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Sunday, November 18, 2012

NORDICSPOTLIGHT.COM



Now you can read my monthly posts on

nordicspotlight.com



Click to read bio 


Saturday, April 07, 2012

LISTEN UP! Of Monsters and Men - Iceland (Reykjavík)



Of Monsters and Men is an amiable group of day dreamers who craft folkie pop songs. But last year, the normally mild-mannered six pack transformed into total rock stars after stomping out their competition during Músiktilraunir, a yearly battle of the bands in their native Iceland. [read more]




"Little Talks"


Saturday, December 17, 2011

CHORUS GRANT - DENMARK (Copenhagen)


 

 



When such artists as  Kristian Finne Kristensen;  Brian Batz (Sleep Party People); Nikolaj Manuel Vonsild (When Saints Go Machine);  Moogie Johnson, Ask Bock   (From Sarah) and Glenn Rottland meet up for creative sparring - a special kind of magic must happen...

CHORUS GRANT is  Kristian Finne Kristensen's solo debut filled with unique echoes of 50s, 60s, 90s and 2000s music, described as spreading from computer-grunge pop, to 50's do-do run run and Dylan’esqe folk.

Computer-grunge, scandinavian electro pop and folk collides in a strange black and white through the sounds of a real life Mos Eisley Cantina Band with melodies as big as houses in both the album’s lighter and darker parts of the musical patchwork. [1]





 "Big Guns"    




"Golden Head By Golden Head"





"From Nothing To One"





For more music and informations please visit Chorus Grant FB fan page -
don't forget to click like button and share these sounds with your friends ;)

SQUARESVILLE - DENMARK (Aarhus)

Squaresville can be described as a peppermint twist with a gentle touch of fuzz, which is not too far from the truth. Heavily influenced not only by underground legends like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Velvets but also by the magnificent sound of such various acts like; The Shangri-Las, The Defenders and the poetic works of John Keats and William Butler Yeats etc. Squaresville respectfully try to carry on the musical heritage which has inspired so many different people the last 50 years.'

The trio represent the sounds of the 60s rock ´n ´n roll past – and the bleak visions of early 90s alternative scene. Squaresville coalesce these magnificent retro-futuristic miasma sounds – all the way from The Ronettes and The Crystals to Nirvana and Mudhoney.' 




Genre: Lo-Fi, Indie Pop, Shoegazing 

Active: 2003 - Present 

Members: Sune Brejnbjerg, Jesper Jungløw, Søren Pedersen 

Sounds like: The Jesus and Mary Chain, Psyched up Janis, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Hank Williams, 60s girl groups etc




Squaresville have recently released EP  ”Not if you were the last square on earth” – A three track killer which represents the sound of summer, heartache and teenage angst. 


The single "Girl" is perfect indie pop wrapped in the sound of Phil Spectors´ Wall of Sound and lyrical naivety.










Not if you were the last square on earth is OUT NOW!



Wednesday, October 12, 2011

MANKY - DENMARK (Copenhagen)

By Aske Rif Torbensen 
     


I discovered this interesting artist - Michael Manky - thanks to Bottled In England and their concert in Poland, in my hometown - Łódź. (read more) I was blown away by their massive show and MANKY had huge contribution to this incredibly good live act. I got interested in his music activity, which began much earlier before he joined this year's Bottled In England concert tour. He was so nice to give me a lot of precious informations about the music path he follows. He described his beginnings and how his love for music evolved. From hiphop, through drum and bass, to dubstep. How his career develops from writing   lyrics, producing various music, forming the band "Intelligent Pushing" with the producer  Dynamic H, cooperation with BIE, up to his debut solo album he's been working on currently, which I keep my fingers crossed for ;) I really appreciate he shared the story behind MANKY with us, you can read it in "Background" section. I strongly encourage you to listen to his music available on soundcloud and bandcamp, you can also download it for free after clicking 'like' on the official facbook fanpage.
Listen, like, spread it !



By Andreas Hoff  
               CONTENTS:

             1. STAGE NAME 
             2. BIRTH NAME
             3. YEARS ACTIVE
             4. GENRE
             5. HOMETOWN
             6. RECORD LABEL
             7. BACKGROUND
             8. DISCOGRAPHY 





MANKY


Michael Manky


2010 - now


drum & bass / dubstep 


Copenhagen




"I started out mc'ing ca. 2001. I was in love with hiphop, especially the dirty, heavy beats.
I wrote lyrics all day, everyday, and by the time my rap started to sound good, I fell in love with producing (2003)  I was obsessed with sampling and drum programming.
When I found out drum and bass existed, I started producing that. It was insane..
At first, I wasn't any good at it, cause I was used to make beats half the tempo, but I came after it, and after a while i made some pretty decent productions.
I was still keeping up with my rap thing, and producing was kinda like a mistress on the side.
In 2005 i formed the band "Intelligent Pushing" with a very skilled producer named Dynamic H.
He was lightyears ahead of me when it came to producing, and since my part in this crazy little duo was the lead vocal, I really had nothing to offer with my semi-fucked up beats.
Intelligent Pushing suddenly became a huge succes, and took a lot of my time in that period.
Even though I loved writing lyrics and flows, I found another love on the side. Dub.
Dub was just like a wakeup call to me.
It made me realize that delay's and reverbs was my main thing, and I just kinda disappeared into the studio for months.
Meanwhile, Intelligent Pushing was still going strong, and Dynamic H started teaching me stuff when we was in the studio. I learned how to mix properly, use a couple of instruments and stuff like that.
I made these weird, and really bassheavy, beats, until the dubstep wave hit me in 2008.
This was when my development really picked up speed, and in 2009, I was better than ever at making deep, hard hitting beats.
I guess it wasn't really dubstep at the time, but I definitely had my own style locked down.
I went to London and stayed with a couple of friends, and there, I met some really big names form the UK dubstep scene.
One of these brilliant producers helped me out with some dubstep producer-tips, and this was when I came up with my new aka. MANKY.
Im still doing these crazy beats, and I am still the frontman in Intelligent Pushing.
Right now I am working on the last Intelligent Pushing album, called "Starten på slutningen" (The beginning of the end)
I am also on tour with Bottled In England as an mc, and is currently working out the details for on my first ever, solo album."




EP 'Vexed Level'
(14 April 2011)
(Click to listen)

 1. Clean
2. Roots



"Mixtape"
Bottled in England (feat. TK & MANKY)

 

Monday, October 10, 2011

BOTTLED IN ENGLAND - MASSIVE concert in Poland

Left: August Dyrborg, MANKY, Daniel Vognstrup, Tobias Kvæde, Katrine Brocks


EVENT: BOTTLED IN ENGLAND
concert at Nordland Art Festival 
 
DATE: 8th of October 2011
COUNTRY: Poland
CITY: Łódź
VENUE: Jazzga Club
  
 
It was difficult to get my act together after what happened that night, but I'll try to give a few words about this MASSIVE event.  
Huge bomb of Danish energy was thrown into Jazzga club located in the center of Poland-Łódź. The preparators were 5 dangerously good musicians from Denmark: August Dyrborg (drums), Daniel Vognstrup (bass, vocals), Katrine Brocks (vocals), MANKY (vocals), Tobias Kvæde (violin)
They caused powerful explosions of smokin' music, which made the crowd get out of control. They were furious, determined and they didn't want to stop. But the thing is that the crowd didn't want them to stop, either.


Polish people joined the massive!


I must admit Drum'n'Bass isn't my favourite music genre, but I love the sound of drums and bass played live and this is how August and Daniel do it, so I knew it would be a unique experience. And it was indeed. But what they did exceeded my expectations.
They took us by surprise. Usually it takes time to 'rock the house', but their music just suddenly exploded and they threw their energy out from the very beginning. They didn't have to wait long for people to join them.


Daniel made use of his charisma and caught good contact with audience in a very crazy and fun way, encouraged people to come closer to stage, screamed to them, gave them high five, took the shot of vodka with them, jumped down and danced among them; all with his funny expressions ;)
August...uhh! What a wildness! Though it seemed he got carried away, he had complete control over his drums and didn't let the perfectction and exactness slip.
Katrine charmed the audience up with her beautiful voice and apperance. This lovely Danish singer broke into some Polish hearts thanks to "Roots" for sure and the love will be spreaded.
MANKY got the flow and people felt it. He encouraged to let it go and just have fun: "It's perfectly fine if you can't dance, just jump up!!!" So we did and the floor was about to collapse in any second.
Tobias with his violin was like an icing on the cake. He gave the touch of tastefulness and class. Violin in his hands became the coolest instrument making the grooviest sounds, which strengthen Bottled In England music and fit their various style perfectly.

All of them put admirable effort in what they do and they complement one another faultlessly.


Not only they presented great songs from their new EP "Believe The Hype" but they gave unexpected bonus - cover of... "Halo" (Beyonce!) What an extraordinary version, you should hear it!












