as Fidget recorded their latest one. The new demo contains 6 songs that are a lot heavier than on their earlier demo, said Ulf Cronheim (bass). The band has changed a lot and the only remaining member since those days is Martin Wegland (vocals). New members are Ulf, Tony Karlsson (drums) and Martin Widhag (guitar). Their sound, Ulf said, can be labeled "american rattling, straggly pop with a lot of melodies and choir-singing." A review will be posted soon. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

March 27th, 1996

Bluetones - is not a swedish band, but when they play in Stockholm at Studion later tonight (27/3) together with Velvet Belly from Norway, there's an opening act, consisting of ex-members of the swedish band Easy! (Source: Magnus Johansson)

Broder Daniel - have released a video to their new song "Work". And what can one say but that the out-of-tune vocals are gone and that it really sounds like pop these days. (Source: Z-TV)

Cloudberry Jam - (NONS) who released their album "Providing The Atmosphere" last tuesday spent a day in Stockholm last friday, making an interview for swedish radio P3's program Musikjournalen (broadcasted yesterday) and appearing on ZTV's program Pop TV Live (two songs, an interview and a "report" from the release party) the same day. The band spent the whole day today making interviews for various radio stations around the country. They are also scheduled to appear on swedish television's program Nöjesrevyn on April 25th, but before that, they will play in London, UK on April 19th, at the Dublin Castle Club, as mentioned earlier in this "column". (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

CNR Music - the swedish label where, among others, The Merrymakers has found a home, are soon joining the rising number of labels connected to/on the Internet. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Fidget - released a new demo friday last week, which caught the ears of many record labels - and resulted in a massive phone attack on their manager Hansi Friberg. Even the vice president for the whole Warner group of companies, plus the guy who "discovered" Robyn took it upon themselves to call. On April 12th, the band will play in Stockholm as opening act for Ocean Colour Scene, and the audience will be joined by people from about eight record companies, including two british ones. Which is to say that they will be signed really soon. On the publishing side, the band is already signed to MCA. (Source: Scandinavian Indie)

Hultsfred 96 - the festival added three names to their list of artists appearing this year today: Ministry, Sick of it All and Emmylou Harris. Looks like a it's going to be the best one yet. (Source: Z-TV Nytt)

Roskilde 96 - the festival added a bunch of new artists last week. Björk (ISL), Frank Black (US), Chumbawamba (UK), Döcreforsög (DK), The Fall (UK), Pop Will Eat Itself (UK), Pretty Maids (DK), Sex Pixtols (UK), Tindersticks (UK). (Source: Roskilde Festival Information)

February 28th, 1996

Björk received the "babe of the year 1995" award by UK magazine Select. (Source: Aftonbladet)

Cloudberry Jam (NONS) have planned a release party in good old Linköping for the upcoming album "Providing The Atmosphere". The event is planned for March 19th. Some unmentionable people wanted the party to be held in Stockholm, for obvious reasons, but the band didn't share that view. While in Japan (Jennie and Henrik) promoting their new album, they also got to DJ at one of the "in" clubs in Tokyo called "Electronic Cafe" and finally managed to get their hands on the Japanese version of their previous album, which none of them had before, strangely enough. Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia have signed a co-publishing- and option-agreement with Fish Up Publishing, the publishing firm for North Of No South, and therefore, Cloudberry Jam. British Unimedia Productions have booked a load of Swedish bands to play at the Dublin Castle club in London, and the first band to play there is.. yes, you guessed it, Cloudberry Jam, on April 19th. (Source: Sin, Topp40)

Drain (MVG) were in Los Angeles, USA this weekend, and recorded a video directed by Wayne Isham (who has directed videos with everything from Metallica to Whitney Houston). (Source: Expressen)

Emmaboda Festival 96 (August 9 - 10), news (although not from the arrangers): Artists ready as of today includes: Brick, Chester Copperpot, Starmarket and Stereolab. (Source: Minna/Super, Sin)

Grammy Awards in Sweden: Expressen reports from the after-party that Popsicle's "bad boy" Fredrik Norberg tried to pick up Kajsa Mellgren, but had to give up, and that Frans Johansson (Fireside) circled around Robyn. (Source: Expressen)

Hultsfred Festival 96 have, for the first year, permission to keep the festival open around the clock. This is of course good news for the new dance-tent, which replaces the Sahara stage this year. (Source: Topp40)

Kent (BMG) received an award in the category "Best Group" at the annual Swedish Grammy awards held February 19th. They also appeared "live" (playback) at the awards, performing the song "Frank". The members of the band had different opinions about if the prize was important to them or not. Joakim Berg (vocals) said it wasn't, and Sami Sirviö (guitar) said it was, though reports from the after-party said that the band "misplaced" their award. Their new single "Kräm" was released on February 19th as well. A video for the song "Kräm" exists, and was first shown on ZTV February 16th in the program "Tryck Till", where it got a "svänger" review, which means that they think that it will be a hit. They used five (!) stuntmen when recording the video for one scene - the one where Joakim Berg jumps from Västerbron. Linda Norrman-Skugge at Expressen listed the contents on a pre-hand tape of the upcoming album. 27 titles were listed. Can that really be true? If it is, then D. Shutrick and Henrik De La Cour appear in two songs. (Source: Minna/Super, Expressen, Topp40, ZTV, SVT 1)

Naked from Denmark (yes, we can all see what's coming.. "Naked Sweden"?) have their own fan club and with that, their own homepage. You'll find it at: http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/3906. (Source: Sin)

