sweden’s club 8 is a calming duo consisting of karolina komstedt and johan angergård. inside experimenting and arranging mixes of warm and light harmonic vocals, the music gently compliments within soft tones of melancholy twee pop, sultry bossa nova and laid back trip hop. after forming together in 1995, club 8 have created over six beautiful albums and are currently signed to the label, labrabor records.

leave the north
whatever you want
[the boy who couldnt stop dreaming, 2007]

(thankyou to skatterbrain’s top 15 of 2007, matthew’s genuine recommendation of club 8 was my introduction and the song leave the north quickly became apart of my favorites too.)

the bird keeper
artwork by sarah ogren

“I love vintage images and enjoy incorporating them into my work. I’m also a big sucker for unique frames. I scour antique shops and resale shops for old images to use, to make a piece a little more modern. I’m in love with collage and enjoy the texture of paper.

My art is a combination of the past and present, my life experiences, my dreams and my sometimes quirky sense of humor. I find my inspiration in old photographs, antique furniture and clothing, nature, surrealist art, and from my relationships.”

i think this is the end for the both of us

..yes way..

(as in, “no way !”–

the way of saying ‘yes’…

a friend recently told me
i should say yes to everything

playing with that… playing with some friends at Cakeshop
this Sunday night, April 13th, in NYC

8pm
Toby Goodshank
Kath Bloom
Ken’s Last Ever Radio Extravaganza
Diane Cluck w/ Anders Griffen on drums

seven dollars asked for at the door

Cakeshop’s on the Lower East Side
152 Ludlow Street (betw. Stanton & Rivington)

(photo of wisteria growing up down all around georgia
when i left and me yesterday)

–diane–

listen :: i’m yr here-i-am

growing up, listening to the oldies radio station while calmly falling asleep in the backseat is part of my fondest memories. the tone of music kept a memorable quality, a type of safe haven that made the sound create a sense of historic elegance. hearing this now years later, the same feeling lingers. music nostalgia is sometimes the greatest gift that can ever be shared especially when it brings you comfort.

angel of the morning
by merrilee rush [angel of the morning, 1968]

what the world needs now is love
by jackie deshannon [what the world needs now is love, 1965]

nights in white satin
by the moody blues [days of future passed, 1967]

artwork by per-inge isheden

on june 3rd, ladytron share their fourth studio album velocifero on the new label nettwerk records. without losing any electronic ways, this liverpool quartet produce elements of gothic synthpop within layers of bulgarian vocals, shoegazing bass and distorted drums. starting in may, together ladytron will be touring selected cities in north america, the uk and europe.

black cat [velocifero, 2008]
destroy everything you touch (hot chip remix)

stereogum presents a tribute to bjork’s album post including contributions from artists such as the liars, bell, high places, the dirty projectors, xiu xiu, pattern is movement, evangelicals and atlas sound.

hyperballad
the dirty projectors

“I think what I took from Björk when I was obsessed with her in high school was her way with deconstruction. She writes these classic melodies but breaks them apart so that it’s sort of up to you as the listener to put them back together. The song ends up meaning so much more because of the effort you have to give to it. Out of a perverse habit, I tried to do the opposite with this recording: present the song like the unbroken stone it might have been. But I think I probably just arrived at a new deconstruction: Björk’s essence remains elusive!”

london’s martina topley-bird is what first started me listening to tricky’s maxinquaye. tricky’s female counterpart made the raw background of his spoken vocals become personal and bittersweet, sharing a simplicity that another woman could give a sense of herself as confident yet vulnerable all at the same time. this true feeling of emotion that filtered through and stemmed from deep inside, turned martina’s soft, sensual vocals into pure gold. scheduled for release in may 2008, her second solo album is entitled the blue god and was produced by long-time friend dangermouse.

l i s t e n

valentine [the blue god, 2008]
poison (van she remix)
overcome by tricky [maxinquaye, 1995]

a few months ago, amplive were legally allowed to freely distribute their remix album of radiohead’s in rainbows. with hip hop contributions from del the funky homosapien, too $hort, codany holliday, mc zumbi and chali2na, their own creative stylings colorfully showcase a complimentary interpretation.

listen:: video tapez (ft del the funky homosapien)