OndaDrops Vol. 5

Few could deny it: the Scandinavian world, for many of us as remote as it is secretly close to home, has managed over the years to establish itself as one of the most musically vital regions on the entire planet, despite its far-from-imposing size and a geographical position that is, in many respects, peripheral. It's a multifaceted, polycentric scene, with no particular genre codes dominating over the others, which has nevertheless paved the way for an almost uninterrupted flow of artists more or less unconnected to one another, yet always driven by a shared original spirit and a strongly personal vision of their own creative pursuit. To this thoroughly Scandinavian path within popular music, OndaDrops dedicates its fifth chapter, in an attempt to explore (without exhausting, but rather suggesting evocative routes and connections) the composite musical geography of the far north of Europe, with the not-so-hidden aim of shedding light on some of its most secret and precious corners. In these songs (all strictly exclusive to the site), whether pop, folk, ambient or rock, many of the constitutive traits of the Nordic "spirit" resonate: a fondness for gentle, elegant melodies, a suspension dense with anticipation, the constant sense of the vastness of time and space, the most delicate emotional bond with nature. The beautiful words of recent Nobel laureate Tranströmer would suffice to define all this: “Presenza di Dio./ Nel tunnel del canto degli uccelli/ si apre una porta chiusa a chiave”. Make room in your notebook for this small collection of postcards and haikus, in the knowledge that it will be very hard to part with them.

Emerald Park

Sweden's Emerald Park hail from Malmö and enjoyed solid international success with their second album "For Tomorrow", produced by the little genius who goes by the name of Ola Frick, the talented multi-instrumentalist and Moonbabies mastermind. Released in 2008 and again, in an expanded edition and as a free download on Bandcamp, in 2010, it became the most downloaded free album in Sweden.

This coming March will see the release of a new record, "The Rules Of Engagement", from which the single "Reality Bites" has already been taken, and which will also feature the song "Things", given to us here as an exclusive preview.

The band chose "Things" because, in the words of Tobias Borelius, the band's singer and guitarist, "It's a song that represents the perfect blend between the sound of the old album and that of 'The Rules Of Engagement': the new album will be more folk-inspired and full of songs played on ukulele and viola." All the makings of an interesting record are there.

Emerald Park are: Tobias Borelius (vocals, acoustic guitars, ukulele), Martina Johansson (vocals), Frans af Schmidt (electric guitar), Conny Fridh (bass), Daniel Jönsson (keyboards), Måns Katsler (drums) and Mattias Wilke (violin).    

Emerald Park – Things [download]

Útidúr

First, a little help: “Útidúr” is apparently pronounced “ooh! – detour”. This young band with the tricky name, formed in Reykjavík by singer and guitarist Gunnar Örn and keyboardist Kristinn Roach in the summer of 2009, quickly evolved into a small twelve-piece orchestra.

Their sunny, joyful chamber pop reached Italy thanks to Bad Panda Records, a Rome-based label that freely gives away online singles by promising young bands from all over the world, and which in 2010 released the single “Fisherman’s Friend/Grasping for Thoughts“.

Shortly after came the debut album “This Mess We’ve Made”. Recorded in the summer of 2010 at the Sundlaugin studios, owned by Sigur Rós, it's an exuberant, vital debut, made up – just as the title programmatically makes clear – of fizzy, noisy, lopsided songs, in the best tradition of Icelandic indie folk.

“Let’s Make Space” is an alternate version of “Let’s Make Room”, from the debut album, and shows just how much more ambitious and colourful Útidúr's next work (an EP due out by spring) will be.

Útidúr – Let’s Make Space [download]

I’m Kingfisher

Being ranked by the Times among the six flag-bearers of Swedish pop since the days of ABBA is no small feat. Thomas Jonsson, a singer-songwriter whose uncommon musical sensitivity and ability to pair strong expressiveness with a meticulously minimalist style place him among the most interesting names on the Scandinavian folk-pop scene, must surely have felt honoured by that title. After gathering growing acclaim from critics and audiences with three albums released as Thomas Denver Jonsson, in 2010 the Swedish songwriter adopted the moniker I’m Kingfisher and returned with “Arctic”, an album dedicated to Fridtjof Nansen's expeditions to the North Pole and the first chapter of a trilogy centred on themes of identity and passion, and the countless doubts that populate the human mind. While we wait for the next chapter of the trilogy (due between late 2012 and early 2013), Thomas opens up his secret treasure chest for OndaRock with an acoustic session in which, together with his producer Carl Edlom, he recorded all the tracks from “Arctic” in a second version made up of just voice, guitars and keyboard. The cold winter (of hearts) will surely melt away in the warmth of the splendid alt-version of “A Continent Lost”.

