Black.Blue.Darkness.

Like a city that never ever sleeps I can't find any sleep now. Just an hour ago I was drop dead tired, ready to go to bed and happy about the fact that I could sleep more than the usual five hours during nights. Awake. What now? I feel like smiling. The urge of going outside right into the dark, cold night. Wanna absorb it.

What happened? I stumbled over the first single of Hanne Kolstø's debutalbum just a bit more than an hour ago. The track is called "The City" and is the first part of an album I have been looking forward to, probably even before it was recorded and definitely before it became what it is now. A view videos and articles about Kolstø that praise her as solo-artist is all that can be found on the world wide web. The in Kristiansand (=melting pot for good Norwegian music) living artist probably is one of Norway's greatest, untouched and secret talents though widely known there. 

I can't deny that I appreciate all her projects and bands (-those who are reading my blog regulary might have noticed that) - and what I love about her music is this huge amount of concentrated creativity that can be signified with her name. Perfectionalism. The music will embrace you and you just want to drown in it. Thrilling and piercing, all at the same time. 

I am longing for more and I can't wait to listen to every track on the album (which she'll release in April) - this one surpassed my expectations.

Hanne Kolstø: MySpace | Website

Austria's back in Eurovision

Already some months ago it was announced that Austria would come back to the Eurovision Song Contest and, being Austrian, from that moment on this thought made me rack my brain.

Austria's history in ESC is after all not that glorious: once winner, several places in the last third of the ranks, sometimes we were last or didn't even get into the finals. And the songs we were represented with?! Yeah, better not talk about that.

But after three years of not participating we're back. And could this have something to do with the fact that Germany won last year?!?! Well, that was my first thought - we love to compete with the Germans. And when it comes to sports, this works out fine for us - but music?! Okay, we're known for good music and great composings - no, wait, that was a couple of centuries ago.

Anyway - of course I would have wished for a good song that might have a chance to win to represent our country. But taking a look at our competiors in recent years I just wished for the least embarrassing one.

After a while, when the possible acts were announced I was surprised to find some good and solid artists and musicians among 30 songs/bands/musicians who were chosen by a jury. People could then vote via SMS for their favourites.

Of course one of my favorites were Excuse Me Moses which is a grounded and quite popular rock band from Vienna. Their song "Way Out" is a very nice rock tune and shows that it definitely is possible for Austrians to make good music on a professional level that you could bring abroad.

But I also took a listen on the other participants (some where completely unknown) and then I found this gentlemen here, a real jewel as it turned out: Axel Wolph (and The Feeltank Orchestra) with the song "My Little Reminder". A nice song, one could be proud of being Austrian. 
But in first place I'm so stunned by Axel Wolph's voice and talent - he's a multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer- and songwriter. One of Austria's best and budding, probably.
Check out his cover of Johnny & Mary, which is, if you ask me, better than the original, or one of his own songs, like this one: Gravity. (BTW: Besides of his abilities as musician he's also looking smoking hot, I think!!! ;D )

But neither Excuse Me Moses nor Axel Wolph got into the TV-final which was held yesterday. Ten artists could proof themselves live in front of an audience and people in front of their TV-screens. Again, people could vote for their favourites and those ten artists were yet downsized to three: Trackshittaz, Klimmstein feat. Joe Sumner and Nadine Beiler.

I think in case of the Eurovison Song Contest, people should vote for something that could actually win this huge competition. It should be about personal preferences rather about something the whole Europe could like. And, honestly, it's not that hard to predict which song is going to win in this year's ESC: It's going to be something new, something pushing, something innovative, something fresh, something we haven't heard before.

And a perfect match to that would have been "Paris, Paris" by Klimmstein feat. Joe Sumner!! A funny song, easily to sing along, making you wanna move, sounding fresh and new and sung in English, Austrian dialect (which sounds actually quite charming) and partly in French. THE PERFECT song to represent Austria because of its connection to the country (due to the language the song is sung in) and its chances to win.

