Stage 34, Iceland of Fire

Hello it's stage 34 Iceland and i've come to the end of my tour around the euro music scene. I started in the musical heart of Europe, Austria, snaking thru Southern Germany over into south/east of France, via Ibiza onto Spain and around the Iberian Peninsula, back up to Paris. The lowlands Belgium and the Netherlands followed before moving east into Germany again. The Neue Deutsche Welle post turned out to become the most popular, well i guess i lived thru it, anyway the Kraftwerk special did get a lot of interest aswell. It set me up for some strong electronic music from western Germany, Berlin the next stop has it all these days.. status of a global city and room to live and be creative aswell. Northern germanys music scene concentrates heavily around Hamburg. Into scandinavia, Denmark was a bit different in the sense the music was generally introverted, the Swedesh and Fins do share a lot, with the Fins winning on points...they're just a little more crazy or less volvo-ish. The Norwegians have been putting out great music for years now, and will remain doing so.
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How different was the situation after i 'ferried' over to Scotland, it's music scene seems to be almost dead, i posted mainly old work, Belle and Sebastian and Boards of Canada is too little for a nation the size of the scandinavian nations that preceded them. Franz F are english students, Snow P students that moved in from northern Ireland, yes in Scotland studying is fee free, those guys have plenty of dosh to pay Cambridge rates now.. So what happened in Scotland, Wales my next stop seems to have retained their identity and community much better and keep on producing great music, one of their new stars Songdog hasnt been recognised yet and i admit i was dissapointed looking at the response numbers of their album, maybe it was the wedding dress on the cover..oh irony. Wales got me my first visit of a deleter, returned last thursday..my guess a 40 something who's got a problem with women, ...ehh no it wasnt me. Cross the Irish channel , when they were poor..15 years ago the country was awash with folkmusic, its still there but professionalism has its price. Again Northern ireland seems like Scotland to lack a vibrant music scene, at least that was the impression i got. My last stop must be the most amazing of all, Iceland with the population of a midsized western town has produced a lot of great music the last decade, and are still going strong. A country of fire and ice, far away from the pope of this or that..free spirits.

I started out this trip to point out how much the anglo/american cultural imperialism has ignored and still does its best to destroy, they release piles of shit, shaped in their own image. They buy and throw away artists like lighters, meanwhile it are their big names that bleed the market. Not so much in albums but ticket sales, Police reunion tour will cash 250 million at least..thats easily 15 million cdees that wont be bought from other artists. Complaining about downloading, but from their perspective whats worse losing control on their so called added value- the marketing. MTV screaming murder but they dont own the videos they broadcast and they certainly dont own the public that watch them, although they seemed to have thought so. You Tube marks the end of MTV and with it the end of the musicmarketing industry, this last decade has seen the rise of many self-help outlets, without kingsized overheads and run by people who love what they do, not all the tools are in place yet, but the momentum grows now the opposition, the boardroom pimps, are collapsing.

Well the next week ill post a recap of the tour and move along the arctic towards Siberia, i plan to spent April in Japan, much going on there and i have some nice older stuff aswell.


Looks like mediafire is still down, major troubles i guess, well you dont make friends with a competition that keeps you stalled, if you dont tow that line.

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Fire and Ice

Sugarcubes - It's It (92)
Trabant - Moment of truth (01)
Jóhann Jóhannsson - Englabörn (01)
Quarashi - Jinx (02)
Sigur Ros- Ágætis Byrjun (99)
VA - O.S.T. - Screaming Masterpiece (05)

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Sugarcubes - It's It (92 ^ 170mb)

According to group legend, the Sugarcubes formed on June 8, 1986, the day that vocalist Björk gave birth to her son. Prior to that day, the members of the group had been a variety of Icelandic bands. Björk had the longest career out of any of the members. By 1984, Björk, Einar Benediktsson and Siggi Baldursson had joined forces, forming KUKL with keyboardist Einar Mellax. KUKL — which means witch in Icelandic — was an noisy, artsy post-punk band that released several singles on the independent British record label Crass. In 1986, KUKL evolved into the Sugarcubes, adding Björk's then-husband Thor Jonson on guitar and Bragi Ólafsson on bass.

