There is no doubt that Scandinavian artists are currently at the forefront of the electronic and indie music scenes. The Knife, Bjork, Röyksopp and countless other major artists, musicians and djs have risen from the nordic states. In between these impressive names Denmark may appear to be a little out of step with its neighbours seemingly offering 90′s cheese-pop band Aqua as their most notorious export. This view is a little short sighted as the country is also host to worldwide renowned festival Roskilde in Copenhagen and has offered its fair share of great music; I’m thinking djs and electronic musicians Trentemøller, Lindstrøm, or bands such as the Raveonettes and Mew.
Because Denmark currently has so much to offe we wanted to introduce Danish Compilations; a website created by Mia Storm and Lukas Kaldan in order to promote their local acts. The duo had already been writing Danish language blog Wonders Make Joy; their idea was to launch a website in English thus making the local scene more accesible to us in the anglo world.
This concept is simple and effective and the website currently offers four themed compilation albums to enjoy. Being partial to Scandinavian electronic music I found ‘Vinter Wonders‘ to be a little jewel of electronica and minimal featuring artists Aebeloe, Andycap or Jonas K.P, who particularly caught my attention; I greatly recommend it if you enjoy the soothing and pure sounds of electronica.
Approximately the same electronic atmosphere but with a twist of rock is present on ‘ To Sider Af Samme Sommer‘, which again features Aebeloe and no-need-for-introductions maestro Trentemøller, but also four piece indie band Annasaid, strangely making me wonder if they could be the bastard child of Cassius‘s and Vampire Weekend.
If Indie rock is your thing, then Wonders Make Joy‘s second compilation ‘IndieanerMusik‘ should definitely please you. It should be noted that this album also features The Kissaway Trail; an old friend here at Cougar Microbes HQ. The vocals on Choir of Young Believers‘ ‘Hollow Talk‘, the musicality of Art of Ape‘s ‘Stuck in Freedom‘ or the spirituality of Chimes & Bells ‘Into Pieces of Wood‘… it seems that all the tracks on this album have something special about them and made me want to discover more about the artists behind them.
The fourth compilation ‘Lyden af Din Mormors Elsker‘ present another well-known aspect of scandinavian music: rock AND roll. The first featured band ‘The Band Bang Brain‘ sets the mood: this is about guitars, loud vocals, feeling young and free…. scotch, but on the rocks. With a touch of heaviness some tracks may seem overwhelming to some sensitive ears, but can be nonetheless soothed by the more delicate sounds and lyrics of Three Attacks ( ‘Love In The City‘) or 18th Dye ( ‘Amorines‘).
Putting all artists on the same level( from the worldwide famous to the little-known acts), gives us the chance to discover something new and fresh. With their themed albums the website ‘Danish Compilations‘ is a great initiative. … and all this, just for the love of music.
My appreciation for The Kissaway Trail was established on the live stage and their performance, opening the main stage at Wireless Festival in 2006, was the basis for one of the early posts on this blog.
It seems incredible to think it has been nearly 4 years since that performance and the release of the band’s debut album but the tracks on that album still sound fresh today. Just as I began to think the band had dissapeared off the face of the earth news begun to filter through of an upcoming release ‘SleepMountain’ on hip us label Bella Union.
The Danish 5-piece kicked off an ambitious tour which seemingly brought them through London every other week and I caught performances at the Lexington, the Barfly and fiitingly stumbled across their show at the Hoxton Bar & Frill, just as I had done back in Hyde park.
Some of these venues where smaller than the actual bar stand at Wireless Festival and I was looking forward to hearing the bands repertoire, old and especially new, in such an intimate setting. With their chiseled looks and Nordic cool the band looked the part and received an appreciative response from the ever present Danish contingent before they even hit the stage.
Tracks from their debut sounded brilliant, obviously benefitting from the experience gained from years on the road; managing to be polished and magnified. Better still, the new material showed matured songwriting approach with co-frontmen Thomas and Soren developing a penchant for sweeping instrumentals and dramatic melodies. All this built on the foundations of a solid rythmn section lead by impressive skills of drummer Hasse.
Over a few nights I witnessed The Kissaway Trail put in a dependable shift and win over audiences big and small. With Sleep Mountain being released just recently I hope it is not another 4 years before I see and hear from them again.
Danish 5-piece The Kissaway Trial have seemingly gone Missing In Action since I saw them at Wireless Festival and subsequently wrote this glowing review.