But have a listen for yourself and watch its official video:




When the host announced yesterday that they made the 3rd place in the pre-selection "Guten Morgen Düsseldorf" I was first of all deeply disappointed and started to send prayers to heaven so the Trackshittaz wouldn't make it!! About this constellation I can only say: They seriously make me wanna drown them in the Danube!!!! 

And not sure if my prayers would help I started to think of a clever way to overwrite the nationality in my passport. Trackshittaz made the second place - so Nadine Beiler won and will represent Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011! This is indeed better than Trackshittaz but her song "The Secret Is Love" is a ballad - one like we heard it many, many times before in ESC. So even if we make it to the final in Düsseldorf (we of course have to pass the semi-finals first) we will probably stick to our somewhere-in-the-last-third-rank.


Why, Austria, why?!?!?!

Winter taking its last breath?

Oh, how much can one be longing for sun? Not that I would be very fond of summer, heat or tanned skin, but a litte bit of sunshine would be nice as well as a litte bit of warmth.

As a student you don't have too much time to let your thoughts drift away. There is always something to do. And when it comes to myself - I love to keep myself busy. There is always a project going on I could work on and I can put my heart into and that is just fine. Now I appreciate the moment because my work for today is done and now that I had some time to think I came across the thought of how much I'm missing spring.

And not only that it was ridiculously warn these days it has also been quite sunny outside. Although we have February for God's sake, I am more than happy for every piece of sunshine I can get.

Now I'm sitting here, eating jelly crocodiles, looking at the candle on my window board, listening to my favourite song of "The Litte Hands Of Asphalt" - just thinking and saying a good bye to winter. Winter, I liked your darkness and melancholy the last months but now I'm ready for something new.

It seems like Winter is listening to me, trying to make the nights as cold as possible, JUST one more foggy morning, icy street or ice-cold wind blowing before it would give up and make place for spring.

And even the layer of ice that surrounded some small dreams seems to melt. Ready for some action?! Yes. Let's start again to work on the fulfilling of some dreams.

Let me tell you, the music by "The Little Hands Of Asphalt" is something you want to hear on a nice spring walk, where waterdrops would drop from tree branches and the warm sunshine would glance through the first tiny leaves on those trees. And if you like soft indie pop with a touch of folk and a charming songwriter/singer/guitarplayer, you gonna love the album "Leap Years".

For the very curious ones - my favourite song here - Oslo by The Little Hands Of Asphalt:




And it seriously reminds me a lot of Oslo, the town. How much I miss that place and the people there. Coming back for some days would be good for me - so there is another dream to fulfill.


I'm in the mood!!! I'm in all kinds of moods.

Fashionably Late!

What? Last time I made a blog entry was in 2010?

Hehe, last chance to get rid of some "new year" jokes. Like saying two minutes after midnight on the 1st of January: "I'm starving - last time I ate smth was last year." or "I think I need a shower - last time I had one was last year." And aren't we all doing these jokes, although no one of us really fancies them?! Still it's some kind of trend, isn't it?

Anyway! I've been very busy these days but I came to tell you about an amazing Norwegian artist I recently discovered: Lucy Swann. I don't want to explain in long sentences what I like about her music or how I discovered her BUT want you to show her music video to "Fashionably Late".

I love this video. The idea and the way it was realised. It's probably one of my favourite (Norwegian) music videos in 2010 and Lucy Swann is definitely an upcoming artist with high ambitions.

BTW: If you live in Oslo (or plan to visit Oslo in February) you shouldn't miss a festival for new music called by:Larm with Lucy Swann and other fantastic artists like Thelma & Clyde, Honningbarna, Jonas Alaska, Tôg, Frida Ånnevik, Oslo Ess, Cold Mailman and many, many more.

That's it for now.... Now, be a good blog-reader and WATCH THIS VIDEO!! :)
Find Lucy Swann on MySpace, Facebook and NRK Urørt.

