Mar 3, 2007

Stage 28, Scotland "Tartar"

Stage 28, and we're still with the "tartan" music army, as i noted the current music scene in Scotland looks rather one sided and in general rather poor compared to say the scandinavian countries. Franz Ferdinand are basicly english students who went over the border to Glasglow, and lastly teamed up with a scottish drummer, Belle and Sebastian have had plenty of succes recently with their indie guitar music but in all not much going on these days. So I compensate with some glorious works from days gone by, in all 1 gig of it !.

This stage is mostly about voices, Scottish voices, Shirley Manson proves that Garbage was really her band when you listen to Angelfish, Billy Mackenzie remains my all-time favourite singer, Jim Ure better known as Midge together with Jim Kerr were both leading their bands to success, And i certainly couldnt pass the Reid Brothers responsible for those walse of sensitive noise . The Shamen fullfilled their name with the extremely trippy limited edition double album "Axis Mundi/Arbor Bono, Arbor Mala " , and yes there are DJ's in Scotland and very succesfull at that, Slam, who promote their label Soma in the mix the did for the magazine Muzik. Finally, there has to be some Scottish folk present and Wolfstone know how to rock with it, the cover, unfortunately, is disastrous, dont let it fool you.  A reminder, fullsize covers are viewable at my mirror-site Rho-Xsss

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Angelfish - Angelfish (94)
The Shamen - Axis Mundi/Arbor Bono, Arbor Mala (95)
Billy MacKenzie - Outernational (92)
Billy MacKenzie - Beyond the Sun (97)
Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands (87)
VA - Slam - Soma MuzikMix (01)
Midge Ure - If I Was (93)
Simple Minds - Empires & Dance (80)
Simple Minds - Sister Feelings Call (81)
Wolfstone - Pick of the Litter (97)

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Angelfish - Angelfish (94 * 241mb)

When she was 16, Shirley joined Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie where she sang backup vocals and played the keyboards. She remained in the band for a decade until they split in 1992. After the split, Manson, Wilson, Kelly and Metcalfe formed Angelfish in 1993 in order to fulfill a contractual obligation to Radioactive Records, this time Shirley was the lead singer.
Angelfish had a small hit with the single "Suffocate Me", which had caught the eye of producer Steve Marker when aired on MTV's 120 minutes in the early hours of the morning. Steve Marker was working on a project with Nirvana producer Butch Vig. Vig soon after asked Manson to join his project (the band Garbage) which led to Angelfish breaking up soon afterwards.
The rest of the Angelfish—Martin Metcalfe, Fin Wilson and Derek Kelly—are now in the band Isa & the Filthy Tongues, whose debut album was released in May of 2006.

With hindsight this album could be called Garbage 0.8 , and it makes clear how much Shirley carries the success of Garbage musically, naturally marketing/money wise Angelfish would never have been able to reach the major success of Garbage. Meanwhile not withstanding millions of men drooling, Shirley didnt like her body at all and was selfabusive for a long time. After her divorce from the sculptor Eddie Farrell in 2001, Shirley cut her hair short and dyed it blonde. At the moment she's single again and working on a solo album with the likes of Jack White (White Stripes), Billy Corgan and Paul Buchanan (the Blue Nile) to be released this year.



01 - Dogs In A Cage (2:33)
02 - Suffocate Me (3:40)
03 - You Can Love Her (3:48)
04 - King Of The World (3:01)
05 - Sleep With Me (3:21)
06 - Heartbrake To Hate (4:15)
07 - The Sun Won't Shine (3:51)
08 - Mummy Can't Drive (3:26)
09 - Tomorrow Forever (3:28)
10 - The End (4:22)

Angelfish @ Amazon

Suffocate me, the Vid that launched miss Manson

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Shamen - Axis Mutatis, Arbor Bona Arbor Mala

Founded in Scotland by Colin Angus, Derek & Keith McKenzie as Alone Again Or. Founder member Colin Angus' erudite research into the mystical world of Shamanism, gave the band their name, and his passion for psychedelic 60's music, their sound. They released their debut album, "Drop", in 1986. As the decade drew to a close, the band were joined by new member, Will Sin, his expertise with technology enabled The Shamen to experiment more, fusing the band's guitar edge with sampled sounds and Hip-Hop rhythms.

The Shamen's second album "In Gorbachev We Trust", was an amalgam of riffing guitars, samples, funky programmed beats, and lyrics inspired by the unified vibe of the acid house scene. It was around this time in 1989 the band signed to One Little Indian and got straight to work releasing three 12” EP’s leading up to the release of the bands third album, "Entact". It was to be a productive relationship that would last for the next seven years.

"Entact". burst on to the UK scene selling over a 100,000 copies in the UK. One of its singles, "Pro>Gen", (their first to feature Mr C) became an anthem of the rave generation, played by DJ's everywhere. With their eyes on the charts, they re-recorded "Pro>Gen", such was the demand for it, but after filming the video, Will Sin tragically drowned.Naturally, the band’s future was thrown into doubt, but Colin knew how much the band meant to Will and everyone else concerned and they decided to carry on.

The next stage in the Shamen's metamorphosis was the release of their fourth album “Boss Drum”. The album was preceded by two singles including their fifteenth, a parody on rave culture. "Ebeneezer Goode" hit Number 1 in the National Charts, whilst the album sold over a million copies worldwide. "Axis Mutatis" was released in 1995, the album’s title refers to the tree of life, the ancient symbol found in virtually all Shamanic cultures, which links the underworld with the earth and the heavens. The album's lyrics covered socio-political issues such as the earth's growing eco-crisis and the Criminal Justice Act, while drawing attention to the spirituality of Shamanism. Musically it linked the multi-dimensional possibilities of electronic music, from melodic pop through filmic epics to atmospheric spacey techno. As a signpost to future direction, the band simultaneously released a limited edition companion album, "Arbor Bona, Arbor Mala", which was composed entirely of radical instrumental mutations on the 'Axis' themes.

In 1996 The Shamen's spend much of the summer playing festivals throughout Europe, the fall the band released their sixth studio album, "Hempton Manor", inspired by and dedicated to hemp, the premier plant of ecology conservation. Recorded in just five days, "Hempton Manor" hybridizes tripped out techno, spacey dub and frenetic drum 'n' bass styles into a typically Shamanic futuristic fusion. Commerrcial disagreements forced a split with their label, One Little Indian. Their next and latest official record the Shamen released thusfar, " UV " in 99, it was on their new founded label Moksha recordings which btw scored heavily that year with Kosheen. "Shamens Dj Mr C (Richard West) went solo as Dj and released an album Change (02) and a string of 12"thusfar.



Shamen - Arbor Bona Arbor Mala ( 96 * 407mb)

01 - Asymptotic Eschaton (0:48)
02 - Sefirotic Axis (6:52)
03 - Entraterrestrial (9:38)
04 - Demeter (4:28)
05 - Beneath The Underworld (Bob Breeks Mix)(3:34)
06 - Xochipili's Return (Bob Breeks Mix)(8:28)
07 - Rio Negro (3:16)
08 - Above The Otherworld (Bob Breeks Mix) (1:21)
09 - A Moment In Dub (9:20)
10 - Pizarro In Paradise (6:02)
11 - West Of The Underworld (10:14)
12 - Anticipation Eschaton (Be Ready For The Storm) (4:43)
13 - Out In The Styx (3:08)

Shamen - Axis Mundi ( 96 * 426mb)

1-01 - Destination Eschaton (Beatmasters Mix) (3:55)
1-02 - Transamazonia (Beatmasters Mix) (3:50)
1-03 - Conquistador (3:58)
1-04 - Mk2a (Beatmasters Mix) (3:58)
1-05 - Neptune (4:17)
1-06 - Prince Of Popocatapetl (6:00)
1-07 - Heal (The Separation) (Steve Osborne Mix) (3:57)
1-08 - Persephone's Quest (5:03)
1-09 - Moment (4:00)
1-10 - Axis Mundi (7:05)
1-11 - Eschaton Omega (Deep Melodic Techno) (3:38)
1-12 - Agua Azul (Hillage and Giraudy Mix) (11:22)
1-13 - S2 Translation (3:30)

Shamen Nematon Space
Shamen @ MySpace
Shamen @ Amazon

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Billy MacKenzie - Outernational (92 ^ 441mb)

William MacArthur MacKenzie, known as Billy MacKenzie (27 March 1957 – January 22, 1997) was a Scottish singer, notable for his powerful voice and vast vocal range.Born in Dundee, he led a wandering lifestyle, which included decamping to New Zealand at the age of 16, and travelling across America aged 17. Here, to avoid deportation, he married Chloe Dummar.
He returned to Scotland where he met Alan Rankine and in 1976 formed the Ascorbic Ones. They changed the name to The Associates in 1979. The Associates continued in name until 1990, after which MacKenzie embarked on a official solo career.

Outernational was produced by Thomas Fehlmann (former Palais Schaumburg, the Orb) and Boris Blank(Yello) . It was the first album issued under the artist name Billy MacKenzie. Even though the album had good reviews in the press and Baby was single of the week in Melody Maker, the album stiffed - partially due to his label Circa winding down operation(busting).



01 - Outernational (7:19)
02 - Feels Like The Richtergroove (4:15)
03 - Opal Krush (4:36)
04 - Colours Will Come (5:01)
05 - Pastime Paradise (3:30)
06 - Grooveature (To Be Continued) (4:46)
07 - Sacrifice And Be Sacrificed (4:41)
08 - Baby (4:03)
09 - What Made Me Turn On The Lights (4:58)
10 - In Windows All (7:28)
Remaster Bonus
11 Colours Will Come (US 60659 Mix) 4:11
12 Look What You've Done (Marital Mix) 5:27
13 Because You Love 5:25



Beyond the Sun turned out to be Billy's Last work, it wasn't finished and it must have been hard to finish the production for Pascal Gabriel and Cocteau Twins bassist Simon Raymonde, specially Billy's voice logically it ain't as full as usual.