Puffin (West Side) has a new member. Who, you ask? Well, if you have seen the band live, you probably know who he is - Eskil Lövström (trombone, keyboards). (Source: Sin)

Ray Wonder (NONS) and Cardigans tour on Iceland right now has been preceded by a high interest from the icelandic media. Ray Wonder has been played up to 70 times/day on the radio and last monday, the icelandic national radio had a "Ray Wonder Day" and played everything they could find by the band. Both bands arrived yesterday and were met by the swedish ambassadeur, who took them on a round trip of Iceland. Apart from the gigs, press and tv, they will also have two recreational days with scooter-riding and baths in thermal springs. (Source: Topp40)

Salt (MVG) as you know, got a visit from ZTV at the Tower Records/Costa Mesa gig. They recorded the whole concert and then rode on the tour bus with the band to Fullerton to interview them. Their manager, Jeff, said that "the piece should be interesting and full of Salt's impressions of the US after their first week of gigs." and that "the tour is going great and the response to Salt at all of the shows has been brilliant". The single "Bluster" took two steps up on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks list from place 26 to 24. They are still touring the US. Expressen reports that a number of gigs are sold out weeks ahead and that they are treated like real rock stars. They also mention that Pat Smear (Foo Fighters) checked out the gig in Los Angeles. (Source: Sin, Expressen)

Shallow from Gothenburg are, after receiving the news about the number of "Shallow"s out there, thinking about "making a Verve", that is, changing their name to "The Shallow". The band will also be included on the upcoming compilation from Dorian Records (where Aquadays also will be represented) with the song "Hyper", Sin's favourite song on their demo tape reviewed on the mailing list last week. (Source: Sin)

February 19th, 1996

Hedningarna have released a CD called "Fire" on Tristar Music (Sony) in the US under the new name "The Heathens". The CD is a "best of" from their two earlier albums "Kaksi" and "Trä". (Source: Aftonbladet)

Roskilde Festival 96 revealed a couple of names for this summer's festival this weekend. Ready for the festival are: David Bowie, Edwyn Collins, Flaming Lips, The Amps, Ash, Heather Nova, Pulp, Garbage, Hotel Hunger (DK), Baal (DK), Merzy (DK) and Caroline Henderson (DK). The festival starts on June 27th and ends June 30th. (Source: Expressen)

Record Releases noted last week includes (Albums): April Tears "Sing Lee", Honeymoons "A Day Like Today", Sludge Nation "Wisehead EP". (Singles): Contrappunto "E Assim Vou".

Salt (MVG) touring and touring the US. Their last gig in New York, March 14th at Brownie's will be a kind of release party. Their US label, Island, have bought the house for the event, so tickets will probably not be available. Martin Carlsson, from swedish evening paper Expressen, has been to Salt's shows in Seattle and LA, and came together with Z-TV to a free show at the Tower Records/Lab in Costa Mesa yesterday, which means that Z-TV will show some sort of segment soon. Keep your eyes open!

Teddybears (MVG) will release their first CD "We Are Teddybears" in Japan. The only difference will be one picture in the booklet, where the Japanese label wanted to see the members play golf, so they took an old picture, cut out the "real people's" faces and put the Teddybears members' faces there instead. (Source: Expressen)

Upcoming Non-Scandinavian Band Record Releases that might be of interest. It does really make you wonder about Sony's domination, doesn't it?: Week 7 - Lush "Ladykiller" (Skand). 8 - Front Line Assembly "Plasticity" (Energy). 9 - The Auteurs "After Murder Park" (Virgin), Cowboy Junkies "tba" (Geffen), Posies "The Posies" (Geffen). February - Heavy Stereo "tba" (Sony). Week 10 - Scheer "tba" (Domino). 12 - Lush "Lovelife" (Domino). 14 - His Name Is Alive "tba" (Domino). April - Rage Against The Machine "Evil Empire" (Sony), Velvet Crush "tba" (Sony). Week 20 - Throwing Muses "tba" (Domino). May - Screaming Trees "tba" (Sony), Suede "tba" (Sony). June - Boo Radleys "tba" (Sony). July - Jeff Buckley "tba" (Sony). August - Primal Scream "tba" (Sony), Teenage Fanclub "tba" (Sony). 1996 - Silverchair "tba" (Sony), Stone Roses "tba" (Geffen/MCA). (Source: Topp40)

Waterbug (West Side) who are releasing their new CD called "Monday Morning Quarterback" on April 10th, will probably get a lot of questions about the title from swedish journalists, as this expression isn't widely known in this country. Scandinavian Indie hereby reveals (:-)) that it's another expression for "efterklok".

February 18th, 1996

Backfisch (West Side) are still thinking about whether to continue as a band or not. Unfortunately.

Blissful (West Side) release a new EP called "I am a Wreck" on monday Feburary 26th, with five brand new songs. The label is currently hoping to sign the band for distribution outside Scandinavia.

Cloudberry Jam (North Of No South) have moved the release date for their forthcoming single "Another Moment Follows" to February 19th, 1996. Release date for the album, "Providing The Atmosphere" is set to March 18th. That album is already pre-ordered in 25.000 copies in Japan. (Source: Topp40)

Drain (MVG) 's records will be released outside the Nordic countries and Estonia by Warner, says the licence agreement between the two. The band will also be the opening act for Fear Factory in London, who are starting their tour of the UK. (Source: Topp40)

Drowners (Speech/West Side) is the next West Side band to be released in Japan. February 21st is the date for their latest CD "Destroyer".