Top 5 Norwegian Releases In 2010

Still around 20 days to go until 2010 is over. But since people already started to post their favourite albums, songs, tv-moments, movies, books, vacations and whatever, I will follow this trend and present you now the five most special and extraordinary album releases from Norway (as you might have noticed: I love Norwegian music!!) of this year.

And remember that Christmas is coming soon, so maybe you find a nice gift among these CD's. To your luck, all of the albums are available on CDON.com (where you can order from many European countries). Anyway.. here we go. My favourite Norwegian album releases.


1. Post - Common Rand Of People

After listening to this record several times during the last months and writing a enthusiastic review on my MySpace page (BTW: MySpace started to suck!!) it's probably not surprising that Common Rand Of People made a high rank in my listing. It's the way they put their songs together, the controlled chaos and the wide range of instruments used that make their sound so unique.
You will just feel the urge to replay the album over and over again without really knowing why - and this is what I love about it so much.

Common Rand Of People consists of ten piercing, thrilling and electronically flavoured pop songs and is at the same time the debut record of Post. The record can be bought on CDON.com and on iTunes.

Released: 27th of September 2010 with Karmakosmetix Records

2. Thelma and Clyde - White Line

Another debutalbum I can't get enough of. Finally hearing the songs of the Norwegian electronica / electropop duo I've been waiting for so long. And they didn't let me wait in vain. Now, just about a month ago they came up with this (as the Norwegians would say) "kjempeflott" album. Think of all you always wanted to hear and all you didn't know you wanted - you'll find it on White Line. Perfectly mixed by Jan Bang and Erik Honoré and enriched with lots of samples the album will make you dance and shiver with the lyrics and beats while you get soaked into this mysterious and gloomy bubble. 
If you read my blog regulary you might have noticed that I also wrote a more extended review about the album - it's because it's really good, cool and new. 

Put White Line on top of your wishlist, you won't regret it. And don't be surprised if you crave for more once you listened to the full record. Buy the album on CDON.com or iTunes.

Released: 8th of November 2010 with Karmakosmetix Records

3. Anne Lene Hägglund - Bird Cherry Grove

I bought this album although I had heard only one song of it ("Big Men") - therefore I didn't know what I would get. How I would describe the sound? It's a combination of bitter-sweet reality and fluffy fairytales. It reminds me a lot of.... of circus music: These pop-flavoured songs are enriched with violins, organ-sounds, glockenspiel, bowed instruments and percussion full of cymbals and drum rolls and lead to thoughts of red-yellow striped tents, dancing elephants, fire-breathers and sword-swallowers - that makes it so special. 

I've never heard something like this and even listening to the album up and down won't make me get tired of it. 

Buy Bird Cherry Grove on CDON.com or iTunes if you're in mood for odd and twisted fairytales. 

Released: 11th of January 2010 with Swingaround Records

4. Grande - You Are The Night

It's some of the finest music you'll get to hear from Norway. A travel in time. Cigar smoke in a piano bar where men would wear suits and women pearl necklaces, scotch and brandy would be served or a car chase on the high way. Grande is everything between the glorious 30s and 70s. The guitar, drumming, piano, bass playing blues and rock - all at once. Grande has some great skills as guitarist and songwriter and with his unique sound this album shouldn't be left unnoticed.

The music on You Are The Night will catch you - so you'll even feel nostalgic when you grew up in the 80s. Buy the album on CDON.com or iTunes.

Released: 19th of April 2010 with Fabuloso Records

5. Elin Synnøve Bråthen - The Anchor And The Dream

What I love most about this album is that you can concentrate on the individual instruments or Elin Synnøve's voice that is capable of high and low pitches. The piano comes with crystall clear sound as well as the percussion and drums. The lyrics are tender and thoughtfull and combined with the music it creates a visual atmosphere. I think a great job has been done on arranging the songs on the album. And the most precious song (at least to me) is "My Honesty" - even after hearing the song countless times my heart would stop beating because of the drums, the piano makes me shiver and Elin's voice and the male choir gives me goosebumps.

