In the words of Royksopp’s Svein Berge, “there are things brewing in the north.” Not least among them is the third album from the smooth-talking electro-pop pair. Entitled ‘Junior’, this latest instalment of gilded Royksoppian glitch-pop promises to fall somewhere between their million-selling debut of 2001, ‘Melody AM’, and the catchier, melodic sensibilities of 2005’s follow-up, ‘The Understanding’. Though ‘Junior’s’ list of guest vocalists reads like a roll call of Scandinavian pop goddesses, it’s the return of the internationally acclaimed Norwegian duo that that fans are most anticipating. In a very special early preview, Svein tells Gigwise what we can expect…
“For us ‘Junior’ is following the concert of Royksopp in terms of trying to create unique songs – that sounds very pretentious but that’s what we try to make in all honesty,” Svein begins of Royksopp’s third studio album. Even on the phone, his famed good-humour and silver-tongued press-manner shine through. He tells me that the new album contains “special songs with emphasis on trying to present interesting sounds in the traditional heritage of Royksopp,” in a description so spectacularly evasive that there seems little point asking him to elaborate further.
Instead, we move onto Junior’s Scandinavian celebrity line-up. Robyn, Lykke Li, and The Knife’s Karin Dreijer are holding the Swedish fort, while Anneli Drecker represents Royksopp’s own Norway. “There are a lot of good things coming out of Scandinavia at the moment from Sweden, Norway and Denmark,” Svein says of his contemporaries. “We know these people and they know us: it is all intertwined and very inclusive, the whole operation. I don’t mind being associated with these enormously talented artists. Royksopp are a bit on the side of it, but we try and invite ourselves into that clique, obviously.”
But Svein is keen to make clear that Royksopp have never quite courted convention: “I notice that we are still being called either a downtempo, chillout duo, which I believe is quite wrong, or I see us branded as a dance act, which I also think is mistaken. I wouldn’t really go out and shake my hips to a song like Royksopp’s ‘Forever’, you know? It would be kind of hard unless you have very special dancing abilities!”
“There’s no one around quite like us,” Svein elaborates of the difficulties of being a crossover between dancefloor acts like Daft Punk, Justice, or the oft-compared polished electro-pulse of Air, and the recent surge of indie-electro bands, like MGMT. “This album in particular I believe is quite eclectic and diverse: I couldn’t really recommend one single place to listen to it. Torbjørn likes to listen to it while he’s driving a car. I’m more of a shower man myself, I like to listen to it when I’m showering. I’m an Aquarius, so I like being close to water, and then there’s nudity, which adds to it.”
The ten years of Royksopp’s history make for impressive reading. Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland met at school, though Royksopp came into being a few years later, in 1998, in a Norwegian musical renaissance remembered as the ‘Bergen Wave’, after its place of origin. Just three years on, the success of their debut, with its ingenious videos and ubiquitous commercial licencing, catapulted them into an international sphere of recognition that has seen them win numerous awards and sell millions of records. It’s an illustrious career, no doubt, but Svein isn’t quite finished just yet: “I’ve always wanted to touch Vangelis’ beard. I want to touch divinity, and to me he is the god of synthesizer. After that I can just wither and die, I’ll have done my share of mortal toil.” I meekly suggest that some Royksopp fans might object to this rather unexpected demise of Norway’s best-loved musical export, at which point he muses, “well, there’s always the option of remastering Melody A.M. ten times with different remixes…”
To the contrary, new single ‘Happy Up Here’ more that suffices to prove that Royksopp have no intention of living off their past successes: “Age is coming whether you like it or not – but it’s not as if we are going to drift into mediocrity,” Svein assures. The single’s seductive, reverberating throb coats familiar Royksoppian melodic murmurings that promise, “You know I really like it/ I know I’ll always be here.” And while, much like ‘Forever’, the allusions to eternity strike of ambition beyond Svein and Torbjørn’s mere-mortal means, it’s clear that Royksopp haven’t quite lost their charisma, musical or otherwise, just yet.
Brooklyn has been at the centre of a garage-pop revival of late, born of stripped-back diy-rock that finds its feet somewhere between the dreampop of C86 cohorts The Shop Assistants and lo-fi post-punk outfit Young Marble Giants. Key players on the scene include Cause Co-motion, Vivian Girls, and tonight’s Windmill headliners, Crystal Stilts.
