30 August 2013

July and August: Nightmares on Wax, Braids, Einar Stray and Listener

A couple of interviews, reviews and what-have-yous up and about. My August highlight was meeting producer/legend/generally happy guy George Evelyn aka NIGHTMARES ON WAX. Interview will be up soon, had to go to Tegel to find him. Just so you know, his new album, Feeling Good, is amazing, you all can enjoy in when it's released September 17th on Warp Records.
 I'm finally on Instagram as kikahasfun, also follow me on Twitter @kikatroika
appropriately framed: me and Nightmares on Wax
Most recently I did an email interview with spoken word rock band LISTENER, seeing them tonight. Sadly it did not happen in person but we can't have everything.

 Prior to that my album review and interview with Canadian electronic trio-formerly-a-quartet BRAIDS went up.
 And way, way back, I finally finished my interview with Norwegian musician EINAR STRAY

Coming up expect an interview with ANNA CALVI, and some dispatches from Berlin Music Week. Which, reminds me, I saw two bands on a boat and three glasses of (free) wine. Thank you major labels for a trip down the Spree! Kent Brockman once said "If you wonder why they name hurricanes after women, then you haven't seen the ladies at the clearance rack" which should be changed to "journalists," name hurricanes after journalists, because you haven't seen THEM at an open bar. 
Just for kicks here's some kitty clocks courtesy of the Tegel Airport gift shop. Diamond eyes baby.


31 July 2013

Kika Jonsson is seeing other blogs, part 2


I've been featured as #tastemaker of the week by frestyl, a Berlin-based music blog. Join the mailing list to find out what show I recommend to see this week. (Hint: it's a record-release party.) Like I would say no to sharing my opinion. I particularly proud of this interview because I mention Rod Stewart before all those indie bands.

Roskilde Festival 2013

Oh, Roskilde. This is a bit belated, but I wanted to compile all the writing I did over those magical five days in early July. Wednesday and Thursday were mellow, more seeing the non-musical aspects of the festival like Dream City and the camps.  Thursday evening kicked off with Suicidal Tendencies, of all things and Friday things started with Henry Rollins and ended with Rihanna, two musicians I never thought I would put in one sentence. Saturday I did the art tour and got to meet Ron English, which was an unexpected surprise. The mock ads he designed for the grandstand wall were hilarious.
Sunday was my favorite day, with a surprisingly fun set from Kid Koala. He played a song he wrote for the kids TV show Yo Gabba Gabba and got the audience to dance a long. I also conducted a few interviews. Read the one with Henry Rollins (don't be impressed, it was over email, tried to meet him in person but no luck.)  I talked to Jonathan Schultz of Schultz and Forever, who I have interviewed before, but this time we talked about his top ten influential songs. He introduced me to this William Basinski track that blew my mind, dlp 1.1 I also saw the girls from Baby in Vain and got an insider Danish view on Roskilde, that one still needs to publish.







02 July 2013

music, festivals, and what I packed: the Roskilde packing list

About to go to sleep, but here ist he list of what I have packed for Roskilde, complete honesty, as always. I've had this mountainsmith backpack since I was fourteen years old. It's been around Europe, through Turkey, Peru, the Sierra Nevadas, and Western Canada, but it's her first time to Denmark. Can't wait for that Orange Feeling. 