So if you favour jazz flavoured pop, make sure to buy The Anchor And The Dream on CDON.com or iTunes.

Released: 8th of March 2010 with Curling Legs

A tribute to Ronny!!!

Back from Norway!

Now I'm already back in Vienna for a bit more than a week after a couple of wonderful days in Norway. It was so much better than I could have ever expected. I was in Oslo and in Fredrikstad. 

Oslo is a great city to spend some time in. I saw all the sights I wanted to see like the opera house, the city hall, the harbor, Aker Brygge, the royal castle and Karl Johans Gate. I liked Aker Brygge in particular with its wooden panels as flooring. I was walking (and jumping) up and down on them just because I liked the sound so much the wooden panels made. I guess, people thought I was weird. And they had so many nice little restaurants - people would sit outside even if it's freaking cold. The place there is rustic and romantic at the same time. Water was around me all the time and I met so many cute seagulls - gave them all names: Kjell, Thor, Trygvald, Kåre, Anders, Kjetil, Magnus, Bård, .... after a while I run out of names so I called them Kjell II, Thor II, Trygvald II, Bjørn, Blomst, Fugl, Ikkemat. 

BTW: Do your animals in Norway speak Norwegian?! I'm not sure cause I met many seagulls, police-horses and ducks and I was like: "Hei du!! Hva heter du? Jeg heter Marion. Du er søt. Vil du ikke komme med meg?" - AND NO REACTION AT ALL!!

Aker Brygge

One of the best evenings in 2010 I had when I went to the Thelma & Clyde album release gig on 13th of November at Blå. The show was mindblowing. The music, the costumes, the video visuals in the background, the way they moved to the music. And I think I'm in love with those disco ball tiles they glued on their hoodies.

I also bought their album White Line there (of course I did!!) - and I love it, listening to it non stop now for a couple of days. 

But the whole night was great because I met so many nice and interesting people - which was really inspiring!! Jan (and his wife) from Karmakosmetix Records, Hanne and Trygve of Thelma & Clyde, Gunnar who plays drums in several bands I like, the famous Ronny who is a restless multitalent, Morten the very cool bass player and owner of his own record studio in Kristiansand. All of them great people! And both, Trygve and Gunnar gave me a beer each. :D

But seriously, I gotta practice on my pick-up phrases next time I come to Norway. ;)

sculpture by G. Vigeland

I loved the Frognerpark/Vigelandpark with all the sculptures. I must have spent almost three hours there studying every sculpture. It was very quiet there. Not many people. I should probably mention that the weather was not too good. Cloudy and cold and temperatures around zero degrees (we had around +18° when I left Vienna). But the fact that not many people where there made me enjoy that place a lot. I was very relaxed. And in the end I got some sunshine. Fantastic day!

very peaceful day in Frognerpark

another sculpture by Vigeland

There is much to see in Oslo. Many cute hidden places to discover. And shopping?! Shopping might be expensive but who wouldn't pay almost any price for something you desired for such a long time?! Means of course I went shopping to Platekompaniet!! Heaven on earth for me. I saw so many records of all the artists/bands I love. I bought myself then four CD's: Bird Cherry Grove by Anne Lene Hägglund, Earthly Things by Eliksir, Floriography by Moddi and You Are The Night by Grande!! 

Speaking of shopping. I probably found the most awesome product I had ever seen: LICORICE FLAVOURED CHEWING GUM!! I had sparkles in my eyes when I foud it. "I AM MOVING TO NORWAY FOR GOOD" - I said over and over again. Austria is more or less a licorice-free country - so hard to get good stuff here. And for someone addicted to licorice like me this is one of the greatest inventions ever.

old town of Fredrikstad

Fredrikstad is a nice, little and quiet place. I visited a friend of mine there who lives just next to the water. And let me tell you, seeing the sun glittering on the water is not the worst thing to wake up with. And I had fish for breakfast. It was some kind of marinated fish - tasted sweet and salty. Funny combination but veeeeery delicious (another reason for moving, if you ask me).