Kent appeared friday February 16th on "Inför Grammisgalan" on TV 4 at 21:30. Their new video "Kräm" was first (premiere) shown on ZTV, February 16th on the program "Tryck Till".

Mouth (Telegram) recently kicked Peter Bohman (bass) and have played with a stand-in, Elias Modigh, since. The reasons behind it all they say, is that the personal chemistry just didn't work. They now hope that Elias will join the band full-time, because everything works like a charm with him in the band. Elias is only 25 years old, but has been in the business a long time. The US release date for their CD "Hole Of Your Head" on Reprise is now set for March 15th.

Nausea Hits, Therese Johansson's (Sindy Kills Me) newly started band has been signed to Warner/Chappell Scandinavia with a song contract. (Source: Topp40)

Petrol from Västerås, that we have heard so much about on the Scandinavian Indie mailing list, were finally announced as signed by Warner/Chappell Scandinavia. They are currently choosing between contracts from Telegram, Sony and Diesel. Diesel is setting up a sub-label with swedish "pop music" and wants Petrol as their first band. Anyway, count on a single within the next few months, and a few gigs on festivals this summer. (Source: Topp40 & Jan Sundström)

Popundret (West Side) are now also signed for Japan, and will release their CD "Montmartre 15 40" there on February 21st. Hopes are high, due to very good reviews in the Japan press. The band is also extremely popular in Germany (!).

This Perfect Day (MVG) have been in China, and appeared on MTV Asia and Channel V. Their album, "Don't Smile" has sold over 35.000 copies in China. (Source: Topp40)

February 15th, 1996

Hultsfred Festival 96 announced yesterday at the "release party" in Stockholm, the headliners for this year's festival: Björk (ICELAND), Blur (UK), Iggy Pop (USA), Pulp (UK), The Prodigy (UK), Afghan Whigs (USA), Frank Black (USA), Skunk Anansie (UK), The Bluetones (UK), Northern Uproar (UK), Barkmarket (USA), Artis The Spoonman (USA), Gypsys From Rajastan (INDIA). And from Sweden: Popsicle, Olle Adolphson, No Fun At All, Fireside, Yvonne, At The Gates, Cirkus Cirkör. They also announced their Internet pages, at: http://www.hultsfredsfestivalen.rockparty.se. (Source: Magnus Jansson)

Salt wants to enter the studio as soon as possible, to record new material for a release (album?) planned for November 1996. But first they have to end the current US tour (mid March) and go back to the US for yet another tour in April! (Source: Expressen)

Scandinavian Indie contest have also changed the last date for sending in your "found the hidden page" message. Due to my own personal vacation at the end of February, and because it seems like it's pretty hard to find that hidden page, the last date to send in your message have moved to March 28th. And the one person (!) who has already found the hidden page, will win one of the t-shirts, for his fine work, and the rest will be prizes in the (now easier) contest.

February 11th, 1996

Hultsfredsfestivalen 95 have a "releaseparty" February 13th at Hard Rock Cafe in Stockholm, about the headliners for this year's festival. Invited only. (Source: Magnus Jansson)

Kent releases a single on February 19th called "Kräm (så nära får ingen gå)" from the forthcoming album "Verkligen" which will be released in March.

Record Reviews noted this weekend includes swedish hardcore meisters Refused's full-length "Songs to Fan The Flames of Discontent" on Startrec (4 out of 5 points in both Aftonbladet and Expressen) and the CD compilation "Quality Punk Rock" on Bad Taste Records, with among others, Loosegoats (3 out of 5 points from both Aftonbladet and Expressen (who also noted that Loosegoats was the best band of them all on it)).

Rockbjörnen, the gala held monday February 12th, by swedish evening paper Aftonbladet, will have a live site on the Internet during the event at http://www.aftonbladet.se/puls/puls.html, where you can follow what's happening with comments from the winners and audience, pictures and chat with others. The time to log on is set to: 19.00. (performances from among others: Naked and Fireside).

February 6th, 1996

Aftonbladet, one of the evening papers in Sweden listed "the fresh pop-voices of -96" in their Friday edition last friday, with some strange facts. For example, they say that Åsa Eklund, from Pineforest Crunch, said that when they toured the UK, they went by train (and not in the troublesome "Stars On Mars" bus as they have stated earlier). What's true?

Brainpool's Janne Kask and David Birde are in Spain (Marbella) writing songs for their new album while drummer Jens Jansson is in Cuba (on crocodile safari?). (Source: Aftonbladet)

Cardigans are going back to Japan in April, playing a couple of gigs on their own and two together with Stakka Bo (!).

Dipper from Malmö, Hansi Friberg, their bookie (from this very day even!) says, sound a lot like Bob Hund. Not as original, and not with swedish lyrics, but still a lot like Bob Hund. Are we going to take his word for it? No, we're getting a demo tape from them as soon as possible, and find out for ourselves! :-)

Drain got four (out of five) "plus" in Aftonbladet for their debut album "Horror Wrestling". Members of the band are (age): Flavia Canel (32) guitar, Anna Kjellberg (26) bass, Maria Sjöholm (30) vocals and Martina Axen (29) drums. Their WWW pages can be found at: http://www.iuma.com/MNW/MVG/html/DRAIN.html

Drowners (The) from the swedish pop-metropol Skellefteå, released their debut album "Destroyer" (29/1) on the Speech / A West Side Fabrication label. Their sound can best be described as brititsh-Teenage-Fanclub-pop-ish, like a lot of other bands, though they managed to score 4 out of 5 "plus" in Aftonbladet for their album. Members of the band are: Magnus Wikström (vocals), Mikael Sundqvist (guitar), Leif Rehnström (guitar), Jonas Bergqvist (bass) and Andreas Persson (drums).

