Total Recall...

...and we're back!

So....

So...after a long hiatus(spent drinking too much,eating too much and generally living in a laptopless (not topless...), internetless world...), we're finally back...We did, however,do something useful with our time...


Come!!

Cartridge

It’s funny when you’ve been meaning to cover someone for a while (believe it or not, I have a huge backlog of half-written nonsense in the back office of this thing, most of which will never see the light of day…) and then someone suddenly contacts you and says that they’ve been thinking of you too… All a bit of a love in, I guess, but the story goes like this...


Once upon a time there was a band called Cartridge who lived in Århus. They were in the process of recording a dazzling new album to set the world on fire (but you’ll have to wait til January to hear it) and wanted the fairy across the sea to hear it. The good fairy Tinkerbell had been hiding for a bit too long and was pretty uncontactable (though she now has this newfound invention called a

contact form

) so the lovely lads asked the good fairy at the bottom of the garden and she had nary an answer. So they trawled the net and found a way to tell her about this astounding thing they were doing.

“Thank God for Myspace!” they shrieked “Dear Tinkerbell, tell us, can we enchant you?”
“Sure you can!” she replied, chomping on a chocolate biscuit “Try your worst!”

And so they went to the woods, and Tinkerbell fell under their spell. Do you want to go to The Woods too?

The Woods

www.cartridge.dk

www.myspace.com/Ilovecartridge

A small updatey type thing as I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere...

I don;t have much time today- called away to the middle nowhere as I have been. With that in mind, I'll leave you with 2 gems that have been in my inbox for AGES and speak for themselves.

The first is Efterklang who's latest offering was out last week, and who are playing all over the place at the moment- inclusing a lovely London show (come and say hiiiiiiiii if you can work out who I am... I should say a special thanks to the lovely Ben at the Leaf Label for this one)

Cutting Ice to Snow

The other one is from our friends Oliver North Boy Choir (I know I've talKed about them millions of times...but...well.... I LOVE them!) Actually, it's the precursor of ONBC doing one of my fave songs ever... But maybe Ivan from the band can put it better than I can!

"...There's a small gift attached :-). It's a cover of OMD's "Enola Gay" we made in 2001, when we were still called Pierre. We wanted to include it on one of our future singles, but our old harddisk broke down, so we couldn't master it. So now we're giving it away to blogs which have written about us + our mailing list exclusively..."

So it may not be new, but it's something special....

Enola Gay

KISSES KISSES KISSES!

Oh, it's a digression but I'll plug it anyway.... If you fancy popping over to Oslo for a while in 2 weeks, then take a look at ElektroStat. Not Danish, but fab all the same, and I'll be there :)

Our Random Danish Youtube favourites

It's amazing what you get by typing "Danish music" into Youtube...


Snake And Jets Amazing Bullit Band: "10 cities beyond" (unfinished, apparently)



Rathmanns Onde DanseOrkester!


Dúné- john wayne vs. mary chain at Danish Music Night (I can only assume that this is referring to the sold-out night at this year's Popkomm in Berlin?)


Back in the day- Figurines

Jacob Faurholt

We may not have had a Summer this year (Festival season- including Roskilde- was a total washout, as you all know...)


Jacob Faurholt and Sweetie Pie Wilbur- We Like Snow

...but maybe Summer's about to arrive in the middle of November. Jacob Faurholt is releasing his new album in the next few weeks, and it looks like it's going to be a good one. Maybe it'll even get rid of the cold weather that seems to have descended (on this wee corner of South East England, anyway).

We have to admit that we love Jacob Faurholt. There's something very charming and Scandinavian about the lalalalalas in "Back Home", and something very naïve and endearing about the whole thing. Of course, though, you need to make up your own minds...

Back Home

"...I'll always love you, there's no other way to say.." . Amen to that.

Myspace

Website

Charlie Don’t Surf- riding high on a wave anyway?

Whilst we’ve (hm…I mean “I’ve”) been busy (oops, I almost wrote busty, though I’m that as well) running around the festivals gawping at the boys, it turns out that Aalborg’s finest boys have been in the studio recording songs with Sir Ebbe of Frej (all round decent bloke and beer monster, judging from Roskilde…though I was dressed like a Bulgarian hooker at the time…don’t ask)for our delectations. They’ve created a veritable smorgasbord (I know, enough already on the clichés) to feast upon.

Minor Changes- live in Aalborg

Starting Low, Aiming High, I’m Surprised by You, Shake off a Weight and 619 are pieces of wonky pop perfection as you’d expect from Charlie. Don’t believe me? Download two of them here, and get the rest from their Myspace for a limited time…

Starting Low, Aiming High

I'm Surprised by you

And with that, I'm off on holiday for a few days....

