Released: 22/09/2009

Florence & The Machine took the UK festival circuit by storm this year, before moving on to conquer the rest of the world. Despite the name – it’s all about the charismatic redhead Florence Welch. Her lucid voice first caught the attention of the BBC and she hasn’t turned back since.

As for The Machine, it’s a flexible beast. It can go right down to Florence and a drum kit or a piano, but right now it’s a seven-piece band including long-term collaborators Rob Ackroyd (guitar), Chris Hayden (drums), Isabella Summers (keyboards) and Tom Monger (harp). Live, Florence and The Machine become an entirely different beast. No two performances are ever alike – as I witnessed at this years Lovebox festival.

“Rabbit heart” was the third single from the best selling debut album “Lungs”. The original version of the single is a powerful piece of vocal indie music, bearing some resemblance to what a female version of The Flaming Lips would have sounded on “The soft bulletin”. Harps and strings, break beat drums, haunting vocals and lucid piano make up some of the many aspects of this multi layered monster.

Jamie T’s Lionheart remix changes the drums to a slightly off, wandering beat, and focusing on the magnificent piano chords, before it builds the pace with a simple, yet so effective old school breakbeat. It is a close race between the two remixes. But in the end it is the magnificent Leo Zero remix that does it for me. The slow disco beat and accompanying drums and the main piano chords builds in with slow pace before it almost unnoticeably changes into dream territory by layering more elements before it slows down and then builds again.

Florence also did a decent cover version of Candi Statons wonderful “You got the love”. It was never released as a single but an unofficial white label with the UK garage inspired remix from The XX has recently found its way to the market - I just can’t get enough of it.

Official site | MySpace | Juno Records |

Released: 20/10/2009

One of the most distinctive voices of Norway, Erlend Øye has a lot going for him. Whether is Dj’ing and releasing compilations on !K7, as The Whitest Boy Alive, solo albums or Kings of Convenience, Øye has tons of artistic integrity creating his own interpretations of influences while jumping easily through invisible but often defining genre boundaries.

The bands signature sound is defined by acoustic guitars, minimal and light percussion leading the lullaby melodies vocals to its rights. Erlend Øye leads the show, accompanied by Eirik Gambak Bøe. Combine that with thought through lyrics about daily concerns most can relate to and you have Kings of Convenience (or as they say; “music your parents can listen to too”). A well defined project that delivers what you expect and still leaves you with appreciation. The ability to create a rich soundscape based on minimal number of elements is quite mesmerizing, sounding effortless and improvised yet so structured and arranged down to every little detail.

Like the two previous albums, the cover artwork on “Declaration of dependence” is a good cue to the atmosphere. It also tells the history of how the record first came about, with Eirik and Erlend spending time on the same beach in Mexico where they did a gig. The duo had not worked together for more than two years and wasn’t sure if there would ever be another Kings of Convenience album, but the circumstances helped them find together yet again.

The album was pre-released to Spotify Premium members almost a month before its full release, and it it refreshing to se artists support new consumer friendly business models. Kudos.

MySpace | Amazon | Spotify |

Released: 22/06/2009

It has been a while since my last post, the reason being extensive traveling. Over the past month I have been to London, Ibiza and Barcelona – all providing new musical experiences and inspiration. One tuesday a few weeks ago I went to the Notting Hill Arts Club and Marina and the Diamonds did a live gig at the intimate underground venue. I was unaware of the Welch-born, London-based Marina Diamandis, but the Arts Club is great for both discovering new talent and to hear good djs and electronic artists.

Marina impressed me both with her voice and her presence on stage. The crowd was special as well, made up of a large proportion of her friends. Her voice is distinct and powerful, yet fragile and sweet. Comparisons to Florence and the Machine is not too far off. ”I Am Not A Robot” is the lead track from ‘The Crown Jewels EP’, released through Neon Gold on 22nd June 2009. Check out the video here, and a live BBC recording of “Mowgli’s road” here. After releasing her first single, she has appeared live at Glastonbury and her tour schedule is now filled with both UK and international dates. One to watch!

MySpace | MySpace

Released: 2001

The single that really launched Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland into stardom. Arctic, funky and well produced – good soundtrack to the great norwegian electronic scene at the time. Check of the superb compilation “Tellé Samleplate” for a look into the soundscape. Taken from the incredible “Melody AM” album.

This haven’t left my box since i got it 7 years ago, as it always goes down well on the floor. Good and innovative video as well.