#the last five years malmö | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

placegrenette · 6 days

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On 5Miinust (+ Puuluup) and the pleasures of sticking idol pop where it (supposedly) doesn't belong.

I haven't been around much lately, y'all. Partly because my dudes have also not been around much, although ZaQ continues to post a series of videos on the ARTJAQ channel, teaching the audience about... something. I continue, in turn, to not understand Kazakh. Throw in increasing disillusionment with K-pop (I guess now we know why GFriend was so abruptly shitcanned, though the knowledge doesn't make me feel any better), a general post-October-7th discomfort with most online pop-music discussion spaces, and work to get done at home, and Tumblr just hasn't been a particularly rewarding place for me lately.

I didn't think Eurovision was going to be a rewarding place for me this year, either. And then Eesti Laul happened.

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It's like some divine imp was watching and saying to themself, "You know what Jessica needs? A pop-rap group from a former Soviet colony whose members love video games and refuse to take themselves seriously and release lots of goofy content that sorely lacks English subtitles. No, another one."

To clarify: the description in the previous paragraph only refers to four of the six people making up Estonia's Eurovision entry this year. The two guys in the clip with talharpas are the respected "zombie-folk" duo Puuluup, who play world music festivals and draw their own album covers and seem like a very fun and intelligent duo. They somehow have fallen into league with 5Miinust, a four-member (previously five) group that has been around since the mid-2010s. To the best of my knowledge 5Miinust have never been accused of being Satanic and/or gay like Ninety One have, but they are either a party group, a hip-hop group, a boy band, a bunch of frat bros (see this album cover), or a very savvy business collective whose members include a former advertising specialist and a trained accountant. Or, most likely, all of the above at once.

The 5Miinust / Puuluup collaboration by itself is charming enough, and if you want to know more about how it came to pass, I direct you to Overthinking It's very good video on Estonia's entry. And "Nendest Something Something," as @sole-cuore-amore-e-droga calls it, is the best kind of fun: chaotic at first listen, carefully constructed subsequently. I don't expect it to do well in Malmö. (I think "Europapa," which is also a seemingly chaotic song that turns out to have a lot more going on than its bouncy surface would first indicate, will win overall.) And I don't really care. I'm not sure 5Miinust and Puuluup care a huge amount about the scoreboard either. They've already recorded a full album together; they seem to be having a good time making silly videos for social media. They'd be my winners even without the added bonus, which is that these guys are absolutely giving idol-pop goodness.

I mean: go watch that Eesti Laul performance again. With the exception of the bridge, each performer gets his own solo time, a classic idol-pop move. There's choreo! And the styling: everyone shirtless under a suit jacket, but each suit jacket tailored slightly differently—that is such an idol-pop live-performance look. I cannot be the only person who clocked that Korea's suit is cut the same way as Nine's for "libidO" live stages, just more conservatively.

And the deeper you get into the 5Miinust rabbit hole, the more idol-pop-esque goofiness you find. Drag performances? Yep. Live radio performances with gimmicks? Here they are stripping to "Vamos." Super-dramatic award-show performances with loads of backup dancers? Here they are at last year's Estonian Music Awards. Do you need to learn the point dance? 5Miinust and Puuluup will combine forces to teach you the point dance.

And yet, talking about either (and both) of these groups as idols is a gloriously stupid idea, because "idol pop" suggests a willingness to subjugate themselves to audience demands that neither 5Miinust or Puuluup, for all their combined marketing skill, have. Idol pop historically depends on hierarchies—performers deferring to management, and, in a different way, to their audience—and that's not how 5Miinust or Puulup work. When I wrote up a guide to who's who for /r/eurovision, I said that Päevakoer is 5Miinust's maknae, and it was a joke because I'm pretty confident no one within 5Miinust has ever cared for one second who's older and who's younger. Just the fact that two different groups with a decade between them found creative inspiration in happily treating each other as equals gives the lie to the idol-pop framing. Nobody's bowing to Marko and Ramo. The whole idea is so far from how these particular performers relate to each other as to be nonsensical.

Which means: idol-pop goodness without stifling hierarchies; idol-pop goodness by people in charge of their own careers, who post goofiness on their own terms; idol-pop goodness combined with musical experimentation born of mutual respect. YES. YES. SIGN ME THE HELL UP.

(If it doesn't go without saying at this point, I would give a lot for my new faves to somehow meet my existing faves. Ninety One might not have enough English comprehension to make the meeting work, though. I think 5Miinust's ex-member Gameboy Tetris might speak Russian; whether he wants to speak Russian would be another story.)

I got lucky, and found people also willing to enjoy the 5Miinust-and-Puuluup-as-idols ironic glee. @sole-cuore-amore-e-droga really kicked things off by making that awesome lyrics video, and from there we got a line distribution video and a logo design for our fandom (Estoners) and photocards and a fanchant and a lightstick design and a "Gangnam Style" mashup and chibi art and then more chibi art. It has been one of the highlights of my past month, being able to giggle unreservedly with strangers. I haven't been able to do that in a long time.

Eurovision happens in two weeks, and then there will inevitably be a dropoff in activity, no matter where "(nendest)..." places. Without the Eurovision framework (and the English-language content that comes with it) I suspect most Estoners will move on. I'm still going to play the album, though, and keep an eye on these guys. Any chance to expand idol pop into more humane spaces, I'm going to take, no matter how silly it seems.

#eurovision 2024 #5miinust #puuluup #esc estonia #(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi #(yeah i had to copy and paste the song title)#idol pop and its pleasures #longer essay

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volterran-wine · 14 days

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currently reading: A Feast for Crows - George R.R. Martin

last song: I Know it's Over - The Smiths

currently watching: Castlevania (Again)

currently writing: A few shitty WIPs inspired by some writers from my home country and attempting to write in German for a class..

favourite colour: Dark Brown

spicy, sweet, savoury or salty: Sweet

relationship status: I doubt it's much of a status- Single

last thing searched: Synonyms for "important"

song stuck in my head: Five years - 2012 Remastered, David Bowie. I feel like the raw scream mid chorus changed me as a person

favourite food: Chicken and mushroom tagliatelle..

dream trips: Versailles- France (more specifically the estate of Trianon), Westminster Abbey- London, Forbidden City- China..

(including places I have been to, and very reluctant left..) Krakow- Poland (felt like being dropped mid 18th century), Malmö- Sweden (It's a pattern that I'm a sucker for castles)

Admittedly, GustavAnon is more or less an attention whore- So maybe I got a little too excited for this, but it still made my day a lot❤️.

Thank you & Lots of love

-GustavAnon

Thank you so much for your replies dear Gustav!Anon, it was quite fun getting to know you. And may I say I completely agree about Krakow? One of the prettiest places I have visited. ― 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝑁𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑒

#Sweet Anons

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alexbkrieger13 · 7 months

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😱😮‍💨

https://www.fotbollskanalen.se/damallsvenskan/linkoping-med-jattevandning-vann-med-tennissiffror/

"On Sunday, Linköping was in a bind against Växjö in the women's league, but managed a huge turnaround at home at Bilbörsen Arena.

After twelve minutes, Linköping was 0-2 down after two Larkin Russel goals, but then came a major turnaround. Emma Östlund and Cathinka Tandberg first scored a goal each to make it 2-2 at the break, and then there were four more goals to win 6-2. Tandberg scored another goal in the second half of the match, while Yuka Momiki, Cornelia Kapocs and Saori Takarada each had a goal.

- It was important to get three points. It was a bit unnecessary that we gave them two goals, but I think it's fun to watch matches like this too, Tandberg told Viaplay.

Linköping is in third place, two points up to Häcken in the league lead, while Växjö is in tenth place in the women's league. Three rounds remain in the season."

Last year Linköping was tied 2-2 by Kalmar at this point in the season. That outcome wasn't even on the world map. Not even the Rosengård players had expected to win the league in that fashion and thought they'd get to win it on the pitch their next match. Different groups of players had gathered to watch at someone's apartment and were spread out across Malmö.