I’m Kingfisher – A Continent Lost (Acoustic Version) [download]

Lady Space

A trio from Gävle, Lady Space embody a timeless and fairly rare musical experience within the otherwise colourful landscape of Nordic music; they turn to the mysteries of a hidden folk mysticism (specifically that of ancient British tradition), conveyed through crystalline fingerpicking, crisp melodies and fragments of simple, dreamlike psychedelia. Guitars, bass, organ and mandolin are the tools of the trade for Andreas Spåls, Leif Olsson and Jocke Claesson, who worked together for a long time before being unveiled thanks to the valuable mediation of British cult label Reverb Worship, which put together their debut “Long Lost In A Twilight Head“.

“Garden Of Faces”, a track set to appear, in a slightly longer version, on the Swedish band's second record, follows the same distinctive line of acid candour found on that album.

Lady Space – Garden Of Faces [download]

Christine Owman

If a songwriter of the stature of Mark Lanegan chose to collaborate with her, that has to mean something: Christine Owman's songs are old sepia-toned reels, where past and present mirror each other in a restless reflection. "I like to think that people's minds can be kindred spirits regardless of the century they were born in," she says. Her second proper album, "Throwing Knives", helped make her known beyond the borders of her homeland, Sweden. Without giving up her fierce independence, which led her back in 2002 to found her own record label (Revolving Records) with a very clear mission: "It's the imperfections that create personality and depth in music." "Day 1" is the rarefied echo of waiting for a new day: the fragile, precious chance to start over, without trying any longer to numb the hunger of one's own heart.

Christine Owman – Day 1 [download]

Ossian Ekenger

While the deep voice that traces the gentle melodies of his pastel-toned pop might mislead you, Ossian Ekenger's clean-cut face immediately gives away his young age. At just twenty-two, the Swedish singer-songwriter has already amassed a good number of tracks (some of which appeared on Series Two Records compilations), trying his hand at recording with the most varied instruments, and has several parallel projects in the works, among the most eclectic and curious of which is a collection of songs, made together with a group of friends, each dedicated to a player who took part in his team's first match at the 1998 football World Cup. Among the many undertakings involving the Gothenburg musician is also "The Great Hunger", a project that takes its name from the title of a long poem by Irish writer Patrick Kavanagh, translated into Swedish by Ossian's father. At Christmas 2010, Ossian gave his father the first two songs from this project, "No Escape" and "Only Time Can Bless". The sweet "Be Easy, October" is its follow-up.

Ossian Ekenger – Be Easy, October [download]

Klifton Filente

It's hard not to think of the Beatles-esque daydreams of Elliott Smith when piano and keyboards wrap the melody of "Sister" in their nostalgic caress. But Jonas Lundvall from Gothenburg, aka Klifton Filente, has a personality that isn't simply reducible to his music's inevitable influences. He's learned to hone his pop craft, from the still-shaky recordings of his early demos all the way to his debut album, "Common Ground". He's learned to give his songs the time they need to grow, spending a full year making his second record, "Breaking The Clouds", released at the end of 2011. He's learned to clothe his songs in images, as shown by the video made with his brother Tobias for "It Takes A Thorn To Remove A Thorn". Now the time has come for his talent to blossom, and the love madrigal of "Sister" is the most persuasive proof of it.

Klifton Filente – Sister [download]

Old Lost John

The horse whisperer is no longer the one from Evans's novel: he doesn't play the cowboy in Montana, and his features no longer match those of Robert Redford. The horse whisperer lives in Malmö, in southern Sweden. He no longer deals with horses, nor does he work as a lumberjack in the woods around his native Lund, but delivers newspapers in the morning and, in his free time, writes enveloping folk ballads with a twilight glow. The horse whisperer has the face of Tomas Thunberg and signs his music as Old Lost John. Behind this moniker, the Swedish singer-songwriter debuted in 2007 with the enchanting "Faceless", and returned to the scene in 2011 with "Bringing Down The Sky", confirming a concrete, straightforward songwriting style steeped in melancholy, at times dark, atmospheres, capable of conveying the warmth of a sense of belonging and a strong attachment to one's roots. "Cold Dark Night" is an excellent example of this, a song Tomas wrote for OndaRock in late November 2011, drawing inspiration from the dark winter climate (and Norwegians know a thing or two about that).

Old Lost John – Cold Dark Night [download]

Symfoniorkestern

As the band's name suggests, Symfoniorkestern are an experimental symphony orchestra made up of six core members, but open to contributions from anyone who wants to take part. Originally from Gothenburg, like other large Nordic collectives, they show a marked interest in musical traditions not necessarily Scandinavian, coupled with a bright pop streak that's made all the more unbridled by the use of their native tongue. Their EP "IV" is available as a free download from their website, and it's in that same spirit that the band chose to offer its contribution to this compilation, "Aldrig Speciell" (in English, "Never Special"), described as a little pop song with a melancholy aftertaste, since it deals with the suffering caused by repressing one's feelings. All of it told in light, colourful tones.