First up from Italy, A Classic Education are a sextet with an unpretentious yet unoriginal take on tambourine-bashing indie-pop of late, a la Arcade Fire (the band once opened for Win Butler and co. last year). Despite hailing from Bologna, their lyrics curl with a thick American accent that reminds of Deathcab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard. Two guitars give the band sound depth, while a violinist lends an orchestral element that veers towards the grandiose, but is limited by lyrics that tend to lack guile. They finish with ‘Stay Son’, a track from the ‘First EP’, and depart the tiny corner stage to disperse among the tight-packed crowd.
First impressions of Crystal Stilts confirm them a frosty bunch. The sporadic elements of their sound, shot with lo-fi romance, seem in constant conflict, which lends itself to a stuffy tension. Vocalist Brad Hargett towers at the front, but his voice is barely audible beneath rattling tambourines, the tinny chimes of a sixties organ, reverberating surfer guitars and what can only be described as ferocious drumming on the part of ex-Vivian Girls’ percussionist, Frankie Rose. It’s at once gloomy and infectious.
What Crystal Stilts lack in variation they make up for in sonic consistency, adopting a contrived unbalance that makes their sound lysergic and dour. Hargett reminds of Ian Curtis as he sways, arms swinging, steely gaze fixed and voice deep and droning. When the band address the audience, the words come from Frankie on drums, drenched in sweat and grinning, or muffled and vacant from Hargett. There’s something irrepressibly revivalist about the spectral guitars and faux-romanticism of the doom-pop Crystal Stilts purport. But they carry the flag unapologetically ahead of their Brooklyn-based peers and if art reflects life, Crystal Stilts are the perfect soundtrack to empty purses in the half-light of this wintry city.
ENTER THE NEW: The Second Hand Marching Band words: Jamie Milton Glasvegas have many faults. I don’t actually mind Glasvegas as much as others but their problem is that they paint a black, murky picture of just one city in Scotland. Problem being, many people might just associate all the stabbings, all the leavings of Daddy’s with Scotland as a whole. The Second Hand Marching Band however, a 22-piece chirpy triumph, from a variety of locations in the country but from Scotland as a whole, bring to light a different side to the country.
Not only that but TSHMB will also find themselves amongst a whole host of Scottish bands who’ll be abolishing the nasty reputation Scotland has musically at the moment; with every Belle & Sebastian there’s ten of The Fratellis, with every Franz Ferdinand comes a dozen The Views. But with Frightened Rabbit, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Broken Records and now these guys, there’s a bit of a musical renaissance happening up there.
You might not have guessed it but the big bunch consist of members of as well as others, Dananananaykroyd and Q Without U, two bands who sound like a complete sonic contrast to the friendly, light-hearted smooth hymns TSHMB create.
Despite their size, they might avoid all the Arcade Fire comparisons poor Broken Records consistently receive, but the similarity to Beirut that many other bloggers cite must be getting on their nerves a tad. But it’s true. Instrumentally at least, and especially on their debut EP’s title track, ‘A Dance to Half Death’, it’s difficult to draw a line between the two. But essentially all that means is this lot can muster up something as beautiful as Zach Condon’s creations. And to add to all of that, there is a variety, particularly in the dark, minimal (considering the band’s size) effort ‘Not Yet’. Every track can vary in overall sound but each and every one of them will get to the very core of your heart and warm you inside, from start to finish.
WEEKEND STACKING OF TRACKING words: Jamie Milton So, like you probably, I’ve just seen that Rihanna photo. I haven’t quite been on the pulse with this whole domestic abuse story but I think I get it now…This week I cleaned up LOTS, went to see Late of the Pier, met Micachu in the process, bought a Micachu t-shirt and got a nasty man-flu (not from the t-shirt). I had a very busy blog-posting day yesterday but don’t go thinking there’s nothing more MFM can feed you. Here comes the tracks, this week has a ‘big band’ theme: —————————————————————————-
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown Note: this is just a demo. Note: GD people, if you want the track taken down, email or comment below!