The death of his mother had put him in a depression from which he hadn't really recovered returning to his family's place he hit rockbottom, after walking the dogs he took an overdose of paracetamol, and was found the next day by his father, the wanderer was no more. Four days before he had signed a lucrative publishing deal with Sony. In an act of supreme remote control for a man of barely containable emotions, Billy Mackenzie took his life. Later blame was laid on the poisonous anti depressants he had been taking and which worked counterproductive on this free spirit that didn't want to be a pop-star.

The world lost one of its special "god-given" voices. Billy had many good friends and admirers in the music industry, specially other singers, the inlay of this cd has a message from Bono, Robert Smith wrote a song to express his grief, "Cut Here", included  under the Xs some work he did with Yello and his last fully finished/produced track he did with Apollo 440 the epic "Pain In Any Language".



Billy Mackenzie - Beyond The Sun (97 ^ 383mb)

01 - Give Me Time
02 - Winter Academy
03 - Blue It Is
04 - 14 Mirrors
05 - At The Edge Of The World
06 - Beyond The Sun
07 - And This She Knows
08 - Sour Jewel
09 - 3 Gypsies In A Restaurant
10 - Nocturne VII
Xs
11 - Life Is A Snowball with Yello
12 - The Rhythm Divine with Yello
13 - Pain In Any Language with Apollo 440


Billy @ FanBase
Tom Doyle's -The Glamour Chase, Biography @ Amazon.Uk
MacKenzie @ Amazon.Uk

Billy MacKenzie Interview & Obituary
Info on tribute for MacKenzie 28th march (50th birthdate)

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Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands (87 * 461mb)

Like Velvet Underground, The, their most obvious influence, the chart success of the Jesus and Mary Chain was virtually non-existent, but their artistic impact was incalculable; quite simply, the British group made the world safe for white noise, orchestrating a sound dense in squalling feedback which served as an inspiration to everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr.. Though the supporting players drifted in and out of focus, the heart of the Mary Chain remained vocalists and guitarists William Reid and Jim Reid, Scottish-born brothers heavily influenced not only by underground legends like the Velvets and Stooges, The but also by the sonic grandeur and pop savvy of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. In the Jesus and Mary Chain, which the Reids formed outside of Glasgow in 1984 with bassist Douglas Hart and drummer Murray Dalglish (quickly replaced by Bobby Gillespie), these two polarized aesthetics converged; equal parts bubblegum and formless guitar distortion, their sound both celebrated pop conventions and thoroughly subverted them.

The Jesus and Mary Chain's early gigs have become somewhat legendary in indie circles. Playing in front of small audiences, the Mary Chain earned their notoriety by playing very short gigs, some lasting no more than 10 minutes and consisting of a constant wall of feedback and distortion, as well as playing with their backs to the audience and refusing to speak to them. Many shows culminated with the Reids trashing their equipment, which was often followed by the audience rioting. All of this delighted manager and Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who obviously found it very easy to get attention for the band. He would simply make sure people from the music press were present while these events occurred, which ensured blanket coverage in the music papers. In late 1984, the band issued its seminal debut single, "Upside Down," a remarkable blast of live wire feedback anchored by a caveman-like drumbeat; the record made the Mary Chain an overnight sensation in the U.K . The follow-up, "You Trip Me Up," further perfected the formula, and led to their 1985 debut LP Psychocandy, which gift-wrapped sweet, simple pop songs in ribbons of droning guitar fuzz. After a two-year layoff (during which time Gillespie exited to form Primal Scream, and was replaced by John Moore), the Jesus and Mary Chain returned with Darklands, a dramatic shift in approach which stripped away the feedback to expose the skeletal guitar pop at the music's core. After a sprawling 1988 collection of singles, B-sides and demos titled Barbed Wire Kisses, they emerged with Automatic, which introduced a more tightly-coiled brand of feedback while jettisoning Moore's live drums in favor of synthesized beats.

After another long absence, the Mary Chain (minus Hart) resurfaced in 1992 with Honey's Dead, and earned greater U.S. visibility thanks to a spot on that summer's Lollapalooza lineup; the first single "Reverence" also won them renewed notoriety at home when Top of the Pops banned the song . With 1994's gentle, largely acoustic Stoned & Dethroned, they even reached the U.S. pop charts thanks to the lovely single "Sometimes Always," a duet with Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. Another collection of scattered sides, The Jesus and Mary Chain Hate Rock 'n' Roll, followed a year later, highlighted by the single "I Hate Rock 'n' Roll," a scabrous swipe which reclaimed the pure noise attack of their earliest work. Moving to Sub Pop, they returned with Munki in 1998. William Reid left the group during the subsequent tour, and in 1999, the Jesus and Mary Chain officially disbanded.

On January 22, 2007, it was announced that The Jesus and Mary Chain were reuniting to perform at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. William, Jim and Linda and are releasing a full length under the band name Sister Vanilla entitled Little Pop Rock. It will be composed of tracks recorded over 10 years. The album is due out in April 2007 on Chemikal Underground.



01 - Darklands (5:27)
02 - Deep One Perfect Morning (2:43)
03 - Happy When It Rains (3:34)
04 - Down On Me (2:35)
05 - Nine Million Rainy Days (4:28)
06 - April Skies (4:01)
07 - Fall (2:26)
08 - Cherry Came Too (3:03)
09 - On The Wall (5:03)
10 - About You (2:31)
Remaster Bonus
11 Some Candy Talking
12 Taste Of Cindy (Acoustic Version).
13 Psychocandy
14 Hit
BBC Janice Long Session 23rd Nov 1986
15 Darklands
16 Down On Me
17 Deep One Perfect Morning
BBC John Peel Session 25th Nov 1986
18 Fall
19 In The Rain
20 Happy Place

Jesus and Mary Chain @ Base
Jesus and Mary Chain @ Amazon

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VA - Slam - Soma MuzikMix (01 * 342mb)

Slam have released numerous singles since the mid-1990s, their most known being 'Positive Education', 'Eterna' and 'Lifetimes'. Slam took their name from a club night that they ran in Glasgow venue The Arches. They didn't intend to call themselves Slam - it was a name that followed them after the Slam night at the Arches ended. The last song to be played at the very last Slam at the Arches night was 'Positive Education' by Slam.

They co-founded Soma Recordings in 1991, along with label boss Dave Clarke. More recently Slam Events was launched - a subdivision of Soma that deals mainly with the promotion of Slam and Slam nights. Slam are currently the resident DJs at Pressure, a monthly event promoted by Soma and Slam Events which occurs on the last Friday of every month at The Arches in Glasgow. They also have a residency at the Sub Club in Glasgow at another Soma and Slam Events night called Return to Mono which occurs on the second Friday of every month. They have also been resident DJs at Fabric in London.



01 - Frame - D-Vices (4:26)
02 - Silicone Soul - Chic-O-Laa (H-Foundation Remix) (5:32)
03 - Funk D'Void - Barnabeats (5:30)
04 - Master H - Magic K (7:19)
05 - Soul Interactive - Da Warrior (6:03)
06 - Counter Plan - 90 Degrees (DJ Q Mix) (1:40)
07 - Universal Principles - Flyin' High (S-Man's R-Senal Accapella) (1:51)
08 - Retroflex - Moment Resistance (3:31)
09 - Percy X - Maintain (6:47)
10 - Gene Farris - Let Yourself Go (7:20)
11 - Slam - I Karumba (6:03)
12 - Slam vs. UNKLE - Narco Tourists (Slam Mix) (6:43)

Slam @ Base
Soma Records @ Base
Slam @ Amazon

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Midge Ure - If I Was (93 * 409mb)

Midge Ure OBE (born James Ure on October 10, 1953 in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland) is a rock and roll guitarist, singer and songwriter from Scotland, who had particular success in the 1970s and 1980s. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of his real name, Jim.

Ure began his career with bubblegum pop band Slik. Before Slik became famous they were known as Salvation and were the house band playing mostly covers in Glasgow disco Clouds above Greens Playhouse where all major bands played when they came to the city. Midge played guitar and was known for wearing a top hat onstage. He would go on to play in The Rich Kids (with then-former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock) and temporarily for Thin Lizzy before replacing John Foxx as singer of electronic wave band Ultravox in 1979. His vocals struck a chord because soon afterwards Ultravox had a megahit all over Europe with "Vienna", and they became one of Britain's top bands for several years. This after been dumped by Island for lack of commercial success with their first 3 albums.

Also later that year, Ure also formed the band Visage with Steve Strange and fellow former Rich Kid Rusty Egan. The following year, Ure and Thin Lizzy leader Phil Lynott co-wrote Lynott's biggest solo hit, "Yellow Pearl". A re-recording of the song done in 1981 and used as the theme for Top of the Pops.

In 1984, Ure co- wrote and produced the Band Aid hit, "Do They Know It's Christmas ?".He watched Bob Geldof bask in the limelight and take the credits, ultimately Ure was one of the few featured stars who did not sing solo on the recording, being completely cast into the shadows. The following year Ure took his creative revenge and scored his one and only solo UK number one single with "If I Was", followed by an album The Gift. With Ure's mind clearly on other matters, Ultravox took second place and soon dissolved.

Ure's solo career continued into the 1990s with sporadic success, although "Breathe" was an international hit single, helped by its inclusion in a TV advertising campaign for Swatch watches. Answers To Nothing (88) , Pure (91), Breathe (96) and thusfar his latest Move Me (00) and since a number of live registrations.

