Norwegian mini-festival in London

Renowned Norwegian indie label Racing Junior invites the London audience for a two-day mini festival.

	Listen to a 30 second clip of Salvatore’s Easy
	Listen to more Salvatore tracks or buy the whole Tempo album

12.02.2003 | By: Tomas Lauvland Pettersen

Spread over two days, February 19-20, Norwegian indie label Racing Junior presents its artists at the stage of London’s The Spitz.

The Racing Junior mini-festival roster features several of the Norwegian scene’s strongest names at the moment: Hello Goodbye, Salvatore, Ai Phoenix, Tøyen, Portrait of David and The White Birch.

Hello Goodbye recently released their latest album Heart Attack in the UK. It has already picked up some excellent reviews – Kerrang declared it to be “brilliant” and awarded it four out of five. NME have also singled out Hello Goodbye on their Top 10 of what’s hot. Hello Goodbye’s Heart Attack was released in the rest of Europe on February 10.

Salvatore is a vital and productive collective spearheading the so-called post-rock movement in Norway. Despite having been around for only four years, Salvatore have managed to put out four full-length albums to wide critical acclaim. Word of the collective’s capabilities spread all the way to Chicago to a certain John McEntire of Tortoise fame. McEntire agreed to produce Salvatore’s latest album Tempo which was released in Norway autumn 2002 to massive acclaim. Tempo has been nominated for a Norwegian Grammy. Salvatore is also known as a pulsating and captivating live-band. Mojo Magazine fell under the collective’s spell after a 2002 gig: Salvatore cook their instrumental spacerock grooves with sufficient relish for Tortoise's John McEntire to have produced their album, and their set is the perfect accompaniment for a late afternoon paddle.

Ai Phoenix has gained an international fan-base through their evocative, melodic and intense albums and live-shows. Their latest album Lean That Way Forever was released on respected German label Glitterhouse in Europe last May. The reception was formidably positive, and the band has toured in Europe in support of the album. Lean That Way Forever has also been nominated for a Norwegian Grammy.

Tøyen is a unique act on the Norwegian scene. Their take on electronica is highly individual as they compose their twisted bhangraesque two-step broken beats on a pair of Playstation consoles. The Tøyen tunes are filled to the brim with humour and wit and their live-shows are full of the same non-self indulgent charisma. The duo has released one acclaimed EP so far and is expected to release an album later this year.

Although closely related to the other bands, The White Birch is not a Racing Junior signing. The band, which has released three massively acclaimed albums, has been around for more than seven years. Last year saw the release of The White Birch’s latest album Star is just a sun on German label Glitterhouse. The reviews have been unanimously positive so far. To quote shakenstir.co.uk: It is a very beautiful record (4/5). White Birch front-man and Salvatore guitarist Ola Fløttum will also perform with his solo-project Portrait of David.

The Racing Junior mini-festival in London is supported by the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

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