...and Cover "Halo" 


 More videos HERE

BELIEVE THE HYPE and JOIN THE MASSIVE!

You should get it too ;)




All in all it was more than just a good concert, it was a kind of katharsis, because it gave opportunity to shake all the cumulated bad emotions off and get the positive energy in return. 
So thank you Bottled In England! ;)

 

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

SLEEP PARTY PEOPLE concert in Poland CANCELLED


I can't even express how excited I am about this concert, I can't even count the reasons why I love this band so much. All I can do is to sincerely recommend you to take advantage and come to their concert because it is really worth it. I had the chance to attend their live show during Copenhagen Jazz Festival and it was one of those experiences my mind can't get rid of. It is very positive fixation though ;) This time they will play in my hometown - Łódź (Poland), whilst I'm in their motherland - Denmark. (Isn't it ironic?) But all hell can't stop me from coming up there to experience it again and of course to thank the bunnies personally for accepting the invitation and letting me contribute to the Nordland Art Festival this way :))


The 8th of October center of Poland will become center of the Universe thanks to different dimention music of Sleep Party People ;)



More about Sleep Party People here:


More about Nordland Art Festival here




Interview with Brian Batz, Sleep Party People's lead singer 

 
Popkomm festival 
 Berlin 2011, Magnet Club




TICKETS:
_______________________________________________________________________________






Sunday, October 02, 2011

BOTTLED IN ENGLAND on NORDLAND ART FESTIVAL



August and Daniel from new Danish band BOTTLED IN ENGLAND will bring their massive music to my hometown - Łódź (Poland) on the 8th of October ! They will play on the NORDLAND ART FESTIVAL !!!


"They are one of the only bands in the world actually playing drum’n’bass LIVE, which truly makes it a rare and admirable event to witness."   


(More about festival here)

More about BOTTLED IN ENGLAND --> here 




VIDEO INVITATION:
 




TICKETS:

BOTTLED IN ENGLAND - DENMARK (Copenhagen)

                                                



Bottled in England is a new duo from Copenhagen, Denmark. They play drum’n’bass and dubstep - genres normally known for computergenerated sounds. That is, however, not the case with Bottled in England. Because, in addition to the charismatic frontman Daniel Vognstrup, who takes care of bass and electronics, Bottled in England also constists of the drummer, August Dyrborg, who by using his impresive skills, takes the music to a much more human level. This makes the seeing the band live a unique and extraordinary experience, with a guarenteed party.
They are one of the only bands in the world actually playing drum’n’bass LIVE, which truly makes it a rare and admirable event to witness.


CONTENTS:
  1. BAND NAME  (etymology)
  2. FORMATION YEAR  
  3. GENRE 
  4. HOMETOWN  
  5. RECORD LABEL 
  6. MEMBERS 
  7. HISTORY
  8. DISCOGRAPHY
  9. MUSIC


(etymology)

"The name Bottled in England is chosen because that drum'n'bass and dubstep was founded in England. And it's party music (bottles = party hehe). Bottled in England." 
(Thank you, Martin ;)) 



2010



Drum and Bass (live!)



Copenhagen



Unsigned



August Dyrborg (drums)



Daniel Vognstrup (bass)

 



August and Daniel have known each other all their lives and attended both primary and secondary school together. In 2010 they decided to play together. So in March 2010 they recorded a handful of songs they put on the internet under the name “You Know it’s True When they Say it’s Bottled in England” which included such tracks as Bombs, Golden Goal and Scream.
Bottled in England has shot up like a comet from the underground. After playing at just a few gigs, they were booked to play at Roskilde Festival – Northern Europe’s biggest festival. They’ve recieved the hype and credit that most bands can only dream about and are currently spreading like a virus all over the electronic internet blogs. Despite the fact that their gig at Roskilde Festival was only their 9th, the floor was completely packed and the critics were impressed.
On August 19th Bottled in England’s much anticipated debut EP ”Believe the Hype” was released. The record was released on 12’’ vinyl and being sold exclusively at Bottled in England concerts. The release will be followed by acomprehensive tour around Denmark and even Nordland Art Festival in Poland.





EP:  (August 19th 2011)






SINGLES:

Bombs
The Golden Goal
Scream
Nothing (ft. Katrine Brocks)
The Meltdown + Heavy Steps II (ft. MANKY)



MASSIVE MUSIC


Roskilde Festival 2011
 





"Bombs"
 





Spot Festival 2011