Fidget from Gothenburg, is a "new" band to look out for, according to their bookie, Hansi Friberg. Their first demo became "Demo Of The Week" in british Melody Maker. Their sound? According to Expressen's Linda Norrman: "popsynthpop with a lot of british girlie vocals". Six people are members of the band; Nina Natri (24) vocals, Louise Weibull (21) guitar, Daniel Claesson (21) guitar, Fredrik Andersson (24) synthesizer, Pontus Willquist (23) bass and Johan Forsman (23) drums. Right now, they are all in the UK, talking to a whole bunch of interested record labels like MCA, Go! Discs (Polygram) and so on.

Green will spend the whole month of March in the studio recording their forthcoming full-length, to be released this autumn. Before that, they will release a single around April. The band recently left the Rainbow Music label and are now talking to a major swedish label (I guess not to be revealed before the contract is signed). The band has also changed - Magnus, Helene and Björn are still there, but they have new members on drums and bass. The reason behind the change was mostly because the now-gone-members got time consuming jobs when they were ready with their university education. Another reason might be because Magnus, Helene and Björn live in Stockholm and the rest in Gothenburg. Their latest recording sounds really promising though - even better than the "old" Green!

Hultsfred Festival 96 are thinking of getting Björk (cost: 1 million) and Red Hot Chili Peppers (cost: 1.7 million), (in SEK) - we'll know for sure on February 13th. Tickets are released on February 14th. Price: 650 SEK (plus advance-fee). (Source: Aftonbladet)

Mouth are planning a release party in New York the first or second week of March, for their album "Hole of Your Head", to be released in the US in March. A US tour is also planned for May - June. Last time they played in New York, they played together with Latin Kings at a Latino club, which maybe sounds awkward, but it was a success, partly due to Fredrik Joelson's excellent spanish that he learned while living in Spain for a couple of years. Right now, they are in the studio recording new material, which they will bring with them when they are going to the US in the middle of February to record a new video. Fredrik Joelson (vocals, guitar) has also made a couple of interviews for forthcoming issues of, for example, Ray Gun.

Penniless People of Bulgaria released a CD single called "Motorhead" on 22/1 on the A West Side Fabrication label. The band also has a European contract, which means that those of you outside Scandinavia (in Europe) can find their releases on the Music For Nations label.

Pinko Pinko heads for the studio in the near future. They will record a couple of new songs for an EP which will be released in April (preliminary).

Popsicle are joined by Pineforest Crunch on their remaining tour of Sweden, and the one date in Denmark (22/2) and Norway (31/3). Get those tickets now!

Popundret got 2 out of 5 "plus" in Aftonbladet for their new album "Montmartre 15 40", released 19/1 on A West Side Fabrication. The reviewer, Per Bjurman thought they were too unstable to manage the Morrissey sound they're supposed to deliver.

Salt: The Internet Broadcast from Seattle is audio only. It is live from Seattle which is 12 Midnight February 10th - in Sweden that will be 9:00 am February 11. URL will be posted here before the gig! Some tour dates for Salt have been added, and one, at Brownie's in NYC has been moved. For that information check out the Scandinavian Indie Swedish Bands Non-Scandinavian Gig Guide.

Trästocksfestivalen 96, the Swedish Woodstick, will be held July 19 - 20 this year. And as usual it is for free. Jocke said they were thinking of stepping down a bit this year, as it was almost too much people there last year, but he had no plans on how. All the West Side bands will be there, and Jocke hoped that Salt would come back and play this year again.

Velvet Belly from Norway, will play in Stockholm at Studion on March 27th together with The Bluetones. At last, this norwegian wonder is back in Sweden!

February 3rd, 1996

Cardigans celebrated their million copies selling album "Life" with a party in London last week. (Source: Topp40)

Hultsfred Festival 96 presented a couple of names for the festival in June - Pulp, Blur and Iggy Pop. They also announced that more information will be released on February 13th, so we'll have to wait some more it seems. (Source: Aftonbladet)

Record Releases, a lot of them have been announced, the coming week includes Popundret "Montmartre 15 40", Ludo X "Audience" and Fireside "Left Rustle". Upcoming releases includes Kent (Week 11), a bunch of West Side bands like, Puffin "In Red And Yellow" (Week 9), Peniless People of Bulgaria "Velocity" (Week 8) on Music For Nations (?), A Shrine "Unisex" (Week 12), Waterbug "Monday Morning Quarterback" (Week 15) and Stardog in April. (Source: Topp40)

Westgotha Festival will be held in Trollhättan (Sweden) on August 2nd - 3rd this year. Official homepages for the festival can be found at: http://www.ludd.luth.se/westgotha, and brief information can of course be found on Scandinavian Indie's "Festivals in Sweden 1996" page at: http://www.lysator.liu.se/~chief/sfest96.html.

January 31st, 1996

Arvika Festival 96 announced that the ticket prices this year are the same as last year. That means 345 SEK in advance or 395 SEK at the gates. A homepage with information about the festival and everything surrounding it is in the works right now, and will be ready some time during February.

Sound Affects, probably the best Swedish Pop magazine, is known for their very irregular release schedule, and it is soon over one year since the last issue, so I decided to call them up and ask what's going on. They said the new issue is at the printing house right now, and that it will be out in February. After that, they'll try to have one issue out in March and one in April. Those who are alive will see.