I almost thought Linköping were going to do a repeat this year with dropping points against a bottom of table team but they sorted it out. They can still win the league.

yea that game was so bonkers yesterday. Definitely the last three games coming up are not going to be simple especially next week there away to hammerby but we shall see Champions League qualification is looking solid right now a good five points between them and fourth place and there there are only a few points off the top

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mitchbeck · 10 months

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FREE AGENCY AND THE NEW YORK RANGERS

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The annual NHL free agency shopping spree has begun for the New York Rangers; with serious salary cap issues, they're shopping for deals in the clearance bins. On Friday, the Rangers announced who they made qualifying offers to and who they didn't. The Rangers qualified their two most important restricted free agents, Alexis Lafreniere and K'Andre Miller. The Hartford Wolf Pack had three players qualified. After a solid second half, Ty Emberson is in the unique CBA Group 6 category. Also qualified after his original two-year deal ended was fellow rearguard, and one of the few on the roster with significant size, at 6'4 ", was Brandon Scanlin. Lastly, and a bit of a surprise, was right-wing Lauri Pajuniemi. At times Pajuniemi was an unhappy camper. He saw no recalls in his two years in Hartford and had already signed with his Swedish team Malmö IF (Sweden-SHL). He likely has a window before training camp in Sweden begins next month, where he'll be allowed to sign an NHL deal without penalty. Winger Anton Blidh signed a new two-year deal paying $775K for play in the NHL and $350K for play in the AHL two weeks after the playoffs ended. UFA's Ryan Carpenter, Tim Gettinger, and Wyatt Kalynuk got new deals with other teams on the same terms. Carpenter re-signed with the San Jose Sharks, who he broke in with his first year. He signed a one-way, one-year deal at $775K. Kalynuk signed with the St. Louis Blues. He also signed a $775K one-way contract and could wind up playing up the road at the Blues' affiliate in Springfield. Gettinger signed with the Detroit Red Wings for $775K. He will likely play for the Grands Rapids Griffins in the AHL, moving closer to his friends and family in Ohio. Will Lockwood, Adam Clendening, Patrick Khordorenko, who played in just four games before separating his shoulder and ending his season, and Libor Hajek, all remained unsigned as of the end of business on Saturday. RANGERS SIGNINGS The Rangers signed veterans Jonathan Quick, Blake Wheeler, Alex Belzile, Riley Nash, a Pack killer in Charlotte with the Checkers last year, and Connecticut product and resident Nick Bonino. Quick is from Hamden and received a one-year $825K deal from the Blueshirts. The three-time Stanley Cup Champion started last year in LA and was traded twice on Trade Deadline Day in March. He spent half a day with the Columbus Blue Jackets before being dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights, where he earned that third Stanley Cup ring. Quick went to and played for Hamden High School Green Dragons under Todd Hall, the ex-Pack assistant coach. Hall was then a recently retired player and retired as Hamden's head coach a year ago. Quick also went on to play prep school hockey at the Avon Old Farms (AOF), the acclaimed program coached by John Gardner, who also had Cheshire's Brian Leetch there at one time too. At the time, AOF's assistant coach was former Hartford Whaler, Ranger, and Wolf Pack assistant coach, Ulf Samuelsson. AOF has produced several Stanley Cup champions starting with Leetch (the first to go to the NHL), Quick, Bonino, and 12 others who have gone on to play in the NHL, including the retired Matt Martin (Hamden), ex-Bridgport Sound Tiger/Wolf Pack and Yalie, Jeff Hamilton, another former Yale Bulldog, Chris Higgins, and presently Anaheim's Trevor Zegras. Wheeler comes to New York after spending over a decade with the Winnipeg Jets on a super cap friendly $800K deal for one year. Belzile was with the Montreal Canadiens last year. He gets a two-year cap complaint deal at $775K per season. He is a depth addition and will likely play in Hartford. He split last year between Laval and injury-riddled Montreal and was Laval's captain. He has been in the Montreal system for the previous five years. He's been in Laval for the last three years and the team's last two years in St. John's. He is an 11-year minor pro veteran who played in San Antonio for his first three years. Riley Nash gets two years at $775K on a one-way ticket. Bonino is from Unionville, near the RI border. He grew up in Farmington. He signed a one-year deal at $800K and played for the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins last year. The Rangers added depth at defense for Hartford in signing Connor Mackey to a one-year, two-way deal at $775K for NHL play and $400K in the AHL. He split thirty games last season between the Calgary Flames and Arizona Coyotes and played ten more for the USA WC Team, where he replaced Nikko Mikkola on the depth chart, who left for the Florida Panthers. More relief was brought for the Wolf Pack blueline, which began the day with just four players. Signed was Nikolas Brouillard, to a one-year, $775K one-way money. He played in San Diego Gulls for the last three years. In Juniors, he played for five years in the QMJHL for Drummondville, Quebec, and Rouyn-Noranda and was an All-Star three times. He spent three years in Montreal at McGill University (OUAA) in Canadian college hockey under the guidance of head coach and ex-Pack, David Urquhart before heading to San Diego. NOTES: Ex-Pack Jesper Fast re-signs a two-year deal in Carolina with the Hurricanes for $2.4M. Two ex-Wolf Pack goalies sign deals as Cam Talbot departs Ottawa for the LA Kings signing a one-year $1M contract, and Dustin Tokarski signs a one-year, two-way deal with the Buffalo Sabres for $775K. New Canaan's Max Pacioretty (Taft) moves up the East Coast and signs a one-year $2M contract in Washington with the Capitals. Former Sound Tiger Kyle Burroughs heads down the West Coast from the Vancouver Canucks to the San Jose Sharks for three years at $1.1M annually. Ryan MacKinnon leaves Bridgeport for Belleville Senators, whose contract has not yet been posted. Nick Bjugstad, the nephew of ex-New Haven Nighthawk Scott Bjugstad, leaves the Edmonton Oilers and signs in Arizona for two years at $2.1M. Vladimir Namestnikov, a former Ranger and son of ex-Pack Evgeny "John" Namestnikov, re-ups with Winnipeg, who Tampa Bay traded for two more years at $2M. Connor Clifton (Quinnipiac University), who faded at the end of the season in Boston, incredibly gets three years at $3.3M per in Buffalo. Another former Bobcat, Brogan Rafferty, leaves Coachella Valley and the Seattle organization and signs a two-year, one-way deal for $775K with Detroit. The Red Wings sign former Yale Bulldog Alex Lyon, who was largely responsible for the Florida Panthers getting in the playoffs. The goalie signs for two years at $900K per one-way with a Calder Cup title in his back pocket. The Seattle Kraken signed ex-Yale Bulldog John Hayden to a one-year extension at $775K. Ex-Pack Vinni Lettieri returns home to Minnesota and signs a two-year, two-way deal $775K-NHL/$550K-AHL with the Wild. Former CT Whale Jayson Megna departs San Jose to replace him in Providence. The Bruins signed him to a one-year deal at $775K. Ex-Pack Ryan Graves leaves the New Jersy Devils for Pittsburgh and signs a six-year deal for $4.5M per season. He led the NHL plus/minus the last two years. Justin Richards, who couldn't throw the puck in the net two years ago, leaves Columbus for Buffalo for a one-year, one-way $775K deal. Leaving St. Louis for Tampa Bay is Logan Brown, the son of former Whaler Jeff Brown, signs a one-year, two-way deal for $775K-NHL/$250K-AHL. Noel Acciari (Kent School), who split last year between St. Louis and the Toronto Maple Leafs, signs a three-year deal in Pittsburgh for $2M per. And still searching for new deals in the NHL, AHL, or Europe are; Michael Del Zotto (Anaheim ex-Pack/Ranger) Jack McBain (Arizona, son of former New Haven Senator Andrew) Malte Stromwall (Carolina ex-Pack) Andy Welinski (Chicago via Rockford ex-Pack) Keith Kinkaid (Colorado with ex-Pack) Ross Colton (Taft) (just acquired this week by Colorado, and before he could even put on an Avalanche jersey) Jon Gillies (Columbus, Salisbury School, played with three teams last year) Magnus Hellberg and Danny O’Regan (Detroit, ex-Pack) J.F. Berube (Florida, ex-Sound Tiger/Wolf Pack) Anthony Bitetto (ex-Pack) Oliver Wahlstrom (Islanders/ex-Sound Tiger) Kieffer Bellows (Philadelphia ex-Sound Tiger) Peter Diliberatore (Pittsburgh, via Scranton/Wilkes Barre - was acquired at the trade deadline, Quinnipiac) Strauss Mann (San Jose, Greenwich/Brunswick School) Vitali Kravtsov (Vancouver, but already bolted back to Russia to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL) Morgan Barron (Winnipeg ex-Pack) The Bridgeport Islanders did not qualify Collin Adams, Blade Jenkins, and the already-in-Europe, Bode Wild. Ivan Nikolishin, the son of former Whaler Andrei Nikolishin, has left Amur Khaborvsk (Russia-KHL) with no new destination yet. NEW YORK RANGERS HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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theultimatefan · 1 year

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Kitman Labs announces Performance Intelligence Deal with Danish Superliga Club, FC Midtjylland

Kitman Labs, the global enterprise SaaS company providing the only single, centralized operating platform for performance intelligence in the elite performance industry, today announced a new deal with Danish Superliga club, FC Midtjylland. This deal makes FC Midtjylland the fifth club in the League to subscribe to Kitman’s proprietary, multi-solution advanced operating system, iP: Intelligence Platform. Other clubs adopting the platform include: Aalborg Boldspilklub, Aarhus Gymnastikforening, FC Nordsjaelland and Viborg FF. All five clubs have now been onboarded, the technology has been deployed and will be in use throughout the 2024 season.