He recently organized the Live 8 concerts with Bob Geldof with the aim of pressuring G8 leaders into following his recipe for ending world poverty. In 2005 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to music and charity. He's thusfar scored 4 daughters from 2 marriages one of which is following into her fathers footsteps, Molly as the guitarist and vocalist of pop punk band The Faders



01 - If I Was (5:21)
02 - No Regrets (4:02)
03 - Love's Great Adventure (3:08)
04 - Dear God (5:02)
05 - Cold Cold Heart (4:06)
06 - Vienna (4:38)
07 - Call Of The Wild (4:21)
08 - After A Fashion (3:59)
09 - Dancing With Tears In My Eyes (4:10)
10 - All Fall Down (5:09)
11 - Yellow Pearl ( Philip Lynott )(3:20)
12 - Fade To Grey (Visage)(3:47)
13 - Reap The Wild Wind (3:43)
14 - Answers To Nothing (3:40)
16 - That Certain Smile (4:09)
15 - Do They Know It's Christmas (3:47)

Midge Ure @ Base
Midge Ure @ Amazon

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Simple Minds - Empires and Dance (80 * 413mb))

Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr formed a punk band in 1977 that was heavily influenced by Lou Reed, and after one unsuccessful single as Johnny & The Self Abusers, they shuffled the line-up to include former Abusers Brian McGee on drums and Tony Donald on bass guitar, the latter of whom was quickly replaced by Derek Forbes. In addition, keyboard and synthesizer player Mick MacNeil was also recruited. The band's name was changed to "Simple Minds", which was taken from a line in the David Bowie song "Jean Genie": "...so simple-minded, he can't drive his module."

Simple Minds' commercial first album, Life in a Day, took a cue from fellow Post-Punk forebearers Magazine, and was somewhat self-consciously derivative of the late-70s punk boom. Life in a Day was exactly the kind of item the band's label, Arista, wanted to promote. However, expectations for follow-up "Lives in a Day" were to be disappointed. While still categorisable as 'rock', Simple Minds' second release, Real to Real Cacophony, had a darker edge, and announced some of the New Wave experimentation that would become the band’s trademark sound over the next two albums.

Empires and Dance, was a far more radical departure, and signaled the influence of Kraftwerk, Neu! and similar European artists. Indeed, during this period Simple Minds promoted themselves as a European band, not a Scottish or UK band. Many of the tracks on Empires and Dance are extremely minimal, and feature sequenced keyboards. McNeil's keyboards and Forbes' bass became the main melodic elements, and Burchill's guitar was heavily processed. With this album, Kerr began to experiment with non-narrative lyrics. While not consciously so, Empires and Dance was essentially Industrial in its aesthetic, and preceded by a couple of years the Industrial-pop crossover of Cabaret Voltaire's album The Crackdown. The band's label, however, demonstrated little enthusiasm for such experimentation, and in 1981 Simple Minds switched from Arista to Virgin.



01 - I Travel (3:56)
02 - Today I Died Again (4:39)
03 - Celebrate (5:03)
04 - This Fear Of Gods (7:00)
05 - Capital City (6:14)
06 - Constantinople Line (4:14)
07 - Twist/Run/Repulsion (4:38)
08 - Thirty Frames A Second (5:14)
09 - Kant-Kino (1:50)
10 - Room (2:30)
Remaster Bonus
11 New Warm Skin
12 I Travel (Extended)
13 Celebrate (Extended)

Simple Minds' first release on Virgin was actually comprised of two albums--the Steve Hillage-produced Sons and Fascination and Sister Feelings Call. The latter album was initially included as a bonus disc with the first 10,000 vinyl copies of Sons And Fascination, but it was later re-issued as a separate album in its own right. It could be considered a electro-dub version of Sons and Fascination and as such to me displays a longer shelflife. Commercial success was just around the corner with New Gold Dream (82) their 5th album, and since they've released 10 studio and 2 live albums.



Simple Minds - Sister Feelings Call (81* 313mb)

01 - Theme for Great Cities
02 - The American
03 - 20th Century Promised Land
04 - Wonderful in Young Life
05 - League of Nations
06 - Careful in Career
07 - Sounds in 70 Cities
Remaster Bonus
08 The American (Extended)
09 League Of Nations (Live 25-09-81 Hammersmith Odeon, London)

Simple Minds @ Base

Simple Minds @ Amazon

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Wolfstone - Pick of the Litter (97 * 468mb)

Wolfstone’s success can undoubtedly be attributed to their ability to transfer their highly acclaimed recorded material to the most fantastic and unforgettable live performances. This ability has seen the band headline major festivals throughout the world. Describing Wolfstone’s music is best described by the man who founded it all, Duncan Chisholm “At the end of the day we are a rock band from the Highlands of Scotland that happen to use pipes, whistles and fiddles in our repertoire”

This description probably underlies Wolfstone’s success in attracting a large and loyal following from fans of all genres, be it Rock, Celtic Rock, Folk Rock, World Music etc. The unique blend of guitars, fiddle, pipes and pulsating percussion; all combined with a dynamic stage presence; are all well-known hallmarks of this unique and exciting band. They believe in the strength and spirit of their music, it's a band that consistently proves their music can sell to all ages and cultures around the world and most importantly, a band that can perform ‘live’ on stage, exactly what you hear on their albums.

Pick of the Litter (97) is a best off from their first 5 albums between 90 and 96, since they've released 5 more the latest Terra Firma was released this year. On a personal note, the Pick cover is awful and doesnt reflect the music at all.



01 - Battle
02 - Tall Ships
03 - Glass & The Can
04 - Cleveland Park
05 - Heart & Soul
06 - The Howl
07 - White Gown
08 - Glenglass
09 - Brave Foot Soldiers
10 - Dinner's Set
11 - Sleepy Toon
12 - The £10 Float
13 - Holy Ground
14 - Clueless
15 - No Tie Ups

Wolfstone @ Base
Wolfstone @ MySpace

Wolfstone @ Amazon

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* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Feb 28, 2007

Stage 27, Scotland

Welcome to stage 27, Scotland, yes i've taken the ferry from Oslo to Aberdeen and landed in the lands of the bagpipes, the tough guys, the highlanders....

The Gaels of Dál Riata, an Irish tribe called the Scots, peopled Argyll. From this people came Cináed mac Ailpín, who united the Kingdom of Scotland in 843, when he became the King of the Picts and Scots.The name Scotia has been used to refer to Scotland since at least the beginning of the 10th century, when it first appeared in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle as a reference to the Land of the Gaels. Scottish kings adopted the title Basileus Scottorum or Rex Scottorum (meaning High King of the Gaels), and Rex Scotiae (King of Gael-land) some time in the 11th century. In modern times the word Scot is applied equally to all inhabitants regardless of their ancestral ethnicity, as the nation has had a civic, rather than an ethnic or linguistic, orientation for most of the last millennium.

The Scots have their own lawsystem, the UK Parliament retains active power over Scotland's taxes, social security system, the military, international relations, broadcasting, and some other areas explicitly specified in the Scotland Act 1998 as reserved matters. The Scottish Parliament has legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland, and has limited power to vary income tax - also known as tartan tax - but has never exercised this power. The programmes of legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament have seen a divergence in the provision of public services compared to the rest of the United Kingdom. For instance, the costs of a university education, and care services for the elderly are free at point of use in Scotland, while fees are paid in the rest of the UK.

2.2 of the 5 million Scots reside in the Greater Glasgow area, however the capitol is Edinburgh, a major european financial center. The education system in Scotland is distinct from the rest of the United Kingdom and was the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education. Schooling was made compulsory for the first time in Scotland with the Education Act of 1496 since it forced all nobles and freeholders to educate their eldest sons in Latin, followed by the Arts, and Scots law. Then, in 1561, the Kirk set out a national programme for spiritual reform, including a school in every parish. As a result the Scots had a higher percentage of its population educated at primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe for hundreds of years.

The Scottish music scene is a significant aspect of Scottish culture, with both traditional and modern influences. An example of a traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland Bagpipe, a wind instrument consisting of one or more musical pipes which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. The Clàrsach, fiddle and accordion are also traditional Scottish instruments, the latter two heavily featured in Scottish country dance bands. Scottish emigrants took traditional Scottish music with them and it influenced early local styles such as country music in North America.

These days however, i noted something unexpected the current crop of bands is very poor, in fact considering the impact Scots had in the early eighties things have gone downhill, maybe its because most bands make a indie-guitar music, which has been done for some time, decades, but in the dance or electronic music scene they are almost totally absent, or in metal or goth, in fact i was a bit shocked when i saw listings of scottish bands. Have they all been usurped by the english music industry ? As a consequence my 2 scottish posts will contain much more old work than usual and thus some nice vinyl rips.

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Who said there can only be one...

The Fire Engines - Lubricate your living room
The Associates - The Affectionate Punch
The Associates - Perhaps
Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
Mogwai - Happy Songs
Skids - Best of
Skids - Joy
The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops
Scars - Author ! Author !

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The Fire Engines - Lubricate your living room (80 * 49mb)

Fire Engines are a post-punk band from Edinburgh, Scotland. The band was a part of the same literary art-punk scene as the Scars and their most famous contemporaries, Josef K. They grew out of the Dirty Reds which had actor Tam Dean Burn as singer. Inspired themselves by the Voidoids and James Chance, the songs are a tangy lobster-pot of short sharp shocks, chaotic riffing, unpredictable beats and vocal epilepsy. Vocals and guitar were done by David Henderson, guitar by Murray Slade, bass by Graham Main, and on drums, Russell Burn. They were noted for Get Up And Use Me/Everything's Roses (Codex 1980), and singles and LPs in 1981.

