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 …
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 …
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 …
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’, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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’, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