In all instances, the clubs have adopted the full suite of Solutions including: Performance Medicine, Performance Optimization and Talent Development. The platform combines medical, performance and talent development data into a single, interactive system that yields actionable intelligence to support specific performance outcomes while providing a complete, comprehensive view of each individual player within the team.

“We are pleased to continue to work with progressive and insightful football clubs the world over. These five clubs - representing close to half of the Danish SuperLiga - show how we can customize each program to support the bespoke needs and objectives of each organization within the League,” Kitman Labs CEO Stephen Smith said. “ Whether it's ensuring a heightened level of regulatory compliance related to personal and medical data or systemizing the most effective talent development pipeline, our technology - combined with the Team’s expertise - has been designed to address the most critical operational needs and objectives of teams and leagues within global sport.”

The Intelligence Platform allows us to gather all of the Club’s data and make it easily accessible to all relevant departments. This applies to everything from training planning to talent development and treatments in the physical sector,” said Sven Graverson, Sporting Director, FC Midtjylland . “With Kitman Labs, the data is available in real time and ensures that there is a common thread from Guldminen to the first team with better insight into the individual player, efficiency of the work process and integration of data into the decision-making process.”

Kitman Labs has an established track record of working with top Leagues and teams across a variety of sports at the professional and collegiate level including, soccer, American football, basketball, and rugby. The company's technology has been used by some of the world's most elite sports organizations, such as Bayer Leverkusen, Malmö FF, and Columbus Crew.

This new business launch follows other recent business strategy moves Kitman Labs has undertaken. That includes the successful close of a $52M Series C funding round led by Guggenheim Investments, a global asset investment and advisory firm with more than $259 billion* in assets under management and two strategic acquisitions of The Sports Office and Presagia Sports, both made in the last two years. The combined companies represent the industry’s largest network of elite and youth organizations (700+) and created the industry’s largest dataset of talent, performance, and medical data for all stages of the athlete lifecycle.

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eurovision-revisited · 1 year

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Malmö 1992 Wrap Up

That's the end of 1992 - what did you think?

Malmö 1992 hasn't got a great reputation as a final. There are certainly a sprinkling of good songs in there. My top 10 for the year has five songs that made it to the final after all. However, there's a lot of ballads, and not a lot of dynamic stage action, even if the overall production and set design is good.

There were a number of missed opportunities to get better songs into contention though. Depressingly, the UK went for a song selection final just to get Michael Ball involved. It resulted in second place (again), but it spelled the end of the traditional UK Song for Europe format. If it ain't broke BBC, don't fix it.

The Dutch on the other hand, had an amazing national final with very close voting. The song they sent isn't bad, but it's by no means the best of their competition. They finished ninth, but could have score much higher. The same could be said of Sweden, Israel, Switzerland and a number of other countries. Luxembourg could only muster a song selection competition with two songs. A sign of how things were going on that country.

Only four songs from 1992 feature in the latest edition of the annual ESC Radio Top 500 - Mia Martini, Kali, Christer Bjorkman and Cleopatra.

There's the question of the English language having an advantage, and it's undeniable that the three songs entirely in English finished on the podium. In my opinion, they aren't the strongest three songs in the competition. How Malta ended up in third place is a bit of a mystery to me. The English language advantage is going to become a bit of a theme in the next few contests.

It's the last year for Yugoslavia. Serbia which at the time of the competition already in a war with Bosnia - a country that had been represented by three singers in the Yugoslav national final. Given the bitterness of the fighting, to modern eyes it's astonishing that Yugoslavia were welcomed into the competition. I don't think Europe or the EBU had woken up to the new realties in the Balkans by May 1992.

To sum up, sadly underwhelming with one of the least strong winners of the decade. However there is a great wealth of good material to find in the national finals. The Eurovision of 1992 could have been improved greatly with some other choices at the national level.

#esc #esc 1992 #malmo 1992 #eurovision #eurovision song contest

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gianlucalabruna · 2 years

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Meet our second guest for the “Discovering Your Vision” photo course, Giuseppe Sannino. Thanks to his knowledge, and enthusiasm to share it, Giuseppe will guide the class among the foundations and roots of documentary photography. He first gained invaluable guidance in a small artist collective during his time in Barcelona. There, he understood the importance of creating and working on an artistic language. They investigated a variety of processes, new and old, and created a space fostering a wealth of creativity. Regularly organizing courses, exhibitions, and different cultural events. Thereafter he moved in Malmö, Sweden, where he taught photography at Östra Grevie Folkhögskola, a college which is perceived as a stepping stone before carrying on to further education within the arts. In addition, he ran Galleriet Format’s communal darkroom space where he held regular courses in analogue photography for beginners and enthusiasts. During the last five years he has been part of different photography group exhibitions, showing different kinds of works. In 2021 he concluded his masters studies in Photography as Fine Art at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Napoli. 🔗 in bio to sign up All the photo used the permission of the artist Photos from Giuseppe’s project “Imperfection” www.giuseppesannino.info #photocourse #workshop #malmö #sweden #skåne (at Malmö, Sweden) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdLONc8sB8i/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#photocourse #workshop #malmö #sweden #skåne

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europetraveltips · 3 years

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THE 6 BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN EUROPE IN 2021

Anticipating how travel will glance in 2021 is a waste of time. However, what's without a doubt is that this year has hit the delight business hard: the meaningful ventures, the mother and-pop organizations, individuals doing things right. So going in 2021 will not simply be an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and feel the buzz of showing up in another spot and another headspace, alive to additional opportunities. As it were, it will be our opportunity to decide in favor of the sort of world we need to live in: one of maintainable organizations, environments and networks, instead of people gazing into the seductively empty bereft of a cell phone screen. It will likewise be an opportunity for a considerable lot of us to recall that we live in a mainland that is one of the extraordinary interwoven designs mankind and topography. Here's the place where we'll be going in Europe in 2021, and it feels progressively basic that we as a whole get out and do likewise – and make a decision in favor of euphoria. For more future motivation, look at our manual for the best occasion objections for 2021 and the best UK objections to visit in 2021.

6. THE AZORES

With the conceivable exemption of Iceland, no place in Europe does land dramatization very like the Azores – the Hawaii of the mid-Atlantic, with thickly forested islands bordered by rough precipices that appear to emerge from the nothingness like goliath green knees from an early stage shower. The archipelago, 950 miles from the bank of parent country Portugal, is a position of volcanic cavities, sulphuric natural aquifers, penetrating whales and surf breaks ignored by epic stacks. The archipelago of biospheres and marine stores has likewise been a calm paragon of practical the travel industry, a kind of European response to Costa Rica.

There are ships and little planes to islands like Faial, Pico and São Jorge, yet the majority of the activity occurs on Sao Miguel, which is all around loaded with great spots to remain. The exemplary twofold header is to put in a couple of evenings each at two sister inns: the Azor, with fresh mod-store calculation and a roof pool ignoring the harbor in the principle town of Ponta Delgada; and the Furnas Boutique Hotel up in the mud-percolating volcanic focal point of the island, where the superstar is the dark stone, Japanese-style warm pool.

In Vila Franca do Campo, the whale-watching and plunging area of interest thirty minutes along the south coast from Ponta Delgada, Convento de São Francisco is a 10-room shop in an exquisitely stark seventeenth century religious circle. Different features incorporate the Sete Cidades Lake Lodge, a progression of wood lodges on a kayak prepared lake in the wild north-west; and the Santa Bárbara Eco-Beach resort , a position of low-threw substantial innovation ignoring a long surf sea shore on the north coast.

By need, the food is consistently locavore, from the islands' popular cheeses to uncommon however delightful fish, for example, wreckfish and blue-mouth rockfish, and cozido das Furnas, a seven-meat stew slow-prepared in Furnas' volcanic earth. This is an immortal kind of spot; a profound nature escape, which feels about directly in 2021.

5. DUBROVNIK AND ITS SURROUNDS, CROATIA

Dubrovnik might be a little overwhelmed with Game Of Thrones sightseers, yet there's constantly been a sure wizardry to this limestone fortification on the Adriatic. Also, what's regularly neglected is the thing that an extraordinary beginning stage it is intended for a legitimate experience. Toward the south, it's not exactly an hour's drive past the languid harbor towns of the Dubrovnik Riviera to Montenegro – a country which has step by step been rediscovering its post-war magic, particularly with the impending appearance of a biophilic-innovator inn from Janu, Aman's new more youthful sister brand. Toward the north, it's under three hours to Mostar, an impeccable Bosnian town of fairylit millhouse cafés and Ottoman stone scaffolds, not a long way from the Kravice cascades, with a turquoise swimmable tidal pond encompassed by Niagara-like falls.