-->Roskilde Pack List
  1. aspirin
  2. paracetamol
  3. toothpaste
  4. toothbrush
  5. 1 bottle bug repellent
  6. 1 tube mosquito bite treatement
  7. 1 bottle sunblock
  8. 1 all weather blanket
  9. 6 pairs underwear
  10. 5 pairs socks
  11. 2 bras (one I will wear on the bus)
  12. flashlight and AA batteries
  13. 1 pair boots
  14. 1 pair Vans slip ons
  15. 1 pair flip flops aka thongs aka sandals
  16. 1 small recorder and extra AAA batteries
  17. 3 pencils and pencil sharpener with eraser
  18. 1 journal
  19. 1 notebook
  20. 1 hairbrush
  21. 5 bandaids aka plasters
  22. 1 razor
  23. long sleeve shirt
  24. 1 black tank top
  25. 2 black t shirts (grimes and stiff little fingers)
  26. 1 Nothing But Hope and Passion T shirt, impractical because it’s white
  27. 1 pair black shorts
  28. 1 black raincoat
  29. 1 tent
  30. 2 sleeping pads (hey, it’s 5 nights)
  31. 1 pillow
  32. 1 pair jeans
  33. 1 microfiber towel
  34. 1 ipad with a keyboard
  35. 1 ipod with headphones
  36. 1 small bottle shampoo and conditioner
  37. 5 bobby pins
  38. 4 ponytail holders
  39. 1 bee sting kit
  40. 1 bottle antihistamines (Benadryl)
  41. 1 copy Storm of Swords (book 4 in Game of Thrones series)
  42. 3 recent New Yorkers, including the summer fiction issue
  43. 1 refillable water bottle
  44. 1 spork (fork one side, spoon another)
  45. 1 plastic knife
  46. 1 Digital SLR camera (Lumix)
  47. 1 small digital camera (Samsung)
  48. 5 different charging cables
  49. 1 package fineliner multicolor pens
  50. 2 kg bag apples
  51. 1 loaf of white bread
  52. 1 jar peanut butter
  53. 1 jar raspberry jelly
  54. 1 package balistos
  55. 1 bag plain M&Ms
  56. 1 bag peanut M&Ms
  57. 1 package honey waffles
  58. 1 package Prinzenrolle cookies
    was running an email through Google Translate, here's our site in Spanish

now, let's review Austra - Olympia and Listener - Time is a Machine


Now, I have stopped writing reviews because I'm so full of myself. No, seriously! I haven't done that many since I have been busy with interviews. Also, happy to share I was promoted to Content Editor at NBHAP, that means I get to check everyone's English and help the writers keep to a style. As always, grateful for the opportunity to be a know-it-all.
The two reviews I wrote in the last few months are bands that are close to my heart. Listener I only recently discovered, and Wooden Heart (2010) has been on repeat for awhile. It's intense, but good intense. June saw the band releasing Time is a Machine, which keeps to the confessional, heart-wrenching style that makes it's almost painful to listen to. My favorite line is "and people everywhere are crying on cliff edges and carving their ex-lovers names into tree trunks in anticipation."

Next is Austra with Olympia, which I will say is actually better than Feel it Break (2011) on account of all the collaboration. " Katie’s icy soprano over stylized synth-pop." See earlier posts for my interview with her.
Next up: a weekend at Danish music festival Roskilde...pretty much realizing a life-long dream here.

29 June 2013

non traditional interviews and please follow this chick on Twitter @kikajonsson

No rest for the wicked! Summer looks very promising, as I will be realizing a mostly-life long dream of attending Roskilde Festival in Denmark. This combines all that I love: music, journalism, and Danish people. Read my interview with spokesperson Christina Bilde, some interesting bits on festival history. 

I also finally finished the interview with Out in the North founders, who I had the pleasure to meet in Arhus at the SPOT festival when we both could not get into the Broken Twin show! This project take Scandinavian/Nordic musicians out into natural settings to play acoustic versions of songs, it's thoroughly original. Read about the ideas and inspirations and occasional mishaps behind this project.
 Coming up soon: I was able to interview Canadian former-quartet-now-trio Braids on Thursday. Will get that up as soon as possible, they were incredibly nice, well-spoken and gregarious. They played as one of three bands for the Introducing in June, part of the Intro series. They played songs off their new album (out in August) Flourish//Perish, which is different then debut album Native Speaker.
Rock Ton Paintball avec Braids (Épisode 8) from Scène 1425 on Vimeo.

12 June 2013

May was busy, dude.

Well, after recovering from SPOT Festival, it's be show-and-interview tastic...
First, I went to Night + Day Festival, curated and headlined by the xx, I did threaten to leave at least 3 times due to rain but glad I stuck it out. Mykki Blanco killed it. Jessie Ware is overrated. The Chromatics are good and get props for covering Neil Young. I can't really remember the rest. Why is there rain? Why?


THE VERY NEXT DAY, we went to Leipzig and kicked it with Goths. It's a big festival/costume show/weirdo fest. Read the article I co-wrote with a Amanda Gray and check out Julian Barrats awesome pictures. Mindblowing, and I decided I would be the punky Goth, if push came to shove.