‘American Idiot’ was stacked in anthemic, stadium-ready glory. In between a smart, political swipe came a steady, building song for the masses. It seems they’ve latched onto that and look keen to replicate it in an album that could build an already huge reputation. Predictable in its structure and sound but ready for the bucks to pour in. The album’s title-track steadily builds into something more edgy and ambitious. One for the teenagers surely, but it’ll draw in a similar audience that adored the last album. 62% mp3:Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (demo)(zshare) —————————————————————————-
U2 – Get On Your Boots
Since it splurtered out all over the internet, the general consensus of ‘No Line On The Horizon’ is that this first single is the worst track on the whole record. Maybe it was a record industry tactic to presume that sales would be high for any first single, so why not send out the worst one? Either way, it is pretty poor. What dominates U2’s new album is a sense of exploration and a seeking of new ideas, whereas this sounds like a poor man’s ‘Vertigo’. “Get on your boots/sexy boots” will almost definitely become one of the most annoying pair of lyrics for 2009. Ignore it while you can… 40% mp3:U2 – Get On Your Boots (zshare)
watch: ‘Get On Your Boots’ at Brits 2009
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero
Being a little underwhelmed from the two tracks above, this is more like it. You wouldn’t have put it past Yeah Yeah Yeahs to incorporate a whole lot more synth into the sound of their third album. You can almost picture Dave Sitek behind the wheel, with Karen O joyfully upping the anti as each second passes. This is an up-tempo, uplifting number, hopefully the perfect indication of ‘It’s Blitz!’. I’m now under the complete impression that it could end up making YYY’s one of the world’s biggest bands. Not in the territory of the two above, but remember when Arcade Fire suddenly went huge? Similar stuff could happen… 90%
Realpeople always had its electronic roots. But it’s also remained strikingly childish. When Zach Condon left school at 16 to pursue this cliché European dream of his, the first musical note he made was on his keyboard.
This second EP feels like it’s been a work in progress for some time. ‘Venice’ at least, has been available to listen to for some time and even in this final mastered version, you still hear noticable differences between that and say, the more up-tempo, modern sounding closer to the EP, ‘No Dice’. What’s been suggested by this double-EP release is that the release in itself has little to be serious about. The first half took much more effort, organisation and commitment but ironically the second half produces the goods.
It’s the sound of a man on his travels, for Condon has been on his travels since 16. Whilst his associated sonic contrastingly lies comfortably next to horns and brass instruments, this smooth, silky pseudonym is a get-away from all the serious business. The instrumental ‘No Dice’ is evidence exactly for that. It’s not a sign that Zach Condon is some troubled genius, it’s just a bit of fun. The only track that clearly sets itself out as something with more intent is ‘The Concubine’, a less electronic, more evolving work that commences with the trademark accordion but closes with a synth. It still sounds like a home recording, something done in privacy and without interruption. But it can be closely knitted together with more quintessential Beirut works, therefore making it the least unusual but most likeable track on the whole EP.
It’s almost as if these works, previously for the man’s own satisfaction, have been thrown in by Condon to throw in a separate sphere to his musical-personality, with the purpose of shifting focus and gaining a bit of space from the dramatic, full-band efforts he’s become so renowned for.
EP: Beirut – March Of The Zapotec words: Jamie Milton Just for the record, in case you went straight to reading this thinking we’d be reviewing both EP’s at once, that’s not the case. Here we’re solely looking at the first half of the double EP release. —————————————–
An instant comparison: with ‘The Flying Club Cup’ we were slowly drawn in with ‘A Call To Arms’, an easeful, perhaps purposeless 20-second opener. ‘El Zócalo’ sort of performs the same job only this time we’re welcomed by a fade in, which suggests that we’re interrupting things. Furthermore, it suggests that Zach Condon and his latest recruits had been getting carried away with themselves and someone finally decided to press record. Of course that’s probably not what happened but it’s an authentic enough half a minute to lure you into the cultured world of Beirut.
“So long, my fate has changed” declares Condon during ‘The Akara’, speaking on behalf of an unidentified ‘mistress’. But ultimately these words could be coming from the deep waters in the head of the man himself. Being to some extent presumptious, ‘Beirut’ as a project has been much more vulnerable since the release of the act’s second album. Condon, frustratingly revealed the difficulties in managing a huge band and taking them on tour with him. But hang on, here he returns with 19 brass-equipped men from Mexico, all swimmingly following Condon’s lead. Somewhere along this seemingly tricky journey, Condon found the situation of recording music on such a large scale, addictive.