Yet, the alternate approach is offshore, towards the vehicle free, tumbledown Elaphiti islands of Koločep, Sipan and Lopud, handily came to by neighborhood ships. The one to visit in 2021 is Lopud, an island of Renaissance-time stone houses, outlandish gardens and demolished fortifications. Its Franciscan religious community is presently open as the five-suite Lopud 1483, following a meticulous 20-year redesign by Swiss workmanship supporter and donor Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza. She and her family have filled the 5,000-square-meter religious community with Renaissance and contemporary workmanship, a Franciscan drug store and a reflection garden planned by an Arctic shaman, while protecting the unpleasant plasterwork and patina of the antiquated cloister.

4. SKÅNE, SWEDEN

Sweden's southernmost region infrequently gets the inclusion it merits – in huge part in light of the fact that such a lot of buzz is drawn across the Øresund Bridge from Malmö to Copenhagen. Yet, Skåne is certainly worth investigating, from the interwoven appeal of the city to the lakes, wineries and Nantucket-esque clapboard waterfront towns of the rich open country, frequently alluded to as Sweden's larder.

Malmö has large numbers of the things making it work that have put Copenhagen and Amsterdam on each most-liveable rundown going: youthful, bikeable, streaked with trenches and substantial espresso joints, yet additionally home to a wonderfully saved Dutch-Renaissance old town. However it stays more blended than the disobediently elegant Danish city across the water, particularly in regions like Möllevången, a refined, multicultural piece of town referred to local people as Falafel City. Furthermore, Sweden's generally loosened up Covid-19 guidelines have implied that hip locavore frequents, for example, Bastard, Vollmers and the Höganäs Saluhall food corridor, just as zero-squander lunch most loved Restaurang Spill, have clutched their magic heading into 2021.

A sample of Skåne produce is a decent antecedent to an excursion to the open country: regardless of whether south to the sea shore hovels and marram-grass rises of the Skanör-Falsterbo promontory, or north to the clapboard coastline town of Mölle, where the Grand Hôtel Mölle remarkably investigates the stone sea shore and the wild Kullaberg Nature Reserve, with its porpoises and beacon climbs. Past Mölle, Båstad is another exemplary coastline town, with a customary kallbadhus (cold washing house) spa toward the finish of a wooden dock, having a place with the legacy splashed Hotel Skansen. All over the area, which is by and large calmer than the Stockholm archipelago, there's a relaxed feeling of provenance at spots, for example, at the zero-squander Hörte Brygga in the south-west, with its superb water-side nursery in the mid year. Like an European response to New England, this is the most polished of breaks.

3. SALENTO, ITALY

For a genuine Italian break in 2021, we'll head right to the lower part of its heel. Habitually under-staffed as the nation's response to Cornwall, on its own hot recurrence, the Salento district offers an unpleasant cut rendition of the best of Italy – from the nearly Caribbean west coast to the plunging bluffs of the west coast; from Brindisi down to southernmost Santa Maria di Leuca through the florid dream of Lecce, all beasts and limestone sections. This is a dry, ochre-toned place where there is olive forests and precipice hopping kids, too drowsy to even consider having a very remarkable scene. The cucina povera will in general be plain and unfussy: take the shockingly awesome gnummareddi, or sheep offal rolls, served in the walled garden at A Casa Tu Martinu in Taviano; or the barbecued bream at Lo Scalo, incorporated into the bluffs at Marina di Novaglie, and run by the Longo family for 50 years.

In any case, a progression of little savvy stays have increased the game here as of late. For example, the nine-room Palazzo Daniele in Gagliano del Capo, a nineteenth century apartment given a rich mod-devout makeover by hotelier Gabriele Salini – where travel disruptor Thierry Teyssier dispatched his 700,000 Heures 'fleeting inn' idea. Or on the other hand Masseria Canali, a low-threw, seven-room estate of curves and collectibles west of Brindisi, which opened for takeovers this late spring with a pool deserving of A Bigger Splash.

2. TIMIȘOARA, ROMANIA

This western Romanian city is regularly alluded to as Little Vienna, with its stupendous Habsburg Secessionist structures and roundabout downtown area. In truth, it's not as glossily refined as the Austrian capital, however that is the point. Indeed, even in its stupendous focus, the primary spot in Europe to have electric streetlamps, Timișoara doesn't feel like a scam. Also, as other Romanian urban communities, including Cluj-Napoca and Sibiu, there's a discernible feeling of energetic good faith in this understudy town. A large number of the city's foundations have the vibe of somebody's parlor – like Scârț Loc Lejer, a bric-a-brac bar possessed by a craftsman's group, with a congested nursery, a bordering theater and a gallery of Communist commercialization in the cellar. Somewhere else, there are hopping club evenings at underground Database and practices at the graffiti'd Aethernativ Café, with faint echoes of early Noughties Berlin.

There are celebrations in Timișoara for everything from world music to film, Romany workmanship and jazz, the last of which has consistently been enormous here, in any event, when Ceaușescu pushed it underground. The National Opera House has drama and expressive dance works of art, with tickets at the cost of an IPA in London, and the craftsmanship goes from a road workmanship display in a street passage to the Muzeul de Arta's assortment of wry pictures by Corneliu Baba. All of which drove it to be named European Capital of Culture for 2021, an assignment which might get pushed back a couple of years in the wake of Covid-19. Name or not, this is a legitimate city of culture, and definitely worth a city break.

1. CHANIA, CRETE, GREECE

While its Ottoman-affected harbor and spaghetti bowl of cobble-stoned roads are gently delightful, Chania is sneaking up all of a sudden with regards to its food. From basic ocean side bistros to lovely Cretan high end food, this city on the north-west shore of the Greek island has a select yet rapidly growing scene that is tricking in master palates.

#europe #europe travel #europe trip

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musicals-in-sweden · 3 months

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Promotion picture for The last five years - Malmö Opera, 2024

Photography by Johan Sundell

#the last five years #the last five years musical #the last five years sweden #the last five years malmö #malmö opera #2024 #touring production #musicals #musical theatre #musical theater #musicals in sweden #hani arrabi #johanna kylberg

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lumassen · 4 years

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For the drabble challenge, Denmark and 3

Prompt: 'I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid."

I thought I'd write a bit of DenFin for this one! Sorry it's a little short. I hope you like it!

✨✨✨✨

"I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid. I know what you all think about me." Denmark muttered under his breath.

He had his back turned to Finland who was sat on his sofa as he busied himself with watering the houseplants around his living room.

"Of course you're not stupid, Tanska!" Finland said, an apologetic tone to his voice.

"So why didn'tcha invite me then?"

Last week, Finland and Iceland had gone to Norway's house and camped out in Austnesfjord and spent the weekend hiking, foraging and fishing. Denmark had only found out that they'd gone when Iceland posted a funny picture of Finland asleep in the tent in their group chat.

"We didn't invite Ruotsi either, we just didn't think it was your thing! I'm sorry if you're upset." Finland stood up and came over to look at the plant that Denmark was watering, admiring the glossy leaves.

"Well Sve was at a conference in Malmö so of course he couldn't have gone even if you had invited him..." Denmark said, feeling dejected. He knew that the other Nordics were more outdoorsy than he was, and over the years he'd lost touch with that part of himself. Glancing at Finland, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of him. He was, in the nicest way, the strangest of the Nordics and had the richest traditions. But despite looking friendly and soft, he was surprisingly strong and his hunting skills were much to be desired.

Compared to Finland's impressive resistance to the cold, Iceland's tolerance to his ruthless climate, Norway's unbeatable knowledge of the wilderness and Sweden's ability to craft pretty much anything with his bare hands, Denmark couldn't help but feel a little pathetic. As once the great leader of the Vikings, he felt that he was getting passed his prime and showing his age more often than not.

"If you want, you could come to my house with me. We could go to the cabin for the weekend?" Finland suggested, peering up into Denmark's downcast face. If it were anyone else, Denmark would have been irritated by the pity, but Finland wasn't the type to pity someone.

Putting the watering can down on the table, Denmark raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Ya sure?"

Finland smiled and nodded.

"Of course, it'll be fun!"

-----------

The sky was darkening around them, and Denmark plonked himself down in the camping chair by the fire. Finland had been right, it had been fun, and despite the aching in his bones from so many activities, he felt so happy.

He'd spent the weekend fishing, swimming and hiking in Muonio and for the first time in a long time felt like he had back then when it had been the five of them together, ruling over Northern Europe. Finland had been patient with him while he'd prepared the fish they'd caught, built the fire and practiced skills he hadn't used in a long time.

He sat back, glancing at Finland as he sat in his chair beside him, looking up at the stars. Denmark would never be as in tune with nature than Fin was, but he was happy to share the moment. Finland really was beautiful, and once Denmark had stopped sending selfies and pictures to the group chat every five minutes to prove to the others that he was still just as outdoorsy as they were did he finally stop and appreciate what was around him.

"Hey Fin," he said, causing Finland to tear his eyes away from the sky and smile at him.

"What's up?" he said, as cheerful as ever.

"Thank you." Denmark beamed, and he meant it, not feeling like such an old man after all.