In late 1987, the band signed to One Little Indian in the U.K., Elektra Records in the U.S. The Sugarcubes released their debut album Life's Too Good in 1988 to critical acclaim in both the U.K. and the U.S. Birthday, the first single from the album, became an indie hit in Britain and a college radio hit in America. In particular, Björk received a heap of praise, which began tensions between her and Einar Benediktsson. Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!, the Sugarcubes' second album, was released in 1989. The album featured a greater vocal contribution by Einar, which was criticized in many of the record's reviews, which were noticably weaker than those for Life's Too Good. After the release of Here Today, Tomorrow, Next Week!, the band embarked on a lengthy international tour. At the conclusion of the tour in late 1990, the band members pursued their own individual interests.

Stick Around for Joy, the band's third album, was released in 1992. Before the record appeared, a collection of remixes called It's It was released in Europe. Stick Around for Joy received better reviews than Life's Too Good, but the album failed to yield a hit single. Following its release, the Sugarcubes disbanded. The rest as they say is history, Björk launched a critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo career . Last november the 17th to be specific they played a 20 years ago reunion concert..plenty of that on YouTube.



Sugarcubes - It's It (^  484mb)

01 - Birthday (Justin Robertson 12" Mix) (7:29)
02 - Leash Called Love (Tony Humphries Mix) (6:23)
03 - Blue Eyed Pop (S1000 Mix) (6:36)
04 - Motorcrash (Justin Robertson Mix) (6:45)
05 - Planet (Graham Massey Planet Suite Pt. 2) (4:39)
06 - Gold (Todd Terry Mix) (6:05)
07 - Water (Bryan 'Chuck' New Mix) (4:10)
08 - Regina (Sugarcubes Mix) (5:08)
09 - Mama (Mark Saunders Mix) (5:06)
10 - Pump (Marius de Vries Mix) (4:25)
11 - Hit (Tony Humphries Sweet & Low Mix) (7:07)
12 - Birthday (Tommy D Mix) (6:39)
13 - Coldsweat (DB/BP Mix) (4:10)

Sugarcubes @ Fanbase
Sugarcubes @ YouTube
Sugarcubes @ Amazon

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Trabant - Moment of truth (01 * 381mb)

Trabant's five members come from very different backgrounds in the Reykjavik music scene: One rap producer with the sailors blood pumping; a death metal guru, a crazy in the head champion DJ; a preachers son and the former boyband star. Together, all these influences explode in the mighty TrabantTrabant is sexy electronic music, a punky flavor of R&B and pop. It is music made for sweat, neon lights and a world gone wrong. Trabant released their critically acclaimed debut "Moment of Truth" in 2001, giving us a glimpse into the future. Then moving away from its studio-based focus, Trabant has since developed a pompous live attitude. An electronic five piece group playing for their lives, taking it to "eleven"-- musically and morally. But first and furthermost Trabant strives to make honest pop music for the people. In 2005 they finally released the follow up Emotional



01 - Enter Spacebar
02 - Org Org
03 - Moment Of Truth
04 - Pre Pop Loop
05 - Bluesbreaker
06 - Old Elgar
07 - Bahama Banana
08 - Traktor Intro
09 - Lady Elephant
10 - Hi-Tec Hurricane
11 - Retard (Part I)
12 - Retard (Part II)
13 - Himnalalala
14 - Happy Sunny Song
15 - Superman

Trabant @ Base
Trabant @ MySpace
Trabant @ Amazon
Trabant Vid @ YouTube

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Johann Jóhannsson - Englabörn (01 ^ 187mb)

Johann Johannsson is an Icelandic composer. His stately, slow-building and hauntingly melodic music has been quietly bewitching listeners for the last few years - and IBM 1401, a User´s Manual, his most ambitiously-orchestrated and appealing composition to date, is sure to expand his audience still further. The record is his first for the label 4AD

Johann Johannssons first two solo records - Englabörn (2002) and Virthulegu Forsetar (2004) were released by the singular British independent Touch label. Despite limited promotional resources, both found plenty of fans, receiving glowing reviews in music media around the world; Virthulegu Forsetar found its way onto many critics end-of-year lists.The Englabörn album was derived from music that Johann wrote for an Icelandic play of the same name, written for string quartet, piano, organ, glockenspiel and percussion. These elements were processed and manipulated, adding delicate electronic accents to the otherwise entirely acoustic recordings. One song, "Odi et Amo", is a setting of the famous poem by Catullus.

Johannsson’s many other projects include membership of the group Apparat Organ Quartet - hailed by Neil Strauss in the New York Times as being “as innovative and meticulous as Sigur Ros, but who sound nothing like it”. Although Apparat Organ Quartet formed as far back as 1999, they only released their debut album internationally in 2006. Johann has also produced and written music with other artists; he’s worked with Marc Almond (on the Stranger Things album), Barry Adamson, Pan Sonic, The Hafler Trio, Jaki Liebezeit and many others. After the success of IBM 1401, A User’s Manual, Johann’s collaboration with the internationally renowned choreographer and dancer Erna Omarsdottir continued in 2005 with a new piece entitled Mysteries Of Love.

