Nordic music
theartsdesk in Rennes: 32nd Trans Musicales FestivalSunday, 19 December 2010
The Breton capital Rennes is an attractive city. Move north from the train station, pass through a covered market with tripe and saucisse sellers, cross a canal and there's a series of Italianate squares and arcades. Further along is the quaint... Read more... |
The Concretes, The LexingtonThursday, 02 December 2010
There’s something going on in the North. Iceland’s Hjaltalín incorporate a disco sensibility and Sweden’s Concretes draw from the same well on their new album WYWH. Although this is probably not the future direction of Nordic music, it’s now an... Read more... |
Hjaltalín, Hoxton Square Bar and KitchenSaturday, 13 November 2010
There’s a moment during Hjaltalín’s encore when bolero rhythms take over and you wonder if the Reykjavik septet have invented a new musical hybrid: a Ravel-driven makeover of Seventies-slanted soul. As singer Sigrídur Thorlacius lets rip on the... Read more... |
Agnes Obel: PhilharmonicsWednesday, 27 October 2010
Although Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel has professed a kinship with Roy Orbison and his grand musical dramas, it’s John Cale that she covers on her debut album. Choosing the slow-burning “I Keep A Close Watch” from 1975’s Helen Of Troy (Cale... Read more... |
theartsdesk in Tampere, Finland: At the Lost in Music Festival 2010Sunday, 24 October 2010
The music of Sibelius might speak of Finland, its unpopulated spaces, vast inland lakes, semi-Arctic climate and long, dark nights, but the annual Lost in Music festival brings together a bewildering array of Finnish bands and singers that range... Read more... |
a-ha, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Albert HallSaturday, 09 October 2010
Twenty-five years ago, a-ha achieved something unprecedented for a Norwegian band: they entered the British charts. The week of 5 October, 1985 saw “Take On Me” enter the Top 40. Three weeks later it peaked at number two. To mark the anniversary, a-... Read more... |
Ólöf Arnalds, The Slaughtered LambWednesday, 28 July 2010
Last year’s Vid og Vid (an Icelandic colloquialism for "every now and then"), Ólöf Arnalds’ debut album, attracted some high-profile fans. Fellow Icelander Björk raised the flag on America’s National Public Radio, as did Jonathan Richman who... Read more... |
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