Category Archives: News

Up and away – Chairlift

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I’ve just spent the afternoon wallowing in an 80s haze after glutting myself on the new Chairlift album, Something. Ah, so good!

After their 2008 debut album Does You Inspire You, the Brooklyn-based duo (Caroline Polachek and Patrick Wimberly) with a penchant for fresh fruit & veg (see pic above – actually, I have no idea if they are healthy eaters, but by Jove, they look pretty fit, don’t they?) have further perfected the art of making crisply polished electro-pop. Similar to St. Vincent’s vocal dexterity and range, and synth-y electric guitar, Chairlift manage to be both elegantly uplifting and charmingly poppy at the same time.

Something album sampler:

Chairlift play @ Abart, ZH, Sunday 26.02.12. Tix here.

Something is out now on Columbia Records/Young Turks.

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Track of the day: First Aid Kit – ‘Emmylou’

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Young Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg first made waves as folk-country duo First Aid Kit with their 2008 cover of the Fleet Foxes‘ ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’. They released their first album The Big Black and The Blue in 2010 to wide-spread acclaim and much attention from the North American folk/country scene. Collaborations with Fleet Foxes, Jack White and Bright Eyes soon followed.

Now they’ve released their second album The Lion’s Roar, featuring a maturing of their voices and sound. The second single, ‘Emmylou’, a tribute of sorts to the Gram Parsons, was filmed at Joshua Tree in the Calfornian desert where Parsons died 36 years ago:

Bonus: grab a free download of ‘The Lion’s Roar’:

First Aid Kit play @ Mascotte, ZH, Monday 20.02.12, supported by the magnificently-bearded Reza Dinally. Tix here.

First Aid Kit’s second album The Lion’s Roar is out now on Wichita Recordings, and is currently sitting right at the very top of the Swedish charts – go girls!

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Winterthurer Musikfestwochen 2012 – Sigur Ros, Get Well Soon, Leech, Kettcar + more

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Well, this is pretty damn exciting – after a three year absence from the stage, epic Icelandic band Sigur Rós are headlining the Winterthurer Musikfestwochen in August 2012, along with Get Well Soon, and Leech. Woohoo!

I’ve never seen Sigur Rós, but they’ve always been on my list of must-see bands. I saw Jonsi at Zurich Openair 2010 and he was just…dazzling (in a feathered, appliqued kind of way). So I’m thinking that the lovely little cobbled main square of the Wintherthur Old Town is a perfect place for my inaugural Sigur Rós experience.

I also saw Get Well Soon in 2010 at Zurich Openair (that festival, for all its faults, had an amazing line-up). Singer and multi-instrumentalist Konstantin Gropper’s beautifully atmospheric, semi-classical pieces (inspired by philosophers like Sartre and Seneca The Younger, no less) were instantly compelling, even though I was a Get Well Soon novice. Ever since then I’ve bene waiting for another chance to see him. Even better, Get Well Soon will release a new album shortly before the festival – I can’t wait to hear it.

Swiss prog rock band Leech complete the bill on the headline day, and will also have a shiny new album to present. Other confirmed acts for the festival include German indie pop/rock band Kettcar, who will headline the free programme of the festival – the free programme of the Winterthurer Musikfestwochen is usually great (last year Anna Calvi, The Hillbilly Moon Explosion and Iron & Wine played for free). Stay tuned for more announcements, because knowing the Musikfestwochen people, they’ve got something good hidden up their sleeves.

The 2012 summer festival season is shaping up to be very, very good…

Sigur Rós, Get Well Soon and Leech play @ Winterthurer Musikfestwochen 2012 (15 – 26th August 2012) on 25.08.12. Tickets here.

Kettcar headline the free programme of the festival, on 15.08.12. The remaining free acts will be announced later in the year.  

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Sounds like… The Sounds

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Swedish indie rock band The Sounds are touring their newly-New Waved fourth album Something To Die For throughout Europe at the moment, making a pit stop at our very own Abart, ZH, on that most romantic of days (or not, depending on your level of cynicism), Valentine’s Day – 14.02.12. Could be just the thing to get your sweetheart in the mood, eh?

With charismatic lead singer Maja Ivarsson chanelling Blondie, Pat Benatar and Roxette’s Marie Fredriksson, The Sounds’ catchy dance-rock has seen them through a decade of success in both Sweden and abroad.

‘Dance With The Devil’:

(Now check out some of the behind-the-scenes action as they made the video in sub-zero temperatures in Sweden)

The Sounds play @ Abart, ZH, 14.02.12. Tickets here.

Something To Die For is out now on Arnioki Records/SideOneDummy/Warner Scandinavia

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One Of A Million Festival 2012 – Nils Frahm, Lanterns on the Lake, Isbells, The Black Atlantic + more

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I think I’ve found just what I need to drag me out of the SAD hole I’m in (January, dreary, grey, cold, etc etc). The second installment of the One Of A Million Festival (Baden, 04-11.02.12) starts next week, and it sounds like just my kind of festival. They’ve got a pretty nice line-up that includes quietly wonderful gems such as Lanterns on the Lake, Isbells, Nils Frahm, The Black Atlantic, Dirty Beaches, The Legendary Lightness, Nigel Wright and The Lonesome Southern Comfort Company.

Plus, I’m immensely cheered by the humble promo taglines: ‘Just one of a million festivals’, and ‘No stars. No hype. It’s music only. It’s only music.’ What a welcome relief from the excesses and bombastic hype of the summer festivals.

My top picks: Lanterns on the Lake, Nils Frahm, The Black Atlantic, Lambs & Wolves, The Legendary Lightness, and The Lonesome Southern Comfort Company.

One Of A Million Festival, Baden, 04-11 February 2012. See the full programme here. Festival passes and individual day passes here.

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Happy birthday, Mascotte Zurich!

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Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…the much-loved Zurich club Mascotte is turning 8 years old on 12.02.12! That’s eight years of amazing music (just look at the Mascotte concert archive to see all the awesomeness that has passed through the Mascotte’s doors), good times and fun. I’ve spent many a happy night ensconced in front of one of the Mascotte pillars, soaking up good music.

And what’s a birthday without a party? Eclectic Finnish French duo The Dø will be playing on the night, and I’m sure they’ll be properly celebratory.

The Dø released their second album Both Ways, Open Jaws last year, the follow-up to 2008′s wildly diverse Open Mouth, a surprise chart topper in France. Sometime-actress and chanteuse Olivia Merilahti and film composer Dan Levy are whizzes at radically jumping genres, with styling and music ranging from Björk to blues to experimental jazz, rock, hip-hop and folk. I saw them last year at Komplex 457 where, if I recall correctly, their live set-up included a veritable kitchen sink of miscellaneous instrumentation (which might come in useful for birthday cake eating).

Watch ‘Too Insistent’, one of my favourite tracks from Both Ways, Open Jaws:

Here’s to another 8 years of brilliant live music from Mascotte. Thanks for all the good times!

The Dø play at Mascotte, ZH, on 12.02.12. Tix here.

Both Ways, Open Jaws is out now on Get Down!/Cinq 7/Wagram Music