Nordic by Nature

Scandinavian Showcase at Fritzclub in Postbahnhof, Berlin, September 6, 2012

So it's the second night of Berlin Music Week, and a short walk from Ostbahnhof finds us in Fritzclub, a posh(er) club with a rock and concrete block landscape outdoor area under red umbrellas provided by this philanthropic tobacco corporation telling me not to "be a maybe", and the brilliant touch of not one but two stages, so waiting around for soundcheck is a thing of the past.  

Sandra Kolstad: Norwegian electro pop that is the aural equivalent of ear sparklers

Sandra Kolstad and Swedish noise musician
Francis Peter Eldh (I think...) 

I caught the last three songs of this Norwegian gem, think of Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, except blonde and busting out some solid danceable electro.  With an explosive stage presence and the musicianship (of classically trained pianist) to back it up, Kolstad is hard to pin down, tracks that are slow and introspective to start can explode into disco themed pop that begs to be danced to.

LCMDF

telling it like it is

Then it's off to the next room, a larger space that for some reason reminds me of a high school gym, except like so many Berlin shows people are too cool to get right up to the stage, but I like my fellow American who soaked it up close (dude it the striped shirt, I knew him from the Danish Invasion night, where he asked Schultz and Forever "Where are you guys from?" Earnestness masks our true ignorance, folks).  

he's a fan

The initials stand for Le Corps Mince De Francoise, and this is like if Salt and Pepa grew up in Finland with a lot more synthesizers.  The bass is so loud you can feel it your ribcage, and it's thumping pop with a rap that is surprisingly not annoying.  Made up of two sisters,  Mia and Emma Kemppainen, LCMDF busted out electro-pop with some polished catchy hooks. And who knew Finns could rap...

Spleen United

Okay, and the last of the groups to round out my budding love affair with all things Scandinavian, here comes Spleen United.  Yeah, I was expecting maybe metal band (!) because of the name, but instead enjoyed some (post-industrial, does that exist?) electro rock that won me over when they sampled the Flaming Lips "Do You Realize???".  Another brother-led (what's with the musical families?) this band from Aarhus, Denmark is made up of Bjarke (Vocals/Guitar) and Gaute Niemann (Bass/ Synth), Kasper Nørlund (Synth/Backing vocals), Rune Wehner (Synth) and Janus Nevel Ringsted (Drums).  (Yeah I copied that part because who the fuck knows where those weird letters are.)  If industrial techno had a post-apocalyptic aftermath, you know when everything is covered in ash and life is changed forever due to fallout, it would sound like Spleen United.