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Arina Mai (Denmark) – Finally Home (single/track from already released EP)

Reading time: 2 minutes There is a distinct theme to what Arina Mai does. When she was last here, in November, with ‘Paramount’, she dealt with the need for …

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Arina Mai (Denmark) – Finally Home (single/track from already released EP)

Reading time: 2 minutes There is a distinct theme to what Arina Mai does. When she was last here, in November, with ‘Paramount’, she dealt with the need for …

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Simon Lynge (Greenland/Denmark) – To Cross the Sea (single, future album track + video)

Reading time: 3 minutes I’m not doing this just because I’m mandated to include Greenland (and the Faroes) as they are part of the Nordics but because I have …

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We Ghosts (Sweden/UK) – Ship goes down (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes I had intended to write about We Ghosts’ recently released album ‘Derailed’ including their version of the Joy Division classic ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, …

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The Holy (Finland) – Familia (single/possible track from forthcoming album)

Reading time: 2 minutes It’s such a long time since I last reviewed Helsinki’s The Holy that the article was almost lost in the mists of time. I do …

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Live show review – Siv Jakobsen (Norway) – Gullivers Manchester, 24 May

Reading time: 3 minutes There is a huge dichotomy between the content of Siv Jakobsen’s albums and her live shows but this is the first time I realised just …

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Myrkvi (Iceland) – Miserable People (single/possible future album track)

Reading time: 2 minutes Songs that contrast the picture postcard perfection of the textbook Instagram/TikTok image or TV family advert life with the reality of the hand-to-hand existence of …

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Siri Neel (Denmark) – Disappear (single)

Reading time: 3 minutes I’m fortunate to hear some very good music coming out of the Nordics virtually every day – I can recommend every artist or band in …

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Laundry House (Norway) – Edge to the Sea (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes I’m always on the lookout for unusual back stories, especially those concerning the formation of a band but I’ve never come across one before that …

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Alexander Woods (Denmark) – Now I know (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes I recall a radio DJ once remarking on how difficult it is for Americans to find love. He was referring to songs like Foreigner’s ‘I …

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Summer Fry (Denmark) – Can’t buy me love (single/track from EP)

Reading time: 3 minutes I thought I knew at least a little bit about Summer Fry, aka Gurli Octavia, but like Benny Hill (anyone still remember him?) I’m ‘learning …

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Maylen Rusti (Norway) – Balanse (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes Maylen Rusti finds the perfect balanse You have to hand it to Maylen Rusti. Having spent several years out of commission from the music business …

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Astrid Cordes (Denmark) – Stop dreaming (single/track from forthcoming album)

Reading time: 3 minutes Astrid Cordes is quite candid about why she wrote ‘Stop dreaming’. To paraphrase her missive she says it’s “about wanting to give up.” But hang …

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Antsy (Iceland) – Song 4 (sample track from debut album, Disappearer)

Reading time: 2 minutes Antsy is reallement francais, domiciled for eight years in Reykjavik, and makes synth pop. That immediately prompted me to think of M83 (Anthony Gonzalez) and …

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Mesa Verde (Norway) – Pickings for the Beast (single/track from forthcoming album)

Reading time: 3 minutes We’ve had a couple of ‘end of the world’ songs just recently including last night when it became the protagonist’s pet project because he was …

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‘Atom’ Chris Dall & Powerband (Denmark) – Ingen sikkerhed (No security) (single/track from forthcoming EP)

Reading time: 3 minutes We’re back after a night off watching the Euro fest thingy from Scouseland. Well done to Loreen, also Norway’s Alessandra, who finished fifth. Tough luck …

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Video of the week: Lazernaut (Denmark) – The Method (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes We’ve had a few ‘scientific’ songs and videos, I recall one from the strangely named Creutzfeld Jakobs earlier this year and before that Sweden’s Marten …

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Marte Eberson’s (Norway) Five Course Musical Feast (+ new single Come Around)

Reading time: 5 minutes Our series, the ‘Five Course Musical Feast’ is one in which an artist selects five songs and tells us in a few words why they …

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Pot-Pourri 10th May 2023 (three releases, from Annika Wickihalder, LOW-RES, and Lights A.M.)

Reading time: 3 minutes Pot-Pourri? Who are they? They’re no-one and they are everyone! Owing to the tsunami of releases right now, the majority of which would be overlooked, …

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Live show preview – Watch Nightwish in Stockholm – in a tent!