They recently released a limited edition collaboration single with Franz Ferdinand. The single contained a Franz Ferdinand cover of the Fire Engines song "Get Up and Use Me" with Fire Engines covering Franz Ferdinand's "Jacqueline". Aswell as a kinda rerelease on cd of Lubricate with some singles titled "Codex Teenage Premonition"(05).

After the dissolution of The Fire Engines, Davey Henderson formed Win with Ian Stoddart (Bass), ex-Fire Engine Russell Burn (Drums/Keyboards), Emmanuel Shoniwa (Guitar/Bass), Simon Smeeton (Guitar/Bass) and William Perry (Keyboards) in 1983. A more determinedly pop act than The Fire Engines, Win were soon being critically praised and made 2 albums before splitting up.



01 - Plastic Gift
02 - Get Up & Use Me
03 - Sympathetic Anaesthetic
04 - Discord
05 - New Thing in Cartons
06 - Hungry Beat
07 - Lubricate Your Living Room pt.1
08 - Lubricate Your Living Room pt.2

The Fire Engines @ Base
The Fire Engines @ MySpace

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Associates - The Affectionate Punch (80 * 343mb)

Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine formed The Associates in Dundee, Scotland, in 1976. They released a self-funded 7" of Boys Keep Swinging mere weeks after David Bowie had released his original. This scam got them a publishing deal with Bowie's publishers and a proper record deal. By 1980 they were touring with The Cure, and signed to Fiction Records, for whom they recorded The Affectionate Punch. At the turn of the year they relocated to Situation 2 and put out a string of singles, later compiled on the album Fourth Drawer Down, recorded using money from major labels who were expecting demos to be produced with their cash... In tandem with their increasing consumption of coke and speed, the groups' music became increasingly deranged and experimental. John Murphy and Mike Dempsey (ex-The Cure) became official members.

The Associates signed with WEA in 1982. Martha Ladly joined as back-up singer. Billy and Alan immediately scored a string of UK top 20 chart hits. The album Sulk made the UK top 10, winning album of the year awards in the UK music press. The groups drug use was at a peak - Billy & Alans behaviour was becoming somewhat erratic. On the eve of their biggest ever UK tour MacKenzie pulled out. A US deal with Island was consequentially lost. Deciding that he couldn't continue, Alan Rankine left the group. From this moment on, The Associates were to be just that: Billy MacKenzie solo, with different associates for each release.




01 - The Affectionate Punch (3:31)
02 - Amused As Always (4:19)
03 - Logan Time (4:15)
04 - Paper House (4:46)
05 - Transport To Central (4:58)
06 - A Matter Of Gender (4:34)
07 - Even Dogs In The Wild (3:27)
08 - Would I… Bounce Back? (3:59)
09 - Deeply Concerned (3:44)
10 - A (3:51)
Bonus
11 - You Were Young 4:07
12 - Janice 2:34
13 - Boys Keep Swinging (Mono) 3:40
14 - Mona Property Girl 3:26

MacKenzie started recording a follow up album. 1984s Perhaps cost WEA £250,000. It took 3 years and 4 production teams to record - twice (dissatisfied with the original production Billy "lost" the first versions' master tapes, forcing a re-recording). The album had some chart success, but WEA were dissatisfied, and started pressuring MacKenzie to follow a more straightforward pop-soul direction. Frustrated by WEA's lack of support, MacKenzie focussed on collaborations, most notably with Yello (featuring on One Second, Flag, Baby and writing The Rhythm Divine).

1988's comeback single, a cover of Blondie's Heart Of Glass, failed to chart. WEA refused to release its parent album, The Glamour Chase, and with MacKenzie over a million pounds in debt to the label The Associates were dropped.

Circa quickly signed MacKenzie and in 1990 released Wild And Lonely, the last album of original music under the The Associates name. 1992's album, the Thomas Fehlmann / Boris Blank-produced Outernational was issued under the artist name Billy MacKenzie. Even though the album had good reviews in the press and Baby was single of the week in Melody Maker, the album stiffed - partially due to Circa winding down operations.

Aside from an aborted Associates reunion with Alan Rankine in the mid-90s, MacKenzie remained a solo artist, collaborating in the 90s with Peach, Barry Adamson, Paul Haig and Apollo Four Forty amongst others. At the end of 1996, after four years without a deal, he signed with Nude Records.

Tragically his first release for the label was a post-humous one. The death of his mother in 1996 was likely the trigger of an emotional breakdown that led him deeper and deeper into a depressed state. Billy MacKenzie died aged 39, on 22nd January 1997 from an overdose of prescribed and over-the-counter pills.

Affectionate Punch, Fourtdrawer Down and Sulk are all available in remastered format.



 The Associates - Perhaps (85 * 376mb)

01 - Those First Impressions (4:43)
02 - Waiting For The Loveboat (6:55)
03 - Perhaps (6:32)
04 - Shampout (6:02)
05 - Helicopter Helicopter (4:09)
06 - Breakfast (5:34)
07 - Thirteen Feelings (4:39)
08 - The Stranger In Your Voice (6:15)
09 - The Best Of You (5:37)
10 - Don't Give Me That I Told You So Look (5:12)

The Associates @ Base
The Associates @ You Tube
The Associates @ Amazon

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Boards of Canada - Geogaddi ( 02 ^ 369mb))

Growing up in a musical family, brothers Michael and Marcus Eoin began playing instruments at a young age. They experimented with recording techniques at around the age of 10, using tape machines to layer cut-up samples of found sounds over compositions of their own. In their teens they participated in a number of amateur bands, however, it wasn't until 1986 when Marcus was invited to Michael's band that Boards of Canada was born.

In 1995, the band released the first work from the Hexagon Sun studio, the EP Twoism. Like earlier Music70 releases, it was produced in a self-financed limited run and was privately distributed, primarily to friends and labels, it was considered of such high quality to be subsequently re-pressed in 2002. The precursor to Music Has the Right to Children was released in 1996. Titled Boc Maxima, it was a semi-private release that is notable for being a full-length album. Boc Maxima's work was later used for Music Has the Right to Children (98), considered to be a masterpiece by many. They followed with another EP "In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country"(2000). Boards of Canada's unique sound is a product of their strong use of analog equipment, mix of electronic and conventional instrumentation, use of distorted samples as well as live and radio or film lyrics, and their layering and blending of these elements. They avoid a purely synthetic sound which gives their music a warmer, emotive quality, often meant to inspire nostalgia.

This album Geogaddi was released in 2002. It was described by Sandison as "a record for some sort of trial-by-fire, a claustrophobic, twisting journey that takes you into some pretty dark experiences before you reach the open air again." Geogaddi's development involved the creation of 400 song fragments and 64 complete songs, of which 23 were selected (one of which is complete silence).

Though never an actively touring band, Boards of Canada did perform a handful of shows. Early shows saw them supporting Warp labelmates Seefeel and Autechre in a scattering of UK dates. They also participated in a few festivals and multi-artist bills, including two Warp parties. Until 2005 they kept the fact they were brothers and not just childhood friends hidden from the media, apparently they didnt want to be compared to the Hartnoll Brothers (Orbital). Their latest full album 2005's Campfire Headphase is much in line with their previous Warp work.



01 - Ready Lets Go (0:57)
02 - Music Is Math (5:21)
03 - Beware The Friendly Stranger (0:40)
04 - Gyroscope (3:32)
05 - Dandelion (1:14)
06 - Sunshine Recorder (6:12)
07 - In The Annexe (1:22)
08 - Julie And Candy (5:34)
09 - The Smallest Weird Number (1:13)
10 - 1969 (4:20)
11 - Energy Warning (0:35)
12 - The Beach At Redpoint (4:18)
13 - Opening The Mouth (1:11)
14 - Alpha And Omega (7:02)
15 - I Saw Drones (0:27)
16 - The Devil Is In The Details (3:56)
17 - A Is To B As B Is To C (1:37)
18 - Over The Horizon Radar (1:08)
19 - Dawn Chorus (3:56)
20 - Diving Station (1:25)
21 - You Could Feel The Sky (5:15)
22 - Corsair (2:48)
23 - Magic Window (1:52)

BOC @ Base
BOC @ MySpace
BOC @ YouTube
BOC @ Amazon

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Mogwai - Happy Songs (03 ^ 260mb)

Named themselves after those gremlins who inturn derive the name from the Cantonese word mo gwai meaning "ghost", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon". Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison formed Mogwai in 1995 and since then, they have become one of the most influential and best known post-rock bands. They compose lengthy instrumental guitar-based pieces in the post-rock tradition. Mogwai's style has easily identifiable connections to genres like shoegaze, math rock, art rock, and occasionally instrumental metal.
Happy Songs is a rather ironic title for their 4th album "Happy Songs" is a beautiful instrumental post-rock album with a very mellow and relaxed feel, melodies and guitar float in the air while solid percussion and string arrangments keep things grounded while exploring new heights at the same time. Last year saw the release of Mogwai's 5th album "Mr Beast", which the followed in the fall with the music score to Zidane; A 20th century portrait.



