Way out North
The influential and standard-setting Norwegian booking company Atomic Agency brings some of its strongest acts to Popkomm for its Way out North showcase on Friday 15th of august.
![]("/nmi.nsf/Files/speaker/$file/speaker.gif")
| Listen to an extract of Slowpho’s latest single ”Summer Flirt” |
![]("/nmi.nsf/Files/cart/$file/cart.gif") | Listen to more Slowpho tracks or buy their acclaimed ”Hi-Fi Sounds for Young Norwegians” album or fresh ”Summer Flirt” EP |
In collaboration between the Norwegian Way out north concept and Popkomm, Atomic Agency presents four of Norway’s most central electronica acts. Capturing the zeitgeist of the Norwegian scene, the four live bands will also act as musical ambassadors for their respective labels who in turn represent a wealth of talent and creativity within their genres.
The four live-acts will hit the stage at Cologne’s MTC club on Friday 15th. The first act is on at 9 p.m. and the whole showcase lasts until well past midnight. It should be noted that all bands are highly seasoned live-acts – no introvert knob-twiddling and technical glitches here.
Sternklang
Three acclaimed albums, scores of remixes as well as countless domestic and international gigs and festival performances have contributed to the making of one of Norway's foremost electonica acts – Sternklang. With an uncanny ability to infuse fresh blood into the veins of the genre, Sternklang has created a niche of his own that is characterised by warm, organic, pulsating, infectious, catchy, humorous and plain good tunes. Sternklang's forte is his ability to recreate the tunes in a live setting – utterly captivating. Sternklang is released on dBut records.
Listen to and purchase Sternklang tracks here.
dBut Records
One of Norway's central independent labels. With a history that spans a decade and a long list of acclaimed releases, dBut enjoys a solid position as a steady supplier of Norwegian electronica. With such artists as Sternklang, Moon Orchestra, Perculator and Boy as well as the vinyl imprint label Tamburin, dBut is maintaining a strong domestic and a constantly increasing international status. International touring coupled with a growing distribution network abroad has contributed to a further strengthening of the label's international profile – a process that's ongoing and constantly expansive.
Salvatore
Recorded by legendary John McEntire (Tortoise, Sea and Cake), Salvatore’s latest album, Tempo, has taken Norway by storm. Most recently, they took the Best Electronic Album at the Norwegian Grammys. They were also awarded the Top 15 Albums of the Year for 2002, and won the Norwegian talent Zoom competition, which sent them on tour through England, Scotland, Sweden, and Norway. Recently, they were asked to tour Japan.
Impressive reviews have also ensued ... the band has been well received by big names such as Mojo, Uncut, and The Wire. They have been asked to be featured on The Wire’s compilation CD, as well as the Earworm compilation cd. Salvatore has supported bands such as Godspeed You Black Emperor, Black Heart Procession, To Rococo Rot, and recently did a live recording with legendary Damo Suzuki from CAN. Salvatore is released on Racing Junior in Norway, and through Glitterhouse in Europe.
Listen to Salvatore tracks here.
Racing Junior
After releasing 20 records since its inception in 2000, Oslo-based Racing Junior has established itself as one of the leading indie-labels in Norway. Racing Junior’s goal is to focus on great music, but to remain diverse and open to all genres. Racing Junior boasts the following artists: St. Thomas, Ai Phoenix, Salvatore , Portrait Of David, Hello Goodbye, Tøyen, and Merry November.
Slowpho
Slowpho is a duo consisting of Hilde Drange on vocals and Christian
Watkins on electronics. Their debut album “Hi-Fi sound for young Norwegians” released last year have been very well received around the globe, especially in Japan and USA. They describe their style as "poptronics", electronica and downbeat with a jazzy coolness, pop attitude and a splash of rock. Slowpho is released on Beatservice Records/VME.
The 4t of august saw the release of their cool summer breeze ep “Summer Flirt” in Europe.
Listen to and purchase Slowpho tracks here.
Beatservice Records
Beatservice Records have since 1994 slowly worked its way up to be the
leading electronica label in Norway, with more than 70 releases so far in a
wide range of electronic style. The last years, Beatservice have enjoyed success
both in Norway and abroad with artists such as Xploding Plastix, Flunk and
Slowpho. Beatservice is also the Scandinavian label for Biosphere (who is
released through Touch in the rest of the world).
Frost/FrostWorld Recordings
The Norwegian electronic act Frost is a collaboration between lovely chanteuse and femme digitale Aggie Peterson and producer, blipster and partner Per Martinsen. Together, and with a little help from their popstar friends Röyksopp and nu-jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær, they have made the spanking new album Melodica.
From naively executed quirky melodies, via glitch-house rhythmology to synthesizer-pop and post-electronica sonic manipulation, Melodica lands on a vibe somewhere close to the Cocteau Twins teleported into the next millennium utilising the prototype of Raymond Scott's long lost tone-teleportation-modulator.
If the name Frost gives you a chilly spine, have no fear - to keep you safe, Aggie's goosebump vocals pull everything into a perfect warming place throughout every track.
The album Melodica is released on FrostWorld Recordings, licensed through Universal Music in Norway. For Europe, the album will be released in association with Love OD Communications through VME Distribution on September the 2nd.
Melodica will also be out in the US on license via Shadow Recordings (September 2003).
Listen to Frost tracks here.
Date: Friday the 15th at the
Venue: MTC club,
Adress: Zülpicher str. 10 Cologne
Time: Doors open at 2000
More info on the venue here.
Line up
2100 Frost (Frost World Recordings)
2200 Slowpho (Beatservice Records)
2300 Sternklang (dBut Records)
2400 Salvatore (Racing Junior)
For more info on the Way Out North concept contact Atomic Agency’s Hilde Drange at +47 40202060 or hilde@atomicagency.no.
Headlines:
