They might be common ideas or even dreams carried from childhood years. They could even be imaginary thoughts with no real connection to reality ( especially for a traveller) however ; when a country like Sweden or the area of Scandinavia is mentioned visions of icy, barren lands, multi-coloured sunrises and difficult living conditions come to mind.

Koloss is able to confirm this idea and make it feel and sound real.

This Swedish band presents you with songs that dip into darkness and light; the guitar that walks you through harsh lands of solitude; the voice that screams with anger and pain refusing to be imprisoned by isolation and silence. Traces of a one too many long winters, freezing winds and too many days of darkness can be felt in the their music a sort of struggle against banality and indifference.

Happy listening to Koloss, preferibly in front of a fire or in a warm place.

http://koloss.bandcamp.com
 
Jacopo Ravagnan

English translation by Karin Andrea Halliwell

Artists permanently and randomly on air at present date
 

It seems that every time I check out the club scene in NYC The Suzan have a gig somewhere. If they are not playing the Ace Hotel they’re at the Knitting Factory. If it isn’t the Bell House it’s Union Hall. Okay, granted these places aren’t Madison Square Garden but it means these ladies from Tokyo have been surviving and making a considerable amount of music in the city that never sleeps. The Suzuki Sisters Rei and frontwoman Saori started things rolling in 2003, and as the story goes after they sent some of their tracks to a Japanese indie label, they were told to form this female quartet and be ready to hit the road—a kind of success story that all indie bands dream about. The Suzan don’t like to be called a Japanese band. They consider themselves an international group who happened to be born in Asia. Even though their music differs from groups like  X Japan and Puffy Ami Yumi, they are part of a growing Asian indie movement that is seriously taking root in New York.
Their new released album, Golden Week for The Poco Poco Beat, presents the listener their unique sound. There is a little bit of 80’s new wave, garage and surfer rock.  The CD is as refreshing as a summer cocktail: a little spicy, not too sweet, goes down nice and smoothly. On the whole it has a very varied sound that showcases The Suzan's versatility and above all, their creativity. Saori does a great job with the vocals. She can sound as gentle as a kitten but can bark at you like a dog. The first track off the CD “Home” sets the groove in motion. Smartly constructed with its rhythmically pleasing xylophones and cool vocals, it proves to be the CD’s best piece. “Ha Ha Ha “ is a kind of 50’s pop tribute. It's a cutesy, concise and catchy tune.
Golden Week for The Poco Poco Beat is a bit quirky and edgy; however, it’s easy listening to and seemingly unpretentious. The Suzan continue to capture NYC, and in a city that either makes or breaks you, that in itself is a great success.

Karin Andrea Halliwell

www.myspace.com/thesuzan

Artists permanently and randomly on air at present date

 

 

New ideas come from embryos, experiments, mixtures.

So, looking for new sounds (I can't stand the boring and boiled ones!), I came across Salon Bruit, a Berlin based open platform for music pioneers. 

 

 

Here is a short expert from Salon Bruit - Retrospective 2002-2011. If you like, get the full compliation here. As far as I can tell, it's free.

 

Artists in this short space-emotional music selection:

 

Hilot Lilanth (DE) & Evolution Control Committee (USA)

Preslav Literary School (the occasional music project of Adam Thomas - UK)

Bob Rutman (DE)

Hassan Khan (EG)

 

Preslav Literary School... at work.

 

 

In the end, here's sometihing more about the Salon Bruit project, taken directly from their website:

 

Salon Bruit started in 2002 in Berlin as an open platform for international artists of various backgrounds who experiment with sound, art, music and noise in unconventional ways. Regular meetings with Berlin residents and visiting guests led to an increase in our audience, an ever-expanding radius of action and ultimately to the establishment of the nonprofit association Salon Bruit eV. in 2008. Our activities includes concerts, performances, independent radio projects, creative workshops and exhibitions in Berlin and other European cities.  

A unique quality of the association is its open, interdisciplinary and independent approach. Our interests lie in the international exchange of ideas and the consequent synergies that this encourages. The emphasis is mostly put on the idea of sharing and networking, which is enhanced by our policy of inviting a mixture of local and visiting artists to the same events. These events take place mostly in the smallest cinema in Berlin, the "Lichtblick Kino". A renowned independent cinema in the old eastern part of the city. Most of this is documented and some of it played locally on air when the occasion arises. Salon Bruit's roots are deeply entwined with local Free Radio scene in Berlin. Past collaborative projects have been Ersatzradio, RadioRiff, Reboot.FM, radioherbst, Mikro.FM, Dazwischenfunken in Potsdam, Funkwelle and most recently Herbstradio ( ...)

All the best,

Carlo Trevisan

Salon Bruit - Retrospective 2002-2011 is released under a CreativeCommons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerive licence.

Artists permanently and randomly on air at present date