Vinterbadarna, the ones who arrange the Emmaboda Festival, arrange once again a smaller one-day festival in Växjö on March 22nd. The line-up (right now) looks like this: Lousy, Ludo X, Starmarket, New Bomb Turks and Tamboureens.

January 30th, 1996

Arvika Festival 96 in Sweden will be held on June 19-20 this year. No artists have been announced yet. Keep an eye on the Scandinavian Indie "Festivals in Sweden 1996" WWW page for more info.

Salt, the swedish band on the MVG and Island label will have a new webside ready in mid-February, a part of the new MNW website. So be sure to tune in to http://www.cabal.se/mnw around that time for the new MNW experience. Salt's pages will be at the above address, plus /mvg/salt/ of course. More Salt: the band debuted on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts at #32 for the week ending February 3rd, 1996. The "Bluster" video can now be seen on MTV-USA's Alternative Nation and 120 Minutes. They are in the process of making a new video to the song "Honour Me", which will be directed by Klas Ahlen from Teddybears Sthlm.

January 28th, 1996

Beat Butchers 1996 Promo Contest is now Open! Check out the pages right Here!, including a page with sound samples and information from the Promo CD that you can win! A hint in case you have no idea what to answer on the questions is to check out the Beat Butchers pages.

January 27th, 1996

Naked were featured in an article in Svenska Dagbladet's friday edition, City yesterday. Among other things, they talk about how they started, what they do when they're not playing (walk around town), that they have only had 15 gigs, that they will play at Rockbjörnsutdelningen February 12th, that their single "Left Alone Again" can be heard in the swedish movie "Vinterviken" and that their full-length "Naked" will be released on March 4th.

Suredo, the great band that came from Linköping, but aren't active any more, are still playing together, except for Mikael Myrnerts who is now in the band Aloon. Suredo's old drummer, Ulf Stenport says they're rehearsing, having Cloudberry Jam's drummer Per Byström on drums, but that they haven't decided on a name for the band yet. You'll find news on upcoming gigs or the availability of demo tapes in this column.

January 25th, 1996

Beat Butchers has a small party (invited only) at Studion on Friday January 26th for the new releases from Coca Carola, Svart Snö and Radioaktiva Räker.

Drain, the all female band on MVG, released their debut album "Horror Wrestling" in Sweden on January 22nd, and it will be released in the UK and the rest of Europe at the end of February on WEA / East / West. Their sound is best described as heavy hardcore, disted guitar-walls with influences from Alice In Chains. They are going on tour with Clawfinger in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, and will play a gig on their own in London on February 2nd.(Source: Topp40)

MVG, the record label presented a couple of spring releases today, Teddybears Sthlm will release a new 3-track single on February 5th called "Magic Finger" with the songs 'Magic Finger', 'When They Grow Up' and 'To The Swiftest Goes The meal'. After a first listen to it, I'd say it sounds like Teddybears. :-) Hardcore with a twist. Their album "I Can't Believe It's Teddybears Sthlm" will be released on February 26th. There's also a small party for the new releases in Stockholm at the movie theater "Sibirien" on Friday, January 26th, invited only though.

Pineforest Crunch have released a video to the song "Cup Noodle Song" and will probably release another single before the album is released on February 26th. A good guess on the single would be the song "Barbie". On Polygram.(Source: Billy Lundgren)

Salt, the fantastic band on the MVG label will, as you know, tour the US starting February. And I couldn't think of a more appropriate place to present the full tour list than here, which also happens to be the first place it is presented, straight from the band's US manager. The band will also do a massive amount of interviews, both press and radio while they're in the US, as well as some in-store promotion. MTV 120 minutes in the US will also start to show the video "Bluster". More info will be posted about that when I know more, but for now, here's something that will be interesting for ALL people connected to the Internet: Salt's show in Seattle, Saturday February 10 will be broadcast live - worldwide - via Internet. Since it is via Internet, it will be available internationally! Hear Salt live from MOE in Seattle! Other bands that have done this include 7 Year Bitch, Blur, The Rentals, Pavement, Silkworm, TAD, Presidents Of The USA and the Posies. URL and time information will be posted here real soon. And if that weren't enough, SALT will tour the UK before they're heading for the US. Here are their upcoming tour dates for the UK.

Wannadies, who toured the UK with Sleeper last year and who are back on January 29th with Frank Black on tour, will make an appearence on one of UK's biggest TV-shows on February 16th, with, among others, Blur.(Source: ZTV Nytt)

January 22nd, 1996

Beat Butchers announced that Tuk Tuk Rally's new compilation CD has finally gotten a title: "Då å Nu". You'll find it in your local record store on March 3rd, 1996.

Coo, a Tampere (Finland) area band, will be heading for the studio later this year to record tracks for a possible CD-EP release on Tangerine. No exact dates were given, though. (Source: Kimmo Saaskilahti)

Dada Girl, the most promising new band from the Tampere (Finland) area (Nokia to be more exact), have been in the studio preparing their second demo tape, featuring three songs. And it's going to be massive, judging from a friend's comments (he had the honour of hearing this already in the 'rough mix' stage, as he knows everybody and their sister from the pop scene in that area :)). (Source: Kimmo Saaskilahti)

Fridge, the Jyvaskyla-based (Finland) powerpop trio, will soon release both their debut 7" EP and their first full-lenght CD as well. They will be on some new Finnish indie label(s). A 'sneak preview' of the forthcoming stuff revealed something quite impressive; perhaps a bit flat, but they weren't the final mixes and the song order hadn't been decided yet. (Source: Kimmo Saaskilahti)

Tangerine Records, the finnish label will soon have their WWW pages ready and open to the public! Be sure to check them out (you'll find the address in this column soon), and specially look for the promising band "Super"!