Over the last few years the band have played with artists as diverse as Sigur Ros, Editors and Pasison Pit and silently honing their sound and stage performance.
The band are gearing for a return in 2010 with a new album on Bella Union titled ‘Sleep Mountain’ that triumphantly builds on the foundations the band laid down for their self-titled 2007 debut.
The first song to be unleashed from the upcoming release is the stomping ‘SDP’ with its six-minutes of buoyant energy. Fans of the bands previous output will draw parallels gems like ‘61’ and the awesome ‘Smother + Evil = Hurt’. Producer Peter Katis’ work with Interpol and The National may well have rubbed off on The Kissaway Trail because they look and sound more focussed than ever.
Sleep Mountain may well be one of the releases to look forward to in 2010.
The above statement is not strictly true as over the last few years the Danish 5-piece have been silently honing their sound and sharing stages with artists as diverse as Sigur Ros, Editors and Passion Pit.
The band are gearing up for a return in 2010 with a new album titled ‘Sleep Mountain’, out on Bella Union, that triumphantly builds on the foundations laid down for their 2007 self-titled debut.
The first song to be unleashed from the upcoming release is the stomping ‘SDP’’ with its six-minutes of buoyant energy. Fans of the bands previous output will draw parallels gems like ‘61’ and the awesome ‘Smother + Evil = Hurt’ and the trademark dual vocals are still at the forefront. Producer Peter Katis’ work with Interpol and The National may well have rubbed off on The Kissaway Trail because they look and sound more focussed than ever before.
‘Sleep Mountain‘ may well be one of the releases to look forward to in 2010.
Working Wireless Festival at Hyde Park last year saw us scattered to separate locations around the festival area. I had been setting up since 7am and the last thing I wanted to do was hear annoying demands from the herd-like punters. A mix up in the official festival program meant that it was not even clear who was playing on what stage and when until the afternoon. Who would be the poor bastards picked by the organisers to take the stage first at 11.30 on this chilly Thursday morning?
At 11.35 the first messages started darting around the site. I was receiving texts from people literally as I was sending the exact same message: “who are these guys? They’re fucking awesome!!!!”
By 11.40 we somehow all managed to drop whatever menial tasks we were undertaking and headed towards the front of the park to catch a glimpse of the mystery band. Due to the aforementioned early hour and the fact it was a workday there were only a few hundred people populating the mosh pit but the band on stage were seemingly unaffected effortlessly flowing from one epic melody to the next whilst channelling pure adrenaline into their exquisitely crafted songs. We still didn’t know who these guys were but we knew they had an ear for a hook.
After a proper easter egg hunt, some bribing, much arm twisting and a couple of wrestling manoeuvres we found out the band in question were Denmark’s own The Kissaway Trail touring in support of their debut album. We had caught them at just the right time, just a few months into an extensive tour they knew each song inside out but had still to experience any fatigue associated with long touring.
Though The Kissaway Trail‘s self titled album doesn’t always reach the dizzying heights shown that morning in Hyde Park there are still plenty of standout moments that are of immediate appeal. The band opted for a multi-layered approach and deliberately focussed production builds a wonderfully moody album. Next time you are at a festival give a thought to those “bastards” who will be playing to an empty field at 11.30 am. They may end up surprising you with an euphoric set peppered with saccharine melodies and dark themes.
The bands myspace page showcases the sublime 61 and the stand out track ‘Smother + Evil = Hurt’. Check these songs out as they are all great examples of what I describe above. For added sonic pleasure i recommend ‘Soul Assassins’ and the anthemic ‘La La Song’ which were both highlights at Wireless.
to feature an array of amazing releases and artists (past, present, old and new) with the goal of promoting them to anyone interested and anyone who stumbles across this site.
If you like any of the tracks, please go buy the albums and help finance the artists producing this great music.
If there are any issues with the tracks featured do not hesitate to contact: "team (AT) Cougar Microbes (DOT) com and we will happily oblige.
There is no doubt that Scandinavian artists are currently at the forefront of the electronic and indie music scenes. The Knife, Bjork, Röyksopp and countless other major artists, musicians and djs have risen from the nordic states. In between these impressive names Denmark may appear to be a little out of step with its neighbours seemingly offering 90′s cheese-pop band Aqua as their most notorious export. This view is a little short sighted as the country is also host to worldwide renowned festival Roskilde in Copenhagen and has offered its fair share of great music; I’m thinking djs and electronic musicians Trentemøller, Lindstrøm, or bands such as the Raveonettes and Mew.
