Next week, Stereogum is putting on a show a little further from the south side of Williamsburg than we're used to: We've teamed up with Bella Union to present a night of music in Iceland's Reykjavik Museum, headlined by the great, Scandinavia-loving American band Beach House. The undercard features some regionally homegrown talent - Borko, Hjaltalín, Retro Stefson - and the event comes as part of this year's Iceland Airwaves festival. Scott and I will be there for our first time, and for the duration, reporting on both the local scene and how it feels to [...]
Sindri Már Sigfússon gives us a guided tour of Seabearia. Rating: 3.5/ 5 (2 votes cast) Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for links that don't make it onto the blog.
De eerst festivaldag had op het programma: Mira Calix set against strings, Kok & Deiman, Ryoichi Kurokawa, William Basinski, It's A Musical, Sin Fang Bous, Borko en Humanworkshop. Uw eclectro verslaggevers hebben zich met name op gehouden in het imposante Energiehuis waar de meeste electronische muziek geprogrammeerd stond. Unaniem waren we het erover eens dat Ryoichi Kurokawa de beste performance had vrijdagavond: Klik hier om de embedded video te bekijken. William Basinski werd door velen niet echt begrepen terwijl anderen juist [...]
Iceland is can´t compare with Sweden maybe when it comes to pop talent, but they sure try. It´s a tiny country and pop-wise the music that comes out of there is maybe more of the alternative kind like Björk and Sigur Ros (with the exception of Steed Lord ). Borko is more Björk than Steed Lord , but it seems more substantial in a way (I personally can´t stand Björk ), so finally there is a great addition to this "genre" that can also speak to people like me [...]
Borko is one of those off the wall musicians that gain fans one by one, either from an incendiary gig or from an excited fan telling their best friends. It's these building blocks that are the keystone to a fervent fanbase, which is why he is already an Icelandic sensation. He mixes electronic loops and primordial bongo beats with more traditional sounds to make music that is wholly unique. Look for this records on German label Morr Music. Download : "Shoo Ba Ba" [ [...]
Borko are a 7-strong band from Reykjavik Iceland (the project of Björn Kristjánsson). Celebrating Life , their most recent output, does just that. They are however, a bit silly too, on their myspace they claim they are "co-writer of many famous songs. For example: Last Christmas, Knowing Me Knowing You and Suicide is Painless (the theme from Ghostbusters)". The track titles include such daft titles (and lyrics to match) as "Ding Dong Kingdom" and (even better I think) "Doo Doo Doo". However, despite the playfulness, there's a seriousness in their sound. The music is rusted with post-rock cymbal-heavy percussion and brass, [...]
Mark Farrow Artwork for Spiritualized's A+E Do you believe in magic ? Animal Collective - Street Flash : From the Water Curses EP, another freaked out pop gem by the bastard children of Brian Wilson. Soothing melodies over ear-bending screams and throw in all of the noises associated with your gold pinky ring falling down the sink. OhKnow!!! Borko - Spoonstabber : Another great release off of the Morr Music label from Bjorn Kristiansson. [...]
Largely instrumental album that revels in the collision between electronic and organic instrumentation.
Morr Musik hat gezeichnet - und ich muss sagen, der Neuzugang Borko klingt vielversprechend. Wobei ich doch mit diesen Blasinstrumenten auf einem isländischen Stück nur wenig gerechnet hätte. Am Anfang knarzt es. Aber bald schon passt alles, wackelt und hat Luft. Das macht Lust auf mehr. Deshelb bin ich zum meinraum rübergeeilt und habe die anderen Stück beschnuppert. Und wenn ich seinen Blogeintrag zur Vorbereitung für das Album lese - I was in the studio last weekend recording drums with Helgi Svavar, the greatest modern free jazz drummer in the world. We recorded drums into [...]
It's been a while since I did the Thursday Tunes-thing, and this was supposed to be a new Thursday Tunes-post, but I never managed to finish it until Thursday was gone. Time flies... That's why this is a Monday Music-post instead... Hope you will enjoy these songs! We start with some Norwegian songs. The first one is from a duo with the strange name Children and Corpse playing in the streets . The name is less macabre than it sounds. For those of you who know a bit norwegian, the story behind it was that the [...]