-------

Sorta inspired by this strip from the manga, and because I love outdoorsy Fin.

I just liked the idea of Fin hanging out with Den and making sure that he feels included ♥️ the poor guy isn't the Viking he used to be, and I imagine that he's a little insecure about it. (This is the shortest and most un-detailed story I've ever written lol)

#drabble challenge #denfin #aph denmark #aph finland

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natreads · 4 years

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Hi! Can I ask about your publishing course? I have not finished my linguistics studiea, but I am interested in something like that, where are you studing? And please excuse my english, is not my language and is very hard for me!

Hi! Of course! I took a course in publishing studies at the University of Stockholm here in Sweden. You need to have a BA, or the credits to get a BA to get into it since it’s an advanced course (so 180 credits, aka 3 years of previous studies). I know there’s another basic course in the south of Sweden though (Lund? Malmö?) where you don’t need previous university experience.

I’m not entirely sure what you want to know, but the course was one year and was divided into five parts:

The history of publishing - What it sounds like; we got to know about its history

Its role today - How it’s changed and is changing, especially with audiobooks and e-books. We also got to do case work and help real publishing houses on how they could improve (and they actually listened to us! we focused a lot on how to reach more people through social media and they followed our advice, which was v cool) and figure out what’s popular right now

Publishing in theory and practice - We got to create our own fictional publishing houses! This was a lot of fun. We got a budget and then we had to decide our niche, marketing plan, our own individual titles that we would “publish” (our publishing house was using older classics that are now public domain so we wouldn’t have to pay anyone for them etc), create our covers using InDesign (which we were taught during the course too), create a catalogue for our publication and so on. Basically doing everything but ACTUALLY publish books. A group from my class have actually already launched their own publishing house using their idea from that project, and my friend is about to launch hers to publish the book she worked on during our solo projects, which I’ll talk about now

Project - This was very vague and up to you. Cook books, edits of someone else’s novel, translations etc. I edited, designed, printed and launched a poetry collection with an old classmate of mine from a creative writing course. What started as an idea where I would just edit it and print it for the two of us ended in about 110 copies we sold during two different points last spring. We’re also about to start selling the e-book in march to celebrate a year since publication!

Internship - Finally we did a 10 week internship. I spent most of the course feeling AWFUL because I kept getting rejected when applying for and going to interviews for internships in publishing houses, but I ended up with a job before an internship, which I’m very grateful for. I applied for a magazine/newspaper about the publishing industry and got a job first, and then they switched it to my internship since I still needed it to finish my course. Then I worked full time in the summer and am now doing certain things for them throughout the month. I know many other people in my class got jobs and freelance gigs via their internships, so this part is a useful way to end the course!

If you want to know more, feel free to send another ask! And your English is great, don’t worry :)

#ask #anonymous #book publishing industry #publishing

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crime--europe · 5 years

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On 20 March, 1989, 10-year-old Helén Nilsson from Hörby, Sweden, planned to meet up with two friends at a grocery store, however, Helén’s friends were nowhere to be seen. Failing to see them anywhere, Helén saw a couple of her sister’s friends who told her that they had just seen the two girls and in a hurry, Helén ran after them. This would be the last time Helén is seen alive. At around 8PM that same night, the time that she should have returned home, her family started to worry, since Helén’s friends had been at her home to ask for her. Helén’s mother and 14-year-old sister went out to look for her while her father stayed at home but to no avail. The parent’s called the police and an investigation was immediately launched. Many search parties were organised in hopes to find Helén, but nothing came of them. The case attracted a lot of media attention and five witnesses came forward to say that they had seen a young man around 20-25 years old hanging around the same area where Helén was last seen. Six days later, on 26 March, the naked corpse of Helén was found in a wooded area about 20 kilometres outside of Hörby. She had been raped and severely beaten and her cause of death was ruled as strangulation. It was also determined that she had been kept alive for sometime after being abducted. A small amount of semen was found on Helén’s body and was sent to the forensic laboratory in Linköping. However, at that time, the forensic techniques used were not advanced enough to be able to get any information out of the sample so it was frozen for use in the future. The abduction and brutal murder of 10-year-old Helén Nilsson went cold for a total of 15 years. In 2002, during the reopening of the case, the semen sample was sent to a lab and in August 2003, the perpetrator’s DNA profile was received. In April 2004, a group of 29 men that matched the case details were brought in by police. The purpose was to conduct interrogations and to ask the men to voluntarily provide DNA samples.

A few months later, on the morning of August 4, 1989, the corpse of 26-year-old Jannica Ekblad, a prostitute from Malmö, was found in Vedema, Sweden. The murder of Jannica also went cold for 15 years. However, a police officer who was investigating the two murders was convinced that the same killer was responsible for both murders. Although there were clear differences in the two victims (a young girl and a prostitute), other parameters such as the type of location in which the bodies were discovered, the combination of strangulation and the blunt force trauma to the heads as well as the presence of dog hairs on both bodies made the investigator suspect there was in fact a connection.

A DNA match for the semen that was found on Helén’s corpse was reported on 23 June 2004, and Ulf Olsson was arrested the same evening. Also, large amounts of Jannica’s blood were found in the summer cabin that belonged to Olf at the time of the murder. This and other evidence, including identification of his semen in her vagina, led to his conviction for her murder as well as Helén’s. In December 2004, Ulf Olsson was declared guilty and in April 2005 he was sentenced to life imprisonment, although he had been deemed mentally unwell. The verdict was later appealed and the second authority determined the mental condition to be severe enough to warrant forensic psychiatric care. Early in the morning of 10 January, 2010, Ulf Olsson was found dead in his prison cell after taking his own life by hanging. Earlier that morning, Olf had posted a resignation letter on his blog where he continued to claim his innocence and concluded with: “The best thing for me is simply to die only than to sit here as a living death” .

#True Crime #Sweden #Child Murder

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eagles-translated · 5 years

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New drama show Eagles is bigger than Paradise Hotel

Translation of a Nordvision article from April 23rd 2019, including an interview with SVT program manager Petter Bragée

The young viewers have said theirs, as well as far beyond Sweden's borders: We like this! High school teachers want to use the series in their teaching. In short: SVT's teen drama Eagles is a success.

SVT’s Eagles beats Paradise Hotel!

The exclamation point is justified - the recognizedly difficult target group of 15-24 years has for a long time been served material by commercial actors in the form of soap operas, and the love intrigues have placed themselves at the top in the online surveys in Sweden.

In the latest surveys Eagles takes the first place in that particular target group, and it separates tens of thousands of viewers down to the nearest competitor.

In fact, all of the first five episodes have topped the online list for March. Even the last three episodes in April have been at the top of the weekly reports!

Happy but not surprised

Eagles has completely hit the mark. Petter Bragée, program manager at SVT in Malmö, is clearly happy but not caught off guard by the success.

"Surprised isn’t exactly the right word when it was this we dreamed of. But I am relieved and happy that it worked out in this difficult target group. I don’t know if you can fully say that Nordic teen drama is ‘on a roll’ in the sense that everything is going well in all countries. SKAM has a special position, and we’re still wondering if that impact can be repeated,” he says.

Eagles, a drama in eight parts, is a Nordic co-production between SVT, NRK, and Yle. The series reflects life as a teenager in a small town, where everyone knows the most about each other and the rumor spreading is quick and toxic.

In the core, the drama deals with the importance of sport and the personal press that often accompanies it from a young age.

Straightforward story - and lots of research

Petter Bragée reasons about what the key to success really is - why Eagles and why right now?

Firstly: here we have a straightforward and clear history, with low thresholds.

"It’s a Vår tid är nu (SVT's award-winning family drama) for young people in the sense that it’s not difficult to keep up with, but easy to get involved in the characters. Eagles has fantastic actors and directing. But I also believe that the research - that the writers met many young people in small towns, returning hockey professionals and their children and talking through action - gave the authenticity that is necessary,” says Bragée.

Fans have responded with love and much discussion online. "Finally a show I can recognize myself in!” writes young fans.

"There are discussion groups on Tumblr with fans from all over the world, and a lot of pirate links as well. Our actors' Instagram accounts have exploded and the comments are very positive,” says Petter Bragée.

He says that it means a lot that a Swedish original manuscript about life in Sweden as a teenager, here and now, has become a success.

“Especially as the series is made with a lower budget than many other drama series. The fact that this feat can be carried out leads us to have the self-confidence to continue to try. ”

More collaboration through Nordvision

With increased self-esteem, it is now important to look ahead. How should success be managed, and what does the next venture look like?

"I would very much like to try to make at least one remake of any young series that has recently been successful in any of our neighboring countries - and yes, I have favorites. Klassen has shown that a remake of a Danish series for younger audiences has led to enormous Swedish relevance,” says Petter Bragée.

He means that it’s not necessary to reinvent the wheel every time a new series is starting to build.

Why not refine and adjust what already exists?