Symfoniorkerstern – Aldrig Speciell [download]

Ji Nilsson

When asked to define her music, she doesn't hesitate to cite pop, cabaret and jazz. Ji Nilsson is in love with old Broadway musicals, bohemian romanticism and burlesque atmospheres. She's been writing songs since she was thirteen: cheerfully retro songs, lively in spirit and coloured in Disney-esque hues. The pianola-like carousel of "I Won't Dance" is the alternate version of one of the tracks set to appear on her debut album, now nearing completion. A track that immediately puts on full display all the verve of the twenty-four-year-old singer from Stockholm, opening, as if by magic, the curtain onto a ballroom of the Roaring Twenties. "It's always been one of my favourite songs to sing," she confesses. With a smile on her lips and a pair of sequined shoes on her feet.

Ji Nilsson – I Won’t Dance [download]

Mountain Low

“Now I’m waiting on a friend/ To give me advice if I ask him/ And his presence will tell me what I need to know.” (Palace Music – The Mountain Low)

There are songs destined to mark an artist's path. And there are bonds destined to grow and deepen over time through music. Behind the Mountain Low project lie two Swedes, Niklas Hegfalk and Emil Jönsson, who, drawing on contributions from numerous other artists from the Malmö scene (both in the studio and live), create music in a state of constant flux. Under the earlier moniker Niklas Hegfalk & The Sanctuary Seekers, Niklas and Emil released an EP in 2007, "At One With The Tide", a handful of tracks moving between indie-folk and alt-country that reflect the deep inner searching Niklas places at the heart of his lyrics. Forever in pursuit of new forms of expression, with "When I'm Not Here I Am A Hawk, When I'm Not A Hawk I Am Here" Niklas and Emil plumb the darkest depths of alt-rock in an atmosphere of intense spirituality, giving OndaRock an evocative preview of their debut album under the Mountain Low name.

Mountain Low – When I’m Not Here I Am A Hawk, When I’m Not A Hawk I Am Here [download]

Turn Off Your Television

The blunt invitation that Turn Off Your Television chose as their name might sound a bit dated: does anyone actually still watch television? But the need to silence the background noise of life – at least for the length of a song – remains as vital and relevant as ever. The Malmö trio, led by Jon Rinneby, puts "Swedish depression" at the top of their list of influences: "it's a strange and ambivalent mix of love and unhappiness." Much like the feeling running through their music, veiled in a lonely melancholy reminiscent of Sparklehorse. Their debut album is available as a free download on Bandcamp, and the follow-up is already on the way, preceded by the single "Phony Doctors". "How Low" heightens the band's melodic sensibility, wrapping it in a dusty, bittersweet atmosphere.

Turn Off Your Television – How Low [download]

Koria Kitten Riot

Some songs are made only for oneself. That's why, in 2006, Helsinki songwriter Antti Reikko decided to launch the Koria Kitten Riot project: to give room to songs too delicate for the jagged indie-rock repertoire of his band, Johnny Superhero. And that's why "A Folk Song For Me" came to be: "I felt frustrated and wrote a song about myself, for myself." A simple arpeggio and the need to look in the mirror. The track is an outtake from the new Koria Kitten Riot album, "The Lows & The Highs", set to follow up the Finnish artist's 2009 debut. In the meantime, what was once just a scrap of homemade DIY has turned, on stage, into a five-piece collective. But the intimate, personal spirit of Koria Kitten Riot's songs has stayed the same.

Koria Kitten Riot – A Folk Song For Me [download]

Satellite Stories

"Our mission is to bring you the nostalgia of events you never actually experienced, like the Sixties, your grade-school crush's first kiss, and the time you and your best friend bought that amazing 45 and played it on your parents' turntable." That's how Satellite Stories describe themselves, a Finnish indie-rock quartet based in Oulu. With a handful of singles behind them (and a full-length debut still to come), they offer us a track built on jittery, Feelies-scented guitars, where brisk rhythms intertwine with choruses and handclaps carrying a fizzy power-pop flavor. Not surprisingly, among the band's stated influences are names like Wombats and Vampire Weekend. "This is not a love song," Satellite Stories declare. But then again, are there really any songs that aren't about love?