And on that note, I'm away on holiday for a few days. Will be back early next week!

It's so beautiful, we have to...

The Floor is made of Lava (pt 2)

Related to yesterday's post, Lava lead singer and writer THOBAY K gives us the lowdown on what's what...


THE FLOOR IS MADE OF LAVA:
Our national anthem, our holy bible and the song of which the band took its name from. It’s the first song we wrote and the last song we mixed in the studio. It’s about being better than the average Joe, have more fun than everybody else and speaking whatever’s on our minds. If the album goes gold, I gotta have Sonic The Hedgehog tattooed on my arm. But it wouldn’t surprise me if I had it done anyway.

PICK UP A SHOVEL:
I met this really dumb girl who were so pathetic, that I just had to write a song about people who needs to get it together, and get it fuckin’ going. Later, when I bumped into this goofball, which I’m sure was her boyfriend, I had it all. I was totally stoked when I got the chorus together, so I spend my night, pissed out of my mind, running all over town, screaming the chorus at people. I think it was Christmas 2006.

DO YOUR SISTER:
Simon was bitchin’ about a friend of his, who had a thing going on with his sister. I’ve always thought that all these rules where you’re “not allowed” to make out with friends of friends, or friends’ sisters, were totally bullshit. So me and Simon spend all night discussing the whole issue, and I kinda wrote the lyrics out of the discussion. Later, I heard the expression: “Why fuck a stranger, when you can fuck a friend”, and it just fitted right in there. It also gives the song a whole new meaning, I think. Besides that, it’s just a really cool thing to say. Thank God for lousy redneck movies on late night telly.

HO:
This song is dedicated to the girl at the disco, the club and the prom who everybody wants’s to make it with. She so fine that everybody want’s to get in her pants. That’s what her life is all about – teasing all the young boys, like everybody else would have done in her place. Then one day she meets this dude, who is so cool and so cold, that she’s interested in more than just a one-night stand. Oh by the way, that’s “the dude” singing this song. It took us about 3 months before we got the song and the arrangement right, and Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani really played a huge part in writing it..

HAPPY MONDAY:
I really wanted to make a happy song, because the two we wrote before this one were kind of surly and grumpy. I decided that the song was to be called Happy Monday, inspired by the band Happy Mondays. It was the last song we wrote for the album, and it was actually written while we were mixing the other songs. The pace of the song is considerably slower than the rest on the album, and we’ve already talked about going in that direction regarding the next record.
The interlude, which ends this song, is called Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys?! A song which was never completed due to the fact that it sounds like…well Arctic Monkeys! We also thought that it was kinda funny to name a song after their own song and their EP. Alex Turner was busy being a rascal or something, so Mr. Liam O’ Connor were kind enough to lend us his voice.

SUCKER LOVE:
Now if I might take a little liberty here, this is a masterpiece. The chorus is about a fool, a relationship and a blowjob. All happening at the same time! I think most people find it irritating when friends or girlfriends are too sensitive and sticky-icky. But the funny thing is that you actually kinda like it. Yeah, I know. Nobody likes a wordsmith so I’ll get to the point. This song is about instability which is, when you think about it, the cornerstone in any relationship. The blowjob analogy wasn’t really my intention, people listening to it have come up with it themselves.

TANGO IN MY TUMMY:
This is the ultimate drinking tune! I would really like to make a video for this one. It should be about a low-life cop who get’s coffee for his donuts, a beer for his lunch, and a scotch for his dinner. Then he goes to this joint where he screws his regular girl at the toilet. Man…I really like those kind of people. The thing about this song is that there are some parts in this song, which all of us (in the band) can relate to, one way or another. I know that Simon really likes the lyrics and the story of the song. Ace digs heavy on the Ac/Dc-like trucker backing vocals. And me? I think I just like the whole damn thing really! It’s more or less an ode to The Boss.

5-VICE:
For a long time I didn’t know what this thing was about. It was written by request of Ace, who wanted to write a song where one camouflaged drugs with candy. Strange right? But somewhere in the writing process I found out that I wanted it to be about just not giving a rat’s ass. The interpretation of that is for anyone to decide. It’s without a doubt this song that I want a 4th grader to analyze. It contains so much mumbo jumbo that only a kid would understand it. But like most of our songs there is a subliminal message. I’ve just forgotten what it is.