Then, I discovered this awesome band courtesy of the Polyvinyl Records, of San Francisco. Saturday Looks Good to Me: lovely indie pop from Michigan, listen and believe.


My Danish favorites Waldo and Marsha put out their full length album Zoo, read my review and check out the video for "Savannah."

Lastly, my interview with Katie Stelmanis of Austra published, she definitely plays her cards close to her chest that one, but I was able to get her to open up a bit.



Please, if you haven't done so yet, check me out on twitter @kikajonsson, all my articles get put on there.

09 June 2013

SPOT Festival 2013

Rob and I had the pleasure of boarding this bus and heading to Aarhus, Denmark for SPOT Festival 2013


Well, it’s been over a month since I returned from the SPOT festival. It was a rad and awesome experience.  I interviewed eight bands/musicians and saw fifteen different acts. The first interview has published, my talk with precocious Broken Twin.  The festival organized a private bus up to Århus, there were three: one from Koln, one that started in Berlin and stopped in Hamburg, and one from Antwerp. The ride provided a great chance to meet other people in various facets of the music industry: labels, management companies, and other writers. I liked being back in the city of Århus, it has a special vibe, just so many students and young people. I found my notes from my first time there. I still note this whole huge generation that is dying to rebel, but when you have a government that coddles you so much you really have so little to rebel against. Rebelling against banality. That’s another essay waiting to be written. I also interviewed festival darling Schultz and Forever. I really enjoyed talking to Danish rock band Baby in Vain.
Anyway, way below you’ll seem my version of a spoof on Harper’s Index, if you don’t know what that magazine is then you are missing the best of the academically disconnected liberal discourse in the USA. So you probably don’t know what it is.
The thing is, festivals like this are the first filters of the many bands and musicians go through before crossing over into mainstream recognition. Like any big gathering, there’s a lot of crap and a lot of overrated stuff. However, there were a few hidden gems. My favorites were the hip-hop group Point Blank(I know, Danish hip-hop, who knew?).  It’s like the mid-90s all over again. I picked up their album and it’s dirty sexy rhymes, I dare you to listen to it and not want to make out with any pretty young thing around. It also helps that the main lyricist (NAPKIN COLE) is foxy as well as talented. The next was SYND OG SKAM, this eight-piece punk noise outfit that was worth it for the sound and the fascinating-like-a-train-wreck live performance. 
it's actually "da Mayor"

Just want to brag that the delegates had a special breakfast with the mayor of Århus, Jacob Bundsgaard, the Friday morning, it was free coffee and food and a nice speech and one the main organizers of Roskilde introduced him. The mayor is a young guy and well spoken, he made a joke about the rarity of so many music industry professionals being up that early, and that thing was at 11. Ha.

SPOT Festival 2013 Index
Number of total hours spent on bus to and from Århus: 19
Number of bands seen: 15
Number of musicians interviewed: 8
Number of times a musician told me his most compulsive habits were smoking weed and masturbation: 1
Approximate number of kilometers walked between the main venues: 15
Percentage of those bands that I think will be around in a year: 85%
Percentage of those bands that I think will be around in ten years: 10%
Amount of times I employed the double negative “This isn’t anything I haven’t seen before:” 10+
Ratio of meals consumed sitting down at a table versus running to catch a show: 2:7
Cost, in Danish crowns, of the cab ride I took one kilometer: 89
Ratio of just good bands versus unique and truly awesome bands: 13:1
Complete number of intense, heartfelt discussions: 4
Number of strangers I shared a room with, at a hostel: 5
Number of times I saw someone hit in the face with a door: 2
Amount of times I yelled “She’s not the next Grimes!”: 1
Total number of shots given to me when it was discovered I’m from California: 1
Age, in years, of the guy I did a shot with at the “This” venue in the Scandinavian Congress Center: 19
Number of beers liberated, by me, from a label party versus total cases of beers liberated, by friends, a backstage party: 2:5
Frequency with which I mentioned a previous trip Århus, per hour: 1:1
Water bottles lost: 1
Number of times we discussed Minor Threat and Suicidal Tendencies, respectively: 1:14
Percentage of more eloquent and informative posts you can read after this: at least 2.