January 19th, 1996

Beat Butchers, the swedish punk/pop independent label presented their 1996 promo CD, which you soon will be able to win in the Beat Butchers Contest on their WWW pages (that's http://www.lysator.liu.se/~chief/beathome.html). The promo has thirteen tracks from 12 bands, including the latest signed bands Brandgul and Svart Snö. Brandgul's sound can be described as hard rolling power-pop guitars with swedish lyrics, and Svart Snö as genuine punk. The promo is only avaliable through the contest, so keep your eyes open!

Komeda, the band on the North Of No South label, is out with a new CD titled "Genius Of Komeda" (NONSCD26). (Source: Topp40)

Lousy, the Tenhult five-piece, will start recording their new demo in February. After listening to four of their new songs that will be included on the tape, two of them still without name, and the other two called "Bug" and "Canada", I'd have to say that they are still Lousy. :-) Seriously, all the segments that make Lousy sound the way they do are there, the full-effect alarming guitars, the whining synthesizer, fast hitting drums and light vocals. Though "Bug" is far from their normal sound. A single guitar with dreamy vocals, which really surprised me. Magnus Johansson (keyboard) says that it probably won't sound that way when they record it "for real", which I think is unfortunate, because it's great the way it is.

Pineforest Crunch from Stockhom were featured in an article in morning paper Svenska Dagbladet's friday edition "City" on January 19th. Among other things, they tell the story about when they used Stars On Mars' tour bus for a completely self-booked tour of the UK, and that their album, which will be released on February 26th, is called "Make Believe".

Smash Hit Wonders, the band from Skövde are making their own home pages as we speak. The pages are planned to be ready by week 4. They also have a couple of gigs coming up - among those, they play together with Popsicle in Sundsvall on February 1st!

Topp40, the swedish business music/entertainment magazine also noted the Frank Black promotion "three guys dressed in black wearing sunglasses, dancing to FB's latest single in a cassette deck on the floor" stunt, with a picture of the guys and everything.

Wannadies have finished recording their new album, but aren't sure when it is going to be released. If their upcoming tour of the UK together with Frank Black, starting January 29th, and the forthcoming UK single "How Does It Feel" which will be released on February 22nd (in two versions), are successful, the album will not be released until autumn. If not, it will be released this summer. It's the best album we've made, says singer Pär Wiksten, who also tells the tale about the time when they played in Finland last year and a police man came up on stage, wrestled him down and took his guitar, because they had played too loud and for too long.(Source: Expressen Fredag)

January 18th, 1996

Monostar, previously known as Midnight Moses, were featured in an article with an interview in the morning paper Svenska Dagbladet's friday edition City January 12th, 1996. Among other things, they reveal that the only reason Carl Silver (bass) was added to the already working band was because of his resemblance to Neil Young. (?!) The band was also featured in one of Gotland's (where they are from) papers around christmas last year, which seems to have become a standard of sorts. At least the last couple of years.

Musikrevyn - the music TV show on swedish TV 1 had premiere yesterday. It made kind of a mixed impression on me, sort of a fast version of "Nöjesrevyn", which means I think it stinks. The contents of the first program were, apart from small-talk: Videos: Leila K - Electric, Skee-Lo - I Wish, Mouth - The Hole Of Your Head, Mike Flowers Pops - Wonderwall. Segment: Red Hot Chili Peppers special, w/interview, music etc.

Naked are just about to release their debut single "Left Alone Again". Described as Powerpop by SA's Jesper Larsson, and "A swedish Weezer.", it sounds pretty interesting. Their self-titled album will be released in March. (Source: Linsen)

January 17th, 1996

Grammisgalan, or the Grammy awards in Sweden will be held at the China Theater in Stockholm on February 19th, 1996. It will be broadcasted on Swedish TV4 hosted by Lasse Anrell. Here are some interesting categories/nominations:

Producer: Michael Illbert, Denniz Pop, Dan Sundqvist, Pål Svenre
Text Writer: William Crafoord, Nils Hellberg, Olle Ljungström, Stenfan Sundström
Composer: Staffan Hellstrand, Anders Hillborg, Janne Kask, Peter LeMarc
Artist: Brainpool, Eva Dahlgren, Glenmark/Ericksson/Strömstedt, Nordman
Album: Infinite Mass - The Infinite Patio, Just D - Plast, Kent - Kent, Rebecka Törnqvist - Good Thing
Album Pop/Rock Male: Eric Gadd - Floating, Peter LeMarc - Bok Med Blanka Sidor, Olle Ljungström - Tack, Joey Tempest - A Place To Call Home
Album Pop/Rock Female: Eva Dahlgren - Jag Vill Se Min..., Robyn - Robyn Is Here, Rebecka Törnqvist - Good Thing, Sophie Zelmani - Sophie Zelmani
Album Pop/Rock Group: Brainpool - Painkiller, Just D - Plast, Kent - Kent, Wilmer X - Hallå Världen
Album Hard Rock: At The Gates - Slaughter Of The Soul, Fireside - Do Not Tailgate, Meshuggah - Destroy, Erase, Improve, Yngwie Malmsteen - Magnus Opus
Newcomer: Infinite Mass, Kent, Robyn, Sophie Zelmani
Video: Just D - Hubba Bubba, Popsicle - Not Forever, Stakka Bo - Great Blondino, Whale - Pay For Me (Source: Topp40)

Lousy, that's right, one of the bands featured on the Scandinavian Indie Demo Zone pages, will play at Hyndans Hörna in Stockholm on January 25th (that's next week!). This is a great chance to see them live, so don't miss it!

TV. Tomorrow (January 17th), the first program in the new weekly music show Musikrevyn starts. It's on Swedish Television channel 1 at 19:15. Every week, they will present the Swedish Top-list as well as having guests, reports, interviews, etc. Tomorrow, the show includes a re-run of the Red Hot Chili Peppers special.

January 15th, 1996

Beat Butchers, the more Punk-ish independent record label revealed a whole load of upcoming release dates. Tuk Tuk Rally will release their (not yet named) compilation CD on March 3rd. The date for The Solar Lodge's CD "Fast Money Music" has moved forward to April 7th. Brandgul will release their (not yet named) Mini-CD on April 7th as well. All of these will have midprice, which means low prices. Forthcoming releases includes a CD from Köttgrottorna and a Mini-CD from Åka Bil, both with release dates in August.

Popundret on the A West Side Fabrication label, has released a single called "Friendship Love" (WeCD 112).

January 14th, 1996

Aquadays will be included on a compilation CD released by Dorian Records with the song "Spacious" which is a new one from the band. The rest of the compilation CD is filled with songs from 20 promising bands on the label. Aquadays will also release a CD themselves with their 7 best songs on Martin Aamot's label Daystar Records.

Petrol, the latest swedish band signed to Telegram/Warner from Västerås had a big showcase in the same town on friday January 12th, 1996. The usual record company / journalist crowd was there to see the band fronted by two girls, Jenny & Camilla (vocals, acoustic guitar), and backed by a studio band consisting of three guys. They're described having "light voices, somewhere between Lush and Cardigans, but the guitars are much harder, distortion and stuff.". Their first single will be out in May 1996.(Source: Jan Sundström)

January 12th, 1996

Honey Is Cool are going to concentrate on their next album, starting February 1996. It is planned to be recorded this summer. No release date has been announced yet. (Source: Jan Sundström)

The Scandinavian Indie WWW Contest started today. Check the What's New? page for more information!

January 11th, 1996

Salt. Nina Beckmann at MVG lets us know that Salt are really on the move in the US right now. It boils! The single "Bluster" that has been released, is "playlisted" at large rock stations in several states, among them, K-Rock in Los Angeles and New York. The album, "Auscultate" will be released by Island on March 4th or 5th, 1996. As it looks right now, the band will tour the big country in February and the beginning of March, 1996.

January 10th, 1996

Melony's record label, Soap changed the release date on Melony's "Skycracker EP" from November 13th 1995 to January 8th 1996 (two days ago that is). Why? I don't know.

January 9th, 1996

Cardigans, who are signed to the Trampolene label (Stockholm Label Group) was signed to a label in the US in December 1995. Release dates / etc. will follow soon. (Source: Topp40)

Cue Club, the club in Gothenburg burned down to the ground during the night between saturday and sunday. A lot of bands have played at the club, and a lot of bands are booked to play there. What will happen with the bands booked and will the club be re-built again?

Emmaboda Festival 96 has taken the old Hultsfred Festival date, which means that the Emmaboda Festival will take place between August 9-10, 1996, in Emmaboda. Arranged as usual by Vinterbadarna.

Loosegoats will release a single in February and their album debut will be released in March, on the Bad Taste Label. Titles are yet to be announced.

Naked has been signed to the Trampolene label (Stockholm Label Group), and will release their debut album sometime this spring.(Source: Topp40)

P3 Live, the best place to hear live concerts on the swedish national radio have cut down their broadcasting hours from 6 hours to 4,5 hours a week, due to reductions in funds from the owners.(Source: Topp40)

Pineforest Crunch, will release a single called "Cup Noodle Song" on January 15th 1996, and an album will follow in February 1996, on the Polygram label.(Source: Billy Lundgren)

Roskilde Festival 96, over 10.000 tickets to the Roskilde Festival 96 were sold during the "special release" month of December 1995. And this without mentioning one band that will play there. The remaining tickets (about 80.000) will be released starting April 1st, 1996.

Salt's label in the US, Island, planned to release a first single, "Bluster" in January 1996, but since the song Bluster made it to one of LA's most important radio stations, KROQ's, play list sooner than expected, the plan has changed. The story goes somewhat like this: Jason Bentley at San Fransisco radio station KCRW started to play Bluster from a Compilation CD, "CMG", released by Island in the autumn of 1995 and then made a guest appearence on KROQ, where he played Bluster on the air and for the program manager, who loved the song. The same week, Bluster made it to KROQ's play list. MVG's Nina Beckman says that the chance of a compilation CD song making it to the KROQ play list is almost nil, which makes this whole story pretty remarkable. The plans changed quickly after that, and the single "Bluster" was released on December 15th 1995 (?), and the album "Auscultate" will be released in the beginning of March 1996. A large-scale tour of Europe and the US will follow later this spring.(Source: Topp40)

Sophie Zelmani's album "Sophie Zelmani" was released in Japan the first week of December 1995. It will also be released in the rest of Europe in March/April 1996 and in the US in April/May 1996.(Source: Topp40)

January 6th, 1996

HappyDeadMen's latest release consists of track(s) on a Japan-only compilation under the name "Winter Gift". Other bands on the compilation includes Confusions and Leslies. (Source: John Boqvist)