Music for films and theatre figure prominently in Johann’s work. Johann has composed music for no fewer than 5 feature films in his native Iceland. His most recent, for the film Blodbond (2006) by Arni Olafur Asgeirsson, features (like IBM 1401, A User’s Manual) a symphonic score for a 60 piece string orchestra. Johann´s soundtrack album for the film Dis was released in 2005 in the US and in 2006 in Japan.In addition to the feature films, Johann has written music for numerous documentaries, theatre productions and several contemporary dance works.

 

01 - Odi Et Amo (3:10)
02 - Englabörn (1:34)
03 - Jói & Karen (3:24)
04 - Þetta Gerist Á Bestu Bæjum (1:02)
05 - Sálfræðingur (3:49)
06 - "Ég Sleppi Þér Aldrei" (2:57)
07 - Sálfræðingur Deyr (3:40)
08 - Bað (3:07)
09 - "Ég Heyrði Allt Án Þess Að Hlusta" (2:05)
10 - Karen Býr Til Engil (3:45)
11 - Englabörn - Tilbrigði (1:24)
12 - "Ég Átti Erfiða Æsku" (3:41)
13 - Krókódíll (2:45)
14 - "Ef Ég Hefði Aldrei..." (3:42)
15 - …eins og venjulegt fólk (3:51)
16 - Odi Et Amo - Bis (4:00)

Jóhann Jóhannsson @ Base
Jóhann Jóhannsson @ MySpace
Jóhann Jóhannsson @ YouTube
Jóhann Jóhannsson @ Amazon

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Quarashi - Jinx ( 02 ^ 286mb)

Quarashi was originally formed by Sölvi (sewl'-vee),drummer and Hössi (huh'-see) Olafsson the lead voice, in 1996. After playing together in a local punk rock band called 2001 they both felt a need for greater experimentation and developed a preference for studio production. Stoney(ston'-ee) Fjelsted and Omar Swarez, joined Quarashi as rappers. Stoney is one of Icelands graffiti artists, his nickname was..Quarashi, well they decided it was a great name and use it for the band. Their first eponymous album (97) went gold as did the follow up Xeneizes (99).

On this their 3rd album Jinx, turntable scratches give way to fat bass lines and screeching guitars. Background vocals blend with the flows of two or three rappers at a time. Horns, voices, and piano rolls are sampled and distorted. Sometimes a drummachine is used then again a live drummer. We mix british breakbeats with american hip hop says Hossi, the result..well if Gisli is the Icelandic Beck, then Quarashi qualify as the Icelandic Beastie Boys...

Well they had signed a 6 record deal with Sony and were marketed thru Columbia USA, as a rap/rock act-which they were't butwhat the fuk to these execs know well the boys toured in the US and around the world but Sony was not amused by the poor sales.100,000 copies of Jinx and dropped ( dont think its as easy the other way around...oh no). Meanwhile Hossi decided he had enough of the whoring music biz and decided to quit. A year later he was replaced by Tiny, they were back at square one when they released Guerilla Disco (04), again gold in Iceland but no deals outside their homecountry, until SonyJapan remembered they had been welcomed and popular there and so it was successfully released in Japan. It didnt stop the rut and in 2005 Quarashi called it quits..



01 - Stick 'Em Up
02 - Mr. Jinx
03 - Baseline
04 - Malone Lives
05 - Tarfur
06 - Copycat
07 - Transparent Parents
08 - Weirdo
09 - Xeneizes
10 - F*** You Puto
11 - Dive In
12 - Bless

Quarashi @ YouTube
Quarashi @ Base
Quarashi @ Amazon

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Sigur Ros- Ágætis Byrjun (99 ^ 358mb)

Sigur Ros consists of jón þor (jónsi) birgisson (vocals, guitars), kjartan (kjarri) sveinsson (keyboards), orri páll dýrason (drums) and georg (goggi) holm (bass). the band were formed by jónsi, georg and original drummer ágúst in 1994. they were later joined by kjartan and when ægúst left the band after the recording of ágætis byrjun in order to pursue a career in graphic design, he was replaced by orri. sigur rós hail from iceland, and rightly claim to bring you the beautiful landscape of their homeland with their music.

