MOJO MARCH 2010 REVIEWS: I WAS A KING & EMILIE SIMON

Norway and France...

Click on each to see at a readable size.

OH NO ONO: MOJO RISING

Oh No Ono will back in the UK playing live in May. This is no longer on the news stands (from the March 2010 MOJO), but it’s still of interest. Click on the image to see at a readable size.

And here’s that video for Swim.

REVIEW - by:Larm FESTIVAL 2010

(Above, Eplomøya Songlag, by Helge Brekke)

Went along to by:Larm festival in sub-zero Oslo:
http://www.mojo4music.com/blog/2010/03/viking_dawn.html

A great well-organised festival with some highlights that surprised. Navigating through Nordic music, it's become clear that what’s flung at the UK is a minor component of a much, much bigger - and more complex - picture.

It's a really fascinating picture too, deserving a proper overview - something more than those 'hey, here's the new Scandinavian bands' pieces.

Space in the review meant some non-Norwegians weren’t mentioned. Denmark’s Chimes And Bells' post-Mazzy Starisms were enthralling and lifted off into distorted freakouts that were utterly compelling. Oh No Ono (Danes too) put on the best show I’ve ever seen them do, centred around recent album Eggs. They’ve grown into the songs, were comfortable and confident. From Finland, both Manna and Murmansk were full-on great.

And here’s some snow…

REVIEW - SILVAIN VANOT: BETHESDA

Monsieur Vanot's new album is about to come out in the UK. Review here:

http://www.rockfort.info/content.aspx?cid=202

I wonder if he would have sustained what he's chosen to do if it were in English rather than French? After all, the world sports innumerable folks that're Neil Young influenced.

THE SHINING BREEZE: THE SLOWDIVE ANTHOLOGY

I’ve compiled a 2CD Slowdive set for release on 26 April by Cherry Red.

The British music press were increasingly down on them and they had problems with both their UK (Creation) and US labels (SBK). Fashion moving on (grunge, the birth of Britpop) contributed to the press attitude.

Yet they kept at it, refined what they were doing and recorded some amazing – genre-defining – records. A great band.

Here’s the tracklist:
DISC ONE
Slowdive (Slowdive EP) Nov-90
Avalyn I (Slowdive EP) Nov-90
Morningrise (Morningrise EP) Feb-90
She Calls (Morningrise EP) Feb-90
Catch The Breeze (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Golden Hair (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Shine (Holding Our Breath EP) Jun-91
Spanish Air (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Erik's Song (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Waves (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Primal (Just For A Day) Sep-91
Alison (Outside Your Room EP) May-93
So Tired (Outside Your Room EP) May-93
Moussaka Chaos (Outside Your Room EP) May-93

DISC TWO
Souvlaki Space Station (Souvlaki) May-93
Machine Gun (Souvlaki) May-93
Sing (Souvlaki) May-93
Here She Comes (Souvlaki) May-93
Altogether (Souvlaki) May-93
Dagger (Souvlaki) May-93
Some Velvet Morning (Souvlakibonus disc) May-93
In Mind (5 EP) Nov-93
Good Day Sunshine (5 EP) Nov-93
Country Rain (5 EP) Nov-93
Rutti (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Miranda (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Trellisaze (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Cello (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Visions of La (Pygmalion) Feb-95
Blue Skied an' Clear (Pygmalion) Feb-95
All of Us (Pygmalion) Feb-95

REVIEW - NINCA LEECE: THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHEN I LAY DOWN AND DREAM

Once that Bjorkish opening cut is forgotten, the debut album from French-born Ninca Leece is hugely engaging: http://www.rockfort.info/content.aspx?cid=200

TURID ON RPM INTERNATIONAL: STARS AND ANGELS: SONGS 1971-75

RPM International will be issuing Turid outside Sweden for the first time on 26 April. Stars and Angels: Songs 1971-75 draws its songs from the three albums she recorded over those years for the Swedish independent label Silence Records.

This is hugely exciting. These three bewitching, mysterious and fragile albums shouldn’t be a Swedish secret. A song like the psychedelic “Låt Mig Se Dig” (“Let Me See You”) ebbs and flow through instrumental textures that define exactly what psych folk or acid folk ought to be. Her sparser compositions, like “Song”, captivate by fusing her crystalline voice with a rustic approach that caused Swedish academic Hillevi Ganetz to comment on Turid’s “lady of the woods” persona.

As individual as Vashti or Linda Perhacs, Turid is these days echoed by Joanna Newsom.

The tracklist is:

1. Song (Vittras Visor, Silence SRS4609, 1971)
2. Nyckelbanepigevisa (Vittras Visor, Silence SRS4609, 1971)
3. Going To Prison (Vittras Visor, Silence SRS4609, 1971)
4. Vittras Vaggvisa (Vittras Visor, Silence SRS4609, 1971)
5. Crystal Shade Of Loneliness (Vittras Visor, Silence SRS4609, 1971)
6. Play Macabre (Vittras Visor, Silence SRS4609, 1971)
7. Bilder (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
8. Tintomara (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
9. Låt Mig Se Dig (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
10. Och Sommaren Kom (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
11. Tom I Bollen (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
12. Ödegårdar (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
13. Vargen (Bilder, Silence SRS4616, 1973)
14. Personligt Brev (Treje Dagen, Silence SRS4628, 1975)
15. Stjärnor Och Änglar (Treje Dagen, Silence SRS4628, 1975)
16. På Tredje Dagen Uppståndna (Treje Dagen, Silence SRS4628, 1975)