Hultsfred 96 is on the planning stage. The date is June 13th - 15th, and that's the only thing that is sure right now, says Patrik Axelsson, one of the arrangers. Then he continues to say that "we have never had so many headliners, big artists, that we're talking to, this early." which isn't very strange, as the festival is two months earlier than all 10 previous years. (Source: Expressen)

Lollipop 96 is also on the planning stage. The Stockholm date is July 26th - 27th. Håkan Waxegård, the man behind the event, doesn't know if the festival will tour this year. Maybe. His dream-team for this year could be Stakka Bo, Olle Ljungström and The Cardigans or Yvonne, Eggstone and The Wannadies. He's not afraid of getting Robyn either. "but Popsicle are too obvious to get", he says. (Source: Expressen)

Sonic Surf City, fronted by Ola Hermansson, who recently appeared in this column, are planning to release a new album on the Trampolene label later this spring. (Source: John Boqvist)

January 5th, 1996

Blithe will get another home on the net. MNW are working on a Blithe (A West Side Fabrication) WWW page at the moment, which will include pictures, sound samples, links to other Blithe pages on the net and a history of the band. No final date when the page is ready though.

Ceilidh, the label based in Linköping, owned by Ola Hermansson (also in the band Sonic Surf City), released records with, for example, Brainpool and Suredo, have put the label on ice after accepting a job at the Trampolene label (Stockholm Records), which have, for example, current world wide famed The Cardigans in their stable. What will happen with Ceilidh?

Pizzicato Five (only mentioned here because of the following Popsicle news below), the pop duo from Japan received a good review in the morning paper Dagens Nyheter on December 27th by reviewer Nils Hansson, who asks where the innocent, bubbling joy he finds in Pizzicato Five has gone. I have questions for Nils Hansson: what about The Cardigans? What about Cloudberry Jam? What about the unbeleivable similarities between the voice of Cloudberry Jam, Jennie Medin and the girl singing in Pizzicato Five? Help!

Popsicle received a good review in the morning paper Dagens Nyheter on wednesday December 27th by reviewer Nils Hansson. He says that "...they have let classic american rock music influence their songs in a way that would have been unthinkable a few years ago..." and "...is a logical step forward". The headline says "Popsicle walk their own way".

Salt's record label, MVG, finally answered the questions on what's going on with Salt, even though it isn't a very information-packed answer. The questions were: What are Salt up to? Are there any releases planned for the US? Are they planning on going over there? Will they record any new material in the near future? And the answer is: "All of it. We'll let you know when we know details and dates." Which, though a bit short, is an uplifting answer.

Stevepops, who recorded three songs at Toodle Recordings (Jörgen Wärnström's (Cloudberry Jam) Studio) a while ago in Linköping, planned to be released on a 7" single at the end of 1995, are on the move. The original plan has changed because of several facts. First, their drummer is about to quit the band (which was the reason for them only playing live three times this autumn). Second, the Ola Hermansson story (see Ceilidh news above). And third, Torbjörn (now living in Kalmar) and the bassist (now living in Gävle) are on their way to move to Stockholm. Currently they are not sure when the new songs will be out and on what label, though Ola Hermansson suggested they'd release the songs themselves and call their label "Celdih", but then they'd rather start their label under a name they select themselves, and release them on that. They're also currently looking for a new drummer in the Stockholm area.

Whale will be one of the many attractions when MTV Europe arranges a grand gala in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy on February 10th, 1996. The gala is held at the end of the european snowboard championships. MTV Europe will broadcast the gala during one week, starting February 18th, 1996. (Source: Dagens Nyheter, Expressen)

December 22nd, 1995

Cardigans have almost sold 1.000.000 copies of their album "Life". In January 1996, they are on an european tour together with Bluetones, Heavy Stereo and Fluffy. Countries selected for this tour includes the UK, Holland and France. (Source: Expressen)

Cloudberry Jam are in the studio recording their new full-length, which is planned to be released in February 1996. Most of the album is recorded at Toodle Recordings (which is Jörgen Wärnstrom's (guitar, vocals) own studio) in Linköping. Strings, brass and vocals will be added at Silence Studios in Koppom (where Popsicle's new album was recorded for example). The final mixing will be made in Umeå. (Source: Kevin, #1 1995)

Coca Carola, who are soon celebrating their 10-year anniversary will play at Kulturhuset (Stockholm) on wednesday (27/12). No fee, it's free. Be there at 19:00.

Flakes from Linköping are playing at Kafe 44 (Stockholm) on thursday (28/12) together with Loosegoats. Be there at 19:00.

Mouth have recorded four new songs, which will be released on an EP soon (January / February 1996). They have also made a new video to the song "Hole of Your Head", which is to be released next week (week 52). The US version of their CD, also named Hole of Your Head, was earlier said to be released in the US on February 13th 1996, though now it looks like March will be the month. (Source: ZTV Nytt)

Popsicle received 2 points (out of 5) in today's (22/12) Expressen Fredag from reviewer Måns Ivarsson, who stated in his review that he would not fall for the hype, and didn't care if he would be "left out in the cold" because of it.

Somersault had to change their name, because a hard rock band from Karlstad registered the name as theirs recently. So now they are called Aquadays. Martin Aamot (vocals, guitar) says that they picked two words they all found beautiful and put them together, trying to avoid selecting a "real" word. They will record their new demo after the new year festivities, and it will be released in the middle of January 1996.

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Last updated Sep 29, 1998 by Erik Söderström
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