"I hope the Nordvision collaboration will lead to both co-productions and remakes!"

by Tommy Nordlund April 23rd, 2019

Source: (x)

#eagles #svt eagles #skam #remakes #vår tid är nu #our time is now #article #soooo by pirate links do they mean me #if so that's AWESOME

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shemakesmusic-uk · 4 years

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Malmö, Sweden-based artist Charlotta Perers AKA Big Fox returns six years after her last album release with fourth single lifted from upcoming full-length See How the Light Falls. Initially due for release in May 2018, Charlotta received some news which derailed the campaign.

“A few weeks before the album was supposed to be released, I was diagnosed with Lymphoma,” she says. “It all happened very quickly and it was almost like entering a parallel world with a different time scale, rules and priorities.”

The process permitted a much deeper sense of perspective to come to light for Perers; “Life suddenly became very intense, very here and now - but that amplified positive experiences too. But it felt good to know that the album was waiting for me on the other side. It was a reminder of something else, the someone I was outside the hospital.”

18 months down the line, Charlotta is better and “slowly reclaiming my life back”. The period of gestation gave the finished album more gravity and significance for the songwriter. “When I listen to it now, I actually like the album even more,” she says. “I have some distance from it. When you’re in the middle of the process, it's easy to get caught up in the details and not really hear the song anymore.”

Charlotta didn’t allow See How the Light Falls to be rushed. Taking two and a half years to finish, and five years to release the album, Perers laboured over it, allowing it to unravel and accumulate organically.

Produced by Tom Malmros (Alice Boman, This is Head), the full-length explores varying sonic avenues, showcasing instrumental eclecticism in the form of subtle brass blasts, swelling cello and scintillating synthesisers.

At times new single ‘All I’m Trying’ can feel aurally reminiscent of Cate Le Bon or a deeply deconstructed Aldous Harding. Big Fox comments that she found it difficult to pen the lo-fi feat; “Some songs are hard to write about. They just move like a slow train, as if they had no intention of causing any big fuss or drama. But they are sincere, honest. Every word is carefully selected, every synthesizer questioned. And the more time you spend with them, the more you start loving them. That’s how I feel about ‘All I’m Trying’.”

With the visual side of things closely curated by Perers and her partner Anna Brånhede, the end result of the entire creative process is a long play that is intensely evocative of times and feelings for Charlotta.

See How the Light Falls:

01. The Fight 02. Beast 03. Sad Eyes 04. All I'm Trying 05. Final Call 06. Watching the Garden 07. Rain Falls 08. Let Love In 09. Reality 10. Steps

Photo credit: Anna Brånhede

#news #big fox #all i'm trying #see how the light falls

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dustedmagazine · 5 years

Text

Dust Volume Five, Number 8

Graham Dunning and his mechanical techno rig

Our occasional survey of records we might have missed continues with a late July edition of Dust. This time around, our hot and hazy listening spanned localities and genres from Norwegian folk to Black Dirt jam to Swedish dream pop to Ohio noise-electronics, Kashmiri war metal and well beyond, with the usual stop-over in Chicago for free-improv jazz. Writers included Bill Meyer, Justin Cober-Lake, Ian Mathers, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Andrew Forell and Nate Knaebel. Stay cool.

Erlend Apneseth Trio with Frode Haltli — Salika, Molika CD (Hubro)

Salika, Molika by Erlend Apneseth Trio

This project unites two musicians who have set themselves the task of reconciling contemporary means with Norwegian folk music materials in the 21st century. Erlend Apneseth plays Hardanger fiddle, a violin variant with sympathetic strings that give it a striking resonance; his trio includes a drummer with a feel for Norway’s pre-rock popular dance grooves and an acoustic guitarist who doubles on sampler and other electronics. Frode Haltli is an accordionist who has shuttled between the worlds of folk and free improvisation. Their collaboration scrambles lucid memory, which is represented by archival field recordings of folk songs and dances, with a mildly feverish dream of a trip through ambient textures that somehow detours every now and then through beats that’d earn you an extra beer if you played them in a Nordic country dance hall. The field recordings exert a gravity that counteracts the lightness of the spacy passages, and Haltli tucks his virtuoso command of the squeezebox into hiding spots, ripe for discovery.

Bill Meyer

Hans Chew & Garcia Peoples — NATCH 10: Hans Chew & Garcia Peoples (Black Dirt Studio)

NATCH 10 - Hans Chew & Garcia Peoples by Hans Chew & Garcia Peoples

After a few years off, Jason Meagher's Black Dirt Studio has resumed its NATCH series of releases, with volume nine (ignoring the prefatory release) coming from Wednesday Knudsen and Willie Lane in June, and the latest pairing Hans Chew and Garcia Peoples. The series offers artists the freedom to collaborate however they please to create freely available releases. Chew and Garcia Peoples make for an ideal match on paper, and the actual pairing pays off.

Garcia Peoples started their cosmic psych just last year, with two albums out in short order. Pianist Chew has been putting in his time for longer, taking his roots-of-rock and Southern rock sound into increasingly spacey places, turning more and more toward a jam sensibility without sacrificing his songwriting. His Open Sea started taking hints from Traffic, so it's no surprise that this release includes a Dave Mason cover, “Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave.” Chew fits effortlessly into Garcia Peoples' jams for a couple tracks, and they meet him in his bluesy-ness for “No Time.” In the middle we have the acidic meditation of “All Boredoms Entertained,” the hinge between the two more rocking segments. The partnership works best when everybody takes off, and the 10-minute opener “Hourglass” burns as hot on record as it would at a festival.

Justin Cober-Lake

Death & Vanilla — Are You a Dreamer? (Fire)

Are You A Dreamer? By Death & Vanilla

On their third album, this trio from Malmö, Sweden show a devotion to making the most gossamer strain of dream pop without ever losing sight of a knack for peppily compelling song structures. Two of those four earlier albums may have been live soundtracks for movies, but none of these eight deceptively sharply-written songs fade into the background for a second. Singer Marleen Nilsson may be swathed in gauzy atmospherics throughout, but whether on the swooning opener “A Flaw in the Iris,” the foreboding thrum of “Mercier” or the orchestral surges of “Nothing Is Real,” she effortlessly commands center stage here. The music deserves the obvious comparisons to Stereolab and early Broadcast, but Death & Vanilla manage to put their own spin on the influences they share with those earlier acts, and the result is a good reminder that there more than enough room on that territory for multiple bands.

Ian Mathers

Graham Dunning — Tentation LP (White Denim)

Walk Tentation down on the turntable without foreknowledge of who made it or how it was made, and you’re likely to think that you’re hearing a bit of in sync but off-kilter techno. It sounds like some lost Kompakt release got shaken up and dubbed out with a bag half full of Lego pieces. But the truth is stranger than that. Graham Dunning plays a real time mechanical techno with a homemade, eternally changeable set-up that can simultaneously play a stack of records whilst affording him the means to fuck with individual sounds. True to his techno ambitions, this stuff bumps in ways the kids won’t question. But his willingness to get hung up on a sound and play with it, and then play with it a bit more, mark him as an experimenter with a feline sense of play. “Do I put a bit more reverb on this bit of echo,” one can imagine him musing, “or do I just knock it under this bump in the rug?”

Bill Meyer

Erin Durant — Islands (Keeled Scales)

Islands by Erin Durant

Erin Durant has a lovely, old-fashioned country voice, flute-y with vibrato at the top-end, rich with emotive sustenance in the mid and lower ranges. It’s the kind of voice that careers are built on, yet Ms. Durant, born in New Orleans now living in Brooklyn, refuses to take the easy road of relying on in-born talents. She brings into complication, depth and contradiction into her songs with a sharp, modern writer’s pen and an idiosyncratic cast of supporting musicians. Her crew on Islands is headed by TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone and includes percussion-centric composer Otto Hauser, the boundary pushing pedal steel artist Jon Catfish DeLorme, at least once on harmonica, the eccentric folk singer Kath Bloom, and a large ensemble of brass and reeds. So when on opener “Rising Sun,” she playfully dabs at the Animals’ blues-rock chestnut (verses begin with the phrase “There is a house in New Orleans”), it’s within a precise lattice of country guitar, of multi-tonal percussion, of flickering bits of flute and woozy surges of trombone and trumpet. It lighter and more delicately structured than the song it references, yet built out elaborately with complex layers of instruments. The title cut, likewise, lifts off in airy weightlessness from the gospel chords of piano, as tied to tradition as it needs to be for resonance, yet fundamentally self-determined. There is nothing lovelier than Durant’s massed, multi-voiced choruses here, but the prettiness isn’t everything, far from it.