They have released four albums so far, plus one remix album (von brigði - recycle bin). the first album is called Von (hope). frequently unrecognisable from the bulk of their subsequent work, Von is an experimental and ambient work.The band really found their feet with their second album, Ágætis Byrjun (a good beginning). the album was originally released only in Iceland, but was discovered by brighton's fatcat records, who snapped the band up and released the album in the uk in august 2000. The band attracted a huge critical acclaim throughout the world in the second half of 2000, particularly in america, after they made the move to offer it as a free download on Napster, who impressed by it, really brought them into the picture. Tens of thousands downloads later and the musiclabels were in a franctic hunt to sign them, they ended up with MCA who let them retain the most artistic freedom. The band toured north america for the first time in april and may 2001, and the vast majority of the dates sold out straight away. perhaps due to the hype in the american media, the shows were attended by many big name celebrities, somewhat to the band's bemusement.
Sigur Rós released their third album in october 2002, entitled ( ). the lyricless and titleless album was a darker, rawer and less accessible follow up to ágætis byrjun and came out to favourable reviews around the world, the album sold well and even reached #52 on the american billboard chart.After touring the first part of 2003 the band persued different side projects. 2004 was largely spent writing and recording the band's fourth album, 'takk…' (thanks), finally released in september 2005, 'takk...' quickly became sigur rós' largest selling album to date and charted highly across the globe. The band celebrated the release of 'takk...' with an extensive world tour, playing their largest shows to date, including a headline show at the hollywood bowl. Currently they are working on their next album, btw their ukbase has plenty of free downloads, studio aswell as live work..worth a visit.



01 - Intro (1:36)
02 - Svefn-g-englar (10:04)
03 - Starálfur (6:47)
04 - Flugufrelsarinn (7:47)
05 - Ný Batterí (8:11)
06 - Hjartað Hamast (Bamm Bamm Bamm) (7:10)
07 - Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása (10:18)
08 - Olsen Olsen (8:03)
09 - Ágætis Byrjun (7:56)
10 - Avalon (4:00)

Sigur Ros @ Base
Sigur Ros @ Base UK
Sigur Ros @ MySpace
Sigur Ros @ YouTube
Sigur Ros @ Amazon

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VA - O.S.T. - Screaming Masterpiece (05 * 109mb)

Gargandi snilld, a documentary about the bustling Icelandic musical scene. This documentary covers some of Iceland's most talented and well-known musicians, Directed by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon.Its format of interviews interspersed with concert tapes or filmed performances cuts a wide swath across the Icelandic music scene. Folk, Norse, Punk, Rock and Rap are all covered.

The musical heritage is described as a "combination of patriotism and adolescence", the result of living half-way between Europe and the United States and being descended from Vikings who stopped in Scotland for slaves and for Irish women "for DNA enrichment and poetry".

A last note: "Odin's Raven Magic", based on a 900-year-old excerpt of the Edda was a major highlight for me, performed by Sigur Ros, Hilmar Orn Hilmarssen, the London Sinfonietta and a pair of xylophones made of great big hunks of sandstone! Just like in Hustle and Flow, it's hard not to leave the theater singing! So much about the movie/dvd , there's a soundtrack aswell......



01 - Steindór Andersen & Sigur Rós - Á Ferð Til Breiðafjarðar (5:35)
02 - Björk - All Is Full Of Love (Live) (3:43)
03 - Sigur Rós - #8, A.K.A. Popplagið (11:44)
04 - Jóhann Jóhannsson - Odi Et Amo (3:04)
05 - Múm - Green Grass Of Tunnel (4:55)
06 - Bang Gang - Find What You Get (3:28)
07 - Apparat Organ Quartet - Romantika (4:42)
08 - Eivør Pálsdóttir - Brostnar Borgir (5:06)
09 - Slowblow - Within Tolerance (4:03)
10 - Finnbogi Pétursson Conversation (0:54)
11 - Sugarcubes - Motorcrash (2:22)
12 - Ghostigital - Bank - Færeyjar, Bruxelles, Barcelona, Reykjavík (4:11)
13 - Mugison - I'd Ask (2:38)
14 - Amina - Fjarskanistan (6:27)
15 - Björk - Oceania (3:22)
16 - Steindór Andersen, Sigur Rós, Schola Cantorum, Members Of Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, The, María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir & Páll Guðmundsson - Hrafnagaldur - Odin's Raven Magic (10:10)

Screaming-Masterpiece @ 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 !