Swedesplease – The Swedish Music Blog

Apparently there is a cute little video game called Ilomilo that is all the rage. On top of that apparently there is a soundtrack to the video game that is also all the rage. Well now here comes the remix and/or music inspired by the game soundtrack. It features two Swedish video game music makers in Mattias Häggström Gerdt and Carl Karjalainen. This is no the usual blip pop of the 8 bit variety but instead it slower more organic and simpler music.

The record is called Songs We Heard In Ilomilo.

Cozy Sofa by Mattias Häggström Gerdt

Jelly Moonlight by Carl Karjalainen

Trailer for the game:

Here’s a little indie folk a la Sufjan Stevens courtesy of Gothenburg’s Claes Strängberg.

Tomorrow Dear

I went through all my emails and links and bandcamp and soundcloud files and this is the only thing with any energy and any sense of being real that I could post today. Hardcore and punk should be immediate and Poor Lifestyle certainly is. You may argue that this song is breaking no new ground and I’d say you’re right – that’s the beauty of it.

This song will be coming out in Sweden on a split 7″ with friends the Wallrides sometime soon.

These Times

Bonus track from Sweden’s The Wallrides new EP

To download all 35 songs in one file click here

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Hernán Martínez y Las Estrellas – Revolución En Verano
Hernán Martínez was the man behind Voltura, a magnificent but rather unkown indie-pop band from Buenos Aires’s underground music scene (they only recorded two EPs, which are free to download from here and here). Revolución De Verano is Martínez’s first solo album, released by Perinola Discos and recorded with his band Las Estrellas. As with previous EPs by Martinez and Voltura, his songs are both catchy and melancholic. Revolución En Verano is the first single from the album.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Royal Headache – Down The Lane
After a couple of years of drip-feeding 7″, CD-R and cassette releases, the time has arrived for the release of Royal Headache’s debut album. Down The Lane is a great introduction to Royal Headache and shows exactly why people are so excited about them.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
4instrumental – Não Mais
4instrumental is a band whose sound is influenced by the history of Sabará, a city founded 400 years ago, while permeated by that kind of constant search for renewal typical of rock and roll. They’re prog rockers, but also funky, jazzy and experimental, as you can hear in Não Mais, from their first EP, released two months ago. The quartet are activists of a way of life that believes culture is a means of social transformation. They travel through the country expanding this idea while making people feel some catharsis with their instrumental music.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Zoo Legacy – Shockwave
Is it hip-hop? Rock? R&B? I don’t know. What I do know, though, is that Zoo Legacy create music that’s a genre-bending mish-mash, and they do it extremely well.

CHILE: Super 45
Fakuta – Aeropuerto
Fakuta is one of the best bets in the current Chilean musical scene. Behind that moniker, architect Pamela Sepúlveda builds introspective synth-pop songs filled with detailed soundscapes and warm textures. Aeropuerto (“Airport”) is the second single from her debut album Al Vuelo, available for free at her website.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Siamese Fighting Fish – A Liar Cried Wolf
In early 2011, alternative metal six-piece Siamese Fighting Fish released their grand debut album We Are The Sound, which this site’s metalhead, Thomas Brunstrøm, suggested you check out if you’d like to know “what it would sound like if Muse, System Of A Down and Incubus went on stage in a metal club in Sarajevo and tried to out-weird each other. Featuring a guy playing the violin.” At the end of August, the gang released epic new single A Liar Cried Wolf, which is a MAP download exclusive.

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Spotlight Kid – Haunting Me
Twenty years ago, there was grunge, and there was shoegazing, and that was pretty much it for the alternative rock scene. Spotlight Kid wonderfully evoke that era when My Bloody Valentine meant more than the Beatles and the Stones combined, and every young band was in thrall to the sound of MBV’s Isn’t Anything album and wanted to be signed to Creation – that is, Creation B.O. (Before Oasis), when it was all radiant guitars and ethereal, billowing, androgynous boy/girl harmonies. Spotlight Kid don’t come from the Thames Valley like their forebears (they’re from Nottingham) but everything else about them screams – or rather, sighs and shimmers – shoegaze.

ESTONIA: Popop
Taavi Peterson & Üdi – Tibet Ocean
Singer Taavi Peterson got his first taste of fame in 2007 from the first series of the Estonian version of Pop Idol, coming third, but he decided to turn his back on the shiny pop world. The band Üdi (“bone marrow”) was formed in 2008 and their plan is to keep their hearts in the 60s but minds in the present day and make helluva good music. Is it possible for one band to change something? That’s what they are trying to find out.