Jennifer Kelly

Four Letter Words — Pinch Point (Amalgam Music)

Pinch Point by Four Letter Words

The Chicago-based trio Four Letter Words comes full circle on its second album. Pianist Matt Piet, tenor saxophonist Jake Wark and drummer Bill Harris first convened to play a night of trios at the venue Constellation, but then pursued an investigation of written material before returning to spontaneous music making for this nicely packaged, short run disc. You can get a lot out of this music by focusing on Harris’ inventiveness and humility, or Wark’s angular impetuousness or Piet’s astonishing capacity to pick the best ideas of a half century of jazz practice and put them in just the right places. But you might get more from listening to how the trio collectively imagines musical environments, realizes them, and then pushes off to the next idea at just the right moment to leave you wishing they’d stayed a little longer.

Bill Meyer

Jake Xerxes Fussell — Out of Sight (Paradise of Bachelors)

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Guitarist Jake Xerxes Fussell has a knack for curating old music, but his first two albums were more than simple collections of reworked folk music. His sharp playing and intelligent production (give William Tyler some credit here) have turned old tunes into something a little more vibrant. For Out of Sight, he adds a proper band to his presentation, and the presence of Nathan Bowles on drums is worth noting, even if that sympatico artist largely keeps in the background. In expanding his lineup, Fussell also expands his sound; he no longer just mines particular folk traditions, but instead he inserts himself into a larger Americana conversation.

The move, intentionally or not, puts more of Fussell himself into the album, to its benefit. If anything held back his previous releases, it was this sense at the edges of the sound that Fussell had tied his own hands, his traditionalism tending toward that curator impulse. The songs on Out of Sight come from a variety of places (though if you plotted most of them on a Seeger-Lomax axis, it would make sense), but they're put into Fussell's current vision. “Three Ravens” builds a broad frame for a singular meditation, the sort of moment his work has hinted at without maintaining. Fussell sounds like he's deep in tradition, but committed to pushing it forward in his own way know, and it's a wonderful step for a gifted artist.

Justin Cober-Lake

Halshug — Drøm (Southern Lord)

Drøm by Halshug

“Kæmper Imod,” the first track on Halshug’s new LP Drøm, could easily fit onto the second side of Black Flag’s The First Four Years, which chronicles the singles and EPs the Flag released during Dez Cadena’s tenure as front man. The Danish hardcore band hits all the necessary notes, channeling Greg Ginn’s ugly guitar tone and the vicious, overdriven quality of Southern Cali hardcore, c. 1981. The song might be a love letter, but the first side of Drøm doesn’t move far beyond the established sounds of a style now nearly 40 years old. On second side of the record, Halshug does some more varied stuff. “Tænk På Dig Selv” shifts in and out of competing rhythms and makes a winning ruckus. Most interesting are the industrial racket of “02.47” and the extended instrumental “Illusion,” which moves from hard rocking groove, to thunderously exuberant crusty riffing, to arcing drone, and then back again. It’s a hugely fun, sonically engaging song, which makes you wish Halshug would ditch the Hermosa Beach vibe that dominates much of the record.

Jonathan Shaw

DJ HARAM — Grace (Hyperdub)

Grace by dj haram

Philly based producer DJ Haram (Zubeyda Muzeyyen) builds the tracks on her Hyperdub debut Grace on darbuka rhythms in homage to her Middle Eastern roots. The album also reflects her involvement in the experimental scene as a DJ and half of noise/rap duo 700 Bliss (with Moor Mother). Over the delicate percussion she layers flutes, big slabs of synth, heavier beats and disruptive stabs of noise. “Candle Light (700 Bliss Remix)” introduces vocals with an impressionistic poetic rap over a purely percussive backing. There is an urgency here driven by the restless, relentless rhythms which makes Grace is a disquieting and claustrophic listening experience. Fans of Muslimgauze and Badawi will find much to admire. DJ Haram uses a limited palette to full and focused effect building atmosphere and impressively drawing a line between middle eastern and western electronic music.

Andrew Forell

Tim Hecker — Anoyo (Kranky)

Anoyo by Tim Hecker

Tim Hecker may make music that envelops the listener with beatless, thickly textured sound, but don’t call it ambient. For while ambient music holds at least the possibility that you can get lost in its drift, Hecker likes to short-circuit comfort. Soft sounds turn grainy, plush clouds disappear and if you catch him in concert you’ll feel the music as much as you hear it because it’s that loud. Anoyo is a companion to last year’s Kanoyo, and like its predecessor originated with some collaborative sessions between Hecker and an ensemble of gagaku (Japanese traditional ceremonial) musicians. He mixes their sounds up with warped and reversed strings and squelchy synthetic bass, and shapes the resulting amalgam into aural vignettes that are less extravagantly mobile than the tracks on Kanoyo but equally dislocating as national traditions and diverse equipment collections swirl and meet on uncommon ground.

Bill Meyer

Kapala — Termination Apex (Dunkelheit Produktionen)

Termination Apex by KAPALA

By its very nature, war metal is retrograde stuff. The fact that the bands most strongly associated with the subgenre (Proclamation and — yes, seriously — Bestial Warlust) hailed from nations that haven’t experienced much by way of war-related trauma for decades doesn’t help. Does it make a difference that Kapala live and record in Kolkata, and that India and Pakistan have effectively been at war in Kashmir since Partition, and have been in a U.N.-mediated ceasefire (sort of) since 1965? And that both nations are nuclear powers? And that India is led by a fiery Hindu nationalist? And that the cover art for Termination Apex features a stylized mushroom cloud? Yikes. Aesthetically, war metal has its appeal. It features simplistic riffing, technical primitivism and hammering percussion, all taken to sonic extremes. But its romanticization of industrially scaled destruction and nihilism is repugnant and culturally corrosive. Kapala will attract some attention just through exoticism — metal from India? Sure, I’ll check it out. But a reactionary artwork is a reactionary artwork, wherever it comes from.

Jonathan Shaw

Khaki Blazer—Optikk (Hausu Mountain)

Optikk by Khaki Blazer

“Mothafucker ain’t nobody playing grooves in 13. You can’t get paid for playing grooves in 13. Ain’t nobody gonna shake their booty. That’s why you’re fucking broke,” observes an uncredited voice in the spikily difficult “4/4,” a typically intricate rhythmic concoction of electronic squeaks, blurts and rattles for this Kent, Ohio-based outfit. Pat Modugno who heads up Khaki Blazer, as well as Mothcock and Fairchild Tapes, constructs giddy, multilayered rhythms. In “Conga Line” sampled, altered voices do battle with rackety bursts of drumming and urgent, antic whistle of a melody. The parts work every which way, throwing elbows, stepping on toes, in furious conflict that somehow resolves itself into slinky rhythm. Whether in four, in six, in seven or in thirteen, Khaki Blazer cuts never take the easy way, but they are grooves all the same.

Jennifer Kelly

Lambchop — This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) (City Slang/Merge)

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Fourteen albums in and Nashville’s increasingly sui generis Lambchop, led as always by Kurt Wagner, is doing something that feels unusual, at least for them. 2016’s digitally-enhanced FLOTUS was a sprawling statement of a record, and given the restlessness that led to the processing Lambchop used there it wouldn’t be a surprise if their new record went off in a totally new direction. Instead the focused, somewhat more straightforward This (Is What I Wanted to Tell You) could almost be a hefty postscript to FLOTUS. It doesn’t boast anything with the majesty of the two ten-plus minute tracks on the previous album, but all the songs here sound even more comfortable in their own hybrid skins, and as always Wagner is in fine lyrical form. It remains to be seen if this constitutes as Lambchop settling down, but if so it’s in a richer and more bracing way than most bands half their age can manage.

Ian Mathers

Régis Renouard Larivière — Contrée (Recollection GRM)

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Régis Renouard Larrivière was born in 1959. But if Discogs is a reliable reporter, despite having been involved in music as a student, instructor, and composer of musique concrete, this is only his second album. Presumably his works are intended more for the multi-speaker listening environments available to the Groupe de Recherches Musicales; certainly it’s not hard to imagine this LP’s three pieces caroming from speaker to speaker, elevating the listener into a mind-altered state induced more by unfamiliarity than sensate distortion. The way they leap off the vinyl of this 45-rpm LP is a trip in itself. No substance, prescribed or otherwise scored, will get you where this stuff takes you. Even when a sound seems familiar — there’s some identifiable drumming amidst the synthetic twitter and boom — it behaves in ways that are unconcerned with the laws of music. Despite its unnatural sound content, Larivière’s music moves more like some force of nature. “Esquive,” for example, evokes leaves in an updraft, circling and dispersing. Like those leaves, each sound has tactile identity that invites you to deal with his compositions at the atomic as well as meteorological level. Strap in, enjoy the ride.