I gave my watch and my necklace and intend to get both those things back at Roskilde. Love you always, Denmark.

28 April 2013

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say! SPOT Festival May 2-4

I hope you liked that Macbeth quote. Guess who's little writing hobby, someone's small side project, someone's little fun-thing-on-the-weekend, yeah I'll do this sure why not casual music writing thingie (which is now taking almost as much time as my real job) has earned them a place as a delegate at Denmark's own version of SXSW, the SPOT Festival? Me! 
I am so excited, Rob Helbig, founder and giant creative brain behind Nothingbuthopeandpassion, asked me to come along. Launch day is this Thursday, when we board a bus with a bunch of other German media people to take a nine-hour ride to 
Århus. Read the blurb we wrote here, I'm very proud of my "use other buzzwords" sentence and the cigarette analogy.  Rob and the nice people over at Nordic by Nature came up with a Top 21 Hottest Acts of SPOT 2013.  Memorable acts that have gotten started here are Sigur Rós, The Raveonettes and  Spleen United.  Tune in to NBHAP for updates and shenanigans.

In honor of my third trip to Denmark in less than a year, I want to share this picture of the Redflesh (Danish hardcore) 7" I purchased at Spillestedet Stengade during the Distortion Festival.  I did it  because M- told me to. I didn't even have a record player. At 4 a.m. we saw someone set a bike on fire. At 6 a. m. we were still walking around Copenhagen talking about Phillip Roth. Nørrebro kærlighed. Since then, a whole perfect series of events have led me back, and the Waldo and Marsha interview I did in Århus in December was my ticket into Nothingbuthopeandpassion. See, dreams do come true. At least indie in Denmark dreams.


21 April 2013

Brasstronaut interview, Øya Showcase and Chvrches show review

Had the pleasure of interviewing Brasstronaut a few weeks ago, they were in Berlin to 
perform at the Comet Club. Expansive, Canadian neo-psych-folk.



Brasstronaut - Bounce from TIN ANGEL on Vimeo.

Thursday night was the Introducingin April: Øya Special. This was at Bii Nuu, especially nice because beforehand they had a reception with free food and drinks for music industry people. All Norwegian bands, Truls is the most catchy. Sample dialog:
R: I manage Heyerdahl. You wrote about that band?
K: Hmm, no never heard of them, pretty sure I never wrote about that band

[some time later, realizing I DID write about them, I just didn't understand the name as it is pronounced in Norwegian]
K: [thinking] I need to pay more attention.
 


Also, saw Chvrches with Arthur Beatrice at Berghain.  I lost my coat check tag and someone turned it in, there is hope for humanity. I will convince this band has a lot of crossover mainstream appeal, a lot of friends who aren't really that into music have heard of them and love them and so forth. Please just know that there are PLENTY of rad bands out there that are doing something far more cutting edge and interesting than Chvrches. Yet they covered Prince so enjoy. At the temple of club culture.


16 April 2013

SiSSi - Fool for Love

I almost forgot, the first video I wrote about, SiSSi singing "Fool for Love." Gold fingernails! Black and white imagery!

Jason Lytle, Jason Lytle, how I love thee

February was special for a lot of reasons. First, it was dark and totally sucky. Then, I went on vacation and got strep throat and got to experience the French emergency room. "Je suis mal a la gorge" is how you say "I have a sore throat in French." Lastly, I went to Brussels for the PIAS [NITES] festival. I was hoping to interview Alt-J and Jason Lytle and both interviews fell through the day before. I never wrote a review of the festival because it was such a disappointment. Jason Lytle (who was introduced as Jason "Little") got so frustrated during his set he almost walked off stage, there was some malfunction with a drum tone that kept going off. He ended his set with ten minutes of drone and stomped off looking majorly pissed. The one good thing was I found this amazing photographer, see one of her choice pictures below.
Jason Lytle at PIAS Nites in Brussels, photo by Trân N. Kulash

However, it was a magical month because a few days later, two weeks to be exact, Jason Lytle was in Berlin and I had the privilege of seeing him in a much better venue, Zur Gluhlampe, a great bar with a total SF vibe. It just goes to show how much place has to do with enjoyment of a band or a musician, and a giant warehouse in Brussels is not ideal for someone as earnest and intimate as the former Grandaddy frontman. I wrote a review of it, and was reminded of how much I love writing show reviews.