I wonder if there are a lot of people in the world (other than me) who like the new Quarter After, the Sword and Borko records? Albums Released on 4/1/08 (I'm still a week behind): Things I've Heard: Annuals : Wet Zoo EP (Canvas Back) – A little less manic than their debut CD, there's nothing as immediately catchy (or derivative) as "Brother." But if you're a big fan of the band, you should enjoy it. I got a decent number of hate comments when I criticized [...]
Björn Kristjánsson Reykyavik'ten kulaklarımıza esen bir alçak basınç rüzgarı. Borko adlı projesiyle ilk albümünü Morr Music'ten çıkardı ve kendi deyimiyle de oldukça heyecanlı an itibariyle. Morr Music yapı itibariyle elektronik müziğin alternatif ve sakin yönlerinde gezinmeyi seven ve bu yönde albümlere yer veren bir plak şirketi. Bu bakımdan genel olarak Kuzey Avrupalıların CCO ile birlikte en çok yöneldikleri plak şirketi konumunda. İşin ilginç tarafı, bu albümü Ipod'umda ilk defa Helsinki'den bir toplantı için Anjalankoski'ye giderken dinledim. Finlandiya'nın o eşsiz ama bir o kadar da durgun doğasını seyre dalmışken bu adamların neden bu tür müziklere [...]
artist - song - album :: extra info The Sound of Arrows - Danger! - Danger! EP :: out May 7 ( website | myspace ) We Were the States - Up Your Sleeve - Believe The Thieves ( website | myspace | Up Your Sleeve video ) Mystery Jets - Young Love - Twenty One ( website | myspace | Young Love video ) Head Of Femur - [...]
Yes, it's not technically Friday, but give us a break...we've been busy prepping the "big surprise." Once again, this is your chance to take control of the site. Tell us who you like from the below mp3s and we'll feature them in an upcoming "Listen" segment… Home Video - "I Can Make You Feel It" Vincent Black [...]
In effort to raise awareness about upcoming releases as well as finding a place for the numerous submissions we get, this post continues our weekly purging of free and legal MP3's for your listening enjoyment. The number of tracks will fluctuate each week depending on the songs uncovered or sent. It's our hope that you'll find a new favorite or another release to keep your eyes on. MP3: Ladytron - "Black Cat" [from Velocifero ; out 6/03/08 on Nettwerk] [...]
I had a feeling this week would be taking a turn for the worst, considering when I went outside earlier in the week, I had noticed that pollen was out and about in full force - which made me cry a little inside, as now I am racked with allergies. What better way to combat the spring allergy season then with some new album releases, which there are more than plenty of. A few albums i'm interested in checking out include A Silver Mt. Zion's 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons , Plants & Animals' [...]
photo by Stephen Berkman The new releases on Largehearted Boy's list this week seem to hearken back to days of yore, whether they be from veteran bands who are laying down vinyl for the first time in years (16 for B-52's), reissuing remastered albums (5 of them by Jesus & Mary Chain), or repackaging older material (a collector's edition from The Lemonheads, a full-length including songs released last year by De Novo Dahl, the "greatest hits" of Morrissey, and a live recording of songs by Under Byen). Heck, even newer artists are [...]
You haven't heard of Borko yet, but that's okay: he's a one-man Icelandic music-making machine whose debut release, Celebrating Life , comes out tomorrow on Germany's flawless Morr Music label. Borko (aka Björn Kristiansson) writes songs that fit in nicely with Morr's established aesthetic of electronic tinkering, spatial moodiness, and indie appeal, but he also taps into that rich Icelandic zeitgeist which suggests that only someone raised on the small, geothermally-powered island could have composed this material. It's unmistakably wintry, though not quite as desolate as such an [...]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Chromewaves pointed out a rash of SXSW resources yesterday, and shares a couple of Emmy the Great tracks (she's one of the few artists on my "must-see" list for this year's music conference). Emmy the Great : "Easter Parade" [mp3] Borko : "Dingdong Kingdom" from Celebrating Life [...]
Stereogum
owl and bear
Eclectro
OH HEAVENLY DOG
Stranded In Stereo
play it as it lays
FoeWeel
PopMatters
Bhlogiston
Eardrums Music
strisceapois
You Set the Scene
Proodos
That Sound
Consequence Of Sound
Muzzle of Bees
The Yellow Stereo
KEXP Blog
The Donnybrook Writing Academy
largehearted boy
Watch: Trailer for Dave Grohl’s documentary, Sound City
Conchord On Composing Music For Muppets
Webcast: The Kills’ 10th anniversary concert
Hardwell Bootleg Pack 2012