Bill Meyer

Gabriele Mitelli / Rob Mazurek — Star Splitter (Clean Feed)

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The recurrent astronomical imagery in Rob Mazurek's music makes this much clear; his horizons are farther off than most. A restless multi-media artist (his work includes sound and light installations, painting, and composed and improvised music performed with various brass and electronic instruments in the company of musicians from at least three continents), he nonetheless has certain modes that he revisits. In Gabriele Mitelli, he has found an astute companion to follow him into the realm of ritual. In 2018, the two men stepped into the Mediterranean and blew their horns in the direction of the African refugees trying to cross the sea in untrustworthy vessels. No one showed up while they played, but the energy they projected took wind and you can still get a taste of it on Youtube. On Star Splitter, which was recorded on dry land in Florence, they add electronics, voices, and unidentified objects to their brass (Mitelli: cornet, soprano sax, alto flugelhorn; Mazurek: piccolo trumpet) to stir up four sonic maelstroms in celebration of planets from our solar system. Direct our ears in their direction and see how far your own horizons recede.

Bill Meyer

Tony Molina—Songs from San Mateo County (Smoking Room/650 Records)

Songs From San Mateo County by Tony Molina

Tony Molina is a master of concision. No sooner have his songs stated their killer riff or indelible melody than they’re over, and damned if you wouldn’t like to hear them again. His blistery guitar and way with tunefulness evokes Teenaged Fanclub, and here, on a collection of unreleased and unfinished material from 2009 to 2015, it becomes clear that he doesn’t have to work that hard to hit that sweet spot. The odds and sods are as fetching as anything on his last three albums. Sure he plays fast and loose with some baroque guitar licks on “Intro” and “Been Here Before,” and maybe that’s a little bit off center for power pop genre. But he weaves them in, at least in “Been Here Before” in a way that reinforces the doomed romantic vibe. He rocks a little harder than usual, too, on cuts like “Hard to Know,” with a sidewinding guitar break worthy of Brian May in his prime, but as usual, any hint of rock star excess is limited: the cut is less than a minute long. “Separate Ways” layers sublime dream pop hooks over an incendiary racket, like J. Mascis stepped in to a Raspberries session. The whole collection is so catchy and so satisfying that you have to wonder what else Molina has languishing in his hard drive. Let the songs out, man. We can always use more of these.

Jennifer Kelly

Mark Morgan — Department of Heraldry (Open Mouth)

The rise and fall of the guitar in popular and critical esteem relates directly to the fact that a lot of people play the thing, and a lot of them sound like lesser imitations of someone doing something that you never wanted to hear done with the thing. If this is your problem with the guitar, Mark Morgan is not part of your problem. The former member of Sightings makes a case for the instrument as a vehicle for creative sound manipulation that cannot be refuted by lazy reference to the dozens of records in your collection, or memory, or once-clicked, never closed browser pages. This music sounds like it is being chewed and digested during the passage from his amplifier to your eardrum. Molars indent twangs, incisors gnash chunks of fuzz, and acids strip off the crusty coating and lay bare the jagged bones of sounds that you really, really shouldn’t be swallowing, but that you really need to hear.

Bill Meyer

Private Anarchy — Central Planning (Round Bale)

Central Planning by Private Anarchy

Titular intimations of both anarchy and planning suggest internal tension that is born out by the music on this album, which is the inaugural vinyl release by hitherto cassette-oriented Round Bale Recordings. Private Anarchy has a bit of an identity crisis; shall one emulate the petulant, gotta get this off my chest delivery of David Thomas c. 1979 or the twangy stride that the Fall hit around the same time? Since the combo is really one man who is acquainted enough with the 21st century to put a laptop computer on the LP’s cover, Clay Kolbinger has taken the time to figure out how to do both at once. The admittedly derivative sounds are well executed, with enough apprehension to suggest that he is similarly motivated by a discomfort that cannot be assuaged.

Bill Meyer

Rodent Kontrol — Live (Fuzzy Warbles Casettes)

Rodent Kontrol Live (FW13) by Fuzzy Warbles Cassettes

Delivering post-Meatmen teenage punk knuckleheadedness at its explosively deranged best, the short-lived Ann Arbor high-school band Rodent Kontrol played this impromptu live set on the University of Michigan's WCBN in 1987 following a performance by the Laughing Hyenas. The latter were one of the toughest acts to follow, but Rodent Kontrol's calamitous, search-and-destroy assault is so gleefully unhinged, and full of the kind of ill-defined yet apoplectic animosity that can only be mustered by the young and the reckless, they truly give Brannon and co. a run for their money. While Live is on the one hand an amusing artifact, it is on the other a true gem of a release in our current era of archival overabundance. Make no mistake, this is rough, sloppy, perhaps offensive stuff, and Rodent Kontrol didn't break any new ground musically or aesthetically. But the nearly sublime agitation exuded by these guys here is truly something to behold, creating a genuinely unnerving sense that something very bad about is about to happen, and when it does it will feel absolutely good. If that's not the point of this kind of thing, I don't know what is. In addition to the 1987 live performance, this cassette release (also available as a download) adds a 2012 reunion show featuring a slightly tighter, slightly more "mature" version of the band, but certainly no less nihilistic.

Nate Knaebel

Sail into Night — Distill (self released)

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In the three years since this Dubai-based Pakistani duo’s very promising debut, it feels like if anything they’ve pared down their already elementally satisfying, nocturnal variety of post-punk slowcore to its simple, direct, powerful essence. Zara Mahmood’s harmonium, Nabil Qizilbash’s guitar, a drum machine and their vocals continue to be enough to generate surprisingly heavy music; although you’d be hard pressed to fit the music stylistically anywhere in the heavy metal realm, emotionally and tonally it exists somewhere between the “stonegaze” of a band like True Widow and the stark grandeur of early Low. From the chiming “Lighthouse” to the closing grind of “Apart,” Distill packs a lot of dark energy into a compact 30-minute run time.

Ian Mathers

The Schramms—Omnidirectional (Bar/None)

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You might know Dave Schramm as an original member of Yo La Tengo or for his guitar work for a whole slew of artists ranging from The Replacements to Freedy Johnston. You might even remember a string of clever, understated country-pop albums from the early 1990s through the turn of this century under the nom de guerre The Schramms — though it’s been a long time. But this seventh Schramms album, the first since 2000, will take you right back to all that’s wonderful about Dave Schramm: quiet intelligence, unshowy but impressive skills, an alchemical way of slipping abrasive rock sounds into soft pop melodies, quality over flash, but still a bit of flash. Take, for instance, the way that “Faith is a Dusty Word” opens up from a rambling piano ballad into swoon-y Pet Sounds-worthy vocal counterpoints, or how contemplative “New England” blossoms from wispy indie pop into a bitter sweet rock anthem, a la American Music Club. Schramm plays with long-time drummer Ron Metz (their partnership dates back to the 1970s Ohio cult band The Human Switchboard) and bassist Al Greller, an original Schramm, so it’s all very burned in, with the easy, unstruggled-for precision of people know what will happen next. Subdued, well-thought-out guitar pop is definitely not the flavor of the month these days, but who cares about fashion when it’s this good?

Jennifer Kelly

Slow Summits — Languid Belles (Hundreds and Thousands Records)

Slow Summits come jangling out of Linköping, Sweden like the keychain on a building supervisor’s belt. Their debut EP Languid Belles presents four tracks of perfectly rendered, chiming and literate indie pop. The foursome of Anders Nyberg (vocals, rhythm guitar), Karl Sunnermalm (lead guitar, harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel), Mattias Holmqvist Larsson(bass, keyboards, percussion) and Fredrik Svensson (Drums) enlists Amelia Fletcher (Tender Trap, Talulah Gosh, Heavenly) on backing vocals on two tracks. If these guys worship at the altar of Postcard-era Scotland their songs pay more than just homage to Orange Juice, The Pastels and international contemporaries The Go-Betweens, Beat Happening and Felt. Sunny melodies and kindly sarcastic lyrics driven by a tight and swinging rhythm section hit every serotonin and dopamine center of the musical brain. Slow Summits are the latest Scandinavian band to keep on your radar; Languid Belles is irresistible and will leave you “simply thrilled honey”

Andrew Forell

The Way Ahead — Bells, Ghosts and other Saints (Clean Feed)

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Peel back one layer of the Scandinavian jazz scene and you’ll find another layer. If you’ve spent much time paying attention to Cortex, Friends & Neighbors or Paal Nilssen-Love’s Large Unit, you’ll recognize most of the members of this horn-heavy, piano-free octet. André Rolighten (tenor saxophone, clarinet) and Tollef Østvang (drums) write the tunes, and as you’d surmise from a band that finds three ways to pay homage to Albert Ayler in the album name, those tunes owe a lot to his ecstatic/anguished sentimentality. But they aren’t locked into Ayler’s modes; there are also passages that have a distinctly European brass band feel, and some brusque, almost boppish moments. The band might seem ironically named if you take the title literally; this music is rooted in the 1960s, a time before most of the band’s members were born But if you recognize that name comes from an Archie Shepp session with a similar line-up, their sincerity comes into focus. These guys are just trying to blow some life into music much like the stuff that first made them want to play the kind of jazz they’re playing, and they’ve got the wind power to do it.

Bill Meyer

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