TOLD HER I’M FROM COMPTON:
You know, the best punch lines in life are those you just can’t explain - you just know what they mean. There was this guy who wrote to us on our Myspace, that he had told this girl that he was from Compton. Apparently he made it with her. So there you have it. Oh and by the way, this song has nothing, and I repeat nothing to do with any damn sparrows. “Suck on this barrel, you can ride my Camaro”


YOU AIN’T A BITCH (BITCH):
I understand why people would think this is a chauvinistic hate-song to some punk-ass bitch. It really isn’t. What it really is about is how big an asshole you can be to one another in a relationship. I’m a dogg and she’s a bitch. We are equally good/bad to one another. But of course I’ll blame it on her when we’re having a fight, just like she would blame it on me, if it was her who’d written the song. In other words, I’m just saying it like it is. Nobody calls each other honey or sweetie pie in the middle of a fight, right?

IKEA DID A JOB ON YOU:
This song is about being powerless and unable to cater for peoples needs. It’s about MTV culture, Feng Shui and Extreme Makeover Home Edition. It’s about reviewers, the crowd and girlfriends/boyfriends who are total assholes. I really think that the line “Fuck with me on this one and I’ll fuck you right up” is one of our best. It’s so wonderfully hysteric in a drama queen-like way – which is my way of saying that you can’t and mustn’t take anything I write seriously. The title of the song is the kinda thing you wanna say to somebody who’s really disappointed you – right before you slam the door.
Just like Happy Monday, this song contains an interlude which is actually an outro in this case. The outro , and the interlude for that matter, is referring to album title. It is “Fruit” or filler or whatever you wanna call it. Come to think of it, it might be my favourite track on the album.

We've also got another MP3 for you...

Told Her I'm for Compton

Sucker Love

The Floor is made of lava (pt1)

In a bit of a name dropping exercise, we’re going to tell you that the adorable SuperTroels (aka Troels from Veto) told us to watch these guys a while back, and, as a result, we sent our spies to see them at a very early gig in London last year, where we were mightily impressed.


The Floor is made of Lava on Tabu TV...

Sadly there wasn’t anything much around to share with you at the time, so we kept our eyes peeled and hoped for rain (as it were). And lo and behold, I opened my email on a wet and windy October evening last week, and what did I find?

That’s right. A lovely, shiny MP3 version of their brand spanking new album. Stytzer’s got there before me with a load of the MP3s, but it’s well worth repeating them, as they’re so fabulous. I can only repeat Hits in The Car’s order that you need to BUY BUY BUY! In the manner of all great things, this is something that you’ll buy and wonder how you ever survived without it. Not convinced? Then try a taster…

Do your sister

Ikea did a job on you

You ain't bitch (bitch)

Lovely.

Oh, and the album's out on Monday in Denmark, and I'm sure it's probably due out soon elsewhere...

Snake and Jet's Amazing Bullit Band

...and another band we've been adoring during out self-enforced hiatus.

Sounding like a particularly dirty wrestling match between a stoned 1970s garage-rock turned synth band and any number of your favourite bands in a trash can (excuse my Americanism) with early Bis cheering along, they're as hard to describe as anything we've ever heard. Infamous in Copenhagen for their riotous party spirit, Snake and Jet finally released their first alum (X-Ray Spirit) on insanely beautiful coloured vinyl recently. In case you haven't guessed, we love it

Beautiful in a way that only Danish boys can be, (*ahem*… I'm sure you know what I mean…), the band consists (surprise surprise) of Snake and Jet aka two skinny boys named Thor and Thomas. Together they make up a fabulously beaten up combo playing drums, samples, hammond organ, vintage synths and eclectic/electric guitar. They look cool. They sound cooler. Can your feet afford to dodge the Bullit (yes, I know, it's a bad pun!)?

X-Ray

I think not.

Take a listen, and then go and bag yourself a copy...

We’re sorry. We’ve been in the Supermarket for far too long.

So. We’ve been away for a while. It’s not like we haven’t been going to gigs, listening to music, or even listening to music. We’ve just been…*ahem* busy, and lazy sods who haven’t done musch but work all Summer. So apologies for that, slap our wrists, and hope you decide to come back to us. We’re back with a bumper package of intrigue, mystery and excitement over the next few days- also known as gorgeous new songs from Charlie Don’t Surf (produced by EPO-555’s fab Ebbe Frej), a long-overdue Roskilde review, some bits and bobs from our favourite spurting volcanoes The Floor Is Made of Lava, something special from Efterklang, and enough hyperbole to make your heart explode with joy. So stick with us…we love you, so put on those dancing shoes, and dance to the beat of our drum!

In the meantime, I bring the grand news that Factory45 have been signed by the lovely guys at TigerSpring, who, apart from being one of the nicest management/booking etc etc companies on Earth, are also one of the nicest labels!

Factory45- "Peggy Sue" live at Pumpehuset

They’ve been kind enough to release the tides of the dancathon that is Supermarkets onto the web once more. Of course, I’d suppose they'd also love it if you went to see them at one of their various shows...