Satellite Stories – Arrest Me [download]

The Fiery Piano

A piano in flames. According to Swedish artist Gustaf Montelius, it might be the romantic image of a group of people trying to survive an unforgiving cold spell by sacrificing to the fire even the last precious wooden object left in the house. Or it might be the emblem of a contradiction in terms that sparks a tension, like a "violent calm" or some other oxymoronic pairing. And it's precisely that kind of tension that the music of Gustaf Montelius, aka The Fiery Piano, aims for: over the delightful indie-pop melodies of the four tracks making up his debut EP "Sirens", available as a free download on his Bandcamp, layers of distortion and all manner of electronic impulses pile up, giving the Stockholm-based artist's "bedroom pop" a sophisticated air while heightening its delicate freshness at the same time. Also rich in distortion and special effects is "Pegasus", a fantastical story that carries the listener through an emotional crescendo astride a winged Pegasus, becoming an emblem of the strength of sincere, unconditional affection.

The Fiery Piano – Pegasus [download]

Mylittlepony

Mylittlepony come from every corner of Norway, but they met and now live in Oslo. There are five of them, and their highest artistic ambition is to remain a "little band that sings pretty songs." Judging by their two albums ("Think Too Much" and "Making Marks"), they're pulling it off!

Comparisons to Belle & Sebastian have been ten a penny since the very start of their brief career, but these young Norwegians swap the Glasgow band's retro charm for the naïve spirit typical of so many bands on the Scandinavian underground scene.

With their second album, "Making Marks", released in Italy in early 2011 by We Were Never Being Boring, Ola Innset and his bandmates have come of age, largely shaking off those cumbersome (if inevitable) comparisons in the process.

Their music - sensitive, sincere and packed with catchy melodies - is perfectly represented by "1943", a track already featured on "Making Marks", but here in a leaner version recorded live: "We thought we'd record the whole album this way," Ola tells us, "but after doing most of the work, our hard disk broke down and almost everything was lost."

"1943 (Demo Version)" is one of only two tracks left to bear witness to that first, naive and spontaneous recording session.

Mylittlepony – 1943 (Demo Version) [download]

Einar Stray

Twenty-one-year-old Norwegian Einar Stray debuted in early 2011 with "Chiaroscuro", an album showered with praise by magazines and webzines across the globe. Listening to his tracks - composed with remarkable precision and restraint, even when they often run past the seven-minute mark - it's hard not to agree with everyone who's already sung his over-the-top praises.

Driven by strings and a rhythm section that's always given pride of place, and enriched by guitars, samples and electronic instrumentation, his compositions always come across as sharp and impeccably executed. That's no small feat for an artist who, despite his young age, has set his sights on fairly ambitious goals right from the start.

The track he's given us will probably end up on his second album, which he's already working on: it's a live recording made at the Jakob Culture Church in October 2011. The musicians backing him on that occasion were Therese Aune, Hanna Furuseth, Ofelia Østrem Ossum and Pål Moddi Knutsen on backing vocals, with Jørgen Nordby on percussion.

Einar Stray – For The Country (Live) [download]

Nicky Bendix

Meditation arrives in the endless Nordic nights.

Composer, pianist, sound designer and conductor, Danish artist Nicky Bendix has, over the course of his artistic career, tried his hand at every corner of the music scene: one of his country's finest jazz pianists, for a decade he ranged from Dixieland to swing to hard-bop, all while never neglecting the composition, orchestration and conducting of music for modern dance, theatre and film.

In the new millennium, wandering in search of fresh inspiration between Germany and Colombia, Bendix began experimenting with synthesizers, immersing himself in ambient and new-age improvisation, and producing - often alongside poets, painters and photographers - a series of impromptu performances and works of deep substance and spirituality.

"The Sanctuary", a long, introspective track poised between ambient music, experimentalism and modern classical, is just a taste of the emotional depth reached by the Danish pianist at the peak of his artistic inspiration.

Nicky Bendix – The Sanctuary [download]

OndaDrops Vol. 5: Postcards from the North

Cd: download

Special thanks to Sabrina Gabrielli for conceiving and creating the beautiful cover art for this volume of OndaDrops.

All the tracks featured in OndaDrops have been made available by the artists for free download. OndaRock makes no claim of ownership over these tracks, which remain the exclusive property of their respective copyright holders, artists, record labels and publishing companies.

Thanks go to the artists, the labels, and everyone without whose support this collection could never have seen the light of day. Special thanks to Roberto Mandolini for his essential contribution in the final mastering stage.

All songs included in OndaDrops are provided by artists and intended for free download. OndaRock makes no claims of ownership to any of the songs, that are sole property of their copyrights, artists, record labels and publishing companies.

We would like to thank the artists, the labels and everyone whose support made this compilation possible. A special thanks goes to Roberto Mandolini for his essential contribution in the final mastering.

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