So, to counteract all the stuff that went wrong earlier, I found a great bar and saw an awesome living room style show. See, life is...worth it. Jason also remixed an Indians track, follow the link for the free download.

15 April 2013

hearts were broken and remade this month

Let's just say I've been busy writing some fun little odds and ends. I got really sick for about a week which led me to watch three straight days of MTV and VH1, which was like Top 40 crack, I loved it! My favorite was an "80s versus 90s" show on VH1, which made me realize how many drugs people did in the 1980s, especially Boy George.  I saw a lot of mainstream pop and rock acts and then would read all about them online. Anyway, the upside, besides my new-found deep and expert knowledge of Rihanna, is that I once again appreciate the video as a companion form to a song. Which is great, because STRFKR made this unbelievable short yet eye-melting accompaniment to their song Beach Monster, from their most recent album Miracle Mile. The album got slammed on Pitchfork, which just goes to show, not everyone has the same opinion. I wrote something about it for NBHAP too.
Next up, it's Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips, doing what they do best, which is alternately freaking out and seducing suburban America. They performed on Late Night with David Letterman. Check out my thoughts on their newest album The Terror, do not listen to while on a bad acid trip it will only make it worse. 
As far as a few little odds and ends, I wrote the promotions for the Introducing in March and Introducing in April series, which NBHAP is now co-sponsoring with Intro magazine. I'll be there this Thursday, the line-up is very promising. 

14 April 2013

so much has happened: Snøffeltøffs, Bleached and The Leisure Society

I can't believe I haven't posted here in over a month, it's been busy in life and at NBHAP, I have a Twitter feed @kikajonsson so please follow that if you want to be kept up to date in what I write. Biggest change is that NBHAP is Berlin-based, and growing constantly. I'll be interviewing a few bands this month, and also very psyched to attend the SPOT festival in Denmark with blog founder Rob Helbig. So put that in your pipe and smoke it!


I interviewed Christian and Nick of The Leisure Society, who are some very British, very good looking and very talented musicians from Bristol/London.  They have a new album out, Alone Aboard the Ark.
Next I had the pleasure of interviewing fellow Californians Bleached, they are from San Fernando Valley but I won't hold that against them because they are so good. They both have 808 tattoos on their lower lips. The new album Ride Your Heart is very catchy.

Lastly, I had a great time talking to an actual Berlin band, Snøffeltøffs. The name means nothing and the Scandinavian "o" is a big pain the ass, next time you name your band make sure it without requiring weird keyboards. Just saw them play last night and they are a band that is much better live than recording. Their EP Female Dreams, is, appropriately, all songs about girls. Really fast paced garage rock, worthy of comparisons to The Undertones, The Kinks, and the Ramones. I had originally used their last names in the article and they frantically asked for them to be removed, so they can stay anonymous, I don't get it, whatever, they are good catch them live if you can.

10 March 2013

the interview to end all interviews: Low

Please follow the links to read about the amazing conversation I had with Low.  Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker were incredibly easy to talk to, and we covered a range of interesting topics. I could not include everything, but we talked about Jeff Tweedy, nervous breakdowns, internet cat videos, potty training, and the complications of touring.

I also reviewed the latest David Bowie release, The Next Day. My favorite description of the new album cover was by someone at the Guardian, who said it looked like he stuck a post it over the album Heroes.

Baby in Vain

And lastly, the excellent founder of NBHAP Rob Helbig proved once and for all how devoted he is to women's rights by letting me post a track for International Women's Day. Baby in Vain is the Danish equivalent of Black Sabbath, but aged nineteen and female.

24 February 2013

FIDLAR, Berlin, February 2013


Let's remember a fantastic evening a few weeks ago. FIDLAR rocked Berlin's Bii Nuu, preceded by Shields from Newcastle and Vimes from Cologne. You can read my interview with them on NBHAP, they were the funniest and nicest band I have had a chance to talk to in awhile. Plus, it was talking to Californians, which is just like wrapping myself up in a warm blanket of familiarity. The fellas put on a great set, which was recorded by Arte and available to watch. So pour yourself a cheap beer and live vicariously through the internet.