Supermarkets

P.S. We have a brand spanking new contact us form here!

Things that make us giggle like mad people...

...sometime just have to be posted


Haha

It's just been confirmed that, in association with http://www.lostmusic.co.uk, PPC is going to Roskilde Festival this year to sniff out the best and brightest new acts!

We can't guarantee that Tinkerbell won't drink far too much Tuborg and Gammel Dansk and forget to file, but you'll definitely hear about the best and brightest of new acts- both Danish and international. With the likes of Copenhagen's 1234 and Slaraffenland playing the warm-up, and Choir of Young Believers and the Kissaway Trail amongst the up-and-coming acts in the main festival, there will be a cornucopoia of stuff for all of you to feast upon.

We're just counting down the days....

In the meantime, here's a few things for you!

Tiger Baby...

Firstly, let me apologise for the fact that I've been incredibly quiet lately- a cataclysmic combination of personal catastrophes, work insanity, travel, a crappy laptop and a wonky internet connection (somehow changing providers has totally buggered the wireless connection I rely on to do these things, and the connection on the desk top isn't any better...) I can only apologise to all of you- especially those of you who've emailed to check I haven't died or anything... I'll be sporadic for a wee bit longer...

It's not often that someone gives you something for free, but there's a bit of an outbreak amongst Danish bands at the moment...

Tiger Baby have decided to give away the whole of 2006's pop classic, "Noise Around Me". I've always thought that it's a great album to get hyped up to if you're getting ready for a big night out, or a running album. Not that I ever go running at all- I'm FAR too much of a workaholic to do that- but, personally, like the idea of pounding the streets and working up a sweat with "Girlfriend" thumping away on my ipod in an almost romantic way... Will never happen, though...

Decide for yourself, anyway...

Kingsway

Girlfriend

Parkova

In Your Heart

At Least I'm Honest

Moved Me

Just For A Day

Blosphorus Bridge

Prolusion

Magic M

If you're still drunk from last night (like I am...)

...then this (Lars and Line from Wolfkin covering Junior Senior) should hopefully help brighten your day before you head out into the sun...

These are all illusions...

We've written about our lovely friends in Wolfkin a few times, but for the first time they;ve given us an MP3 to give to you all as a special present...

Enjoy!

These are all illusions

Mesage from Efterklang...

This might interest you all...

Low numbered vinyls 1-20 stolen!
We strike back with the alphabet and hope to gather some money to save a piece of the rainforest!

As you may have heard and read many times by now our new release Under Giant Trees is numbered and limited to 4500 cds and 1200 vinyls in total. Tony from The Leaf Label had requested from the vinyl factory that the ones numbered 1-20 where to be put in a marked box - in retrospect this proved to be a bad idea. Apparently somewhere between the factory and Leaf's UK distributor this box has been nicked by some fast running hooligans! So if you ever see these vinyls somewhere do let us know!So right now, lurking somewhere, someone thinks they have the 20 most exclusive Efterklang records in their possesion. But they can think again! Luckily for us there has been printed too many sleeves for the vinyl. So now we have made a handlettered edition. We have taken 29 vinyls from the high numbered sleeves and given them a new home in a lettered sleeve. The whole alphabet is there inclusive the three Danish extras æøå. We and Leaf have kept some of these for our personal collections and family, but via The Leaf Labels ebay page we are going to auction 10 of them! They're going to be listed on eBay, one per day for 10 days, from today (April 26). As a special bonus, each of these 10 copies will include a card signed by each of us (if anyone can be bothered). The 10 letters will be d, i, j, q, u, w, x, z, ø and å In a karma balancing exercise to make good on behalf of the thief of the first 20, we've decided to give all the proceeds from these auctions to charity, and what could be more appropriate for Under Giant Trees than supporting the dying rainforest? The money will be used to buy a piece of untouched rainforest to secure its preservation. The purchase will be made through

We;re so happy...some of our fave bands are playing at Roskidle 2007...

Slaraffenland

It's obviously going to be one of those weeks. I've written about Rumraket, but never their band Slaraffenland , until a recent conversation I had with the lovely Adam and Sara of Hometapes from whom Rumraket have licensed the recoprd within Scandinavia (It's on Hometapes elsewhere)

It always warms my heart when people care so much about what they're doing that they say great things about the people they're working with. Take this for example:

"...They are absolutely lovely people...we just had the opportunity to go on a five show mini tour in the US with them ending up at SXSW in Austin, Texas. It was so much fun...."

Maybe I'm just soft-hearted... As for Slaraffenland? Well, I'll let you make your own mind up, but, in my (humble?) opinion, they live up to what's been said. So go! Download! Now!

Polaroids

Nada Brahman

Cockaigne