FINLAND: Glue
The New Tigers – Pocketful Of Sand
From the west coast of Finland, The New Tigers are a guitar-driven pop band that might remind you of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth or Galaxie 500. On their debut album, The New Tigers show an austere sound straight from the rehearsal room with no unnecessary embellishments. Loud guitars are all over the album and extend the songs with some good jams, but the band never forgets to include a good pop melody.

FRANCE: Yet You’re Fired
Pendentif – Riviera
These days you see “pop” in every review you read and, over time, it even had bad connotations, as if it was the simplest music you can create. In fact, we forgot we could be surprised by it, and Pendentif are here to remind us of how great pop is, not by reinventing it, but by offering highly enjoyable pop songs, using the best the genre has to offer. Signed to the same label as previous MAP band Young Michelin, Bulle Sonore Records, they are just as great and sing in French as well.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Dear Reader – MONKEY (You Can Go Home)
Dear Reader’s debut was subtle in a folky way; the second album, Idealistic Animals, continues this promising cachet in a more janiform way. South African Cherilyn Macneil decided after some soul-searching about conscience and religion that she needed a change and now lives in Berlin, continuing Dear Reader as a solo project. Although her lyrics are very intense and profound, the music seems breezy and effortless, which makes a great and lasting combination.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Your Hand In Mine – A Boy And The Birds
Your Hand In Mine present a deeply personal sense of chamber music and an emotive, atmospheric dreamworld through intricate arrangements, waltzing rhythms, fluttering accordions, mandolins, delicate glockenspiels, woozy laments and beautiful, melancholic melodies that conjure a cinematic romanticism. Their second album, The Garden Novels, is a testament to the versatility and adventurousness of their sound, where nine sonic novels, nine small stories told in a fictional garden, are transcribed into warm and intimate musical notes.

ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia
Samaris – Hljóma Þú
Samaris consist of singer Jófríður Ákadóttir, computer programmer Þórður Kári Steinþórsson and clarinet player Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir, three students from Reykjavík aged 17-18 who came together in January 2011. The trio plays a mixture of trip-hop, dubstep and downtempo beats. This year they won the Icelandic battle-of-the-bands competition Músíktilraunir. Hljóma Þú is the title track of their first EP.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Jirapah – Crime
Jirapah duo Ken Jenie and Mar Galo are lovers, both Indonesian students who stayed in Brooklyn. But Ken is currently living in Jakarta, partly because of the good reception their music has received in the capital’s indie scene, where he has started playing live with several other musicians. Their music can be described as something dreamy, layered and lo-fi.

IRELAND: Nialler9
Alarmist – Giraffe Centre
Intricate melodies intertwine and search for ears in Dublin band Alarmist’s Giraffe Centre, taken from their brilliant self-titled five-track EP. Like Tortoise and Battles, this band are all about turbo-charged but beautiful instrumentation.

ITALY: Polaroid
Three In One Gentleman Suit – Green Riots
Pure is the fourth album by Three In One Gentleman Suit, a band that keeps getting better and better. Moving from post-rock and math beginnings, TIOGS developed their own style – a kind of Modest Mouse epicness with more synth and samples, and with an incredibly strong live impact. You can download Pure for free from the band’s website.

JAPAN: Make Believe Melodies
Miila And The Geeks – New Age
Miila And The Geeks grab familiar elements of rock music and contort them into slightly disturbing shapes. New Age, the title track to their recently released debut, uses simple repetition and jittery drumming to turn what could have been a by-the-numbers garage rock song into a captivating, no-wave-inspired number. Yet it is the saxophone popping up at various moments, seemingly blessed with a mind of its own, which really cements New Age as a fascinating listen.

MALTA: Stagedive Malta
Hunters Palace – Tal-Metall
Hunters Palace was initially an indie-folk outfit with a tendency to lay on some psychedelic improvisational grooves, but has recently evolved into a power trio playing abrasive free rock. Its core membership has always comprised two people, Peter Sant and Alex Vella Gera, but over the years others have contributed to the band’s sound including Adolf Formosa and Vinicius Duarte. The track on offer, Tal-Metall, is a krautrock-ish assault meaning to be a dance anthem.

MEXICO: Red Bull Panamérika
Juan Cirerol – Corrido Chicalor
Storytelling and improvisation are two qualities rarely seen among musicians nowadays, since abstract compositions and studio over-productions rule the landscape. Enter Juan Cirerol, a twenty-something guitar-yielding cantina troubadour from the desertic Mexico-U.S. frontier city of Mexicali, all-stereotyped with pointy boots, worn-out cowboy shirt and a Johnny Cash square-jawed grin. With a carefree, nomadic take on the music business, Juan is kind of an outlaw riding a black horse into the shy, dusty streets of the Mexican indie scene. Nobody saw him coming and now everybody is talking about this charming youngster. If you feel attracted to this stranger, download his debut from the Vale Vergas Discos site.

NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam
houses – Walk Away
This young Amsterdam-based quintet share in an unashamed love of North American indie guitar pop, spending the past decade absorbing the melodies and atmospherics of bands like Death Cab For Cutie, Stars and Broken Social Scene. It’s most noticeable in how their guitarist and keyboardist duel over shimmering riffs, while their choruses naturally soar as Ella van der Woude’s sweet and airy Feist-esque voice is lifted by the urgency of the rhythm section. Following plenty of local gigging and a self-released EP in 2010 that perked up the ears of local radio, their debut album Clean Life is released on September 19.

NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal
Jon Lemmon – Exodus I
When asked to make a summery pop song for a compilation, US-born New Zealand-based artist Jon Lemmon set about writing a tune about the end of the world. Exodus I is a lush and enigmatic opus, boasting everything from honky-tonk piano to squelchy synth bass and an incredibly catchy wordless vocal singalong in the chorus. Lemmon shows his breakout potential with this huge song from his forthcoming album that he’s aiming to release by the end of October.

NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance
Mikhael Paskalev – I Spy
Mikhael Paskalev is an astonishing young talent from deep within the fjords of Norway. He makes joyful folk pop that sometimes resembles Port O’Brien, Slow Club and other indie folk acts, yet also with a certain regard for the old ones, like The Everly Brothers. We can’t wait for his debut album due out next year.

PERU: SoTB
Moldes – Trés Malade
Among the noise, psychedelia and experimentation, Moldes, a quartet formed by two boys and two girls in 2008, released their first album in August 2010 to good reviews. Trés Malade is a song that comes from a French poem written by Katia De la Cruz.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Iconoclasts – Stranger In A Strange Land
Iconoclasts first appeared on MAP in 2009 and they keep on rocking. At last, the band’s debut album, Mt. Erikson, is released this month. Stranger In A Strange Land shows just why they are one of the most promising acts from Lisbon. Pump up the volume.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
We Singing Colors – There When You Sleep
We Singing Colors is the side project of Andrei Hațegan from indie band The Amsterdams. The boy/girl vocals, the exploration of simple sounds and everyday noise, and the melodic themes approached from a different angle create a very intimate pop atmosphere.

RUSSIA: Big Echo
Synecdoche Montauk – Infinitely Many Primes
Summer is almost gone and now it’s time for calm and beautiful melodies, so I guess Infinitely Many Primes suits the weather perfectly. Acoustic guitar, violin and abstract lyrics create a complicated mood that mixes calmness, nervous, sweetness and melancholy. Synecdoche Montauk say their album is nearly finished so hopefully it will be available before the end of the year.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Pearl And The Puppets – Little Diamonds
We join Pearl And The Puppets at a career crossroads, with Katie Sutherland having split from her record label this summer before she had the chance to release a debut album. While the Glasgow-based singer is better known for her radio-pleasing acoustic pop, Little Diamonds takes an altogether more refined approach, with Katie whispering her lyrics over gentle piano notes and subtle string work. The best is yet to come from this lass.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Hanging Up The Moon – Water Under The Bridge
Hanging Up The Moon is the self-titled debut album and solo project of Sean Lam, best known for fronting Singaporean band Concave Scream. After an extended hiatus, Sean’s return to songwriting has been welcomed by many, especially for his minimalist and introspective approach. The songs in this album, which you can pay as you wish for at his website, were birthed in the stillness of the night before dawn breaks. You can just imagine the quiet corner where these carefully-crafted songs were committed to recording, without a squeak or whimper; and when each track is done, only a still air lingering.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
EJ Von Lyrik, Isaac Mutant and Teba – Goldmine (Shockwave Edit)
The sounds of funky Cape Town hip-hop artists EJ Von Lyrik, Isaac Mutant and Teba shine through this month as they combine their talents on Goldmine (Shockwave Edit). Each artist brings their own unique South African feel and musical style which reflects the melting pot that is Cape Town. It’s fun, fresh and has a funky feel that is sure to get heads nodding and feet tapping.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Ninesin – Arena
Although competition is tough, Ninesin is one of the best hardcore acts Korea has to offer. Following the remarkable The Death, We Will Face from 2009, their second full-length album comes out this month. Arena is the first track revealed from the self-titled release. It has a shotgun beat and shows Ninesin’s characteristic grasp of good melody.

SPAIN: Musikorner
The Suicide Of Western Culture – The Italian Chapel
The Suicide Of Western Culture have become one of the most successful Spanish electronic bands. They have, so far, supported Animal Collective in their last visit to Barcelona and played at the most important festivals in Spain and even in Berlin’s Popkomm. With a post-rock soul, as epic and ethereal as Explosions In The Sky but as intimate as Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, they have released an eponymous album filled with their thoughts and emotions; the final result is a highly visceral and passionate record.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
Vampyramiden – Pyromanens Dotter
Vampyramiden are still serving up strangely appealing Swedish-language indie pop. The band’s new EP (which has a fantastic cover) is called Teenage Destiny and I can only guess the lyrics are some sort of combination of teenage angst, wizarding mythology and, of course, vampires.

SWITZERLAND: 78s
San Marino – Strangers To Ourselves
Since there’s no music blog representing San Marino, we came across a nice substitute in the form of a Swiss band pleading the country’s music case. San Marino hail from Zurich and represent not only the small country in the heart of Italy, but do so as well for Switzerland’s surf-indie-pop conscience. Their debut album was released in May.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
THE-DRUM – Omar
Much like their Chicago brethren Supreme Cuts and How To Dress Well, THE-DRUM are catalysts for precognitive future-music, hybridizing molasses-slow R&B vocals against shockwaves of percussion and echoing synth melodies. The results are as vibrant and unique as they are compelling, and Omar, released just two weeks ago, is perhaps their best experiment yet.

VENEZUELA: Música y Más
Los Expresidentes – Te Rodeo En El Rodeo
It is impossible to listen to this band and not think of a film about the Old West and imagine American cowboys on their horses. Los Expresidentes make an interesting, enjoyable fusion of punk rock, country and rockabilly. Their debut album, Lanzados Al Rodeo, has fun lyrics and a really contagious rhythm.

The one man Stockholm based band Teenhäze has a three song ep that has just been released; a full album is in the can and ready to be released should a label sign him. Labels – SIGN HIM! I’d like to hear more from this artist whose distorted shoegaze is both dreamy and occasionally terrifying.

Here’s the song “Sea You” from the EP of the same name.

Sea You

More electronica, this time of the space age variety; trippy and interstellar. What begins with a muted Miles Davis solo quickly becomes a diaspora of synthy beats, weird samples, and otherworldly chants.

Here’s “The Icarus Vessel” from the album Orbital Minded by Zion Space Station.

The Icarus Vessel

Summer’s over and everyone’s back to school and back to work. So while Swedesplease has been a little quiet I hope that will end now. Let’s start it with some twisted electronica from Mutantswing. This is from their new 6 song EP called Midnight Disco.

Disco Boot

John Hawks is back with Tape #2. And that’s not a hipster reference to cassette tapes; this is actually a tape with hiss and a bit of flutter.

A Bible In The Thorns

P.S. Swedesplease was mention in this CNN article yesterday. But the article didn’t have the balls to mention I don’t really write about any of the mainstream artists they mentioned and they didn’t have the balls to step out on a limb and mention a deserving underachiever like John Hawks or any of the bands I write about on a daily basis…

Still it’s CNN

It’s been over a year since I wrote about the band Vampyramiden (here). And they’re still serving up strangely appealing Swedish language indie pop. And what a great EP cover.

The new ep is called Teenage Destiny and I can only guess the lyrics are some combination of teenage angst, wizarding mythology, and of course vampires.

Pyromanens Dotter

Turn Off Your Television haven’t even released their debut self titled record yet and somehow they are already being compared with Grandaddy, Avett Brothers and Belle and Sebastian. I’m not ready to go there yet but I am impressed by their debut. It’s a nice summer’s afternoon listen; we’ll see if it becomes more than that…

Southern Lights Of Home Pt 2

Add Winter Took His Life to the short list of Swedish singer songwriters with long, slightly odd names (The Tallest Man On Earth, Loney, Dear, Hello Saferide ets). For such an elaborate and seemingly random name the music Susanna Brandin produces is not that far out of the ordinary. Sometimes songs are a bit ethereal with a spookiness evident but not this song. I believe this is a new song but the internet is not awash in news about Winter Took His Life

My Love

If it’s possible to judge a society by it’s music you might have reason to worry about Sweden. There has been a long history of both ferocious hardcore and relentlessly gloomy metal. That continues today. Here’s a smattering of hard music from Sweden released this summer.

Svart Makt by Svart Makt

Häll det äkta by HJÄRTATTACK

Impo & The Tents – Do The Wipers from Marcus Wilén on Vimeo.

Love Lindblom knows how to do at least two things right. Write catchy tunes and produce great videos. He’s done it again with the Swedish language single “Gata upp och ner”. Here’s the video:

I generally ignore all incoming pr emails. But it was hard to not be interested in this new double cd collection from Billie The Vision and the Dancers. It’s a best of sort of. Disc one is a collection of some of the “hits” the band has had over the years, while disc two is collection of artists covering Billie songs.

Go To Hell (Performed by Seasick Steve)

Summercat

Somehow the new release from Old Lost John escaped me. Bringing Down the Sky came out in April. But I am just now discovering it. From the sound of this recording it seems there is little difference between the backwoods of Appalachia and the forests of Sweden. This is mountain music that deals with themes that have been sung about for centuries.

Buy the new record here through Bandcamp or here through Cd Baby.

Scarecrow

Bonus:

Satan’s Got You Down

As you know I live in Chicago and write about Swedish music. Rarely have I had the chance to write about a Chicago based band on Swedesplease. Of course you say, because that’s impossible. Well no, not really. The band Eight Bit Tiger are from Sweden but live in Chicago. They are making a name for themselves locally and are hard at work on their debut record.

Despite having “Eight Bit” in their names the brothers are more apt to ape the sounds of 70′s funk and 80′s pop than the video game fueled sounds of that subgenre. Here’s their song “Oslo”, look for their debut record in August.

Oslo

Swedesplease has now gone mobile! Go to http://www.noticeorange.com/r/Swedesplease to get an app for your phone.

It’s free and it has alerts so that you’ll know whenever Swedesplease has anything new. What could be better?

P.S. I don’t have an Android phone so if anyone wants to check it out and let me know how it works that would be great. (cbonnell at gmail.com)

To download all 36 songs in one file click here

ARGENTINA: Zonaindie
Marcelo Ezquiaga – El Gaucho Vive y Muere En Su Ley
Although Hombre Golpe is his second album as a solo artist, Marcelo Ezquiaga’s career started with a musical project called Mi Tortuga Montreaux, which gave us three amazing records between 2003 and 2006. El Gaucho Vive y Muere En Su Ley is one of our favorite songs from this new work, which comprises his acoustic-pop signature with strong melodies and fine arrangements. As he likes to say: rock without guitars.

AUSTRALIA: Who The Bloody Hell Are They?
Mildlife – Milk & Wool
Milk & Wool is a sweet jam and the first we’ve heard from Mildlife – a new loose, electronic outfit from Melbourne. It’s a good sign from a band that manages to mix light and dark with interesting production and a strong pop sensibility.

BRAZIL: Meio Desligado
Eskimo – Cavalo De Fogo
It’s hard to define Cavalo De Fogo, the first single from Eskimo’s debut album. The breadth of genres covered, including pop and alternative, results in some intriguing music. One of the highlights of the current Brazilian indie scene.

CANADA: I(Heart)Music
Socalled – Work With What You Got
Hip-hop? Klezmer? Folk? Pop? Gospel? Some insane, wonderful combination of all of that (and then some)? There’s so much going on on Socalled’s newest album, Sleepover, that I have no idea how I’d classify it. Oh wait, I do: as a simply great album. Work With What You Got captures the album’s sense of fun, but only shows a fraction of the wide range of genres it displays.

CHILE: Super 45
Adrianigual – Arde Santiago
After a four-year break, Adrianigual is back. Big time. Their new album, Éxito Mundial (released on Sello Cazador), is a punk-hearted but dancefloor-driven collection of feverish songs. Arde Santiago is their second single.

CHINA: Wooozy
AM444 – Eye Wonder
AM444 is the Shanghai-based project of singer ChaCha (Kode9, Clive Chin, Jimi Tenor, Desto, etc) and Dutch producer/DJ Jay.Soul (Mr. Windmill & Jay.Soul, Sole Profit, Cecilia Stalin, etc). After years of thoughts, discussions and drunken promises, the pair have finally been in the studio for the past few months and the result is their eight-song debut release Eye Wonder. It’s a jazzy, funked up, dubbed out Chinese language sonic assault and some of the most exciting music to come out of Shanghai in a while, already receiving radio play in London, LA, Europe and around Asia. Eye Wonder is a landmark release for Chinese underground music.

COLOMBIA: Colombia Urbana
Marita – Pequeña
Marita has been writing lyrics since she was a little girl, although she never knew where they would end up. The single Pequeña (“Little Girl”) is a resume of her own history and a good illustration of her electro-rock sound.

DENMARK: All Scandinavian
Why Don’t We Love Lucy – With You
In March, Danish/Norwegian quartet Why Don’t We Love Lucy released their debut EP, CPH-OSL, which serves up foot-moving club-funk-pop (slap bass included) with a light ring of the 80s and 90s to the five catchy tracks. A new EP is in the works, with a release planned for this autumn, but here’s the excellent With You from the debut for you to enjoy.