The old town of Fredrikstad is kinda cute. You find all those red wooden houses there you usually see on postcards. 

Norway was so nice to me. I've never been that relaxed and never felt so much like home. I do miss Norway already. And all my friends there. The friendliness of the people, the licorice flavoured chewing gum, my new seagull-friends, Oslo, Fredrikstad - I miss all that and I want to come back as soon as possible.

sunset in Fredrikstad

Thelma & Clyde - White Line

"When you walk, I'm right behind you; Don't know what I'm getting into" - It's a line of Ice, I'm quoting here. The first track on Thelma & Clyde's recently released album White Line. When you listen to the songs you can try to catch every soundsample, can try to catch the sense of the lyrics and you will get close to its meaning. But still... you won't know what you're getting into.

There is probably no other Norwegian electronica duo that has aroused as much interest as Thelma & Clyde during the last weeks. Now their debutalbum was just released and more and more people get soaked into this whole new universe. The duo, consisting of Hanne Kolstø and Trygve Tambs-Lyche, clearly differs from other electronica/electropop constellations and come up with their very own sound and style using elements from trip-hop, rock and hip-hop.

Photo by Per Sveinung Larsen

They create a gloomy and mysterious atmosphere with their songs. And you will notice that within the first 3:46 minutes of the album. The lyrics of Ice are well thought-out, the samples and programming elaborated to perfection. At this point should be mentioned that the album was mixed by the renowned producer duo Jan Bang and Erik Honoré (except for track no. 3 which was mixed by Thor Kvande) who took all the good material that has been recorded with Thelma & Clyde and transformed it into something stunningly great. And that kind of perfection can be heard on every track.

If you had known Thelma & Clyde before; if you already know the tracks they had on their EP you might feel a little overload in all the electronics, samples and synths for a moment but then you get carried away by the very powerful tracks Lockstitch, Hibernation and Crosscheck (featuring a rap by Salvador Sanchez known from Darkside Of The Force). Just go with the flow and the beats! ;)

Worth mentioning is also their first music video to Lockstitch. Directed by Per Sveinung Larsen. Great atmosphere in the video and suiting well to the song.

I absolutely recommend to listen to the whole album twice or more before you judge it. It grows! Take your time, lock yourself in a room, close the shutters in front of your windows and simply concentrate on the music, on Hanne's voice and the lyrics. Seperate the beats from the samples; the percussion from the synths; the keys from the bass. Enjoy every bit of it and the whole mix. It is worth it.

White Line comes with great lyrics. Some will make you shiver others will make you sing along. Some lines you won't be able to get out of your head again. "Big surprise; You were made out of worries and lies" - Bubble, Ice, Wicker, Sleep Slow - strong lyrics that will make you ponder for a while. In any case do the lyrics suit to Thelma & Clyde's style.

Also their live shows shouldn't be missed. A great example is the live video of Elusive Girl that can be watched on YouTube. The live shows are arranged in details: Matching tracksuits with glass tiles on the hoodies, lots of choreography and dancing, video visuals in the background, Hanne's pink wig, Trygve's glass-tile-glasses....

On White Line you get 11 electronica-tracks that will make you want to hear more of Thelma & Clyde. You will dance along, sing along.... and if you feel the urge to buy a pink wig or to smash a disco ball to glue its tiles on a black hoodie of yours - that's normal. By the way, the record is also available on vinyl for the special audio experience.


Thelma & Clyde's debut album White Line was released on the 8th of November 2010 with Karmakosmetix Records. All songs can be bought on iTunes. 

www.thelmaandclyde.com

Album cover by Per Sveinung Larsen