01 - Hunted By A Freak (4:18)
02 - Moses? I Amn't (2:59)
03 - Kids Will Be Skeletons (5:29)
04 - Killing All The Flies (4:35)
05 - Boring Machines Disturbs Sleep (3:05)
06 - Ratts Of The Capital (8:27)
07 - Golden Porsche (2:49)
08 - I Know You Are But What Am I? (5:17)
09 - Stop Coming To My House (4:53)

Mogwai @ MySpace
Mogwai @ Base II
Mogwai @ YouTube
Mogwai @ Amazon

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Skids - Best of (01 ^ 151mb)

The Skids, it seemed, picked their moment well. Comprising the songwriting axis of Richard Jobson (vocals) and Stuart Adamson (guitar), together with the rhythm section of William Simpson (bass) and Tom Kellichan (drums), they rode into British consciousness on the new wave backwash to the ebbing tide of punk. The release of their self-financed, attention-grabbing Charles EP came at the time Richard Branson's Virgin label were busy accruing an eclectic roster of post-punk hopefuls. Consequently, with almost indecent haste, the band were tethered to what was to prove an optimistic eight-album deal.

On the flip side of their first Virgin single, "Sweet Suburbia" (1978), the band proclaimed themselves to be "Open Sound", which was essentially a description of the soaring histrionics of Adamson's guitar style. When married to the martial rhythms of the drumming and the bellowing, chant-like vocals of Jobson, this sound conspired to lend their repertoire a rousing, anthemic quality. It was heroic music which at its best, as on the first album, Scared To Dance (1979), seemed to capture the drama and turbulence of battle. Unfortunately, the sound was an all-too-graphic reflection of the band's own stormy relationships, a turbulence which was to settle only with the departure of Adamson in the summer of 1981.

The Skids' decline was in large part due to the portentous designs of Richard Jobson, who sought to mould the band into a vehicle for his ever more convoluted lyrics. This became most evident in the recording of the second album, Days In Europa (1979). Following the departure of original drummer Tom Kellichan in the traditional rock'n'roll style (i.e. after the first album), the Skids recruited a temporary replacement in the form of ex-Rich Kids drummer and Jobson cohort, Rusty Egan, and a producer in the form of ex- Be-Bop Deluxe man Bill Nelson. Together, both Nelson and Egan contrived to free the band from the strictures of punk-pop in favour of a more polished, almost danceable sound. Ultimately it was a case of too many cooks, and the resultant album proved to be a misguided attempt at redefining the Skids' sound. This in turn alienated a great many fans, and also cost them the services of bassist Simpson during the troubled tour that ensued.

For Jobson and Adamson it was back to the drawing board, and 1980 saw a rejuvenated Skids with a new rhythm section in the form of Russell Webb (bass) and Mike Baillie (drums). The resultant album, The Absolute Game (1980), produced this time by Mick Glossop, was a commercial success, giving the band their first and only British Top 10 album. Artistically, too, it heralded a return to form, dispensing with the excess baggage of the previous outing and playing to the dual strengths of Adamson's guitar stylings and Jobson's lyrical bombast. Unfortunately, this rejuvenation coincided with Jobson's increasing commitment to a burgeoning London scene. Adamson's departure had as much to do with geographical differences as to musical and personal ones; a point evinced by Adamson's eventual return to Dunfermline, from where he formed the internationally successful Big Country.

Following Adamson's departure, the final dissolution of the band was soon to follow. Unfortunately, however, not before Jobson and Webb issued a dour and ill-conceived concept album, Joy (1981), which served only to illustrate that, when Adamson left, he took all of the best tunes with him. Not surprisingly the album failed to chart,  a sorry end to a short career which had begun with so much spark and promise. (Discogs)



01 - Charles
02 - Sweet Suburbia
03 - Into the Valley
04 - Goodbye Civilian
05 - Walk on the Wild Side
06 - the Saints Are Coming
07 - Working For The Yankee Dollar
08 - Charade
09 - All The Young Dudes
10 - Melancony Soldiers
11 - TV Stars
12 - Snakes and Ladders
13 - Circus Games
14 - Animation
15 - And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda
16 - Masquerade
17 - Fields
18 - Hymns For a Haunted Ballroom

The eleven track Joy was issued fall 81 and marks a concerted effort to update traditional Scottish music into the age of modern rock recordings. The sound is fundamentally more pastoral than previous Skids efforts. Gone are the layers of harmonically treated electric guitar. The lyrical concerns of strife, war and brotherhood are Jobson staples. Though the band recorded a BBC radio session and shot a music video for Iona, promotion problems at Virgin forestalled a tour. With patchy coverage, no live support and a difficult change in musical direction, the record sank without a trace. Critical reception was mixed at best. Well this album is unreleased on cd, maybe a release might generate critical reappraisal now that fixed ideas of what a rock band should sound like have been loosened, you can judge for yourself here.



Skids - Joy (84 * 68mb)

01 - Blood And Soil (3:58)
02 - A Challenge (The Wanderer) (6:10)
03 - Men Of Mercy (1:11)
04 - A Memory (5:05)
05 - Iona (ft Mike Oldfield) (7:15)
06 - In Fear Of Fire (0:42)
07 - Brothers (3:11)
08 - And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda (5:30)
09 - The Men Of The Fall (6:26)
10 - The Sound Of Retreat (2:54)
11 - Fields (Ft the Associates) (4:32)

Skids FanSite

Skids @ YouTube
Skids @ Amazon

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The Blue Nile - A Walk Across The Rooftops (84 * 422mb)

The Scottish folk-ambient band the Blue Nile has enjoyed a mystique contrived by its inaccessibility and the infrequency of its recordings, but it has also made a series of critically acclaimed discs. The band was formed when friends Paul Buchanan (singer/songwriter/guitarist) and Paul Joseph Moore ( keyboardist) met Robert Bell (bass) shortly after graduating from the University of Glasgow in the late 1970s. Although their individual degrees didn't reflect their future career trajectory (English Literature, Electronics and Mathematics, respectively), their mutual friendship grew out of their shared interest in music, and they began writing and recording together. They recorded their own single, "I Love This Life," which was distributed by Robert Stigwood's RSO Records just before the company closed its doors. When local Hi-Fi manufacturer Linn Electronics heard their music, the company offered the band money to record a track that would showcase the sonic range of the company's high-end audio equipment. Linn was so pleased with the result, they formed their own record label in order to release The Blue Nile's debut, A Walk Across the Rooftops, in 1984.

Without much support or touring the album took some time to find its audience, though it briefly reached the U.K. charts and led to high expectations for a second album. This came in 1989 with Hats, which reached the British Top 20, throwing off three chart singles, "The Downtown Lights," "Headlights on the Parade," and "Saturday Night." The album also made the lower reaches of the American charts as the Blue Nile embarked on its first tour, a 30-date journey taking place in the British Isles and the U.S. In the ensuing years, the band members switched record labels, signing to Warner Bros., and contributed to recordings by Robbie Robertson and Julian Lennon. In 1996, The Blue Nile finally released their long-anticipated follow-up to Hats, entitled Peace at Last. In a radical departure from the band's prior two albums, the record is primarily driven by Buchanan's acoustic guitar. Even a gospel choir makes a brief appearance on the leadoff single, "Happiness". Despite the release of Peace at Last on a major label, the album sold poorly, and the critical reaction to the album was more mixed.

After the longest gestation period between albums -- eight years -- The Blue Nile released High in 2004. Although acoustic guitar is still present on some tracks, the overall musical sound is more reminiscent of Hats, and as a result, the record has once again received almost universal critical praise.



1 - A Walk Across The Rooftops (4:54)
2 - Tinseltown In The Rain (5:53)
3 - From Rags To Riches (5:59)
4 - Stay (4:55)
5 - Easter Parade (4:29)
6 - Heatwave (6:26)
7 - Automobile Noise (5:08)
Bonus
08 - I Love This Life 4:02
09 - Heatwave (Rhythm Remix) 5:50
10 - St. Catherine's Day 4:42
11 - Tinseltown In The Rain (Mix) 6:31
12 - The Second Act 4:39
13 - Stay (Little Mix) 3:34
14 - Regret 3:37


The Blue Nile @ Base
The Blue Nile @ YouTube
The Blue Nile @ Amazon

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Scars - Author ! Author ! (81 ^ 479mb)

18-10-06 rho-xs post
Scars were cocky, provocative and brash, and how they never became pop stars remains a mystery , attention to detail was central to their art, and these kids were perfect material for the State Arts design group to produce the best range of pop T-shirts ever. The people involved with State Arts were also involved in setting up the style-mag i-D, and Scars contributed a song for a free flexi with an early edition. The song, “Your Attention Please”, seems curiously apt again, being a setting of a 60s Peter Porter poem about impending nuclear terror. .

Scars’ relationship with Pre resulted in a few singles and one LP. It also saw the teenage upstarts adopt a startling new image with a look inspired by Viviene Westwood’s World’s End pirate collection. This made Scars seem like comrades of Bow Wow Wow and Adam and the Ants, unfortunately-with hindsight.

26-02-07
In October 2006, small events (like my vinyl rip-haha) that had been put into motion began to coalesce. It was announced at that time that Author! Author! would be remastered and finally released on CD format with additional tracks added in. In December 2006, the tapes were fully restored to playable mode at Abbey Road Studios by EMI, the record company that currently has ownership of the album masters, with an anticipated release date of sometime before the end of 2006. However, the remastering and CD transfer processes were put on hold pending an ISRC issuance. After this, the tapes were remastered by Steve McLaughlin and transferred to CD format, to be offered primarily on the de facto official site and with a finalized release date of February 23, 2007 (announced in January of the same year). The CD is also being made available on Amazon UK. All versions will include extra tracks from the band's various PRE/Charisma Records singles releases. Your attention please, now 10 years later it's all here...