Reading time: 2 minutes Finnish symphonic metal giants Nightwish are coming to the end of their world tour which began a year ago, partially to support their last album, …

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Sagofrön (Sweden) – Dröm (Dream) (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes I’m still battling a backlog – have there ever been so many releases? In the air transport business that I work in we refer to …

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Weekend Intermission – Hugh Cornwell – live at Manchester Academy 3, 6th May

Reading time: 5 minutes Weekend Intermission is our regular feature where we look at an artist or band not from the Nordic countries, just to mix things up a …

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The Bridges (Denmark) – Untouchable (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes They like a drink, these young Danes. And they can hold their lager, too. At the end of the video for their debut single, ‘Daydreamers’, …

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Inki (Iceland) – Destructive Interference (single/track from forthcoming album Thoughts Midsentence)

Reading time: 4 minutes Every country throws up an off the wall, out of left field character who works at the cutting edge of musical and lyrical creation. For …

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Aadal (Norway) – Voyager (title track from album)

Reading time: 2 minutes Aadal, the jazz-rock fusion band out of southern Norway fronted by Michael Aadal, featured twice in NMC last year, in the form of a video …

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Dagny (Norway) – Heartbreak in the making (single)

Reading time: 3 minutes We’ve had quite a lot of jazz and ambient electronica recently, and there’s plenty more out there too, believe me, so for a change I …

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Dragongirl (Denmark/Norway) – Monster Prom (single/final track from forthcoming album)

Reading time: 2 minutes A Monday night might not be bested suited to a bit of EDM in case everyone is inspired to head down the local club instead …

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JFDR (Iceland) – The Orchid (sample track from the album Museum)

Reading time: 2 minutes JFDR is a project of Icelandic experimental singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, Jófríður Ákadóttir Iceland is a natural home to female musical experimentalists, several of whom …

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Eurovision 2023 – The Nordic countries’ entries – what are their chances? (Repost)

Reading time: 6 minutes The Eurovision Song Contest is only 10 days away (the first semi final) as I write this, and tension mounts while the railway unions go …

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Nanna (Iceland) – Disaster Master (single/ track from forthcoming album) + video

Reading time: 3 minutes We’re a little late with this one but Nanna’s three singles to date, all released since January, haven’t exactly been accompanied by a fanfare and …

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Solblomma (Sweden) – Pale like a clown [Hall 1] (single/track from forthcoming album)

Reading time: 3 minutes It’s been a while since Solblomma was last here, back in October 2021, just after we started, with a video for a re-released song called …

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Echo Ladies (Sweden) – Dirty Dancing (single, possible track on forthcoming album)

Reading time: 3 minutes Settle down girls, it isn’t anything to do with Swayze. We’ve already had an echo…echo…echo this week with Copenhagen’s OK Echo, now it’s the turn …

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Repost! Weekend Intermission: Dirty Slippers (Hungary) – Honest Kid (single/track from forthcoming album)

Reading time: 4 minutes We’re reposting an earlier Weekend Intermission with a few text adjustments to include a freshly released video (below) by the Hungarian band Dirty Slippers and …

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Video of the week – OK Echo (Denmark) – Is it over (debut single)

Reading time: 2 minutes “There are some people on the pitch; they think it’s all over. It is now!”  Kenneth Wolstenholme’s memorable description of Geoff Hurst scoring the final …

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Rebekka Louise (Norway) – Breathing Poison (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes She’s ever so slightly mysterious is Rebekka Louise. Seemingly a native of Norway but now London-based, she does have a marginally Mediterranean appearance and her …

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Slagger Lund (Denmark) – To B. Laudrup or not to B. Laudrup (sample track from the album Maniak) + video

Reading time: 3 minutes I thought of using the title track of Slagger Lund’s ‘Maniak’ album for this review but how can anyone turn a blind eye to the …

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SkarWorX (Norway) – Seed-X Vol.3  (EP)

Reading time: 5 minutes All good things must come to an end, and that’s the case with SkarWorX’s trilogy, which concludes with ‘Seed-X Vol.3’, a six-track EP and one …

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Wanted – venue(s) for fabulous teenage Swedish singer to practice her craft!

Reading time: 2 minutes In 2017 I attended an indie music festival at Gävle in Central Sweden. I was watching one of the bands there when the organiser rushed …

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Liv Andrea Hauge Ensemble (Norway) – Again (single)

Reading time: 2 minutes We don’t get many jazz ballads in here so that’s as good a reason as any to listen to the Liv Andrea Hauge Ensemble’s rendition …

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Patrick El-Hag (Sweden) – I ett glas (In a glass) (Single) ft. Lex Peter

Reading time: 3 minutes Patrick El-Hag Raiti to give him his full name – he sounds more like a politician or a lawyer – is in fact a time-served …

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International preview – Stinako (Finland) – Ikkunat näkevät and Toukokuu (double header)

Reading time: 3 minutes With the door finally closed (regrettably) on Color Dolor, which has played its final concert, Stina Koistinen resumes her Stinako persona with a double header …

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