ENGLAND: The Guardian Music Blog
Leopard Of Honour – Teenage Fantod
David Roocroft is a Manchester boy who calls himself Leopard Of Honour and, like Oxford’s Chad Valley, counts himself as one of the British musicians doing similar things with synths and samplers to America’s chillwave artists such as Washed Out and Toro Y Moi. His instrumental Teenage Fantod, named after a “an archaic phrase for quivery anxiety used a lot by David Foster Wallace”, was described as “effortlessly lovely and languid” in a recent New Band of the Day column, adding that it was “pop music with experimental urges and precious little retro intent”.

ESTONIA: Popop
Barthol Lo Mejor – Pick Up Track
You’ve partied but not this wild! Barthol Lo Mejor jumpstarts your night with trash electro. It sounds fresh, upbeat and raw like Justice, MSTRKRFT and Huoratron. His performance drives you further, guiding you with his signature sound and bouncing around in a flashy outfit to provide vanity, energy and edge. Don’t just listen, but enjoy it all.

FINLAND: Glue
Satellite Stories – Family
These four young lads from the Arctic city of Oulu play music to bring you nostalgia from events you never really experienced, like the 60s, the first kiss from your elementary school crush and the time you and your best friend bought that awesome 45 single and listened it on your parents’ record player. Satellite Stories bring all these feelings with cheerful and fast-paced indie music influenced by Vampire Weekend and The Wombats.

FRANCE: Yet You’re Fired
Mondrian – Or Unicorn
Mondrian are a young Parisian pop band formed in 2007. After releasing their first EP last year, Popshop, they dropped another one, Whippersnapper, just a month ago. Catchy beats, fresh voices and a talent for writing will surely bring them some success. They take everything that’s good in pop to make the best out of it, creating addictive and lovely songs with a high repeat listen potential.

GERMANY: Blogpartei
Petula – Wives
Where have they been all these years, playful electro-inspired German artists writing and reinterpreting great songs? Berlin-based Petula definitely is one of those with a wide and emphatic spectrum of styles. Wives is a wary, slightly more uptempo, more electronic cover of a Savoy Grand song. It has just been released on a split EP with all-girl band Candelilla.

GREECE: Mouxlaloulouda
Gravitysays_i – The Urge Of Identity / The Figures Of Enormous Grey
It’s hard not to stare in open-mouthed amazement at the sheer brilliance of Gravitysays_i’s superbly executed, intensely creative and nearly flawless sophomore album, The Figures Of Enormous Grey And The Patterns Of Fraud. They bring together experimental, dark, atmospheric elements along with Greek and Eastern traditional music and examine social values, institutions and morality as an extension of individual, as well as collective, conscience with an emotional clarity and narrative acuity that makes it an undeniable triumph.

ICELAND: Icelandic Music Maffia
Morning After Youth – Lived
Morning After Youth is a four-piece band with a smooth and artsy sound to their music. They are working on their first album which will hopefully be ready this summer. Lived was recorded in the famous Studio Sýrland with Adda 800 and Börkur.

INDIA: Indiecision
Goddess Gagged – Visionary
Goddess Gagged is a metal band from Mumbai. The band channel melodic post-hardcore in the vein of acts like Architects and Alexisonfire, a foundation given legs by frontman Siddharth Basrur’s almost effervescent vocal delivery. Visionary is a new track, presumably from the band’s upcoming debut album. We suggest you keep your eyes and ears open for that.

INDONESIA: Deathrockstar
Polyester Embassy – Space Travel Rock N Roll
Polyester Embassy have a deep affection for noises, sounds and a vintage synthesizer. After years of experimenting, they’re bringing out a second album which sounds like Pink Floyd/Flaming Lips/Mogwai/Ride/Spiritualized mixed raw into their own characteristic.

IRELAND: Nialler9
Ghost Estates – Paris
The members of the newly-formed Ghost Estates were previously of two pretty different bands SickBoy and 8Ball. Their new band may be named “after the thousands of abandoned housing estates built in Ireland during the Celtic Tiger boom years” but there’s plenty going on in their music, from 80s guitar to processed beats to a spoken word interludes and, I kid you not, a treated saxophone solo.

ISRAEL: Metal Israel
Sumo Elevator – Pedal Horse
Sumo Elevator is a group of five ex-metalheads with short hair mixing prog-rock/metal, electronica jazz and breakbeat into intense atmospheric electro-fusion pop-rock. Their eclectic line-up consists of traditional rock/jazz instruments (electric guitar, bass guitar and acoustic drums) and turntables, noise boxes, samplers and modern synthesizers. With two years of live performance and studio experience under their belts, Sumo Elevator is about to release a full-length album in 2011 called Breakfast, which Pedal Horse is taken from.

ITALY: Polaroid
Karibean – We Need The Sun
First day at the sea, the sun is shining, friends all around, Beach Boys playing on the jukebox, see The Housemartins on a surf, meet Vampire Weekend at the bar. It’s all just perfect. One last thing: go here and download Karibean’s free debut EP. It would be the icing on the cake.

MEXICO: Red Bull PanameriKa
Pellejos – Abuelita
Take some inspiration from Jack Kerouac’s Mexico City Blues and recite it on a cantina filled with the country’s intellectual crème de la crème, then leave them dumbfounded with the evocation of images of decay, corruption and nihilism. Pellejos started in 2005 when some refusing-to-age contemporary art-farts took a late chance to form a band led by visual artist (now bassist) Daniel Guzmán. What seemed to be just some art-wank has endured six years of sporadic gigs that led to bear a (rotten) fruit with a debut LP – a fetid collection of ethylic spoken word from the hoarse mouth of vocalist Ignacio Perales, backed by what sounds like Tindersticks from the Third World. Abuelita is just a random nonsense collection of excuses to fall back into old patterns of drinking. Cheers!

NETHERLANDS: Unfold Amsterdam
Skip & Die – La Cumbia Dictadura
Skip & Die is a Netherlands-based outfit that began as a globally-infused collaboration between South African vocalist/visual artist Cata.Pirata and producer Jori Collignon (also of Dutch electronic experimentalists C-Mon & Kypski and Nobody Beats The Drum), although these days they’re a fully-fledged live band. Via their travels through the towns and cities of South Africa, they’ve forged a contemporary and vibrant wall of sound that mixes electro, hip hop, Afrobeat and South American grooves. While specialising in sexy party bass hits that remind at times of Diplo’s Major Lazer, there’s always a more considered side to their art than simply noise and dance as Music Alliance Pact exclusive La Cumbia Dictadura shows.

NEW ZEALAND: Einstein Music Journal
Cool Cult – Skulls
New Zealand’s best young exponents of shoegaze styled no-wave. Described by UK music blog Sonic Masala as “beautifully formed nuggets of sound that are brimming with exuberance and ebullience”, Cool Cult’s noisy rhetoric is a mixture of early Deerhunter and discordant Canadian punk wizards Women. Their debut album Try Crunch is full of carcinogenic guitar hooks and elegant vocal melodies, with a refreshingly mature approach to constructing traditional pop music. Skulls is the band’s first single, featuring an observantly sleepy vocal melody overwhelmed by a crushing wave of distorted guitar.

NORWAY: Birds Sometimes Dance
Ihab – Æ Må Fær
Who would have thought that Bodø, a small city in northern Norway, would harbor so much good indie. So far there’s Cold Mailman, Kollwitz, Kråkesølv and now Gabriel and Ihab, both on newly started Beyond Records. Ihab make quirky indie-rock reminiscent of 90s heroes like Pavement and Built To Spill as well as newer bands like Cymbal Eat Guitars and Algernon Cadwallader.

PERU: SoTB
Iván Fajardo – Calma
Iván Fajardo is a constant in the musical innovation of Lima. In the first edition of MAP in October 2008, we had ERA, his band at that time. More recently Ivan has been working alone. Calma is the first preview of his new direction and is accompanied by a video that combines well the relaxed mood of the song. Iván Fajardo is recording a video for his next single, which is worth keeping an eye out for.

PORTUGAL: Posso Ouvir Um Disco?
Kubik – Shina-Kak
Victor Afonso, a musician, music teacher and cinephile, had his first release as Kubik in 1999. Since then he has had a steady flow of releases and collaborations. His great love for cinema and music for films shows in his work. His talent has been recognized by artists such as Mike Patton, who invited him to open for Fantômas. Shina-Kak is an exclusive download for MAP, taken from Psicotic Jazz Hall, which has just been released.

ROMANIA: Babylon Noise
Toulouse Lautrec – Yesman
With a name that recalls the famous French painter, the Bucharest trio started in 2009 as an alternative rock band with post-punk flavours. Although their image in the Romanian media is promoted through neo-Dadaist elements, there is nothing absurd in their music. The prominent basslines and the upfront beats remind me of Editors but without those dark guitar riffs. Whimsical and witty, Toulouse Lautrec is what you need now to give your day a push.