01 - Leave me in the autumn
02 - Fear in the dark
03 - Aquarama
04 - David
05 - Obsessions
06 - The lady in the car with the glasses on
07 - Je t'aime
08 - C'est la mort
09 - Your attention please
10 - All about you
bonus
11 - Silver Dream Machine 3:59
12 - She's Alive 3:03
13 - All About You (Single Version) 4:01
14 - Author! Author! 2:54
15 - Love Song 3:11
16 - Psychomodo 3:01
17 - They Came And Took Her 2:49
18 - Romance By Mail 2:39


Remasterd Author ! Author ! + @ amazon.uk
Scars All about you @ YouTube

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Feb 24, 2007

Stage 26, Norway.no

In the ninth century CE, Norway consisted of a number of petty clan/kingdoms. According to tradition, Harald Fairhair gathered the small kingdoms into one in 872 with the Battle of Hafrsfjord. He became the first king of a united Norway.
The Viking age (eighth to eleventh centuries) was one of unification and expansion. The Norwegians established settlements on Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and parts of Britain and Ireland, and attempted to settle at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada (the "Vinland" of the Saga of Eric the Red). Norwegians founded the modern-day Irish cities of Limerick and Waterford and established trading communities near the Celtic settlements of Cork and Dublin which later became Ireland's two most important cities. Meanwhile their Kings were busy christianising their pagan peoples, that papal god didnt help much because during the black death plague of 1349 half the population died..including the royalty..should have stuck with Odin and the Aesir.

Well Norway ended up into a union with demark and Sweden, latter moved out of that in 1500 but the union with Danmark lasted till 1814, After Denmark-Norway was attacked by Britain, it had entered into an alliance with Napoleon, and in 1814 found itself on the losing side in the Napoleonic Wars and in dire conditions and mass starvation in 1812. Norway took this opportunity to declare independence, adopted a constitution based on American and French models but the Countries without Kings were unacceptable in those days, the Swedish King lay claim but basicly let the norwegions do on the condition they accept him , the Bernadotte dynasty as rulers of Norway. In 1905 they had enough and parlement elected a new king a danish prince who took the name Haakon 7 who ruled for 52 years, his son Olav 5 was chosen man of the century by the Norwegians and as it happens Norways current king Harald 5 is having a big 70th birthday party this week. Royalty..but then the norse and danish versions are so 'common' they ride bicycles and Crownprince Haakon has married a single mother, now there's one for those snobby royal watchers.

Norway at the moment is per capita the richest country in the world(Luxemburg is not a country but a bankjob ), all that oilmoney..which defacto had the Norwegians vote against joining the EU..which i think is a black spot on their morality.


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Norwaves

Flunk - For Sleepyheads Only
Biosphere - Shenzhou
Arve Henriksen - Chiaroscuro
Röyksopp - Melody AM
Jaga Jazzist - The Stix
VA - dBut Royal

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Flunk - For Sleepyheads Only ( 02 * 92mb)

Stuff happens, and Flunk emerged out of the studio jam sessions of a trio of Oslo musicians: producer Ulf Nygaard sidestepping his usual and succesful work as Folk and Rovere, guitarist Jo Bakke (formerly with the Happy Campers, who's frontman produced the first two Folk and Rovere albums), and drummer Erik Ruud (a member of the Guidance-label act Antenna).The band started as a project between Ulf, and Jo in Oslo, Norway in winter 2000/2001. Beginning as an instrumental and sampled vocal project, a track for a compilation by Beatservice Records got the unnamed band signed for a full album.

In spring 2002, the band was known as Flunk and they released their first single, a completely restyled cover of New Order's Blue Monday in April. The track was well received in the UK and was included on numerous compilations in North America and Europe. Later in April, this, their debut album For Sleepyheads Only was released which got great reviews in Norway, as well in some UK muzik mags. During the next 12 months the album was rolled out world wide, Their label beatservice released a remix version in the summer of 2003 to fill the gap until Flunks next album "Morning Star" in 2004, which is slightly less electronic as their debut but still drifts along the same lines, with singer Anja Øyen Vister's creamy, dreamy vocals over a hushed base of samples, keys, and softly strummed guitars, creating an ethereal, past-midnight chill out vibe.Flunks new album Personal Stereo is out this spring, check out their MySpace for some tracks.



01 - I Love Music (5:36)
02 - Blue Monday (4:15)
03 - Miss World (5:03)
04 - Honey's In Love (3:55)
05 - Magic Potion (3:51)
06 - Your Koolest Smile (5:15)
07 - Kebab Shop 3 AM (4:23)
08 - See Through You (4:56)
09 - Sunday People (Don't Bang The Drum) (5:18)
10 - Indian Rope Trick (5:22)
11 - Syrupsniph (6:06)
12 - Distortion (4:32)

Flunk @ Base
Flunk @ MySpace
Flunk @ Amazon

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Biosphere - Shenzhou ( ^ 110mb)

Geir Jensen, aka Biosphere, was born in 1962 in Tromsø, a city within the Arctic Circle in the northernmost portion of Norway, no real surprise then this "arctic sound" label stuck. In 1983, he composed his first piece of music. In 1985, Jenssen was part of the newly-created Norwegian moody synth trio Bel Canto. They released their first two albums together. In 1989, he left the band in order to pursue a different music style altogether.

Following the release of The North Pole By Submarine (90), Jenssen chose a new musical direction and began releasing his music as Biosphere. Getting his first Biosphere album, Microgravity a wider release wasnt easy, however when it did, it got rave reviews. The follow up Patashnik, saw Jenssen continue to explore his ambient-house beatless style. The uptempo track "Novelty Waves" was picked by Levis to support an add campaign and a single with 5 remixes was released.
In 97 Geir released Substrata a classic amongst ambient albums, it really established him as an ambient giant. In 2000 he released Cirque, which unsurprisingly wasnt as impressive as its predecessor.

Shenzhou, Jenssen's fifth full length album , is a more abstract work, the material draws from elongated, pitch-shifted loops taken from classical composer Claude Debussy. He sampled a variety of Debussy's orchestral works and used them to build completely new and original pieces of his own. No beat in sight for more than 50 minutes. Classical melodies, but not in a classical way. Icy and desolate, yet warm and cozy. Melody and drone go hand in hand. Shenzou sounds like one big trip into the depths of Biosphere's extremely carefully assembled archives.

Released in 2004, Autour de la Lune stands as the most minimal and austere Biosphere album to date, his latest album, Dropsonde, is a half beatless, half rhythmic album comprised of jazz rhythms. Geir is still chasing the beatless rhythm when he's not mountaineering..



01 - Shenzhou (5:04)
02 - Spindrift (4:37)
03 - Ancient Campfire (7:45)
04 - Heat Leak (4:57)
05 - Houses On The Hill (5:43)
06 - Two Ocean Plateau (3:10)
07 - Thermal Motion (4:27)
08 - Path Leading To The High Grass (3:55)
09 - Fast Atoms Escape (3:29)
10 - Green Reflections (3:32)
11 - Bose-Einstein Condensation (2:47)
12 - Gravity Assist (7:04)

diet version
Biosphere - Shenzhou ( * 76mb)

Novelty Waves (49mb)

1 - Novelty Waves (Original) (6:22)
2 - Novelty Waves (Biosphere Arctic Mix) (8:38)
3 - Novelty Waves (Biosphere Darkroom Mix) (6:59)
4 - Novelty Waves (Mark Bell Remix) (5:56)
5 - Novelty Waves (Higher Intelligence Agency Remix) (6:21)

Biosphere @ Base

Biosphere @ Amazon

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Arve Henriksen - Chiaroscuro (04 ^=upgraded 83mb)

Born in 1968, Arve Henriksen studied at the Trondheim Conservatory from 1987-1991, and has worked as a freelance musician since 1989, with many musicians from the ECM stables, he has been a part of the European Jazz scene since. He's been inspired by all sorts of folk music, specially the meditative and minimalistic expressive quality of Japanese music and it's instruments inspired him. ”Chiaroscuro” is the follow-up to the acclaimed ”Sakuteiki” ( 2001) ”a thing of rare and compelling beauty...musicmaking as natural and essential as breathing”. Arve is joined by drummer Audun Kleive and sound artist Jan Bang to create some very beautiful musical soundscapes where the trumpet is the natural focal point. There´s also more room for Arve´s wordless singing. Arve Henriksen's new album "Stron" will be released this week



01 - Opening Image ( 4:16)
02 - Bird's-Eye-View ( 4:07)
03 - Chiaro ( 3:28)
04 - Holography ( 3:02)
05 - Blue Silk ( 6:30)
06 - Parallel Action ( 4:38)
07 - Circled Take ( 3:24)
08 - Scuro ( 5:08)
09 - Time Lapse ( 5:07)
10 - Ending Image ( 2:27)

Arve Henriksen @ Base

Arve Henriksen @ Amazon

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Röyksopp - Melody AM ( 01 ^ 150mb)

The name Röyksopp, derived from Norwegian "røyksopp", translates into English as "puffball". This type of mushroom is notable for the misty cloud created when it releases its spores (with hindsight an aptly chosen name) . There is also an obvious hallucinogenic double meaning to the name. Despite the fact that Brundtland and Berge were schoolmates in their hometown of Tromsø and experimented with electronic instruments in the early 90's, Röyksopp only appeared years later when they met again in Bergen where they met a lively music scene and worked with bands such as Frost and Kings of Convenience. There first singles drew enough interest from Wall of Sound to sign them and release Melody AM. Good thing they did, it sold a million copies half of it in the UK alone.

From the album a number of succesfull singles accompanied by great video's were released. Eple , apple in english drew the attention of Apple who licensed it to use as opening music sequence for mac OS X, So Easy used for a T mobile commercial, Remind me won best video of 2002 MTV award... Those poor guys were the new Norwegian golden boys, all they did was make some fine unpretentious music.