‘March of the Zapotec’ feels more like a warming up than anything. ‘La Llorona’ can suddenly kick off into a bold frenzy all it wants, ‘The Shrew’ can sound as dainty and as jolly as it pleases, the eventual feeling you get is that surely, there’s more the man can give. What can you expect but more from a man so young, so committed to creating fine music with such consistently impressive final results?
LIVE: Late of The Pier//Micachu and the Shapes –@Brighton Concorde–18/02/09 words: Jamie Milton When you approach a packed-to-the-brim, intimate venue that consists of a couple of hundred people, average age about 16, with an energetic, obnoxious, fire-starting band as the headline act, there’s little more to expect than a broken toe. Naturally, that’s how I exited the concorde. Maybe extra padding would have helped, or maybe one should have just avoided getting in the middle of the “carnage” during what many claim to be one of the most uplifting, destructive minutes of sound of the 21st century so far, the closing period of ‘Focker’.
Prior to ‘Focker’, prior to the opening of Late of the Pier’s frantic set even, there’s a whole lot of atmosphere floating about. It’s a gift to the delighful Micachu and the Shapes, one of the most exciting, original acts in the UK, about to unveil their debut album. The crowd is split in half, loving or hating the spiky, unashamed loop-pop that is much more coherent on ‘Jewellery’. On the live stage, much of it is inaudible, amended by the occasional glimmer of unmitigated pop. Sure, their set is patchy but it leaves a taste in your mouth, urging any newcomer to explore a little when they finish their journey home. You don’t get the full effect of the looped sound of a tapped spoon or a saucepan, phone-dial, whatever else lurks in the debut album. But you do get the same energy, particularly during ‘Just In Case’, which earns plenty of audience participation.
But ‘participation’ wouldn’t be the appropriate word to seal on the audience’s contribution to the night. From the very second ‘Space In The Woods’ revs up its engine, excluding those at the back who’d prefer to settle with a pint in hand, the whole venue escapes into a flurry of energy and giddiness. Those that remain from start to finish exit with complete satisfaction, plus that broken toe. Those scurrying out of the frenzy should have known better. ‘Fantasy Black Channel’ (which judging on one more pre-gig listen, is a criminally overlooked album), may have been rich in ideas and synth-led sounds but it lacked a range of purposes. It’s main priority was to let the kids dance and evidently, that mission has been accomplished. ‘Focker’ is the defining moment. Little time is spent focusing the eye on Samuel Dust and co., except from the outstanding appearance of a new song which receives a friendly applause instead of a tone-death wail. Any moments of respite are subsequently replaced by another physical injury that has little damage due to the adreneline pumping through the body. And while to an onlooker this whole experience could sound offputting, it’s as good as it gets to your everyday thrill-seeking teenager.
All mp3s posted on Music Fan's Mic are posted after gaining the relevant permission.
Jamie Milton began Music Fan's Mic in 2006 as a means of publishing and collecting his reviews for other publications. Since then both Milton and Gareth O'Malley are co-running the blog and posting the best new music on a regular basis.
Boom-box-in':
Yeasayer - Odd Blood LP
Final Fantasy Heartland LP
Beach House - Teen Dream LP
These New Puritans - We Want War
Gigi - The Old Graveyard
jj - The xx Intro
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This LP
Liars - Sisterworld LP
Vampire Weekend - White Sky
Los Campesinos! - In Medias Res
The ten years of Royksopp’s history make for impressive reading. Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland met at school, though Royksopp came into being a few years later, in 1998, in a Norwegian musical renaissance remembered as the ‘Bergen Wave’, after its place of origin. Just three years on, the success of their debut, with its ingenious videos and ubiquitous commercial licencing, catapulted them into an international sphere of recognition that has seen them win numerous awards and sell millions of records. It’s an illustrious career, no doubt, but Svein isn’t quite finished just yet: “I’ve always wanted to touch Vangelis’ beard. I want to touch divinity, and to me he is the god of synthesizer. After that I can just wither and die, I’ll have done my share of mortal toil.” I meekly suggest that some Royksopp fans might object to this rather unexpected demise of Norway’s best-loved musical export, at which point he muses, “well, there’s always the option of remastering Melody A.M. ten times with different remixes…”
MFM @ HYPEM