SCOTLAND: The Pop Cop
Song Of Return – Trajectory
Trajectory simmers menacingly in a premeditated assault to the senses for two minutes before the drums crash in like a lightning strike and you very quickly realise your Facebook ‘like’ button just isn’t going to suffice. The Glasgow-based alternative dance band (who will appeal to fans of Delphic) is fronted by Craig Grant, formerly of Union Of Knives, and also features Louis Abbott, singer of Admiral Fallow, one of this country’s best new bands.

SINGAPORE: I’m Waking Up To…
Humming Kitten – Monochrome
Little is known of Humming Kitten, and we get the impression they’d like to keep it that way. It is a little disconcerting at first, approaching this musical project without any preconceived ideas of who or what the band members are, and appreciating their musical ideas purely at face value and on first impressions. However, once you soak it all in, you might feel that they’ve been there all along, lurking at your blogs or gigs. Revealing the chief conspirator as an entity known as Keyboard Cat, and that they favour a lo-fi noise-pop approach to their pieces, Humming Kitten ultimately sound so lonely with solitude as their ally.

SOUTH AFRICA: Musical Mover & Shaker!
Simfonika Island – African Sunset
Simfonika Island is a project made up of two very talented individuals, Gianni Capri and Donny Halo. Both have diverse musical backgrounds, one from a very DJ-orientated world and one from a band. With African Sunset comes a song that crosses South African house with the influences of house music from New York City and Europe, all accompanied with some stirring piano and a dash of deep groove. It’s magical.

SOUTH KOREA: Indieful ROK
Pigibit5 – Y.O.N.H.A
Sweet indie-pop act Pigibit5 claims kitsch to be the best description of its music, which is heavily based around a twee-pop and chamber-pop sound, also citing influences from folk and hard rock. The band is what remains of Pirigwa – where Ireland’s So Cow on occasion could be found playing an instrument or two – and the members have returned to their former label, Beatball, with the release of first full-length album Cherryboy Revolution a few weeks ago. Y.O.N.H.A is a cheerful tune with a retro pop sound.

SPAIN: Musikorner
Fur Voice – Wimp
Fur Voice is the stage name of David Gracia, an actor and singer born in Murcia and living in Barcelona since 2006. Inspired by electronic and psychedelic acts such as Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective, Fur Voice builds a dark extraterrestrial atmosphere in his debut album, Onto Endo (self-produced and self-released). The first single off Onto Endo, Wimp, takes the best from noise, post-rock and psychedelia and turns it into a dreamy, catchy, epic tune with an ending that leaves you wanting more.

SWEDEN: Swedesplease
BitRobot – She’s An Android
I’m always on the lookout for 8bit pop or C64 stuff. I’ve heard a lot over the years but still don’t consider myself an expert. Still, from my perspective this new record from BitRobot called Nebula, which She’s An Android is taken from, does something I haven’t yet heard. He personalizes the music, taking a completely computer-based sub-genre and gives it a touch of humanity.

SWITZERLAND: 78s
Huck Finn – Sofia
Huck Finn is the moniker of two singer-songwriters who teamed up for a project. Four years ago they won a few music prizes in Switzerland but they struggled to deliver a proper record. On the second attempt they succeeded. Breaking In, their debut album, is bombastic and emotional at the same time. Sofia, their first radio single, will make you weep like a dog.

UNITED STATES: I Guess I’m Floating
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – Morning Thought
The Detroit duo released their full-length debut, It’s A Corporate World, earlier this month, just in time for summer. It’s the perfect season for this record too, full of catchy guitar riffs, melodious vocal harmonies and an added layer of production missing from their earlier works. Morning Thought hops along with glitchy effects, handclaps and enough thoughtful xylophone to keep wandering ears at bay.

VENEZUELA: Música y Más
Elefreak feat. El Prieto – RockMafia
In Venezuela, not many rock and rap bands interact. But a couple of months ago, one of the most iconic rock bands, Elefreak, coupled with one of the great exponents of hip hop in the country and created RockMafia, a song loaded with great strength and lyrics that leave a message of reflection. Elefreak’s nine-track record can be downloaded for free from their website.

I like the ethos of these guys. They are veterans of the Swedish hardcore and indie scene. They admit that the music might not be great. But they say it’s important to do a hardcore single just because it’s needed. The band name is Out Of Vogue and they have just released thier debut 4 song EP. Band members come from groups like Division of Laura Lee, Another Reason, and Eyes Shut.

This is simple, fast, angry hardcore. Enjoy.

Flag

Second Hand Furniture – “People Like You”

Red Sleeping Beauty – “Cinema”

Girlfriendo – “Air”

Eggstone – “She’s Perfect”

Nixon – “Together In Electric Dreams”

The Budgies – “Summer Come Back”