No wonder then that the followup "the Understanding" took 4 years to see the light of day, they tried hard not to repeat themselves, maybe a bit too hard, still it got decent reviews and they werent shot down as one album hit wonders.Last year they released a 40 min live ep "Night Out" Meanwhile its 2007 and the boys just produced a compilation album no 25 in the Back to Mine series, to be released in april.



01 - So Easy (3:44)
02 - Eple (3:36)
03 - Sparks voc.Anneli Drecker (5:23)
04 - In Space (3:30)
05 - Poor Leno voc. Erlend Øye (3:57)
06 - A Higher Place (4:31)
07 - Röyksopp's Night Out (7:30)
08 - Remind Me voc. Erlend Øye (3:39)
09 - She's So (5:23)
10 - 40 Years Back\Come (4:45)
Xs
11 - Your Hands
12 - Fusions Alright
13 - Eple (Black Strobe Remix) (6:10)
14 - Poor Leno (Silicone Soul's Hypno House Dub) (8:05)
15 - Remind Me (James Zabiela Eighties Ingeborg Mix) (8:35)
Röyksopp @ base
Röyksopp MySpace
Röyksopp @ Amazon

Pick one @ YouTube

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Jaga Jazzist - The Stix (03 * 127mb)

Jaga Jazzist has become something of a musical phenomenon in Norway since they started 9 years ago. Not only is this 10 piece instrumental band regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative in Norway, the members are all involved in other musical projects and have in one way or another contributed to almost every significant recording to come out of that part of the world in the last few years. It has been this strong involvement with different projects, and different musical styles and sounds which is the key to the unique sound of Jaga Jazzist. With no boundaries and an arsenal that includes trumpets, trombone, electric guitar, bass, tuba, two bass clarinets, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone and a rack of electronics, Jaga Jazzist create timeless music. Melodic, hypnotizing, delicate and subtle.

Jaga Jazzist started out in Tonsberg (a small town outside Oslo) in 1994 at which time Lars Horntveth (the main songwriter in Jaga) was only 14 years old! "Jævla Jazzist Grete Stitz" was there first testing of the waters in 96, with the ”Magazine EP” from 1998 (re-issued with bonus material by Smalltown Supersound in 2004), the band came even closer to the formula that today is the basis in the Jaga Jazzist sound. But it was first with ”A Livingroom Hush” in 2001, that Jaga Jazzist fully blossomed with an album that put Jaga Jazzist on the map and defined their unique sound world. "A Livingroom Hush" got them massive critical acclaim and great sales in Norway. Throughout 2002 the band shocked fans and critics alike with their blistering live shows and the buzz resulted in sold out dates all over Europe and the band soon came to the attention of Ninja Tune who did a license/collaboration deal with Smalltown Supersound.

With 10 members, you also gets 10 different opinions, feelings and taste. With a result that the band never stands still. Instead of sucking on the successful formula of ”A Livingroom Hush”, they wanted to take their sound even further with the next album. To the extreme one might say. The result was 2003`s ”The Stix” album. This was Jaga Jazzist`s take on electronic music, an album characterized by its intricate drum patters and rolling beats. After heavily touring, the time came for the next chapter in the Jaga Jazzist history, ”What We Must”. After months with writing new material, the band went into studio in Spydeberg out in the Norwegian woods, to record the demo now known as the Spydeberg Session. Something came they percieve as their rock album (Jaga style), released in 2005.



01 - Kitty Wü (4:36)
02 - Day (3:08)
03 - Another Day (3:30)
04 - Reminders (6:45)
05 - Suomi Finland (7:28)
06 - Toxic Dart (5:21)
07 - I Could Have Killed Him In The Sauna (5:34)
08 - Aerial Bright Dark Round (5:08)
09 - Doppelganger (4:47)
10 - The Stix (6:57

Jaga Jazzist @ Base
Jaga Jazzist @ MySpace
Jaga Jazzist @ Amazon
Pic a JJ vid @YouTube

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VA - dBut Royal ( 01 * 78mb)

One of the longest running Norwegian undergroud labels, dBut Recordings was founded in 1989 by Per Platou (also a member of Nood). It had a very eclectic profile, encompassing rock, avantgarde and electronic music. In 1997 Per Platou didn't want to run the label anymore and handed over the whole operation (old back catalogue included) to Andreas Gilhuus, Jon Birger Wormdahl and Rolf Even Evensen. dBut Records is one of Norway's most exiting and fastest developing independent labels. With a wide profile spanning from nu-jazz and latin inspired sounds to pure pop and genre-pushing electronica, dBut´s aim is to broaden the mind.
Over the last couple of years, dBut Records has established itself as an important musical anchor in an ever growing and pulsating Norwegian flora of bands and producers. Home of bands Sternklang, Perculator, Boy, Nood, Professor Anarad and Moon Orchestra, this label has proved to be the staging ground for a wide spectrum of musical experimentation. From the classic, timeless pure pop of Boy to state-of-the-art nu-jazz, instrumental hip-hop and urban grooves courtesy of Perculator and Moon Orchestra to Sternklang's structural damaging breakdowns there is one word which sums it all up: humanity. A warm human touch, often coupled with a healthy dose of humour is present in all of dBut´s releases. No matter how quantizised the samples are, there's always a pulsating vibe lurking underneath it all, one which only can be achieved through sheer passion and a deep, profound love of music.



01 - Perculator - Eternity
02 - Sternklang - Liebling
03 - Palace Of Pleasure - Summertime
04 - Nood - Walk In 2 Me
05 - Moon Orchestra - Hummingbird
06 - Dub Club Oslo - Yes, With Cheese
07 - Sternklang - A Sunday Kind Of Thrill
08 - Tøyen - ABC Of Love
09 - Briskeby - Propaganda (Rmx-Moon Orchestra)
10 - Stellan - Jaquelin
11 - Frost - Damian
12 - Boy - Sure


DBut @ Base
Buy Dbut Releases

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* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Feb 21, 2007

Stage 25, Norway

Hello again, it's stage 25 already and from now on the ocean is with us again. Don't know why Totally Fuzzy ignored my last post as ive been regularly posting twice a week wednesdays and saturdays, maybe they didnt like my little promo for Linux or they thought Finland to be the end of the line, well it isnt. Infact still 8 stages to go starting with Norway, land of the fjords and crosscountry skeeing, which isnt that hard east to west. Next time more about Norways.


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Bel Canto - Shimmering, Warm & Bright (92)
Butti 49 - Habit (04)
Annie - Anniemal (04)
Øye, Erlend - Unrest (03)
Niels Petter Molvaer - Remakes NP3 (05)
Kaizers Orchestra - Ompa till du dor + ep (01)

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Bel Canto - Shimmering, Warm and Bright (92 ^ 260mb)

Bel Canto (Italian for 'beautiful song') play a blend of alternative pop-rock with medieval atmospherics recreated by synthesizers. The idea behind the songs was "drawn from energy fields, be the female power or the earth's gravitational pull, with vocals delicately etched by the alto of Anneli Marian Drecker". The orchestration by Nils Johansen and Geir Jennsen on the debut combined electronics with traditional instruments, sometimes departing from the pious imagery for upbeat Arabic numbers or cultured ambient soundscapes.

Before the recording of this their third release, Geir Jenssen left the group to pursue a solo career as Biosphere. Perhaps because of this, Shimmering, Warm & Bright is dressed in less frosty tones, although the music remains beautifully solemn as always. Angelic lead vocalist Anneli Drecker, together with Nils Johanssen responsible for the electronic rhythms with all the vivacity required of Drecker's ambitious vocal melodies lends his electronic sonics aswell as his occasional acoustic guitar creating aural depth with just a few simple chords.

During the years from 1985 to present (2006) Bel Canto have occasionally taken breaks in order for Anneli Drecker to pursue a solo career and to perform with other bands and artists, as well as playing in films and theatre plays. Nils Johansen has composed music for film and television as well as working and performing with his other band, Vajas.



01 - Unicorn (5:19)
02 - Summer (4:47)
03 - Waking Will (5:16)
04 - Shimmering, Warm & Bright (3:18)
05 - Sleep In Deep (2:45)
06 - Buthania (2:52)
07 - Le Temps Degage (4:43)
08 - Spiderdust (3:59)
09 - Die Geschichte Einer Mutter (6:54)
10 - Mornixuur (7:51)

Bel Canto @ Base
Bel Canto @ Amazon

Bel Canto - Birds of Passage live
Bel Canto - Tierre Obletz Live @ NRK '95

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Butti 49 - Habit ( 04 ^ 465mb)

Based in Stavanger, the Butti's have been a main stay of their hometown scene for several years now, with a growing reputation that spread first of all across Norway, and then to many other parts of the world. They have already released a series of well received singles, both on their own imprint, and on a number of other well respected labels such as Guidance and Nuphonic which spread the word even further. In addition, Snorre and Oyvind's services have been much in demand as remixers. Their list of remix credits is extensive. Their first full length album features their inimitable and eclectic mix of funk, soul, beats, breaks, electronica and jazz with an an excellent end result.

This album is a treat to listen to from start to finish with Emo providing the vocals to Flying the first track on the album as well as Action. Incurable featuring the vocals of Mayia James has the feel good vibe of a laidback jazzy summer house anthem. It's the first single off the album and it's a strong track. Kongo Mongo and Alan Accelerates are both strong upbeat instrumental tracks Kongo Mongo utilizing the an upbeat guitar rhythms and Alan Accelerates having the more energetic jazzy sort of a Latin vibe with horns.



01 - Flying - ft. Emo
02 - Kongo Mongo
03 - Incurable - ft. Mayia James
04 - Act'on - ft. Emo
05 - Loving You - ft. Mayia James
06 - Alan Accelerates
07 - Habit ft. - Kay Pt. 1
08 - Habit ft. - Kay Pt. 2
09 - Boogaloo
10 - Hustle On The Vessel
11 - Sun Vs Moon - ft. Azhar

Butti 49 @ Base
Butti 49 @ MySpace
Butti 49 @ Amazon.de

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Annie - Anniemal ( 04 * 316mb)

In 1999, Annie ( Anne Lilia Berge Strand) and her boyfriend/producer, Erot, made a slippery-sexy single called "The Greatest Hit." It didn't take off, at least not in the traditional sense. It floated around the underground, saw release on labels in different territories, and eventually became a pseudo-secret smash. Erot's life was claimed by a heart defect in 2001; Annie his partner, quite understandably, went quiet for a while.She picked herself up, took a very active role in the Bergen, Norway, music community, and recorded Anniemal, this debut is decidedly into the groove, filled with pop hooks, propulsive dance rhythms, and trippy avant-garde production from Richard X, Röyksopp, and Timo Kaukolampi. 2005 she released a DJ Kicks album on !K7, since then things have she's released another 12" , the Crush, and been promoting in the states, working on her new album.



01 - Intro (0:54)
02 - Chewing Gum (3:56)
03 - Always Too Late (4:16)
04 - Me Plus One (3:38)
05 - My Heartbeat (3:06)
06 - Helpless Fool For Love (3:58)
07 - Anniemal (3:35)
08 - No Easy Love (4:02)
09 - Happy Without You (3:16)
10 - Greatest Hit (3:39)
11 - Come Together (7:49)
12 - My Best Friend (3:57)

Annie @ Base
Annie @ Amazon

Annie - Chewing Gum
Annie - Heartbeat

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Øye, Erlend - Unrest ( 02 ^ 249mb)

Erlend Øye is a Norwegian musician from Bergen, best known for being part of the pop duo Kings of Convenience together with Eirik Glambek Bøe and released their first album, Quiet is the New Loud in 2001.

Øye had become interested in electronic music and spent the next years in Berlin or travelling around the world, recording his solo album Unrest in ten different cities (including Barcelona, Helsinki, Rome, and Turku) with ten different electronica artists such as Metro Area, Prefuse 73, and Schneider TM. Erland has been touring as a DJ who and sings along with the records he plays, in 2004 this resulted in a remix CD in the DJ Kicks serie.

Erlend Øye's most recent project is the band The Whitest Boy Alive. The band originally started as an electronic band, but slowly developed into a band with no programmed elements. The Whitest Boy Alive released their debut album, Dreams, June ,2006, via their record label Bubbles.



01 - Ghost Trains (4:32)
02 - Sheltered Life (3:24)
03 - Sudden Rush (4:22)
04 - Prego Amore (3:55)
05 - Every Party Has A Winner And A Loser (4:57)
06 - The Athlete (4:42)
07 - Symptom Of Disease (4:22)
08 - The Talk (3:39)
09 - A While Ago And Recently (7:00)
10 - Like Gold (4:22)

Erlend Øye @ Base
The Whitest Boy Alive @ MySpace
Erlend Øye @ Amazon

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Niels Petter Molvaer - NP3 Remakes (05 ^ 414mb)

Molvær was born and grew up on the island of Sula, Norway, and left at the age of nineteen to study music at the conservatory in Trondheim. He joined the band Masqualero, they recorded several albums for ECM Records, and Molvær recorded with other ECM artists before his debut solo album, Khmer, in 1998, a fusion of jazz, rock, electronic soundscapes and hip-hop beats, Molvær's muted trumpet sound, sometimes electronically processed, had an obvious debt to Miles Davis's work of the 1970s and 1980s. Khmer was followed, by Solid Ether (2000). The Cherry/Davis-inflected trumpet sound was as exquisitely brooding as before but often the arrangements dissolved into a hectic clatter of drum'n'bass. True to this belief NPM had the tracks of "Solid Ether" remixed by like-minded artists such as Funkstoerung, Bill Laswell, Joakim Lone and Jason Swinscoe/Cinematic Orchestra, and the resultant "Recoloured - The Remix Album" was released in April 2001.

NPM's album NP3 released by Universal Music Group in 2002, continues the concepts that were developed through "Khmer" and "Solid Ether" by putting significant differing elements together to combine contrasting structures. The question is all about timing - when to stop the 'moment' and then freeze it and squeeze it." Time changes, sound changes, music changes "Being from a generation that didn't grow up with the traditional standards, this is a taste of my tradition…." To enhance the 'musical travel' experience that this is meant to be, NPM has added small ambient islands that bind the whole production together. “NP3” was followed by the DVD “Molvær live”. ”NP3” was remixed and released as “Remakes” in 2005. A critic stated : “Remakes confirms once again that Nils Petter Molvær’s music upholds its quality from here to eternity, and that it is a small kingdom for the world’s best sound manipulators”.

NPM is well known for his unique live performances, and born out of the successful world tour in 2002, “Streamer” was produced by the recordings of the amazing live performances at London's legendary Marquee and Tampere Jazz Festival in Finland. “Streamer“ was released in 2004 and has been called a celebration of NPM’s live performances . In the same period as NPM starts working on his latest studio album “ER” he produces music to Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts”, and also the musicscore to the French downbeat comedy “Edy” . Nils Petter Molvær has taken a new direction with “ER” even if the soundscapes will be recognised from his previous releases. This time he has given more creative space to programmers like Knut Sævik, DJ Strangefruit , Reidar Skaar and Jan Bang.



01 - Axis of Ignorance (Funkstörung's Mass Destruction Remix) (3:58)
02 - Hurry Slowly (Herbert's Moving Mix) (6:18)
03 - Marrow (Sofa Version) (7:12)
04 - Axis of Ignorance (Pavel and March Remix) (4:47)
05 - Frozen (Side Brok's Dagen Derpå Remix) (4:25)
06 - Little Indian (Aggie Frost's Månestråle-miks) (4:16)
07 - Little Indian (Bugge's Indiana Jens Mix) (5:23)
08 - Frozen ( Bill Laswell Remix) (7:59)
09 - Simply So (Teebee Mix) (4:53)
10 - Simply So (Rune Arnesen Mix) (6:08)
11 - Little Indian (Koller Mix) (3:42)
--Xs--
12 - Ligotage (Teebee mix) (5:08)
13 - Song of Sand II (Rockers mix)(4:17)
14 - Tlon (Mental Overdrive mix) (6:18)
15 - Platonic years (Herbaliser mix) (5:15)



Niels Petter Molvaer - NP3 ( 02 ^ 304mb)

01 - Tabula Rasa
02 - Axis Off Ignorance
03 - Hurry Slowly
04 - Marrow
05 - frozen
06 - Presence
07 - Simply So
08 - Little Indian
09 - Nebulizer

NPMolvaer @ Base
NPMolvaer @ Amazon

Nils Petter Molvaer - Song of Sand
Nils Petter Molvaer - Live @ Rockefeller
More live tokyo jazz with Material

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Kaizers Orchestra - Ompa till du dor + ep (01 ^ 351mb)

Kaizers Orchestra is a hard-hitting, alternative rockband, with heavy eastern European influences singing in Norwegian, so don´t feel bad if you don´t understand a thing, just know that they treat un-Norwegian themes like war, mafia and religion.

In 1998, childhood friends Janove Ottesen and Geir Zahl released their only album by their band Gnom called Mys. one of the songs they wrote after Mys called Bastard got good crowd response. A line from Bastard inspired them to quit playing as gnom, and they started a new career as Kaizers Orchestra.
In 2000, Kaizers Orchestra recorded an EP containing four songs: Bastard, Bøn fra Helvete, Katastrofen and Dekk Bord. . Kaizers Orchestra's special sound and creative use of instruments was noticed by the small, Scandinavian label Broiler Farm. Their first album, Ompa Til Du Dør (Ompa 'Til You Die), was released on this label in September 2001. It was critically acclaimed and became a success, first in Norway, later in Denmark and the Netherlands. The album won a Spellemannspris (Norwegian Grammy) for “best rock album”, as well as two Alarm-awards, “Ompa til du dør” also made Kaizers Orchestra the highest-selling rock debut to be released in the Norwegian language. The second album "Evig Pint" came out in 2003, and sold 50 000 copies in Norway, and 20 000 outside of Norway.

In 2004, KO, as the first band singing in Norwegian, signed a record deal with Universal Music Germany. Their third album "Maestro" was released in nine countries August 2005. "Maestro" got rave reviews, and was backed by a new European tour. 32 shows in 38 days, through ten countries. The DVD Viva La Vega captures gig no. 30 at Vega on the Maestro tour.



01 - Kontroll på kontinentet ( 4:02)
02 - Ompa til du dør ( 5:04)
03 - Bønn fra helvete ( 4:00)
04 - 170 ( 4:15)
05 - Rullett ( 2:49)
06 - Dr. Mowinckel ( 3: 09)
07 - Fra sjåfør til passasjer ( 4: 59)
08 - Resistansen ( 3:00)
09 - Dekk bord ( 3:36)
10 - Bak et halleluja ( 1:57)
11 - Bris ( 3:32)
12 - Mr. Kaizer, Hans Constanse og meg ( 3:30)
bonus EP
13 - Død manns tango ( 4:20)
14 - Katastrofen ( 2:35)
15 - Sigøynerblod ( 2:34)


Kaizers @ Base
Kaizers @ MySpace
Kaisers Orch @ Amazon.de

Ompa lyrics in english
Flashmovie Bak et halleluja
Kaizers page @ YouTube

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* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !