Cosy Den

www.cosyden.com

2008-03-17T10:07:00.002+01:00

After 255 posts and 31,370 visits, it's time to say goodbye to Blogger and Myspace as the places to go for information on Cosy Den and Cosy Recordings.
Thank you all for reading here.
We hope you like the new site!

COSY011: Little Big Adventure "Saltsjö-Duvnäs" (plus info on The Budgies and The Garlands)

2008-03-10T07:14:00.011+01:00

Cosy Recordings are proud to announce that it will release LITTLE BIG ADVENTURE's song "Saltsjö-Duvnäs" as a single! It is a cover of the fantastic tune by Erik Halldén, and will be backed by another cover version, of Broder Daniel's early classic "Son of St Jacobs".

The single will be available in 100 copies only, so make sure to order your copy now! The price is 25 SEK plus shipping. Send an e-mail to popen_maste_do (at) hotmail.com and you will recieve payment instructions. Distribution details will be revealed shortly.

Lisa Persson has made some excellent artwork, and here is what the front cover will look like:

You can expect to have your first chance to buy this release on the 26th!

That will probably also be the case with the EP from The Garlands and the album from The Budgies!
As soon as the fronts for their sleeves are ready, we will show them here, along with a presentation of the bands.

Interview with Dickon from Nöjesguiden, before the Landet gig

2008-03-10T04:33:00.003+01:00

The interview is rather short so I might as well quote all of it here.
If you don't read Swedish, the only thing you really need to know is that Dickon likes to give people a reason to dress up.
I certainly will.

***

Foscakaka!
Martina Lowdens favoritband Fosca kommer till Landet när klubbarna Cosy den och Bring all your friends samarbetar. Sångaren och gitarristen Dickon Edwards svarade på några frågor.
Fosca gör en hel del hårda uttalanden på nya skivan. Eller muckar ni gräl?
— Jag fattar inte poängen med att ta fram sin penna, eller att gå fram till mikrofonen om du inte har något intressant att säga.
Du kommer inte att dj:a lite efter Landet-spelningen?
— Allt man kan säga som dj är ”jag gillar den här skivan och jag vill tillfredsställa folk”. Vilket är gulligt, men inte min högsta mening med livet.
Vill du att publiken ska klä upp sig för er spelning?
— Det skulle vara trevligt, ja. Kläder är ett statement som vilket annat. Jag gillar att ge folk en anledning att klä upp sig.

Canarie song list

2008-02-23T21:41:00.003+01:00

Here's my song list from the Canarie night at Debaser Malmö!

Fosca - We see the world as our stunt doubles
Morrissey - I don't mind if you forget me
Park Hotell - Low on resistance
The Snow Fairies - Firefly
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - 1999
Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Annie, I'm not your daddy!
Bad Dream Fancy Dress - Flair

The Bear Quartet - Hawser
The Bright Lights - You have amazing powers
Twig - On our bashful knees
Ray Rumours - Rose + Tim
Friday Bridge - Love & nostalgia
Nixon - Summer love song
Saint Etienne - Pale movie
Tredje Mannen - Igen
Elenette - Kärlekskomplexet
The Postal Service - Clark Gable
Bonnie Tyler - It's a heartache
Bart & Friends - How can you tell me you love me?
Palpitation - Norway! Disappear!
Pipas - Bitter club
Cats On Fire - Crooked paper clip
Fosca - I've agreed to something I should'nt have
Momus - A complete history of sexual jelaousy parts 17-24
Johan Hedberg - Var dig själv
Tant Strul - Då är det inte kärlek
Teen Anthems - Notting Hill
Fat Tulips - So unbelievable
Ratata - Jackie
Lustans Lakejer - Image fatale
Chloë - Prekär
Mount Eiree - Dead of the night
Go-Betweens - Love goes on!
The Lemonheads - My drug buddy
McCarthy - We are all bourgoisie now
Rough Bunnies - Balz came and went
Heavenly - Shallow
Regina - Kohtaamisia kaupungissa

Goodbye Sthlm, hello Malmö!

2008-02-20T09:43:00.002+01:00

Thanks a lot for last night - it was mad! More on this later.

Tomorrow, I'll be dj-ing at Canarie Records' night at Debaser in Malmö. Cedarwell, Winter Took His Life, Björn Kleinhenz are playing live! Be there.

Pictures from yesterday!

2008-02-18T09:47:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Söndagscaféet for a great joint night!
Special thanks to everyone who contributed to the travel expenses!
Click here for more pictures.

Elsewhere...

2008-02-17T01:58:00.007+01:00

If you like to click links, this post is for you.

If you'd like to see photos from the last Cosy Den night in Stockholm, with The Mare and Elenette, click here!

If you read Swedish, here's a rant on Landet's blog.
If you read Swedish AND want to read a great Elenette interview from ETC, click here!

If you would like to get even more excited about the co-release of The Garlands with Cloudberry, click here!
If you like good pop music, I removed all old songs on the Cosy Recordings mysp*ce and replaced them with brand new ones. Welcome in for a listen.

Thank yous

2008-02-14T04:23:00.002+01:00

Forgot to say ta very much to Christian on here, for the brilliant flyer! And, having done that, I may as well thank Karin, Johan, Cecilia, Oscar and Pang for being lovely (I could go on). No records or club nights without people like you.

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names and OSAKAvsTOKYO DJs to join the fun next Tuesday! + here be sleeves!

2008-02-11T08:41:00.000+01:00

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names are also playing next Tuesday!
Peter and Johan have been working on new songs for quite a while now, and finally we'll get to hear some of them!
They will also have a new live setting, and make full use of the space on the Landet stage, so this is definitely not one to miss!
Judging by the current looks of the SKWBN website, they look up for it...

And, I'm also happy to announce that DJs from OSAKAvsTOKYO, that's been one of the best indie nights in Stockholm for as long as I've been old enough to go to indie nights, will play their finest tunes for us all evening long!
They will also be assisted by Miriam Pemberton (picking her very best 7" singles) and Vargen (possibly putting on twee from India)!

***

Here are the sleeves for cosy009 and cosy010!

Song list from Spiral Scratch!

2008-01-31T02:54:00.000+01:00

Alright then, here's the list!

The Mare - Happiness
Laurel Music - No one wants forever #1
Saloon - Girls are the new boys
Cinerama - Your charms
Little Big Adventure - Saltsjö Duvnäs 01
The Lemonheads - The outdoor type
Pipas - Rock and/or roll
They Go Boom!! - I wish you were someone else
Scaredycat - Anna Bananas
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - 1999
The Diskettes - 12345
Teen Anthems - We're indie shit
Garlands - Starshy
Nixon - Stupid heart
Rough Bunnies - Balz came and went
Heavenly - Tool
Dorotea - It's gonna be me (but I couldn't care less)

(The Deirdres live)

Kid Kreole & the Coconuts - Annie, I'm not your daddy!
Fun Boy Three feat. Bananarama - T'ain't what you do (it's the way that you do it)
Bad Dream Fancy Dress - Flair
The Housemartins - I can't put my finger on it
Ultrasport - The boy that never lied
Ici Paris - Centre du monde

(Pocketbooks live)

My Favorite - Le monster
Franke - Aldrig förstå
Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays
The Siddeleys - You get what you deserve
McCarthy - Keep an open mind or else

(Sparky's Magic Piano live)

Cats on Fire - Born again Christian
Twa Toots - Please don't play "A rainy night in Georgia"
The Cat's Miaow - Third floor fire escape view
The Hit Parade - In Gunnersbury Park
Eisenhower - Disorder

Thanks!

2008-01-18T09:06:00.000+01:00

Yes, yesterday was great!
Really glad so many came out.
Thanks to Elenette and The Mare for lovely gigs, and to Karin and Alice for great tunes all night long! Thanks also to those who helped out!
See you in February, Stockholm.

DJ set at Spiral Scratch on the 30th!

2008-01-13T11:51:00.000+01:00

Yay! What a line up. Three ace bands!
If you're in London, no excuse for your absence is good enough. Well, perhaps death in the family. I'll play the very best pop songs i know, and you'll be able to buy the Cosy Recordings releases. Looking forward!

The Mare join Elenette next Thursday!

2008-01-10T10:08:00.000+01:00

More great news!
The Mare will join Elenette on Landet's stage next Thursday!
2007 saw a brand new single on the fantastic Cloudberry label, and you can listen to Didn't see you coming here!
Yeah, and three other songs on the myspage, here.
From the start, I think it was Cats on Fire who nagged a bit about The Mare. I'm quite grateful they did.
The Mare played with the Cats at Landet on my first club night there nearly one and a half years ago, and it was surely a fantastic evening. A couple of days later, we all found ourselves at the Emmaboda camping, singing This is how it feels by Inspiral Carpets, over and over. I suppose you can't blame me for loving The Mare.
Yeah, and they also make brilliant pop songs, have a listen and a read!

I've been pimping The Mare for a good two years or so. So when I come across some news about the band I generally post it. When it's a new song it's a cause for celebration. So today we celebrate. Cloudberry Records is about to release a 3 track 3" cd ep by the band, 1/3 of which is available now online. "Didn't See You Coming" has all the elements of a Swedish lofi indie pop hit. It's got the jangliest guitars this side of Manchester, certifiable twee vocals and an innocence that will play well with indie pop fans from here to Jakarta and from the Philippines to Olympia, Wa. / swedesplease.blogspot.com on the Cloudberry single

"The Mare’s ‘Sad’ and ‘Sad Affair’ ride melodic trails like ghost riders in the sky, and evoke a certain dusty atmosphere within the magic confines of Pop that’s well, just ace. Jennie Sundstrom’s version sees the track, all evocative guitars and spectral percussion, glow with feminine fragility and shimmer, while Charley Rivel gives it a crazy kind of wonder, like Jack White singing off Darren Hayman’s back in a bubble-strewn wild-west. And that, I think you’ll agree, is really something." / Neil Jones at miwsig.co.uk on the Sad affair single

Oh, and the entrance is not yet decided, but it will be soon, and it will either be around the usual 40 kronor, or an arrangement where you get the Elenette EP with the entrance. Flyer updated soon!

Fosca and Friday Bridge at Landet, Wednesday the 26th of Marsh!

2008-01-02T22:21:00.000+01:00

At the moment, I am way too thrilled to write anything clever here.
I will just say that it is going to be spectacular and that you will all come. Well, just show up among the first 130 or so, will you? Lovely.
Thank you very much to Bring All Your Friends who will co-arrange the night with me on their date, and to But Is It Art? who will release the new Fosca album shortly before the Sweden gigs.
More shortly.

Fosca
Friday Bridge

Johan interviewed by fröken Fahl...

2007-12-22T01:29:00.000+01:00

...and he talks a bit about how he goes about making music. And the last-minute struggle with the first EP! Listen here (starts after 14.40 minutes)!

2007-12-21T12:57:00.000+01:00

Kiitos! Tack! Thanks!

2007-12-08T23:09:00.000+01:00

I love Turku, Hägersten and Jönköping. Yeah, and expect pictures here soon.
And for those who came to Landet, here's what White Town thought of you:

Hello lovely people!

I'm now back in England and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you if you came to the gig last Monday at Landet. You were all amazingly polite and attentive. And startlingly attractive! A dream audience for any performer!

Thank you again for listening!
love and kisses,
Jyoti

Further reading here!

Simple as that

2007-12-02T13:52:00.000+01:00

Elenette - the best a man can get...

2007-11-24T21:05:00.001+01:00

...says Jyoti. Click here!

Oh, and here's the sleeve for the Autenticitet EP! Well done, Karin! Click to enlarge.

Les Yper Sound's flyer!

2007-11-23T15:57:00.000+01:00

Simple as that. Looking good!

White Town will also play at Landet!

2007-11-22T17:48:00.000+01:00

Fantastic news!

White Town from Derby, England will come back to Stockholm once again! One could say that Jyoti Mishra is a Cosy Den veteran by now. You all know his huge hit, "Your woman". I bought the album around 1997, when it came out. And eight years later, I read an interview with Jyoti in the fanzine En Garde. I sent him an e-mail, and... er, the rest is history. Even though he hadn't played live in a decade. White Town has played at Cosy Den arrangements three times, and has also visited Varberg and Turku for gigs and other types of fun. Since the first 7" single in 1990, download it here by the way!, White Town has released four full-length albums and a couple of singles. 2006 saw the release of the beautiful album "Don't mention the war". White Town has also contributed with a cover version of Felt's "Bitter end" for the "A tribute to Felt" album on Elephant. I'm very excited to have Jyoti and Gaz (original member from back when White Town was a trio) over again and I can't wait to take them to Skansen with a thermos of Swedish blueberry soup! But first of all, there's the gig at Landet! Yay!

White Town's official website
Jyoti Mishra's blog

And here are a couple of videos for you:

"White town" (1989)

"Undressed" (1997)

"Your woman" (1997)

"Make the world go away" (2006)

"White town" (live clip from Gothenburg, 2006)

"Theme for a BBC Natural Historhy series presented by Richard Dawkins" (2006)

Erik Halldén at Landet! Monday the 3rd of December!

2007-11-20T18:03:00.000+01:00

I've had this date preliminarily booked for quite a while and a lot of work to do with the Elenette release(es), so I haven't been sure if I'd keep it or not. Now that Erik logged on to the msn and turned out to be keen to play, it really wasn't an option to let it go anymore!

I don't really know what to write about Erik Halldén. If I did, this text would probably be pretty similar to the one I wrote about Paddington DC. Love at first listen, really. There's such a distinct feeling of intimacy, heart-on-sleeve, fragility and warmth around his songs. I could go on and on, but listen for yourselves instead.

Erik hasn't played live for the last year or so. Now he will. And, we can expect something new as well.

You can listen to four songs on Erik's myspage. Even though they're a bit old now, you really should.
Here are six songs, too, linked from his website:

Saltsjö Duvnäs 01
Do the right thing
Skyscrapers and tall buildings
The jungle
Choosing postcards in the louvre
When my broken heart was modern art

Another link: review of "When my broken heart was modern art" from Common Paper
And another one: review of Erik's concert at Parklife from Musik enligt Jerry

The Cosy Den last fm shoutbox crew will spin some records! We can look forward to post punk, twee and disco from the speakers!

The entrance will be between 20 kr and 50 kr. If 50 kr, there'll be something more on the bill as well.

Finally, I can't help posting this joyful clip from Bräkne-Hoby again:

Don't give me that shit!

2007-11-15T20:35:00.000+01:00

Give me this instead!

See you there!

Hedberg update!

2007-11-10T13:29:00.001+01:00

For all you geeks out there, Labrador will re-release the first EP as a 10" EP, with "Hurra för fredag fest och öl" (listen here) as the treat for those who already have the Cosy Recordings single! And - as me and Johan will have to try to come up with a treat for those of you who haven't already got it, #151-#300 will feature some bonus material! Let's get all three, eh? Sorted!

And apparently, P3 Lab played "Var dig själv" and talked a bit about Cosy this Thursday!
Listen here (torsdag 8 november 2007 22:03)! It's the first song, too. Neat! Except the bloke says the club Cosy Den is no more, haha.
Just you wait! More club/concert dates will be announced quite soon.

In the garden, in your underwear

2007-10-31T00:52:00.000+01:00

Thanks a LOT, everyone, for everything! As much as I believe Twig and Paddington DC deserve a wide audience for their gigs (and same with Siri and Kalle for their dj skills!), I could never have imagined the place would be filled again. On a Monday. With fantastic people. You're all amazing, do me a favour and shine on.

Special thanks to Anders, Kalle and Jonas for helping out with sound. And to the bartender, for being so helpful with change. And to those who sat behind the counter when I needed a cigarette. The list could go on, eh.

This post will be filled with photos from yesterday. If you took some, please upload them! Thanks! And yeah, click to enlarge.
Here are the first ones, from Pierre.
He came all the way from Jönköping for Paddington DC, so his hands shook a bit during that gig, but some good ones of Twig! And a good one of Calle.

Update 071102: Julia sent me some nice pictures, too!
Here they are:

Twig made a flyer!

2007-10-25T21:50:00.000+02:00

Nice one!

Flyer!

2007-10-18T17:22:00.000+02:00

Here is Christian's flyer set for the 29th!
Click the first one for psychedelic effect.

And, for those of you not on a train to Stockholm on the 27th, check this out!

P3 Pop interview with Johan Hedberg!

2007-10-17T18:56:00.000+02:00

Yeah, it's almost starting to get silly now.
But, out of four artists that have been or will be "properly" released on Cosy Recordings, the weekly pop show P3 Pop have now made interviews with three of them. Within six weeks! I suppose Offerprästers Orkester aren't indie enough though. They're heading for the charts.
Oh well, let's be happy! And let's all listen on Monday, between 10PM and midnight (yeah, I guess you know the ritual by now!).
Read more here!

Review from It's a trap!

2007-10-15T02:39:00.000+02:00

Here's a review of "A short melodrama" from It's a trap!, pretty cheerful!
Forget the "Purchase" links though... here's how to buy it!

Don't skate on my ramp

2007-10-11T14:40:00.000+02:00

Sveriges Television have finally created a Youtube account.
Amazing.

Johan Hedberg - rookie of the year...

2007-10-09T19:14:00.001+02:00

Yeah, eh, I've been waiting to use that headline. And to use a proper gif banner!
Johan Hedberg will play at the Rookie festival, at Rock City in Hultsfred.
The festival takes place on the 26th and 27th of October, and Johan will play 8.05 PM at the Treble stage, on the Saturday.

Dance to the radio! + song list from Sunday

2007-10-04T16:03:00.000+02:00

Listen to the Kalle out of Elenette interview and four snippets aired on Monday's P3 Pop (at least three of those songs will be on the EP records released on Cosy Recordings soon!) here! The Elenette bit starts after around 45 minutes. The whole program is rather enjoyable, with a big feature about Stranded, the Swedish record label often compared to Factory.

Tomorrow, After-School Sports play live at Taramasalata! See you there!

***

Here's my song list from Sunday's Söndagscafé! Thanks to Roozbeh and the others, was a lovely evening!

The Stone Roses - Ten storey love song (view video!)
Patrik Fitzgerald - Safety pin stuck in my heart
The Bright Lights - You have amazing powers
Kevin Rowland - Daydream believer
Tant Strul - Dunkar varmt
Girls At Our Best! - Politics
Television Personalities - Eminem song
McCarthy - I worked myself up from nothing
The Chills - Heavenly pop hit (view video!)
Another Sunny Day - You should all be murdered (view video!)
The Stone Roses - Made of stone (view video!)
Oasis - Rockin' chair
The Bluetones - Slight return (view video!)
Ride - Vapor trail (view video!)
The Smiths - The hand that rocks the cradle
Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Tutande bilar och sunkiga hak
Addo 602 - Insikten om folkciderns alkoholhalt
Elenette - Öppet brev till försvarsmakten (download!)
Klaus Nomi - Just one look*
Nixon - Dance to a different tune
The Field Mice - I can see myself alone forever
Lustans Lakejer - Ögonblickets spänning
Momus - A complete history of sexual jealousy (parts 17-24)
The Sea Urchins - Sullen eyes
Blueboy - Meet Johnny Rave
James Dean Driving Experience - World weary & wise
Johan Hedberg - Kickar grus
Les Calamités - Je suis un calamité
The Siddeleys - What went wrong this time?
Park Hotell - The guest who stayed forever**
Snowbirds - Afterglow
Ballboy - I hate Scotland
The Umpteens - Party in September
Bart & Friends - How can you tell me you love me?
Camera Obscura - Suspended from class
Girlfrendo - I would kill for some weirdness
Bonnie "Price" Billy - Just to see you smile
Happydeadmen - Not the only sucker in town
Butcher Boy - Girls make me sick
Cats on Fire - The cold hands of great men
The Lemonheads - Big gay heart (view video!)
Mattias Alkberg BD - Politix (acoustic demo)
Manic Street Preachers - Love's sweet exile (view video!)
Morrissey - Mute witness
The Divine Comedy - Middle-class heroes
Edwyn Collins - If you could love me
The French - The Wu-Tang Clan
Gunnar Winald - Följ med mig hem

* Not the best mix in the world, haha. Mixing has never been my thing! But actually, the numbers on the mix cd cover were wrong.
** Same here. Was supposed to be Narks - Respektera sig själv. But I didn't mind all that much.

Come on without, come on within

2007-09-28T06:28:00.000+02:00

Just a couple of things happening soon with Cosy related artists! Be there or be a sob sob story!

Twig joins Paddington DC on the 29th of October!

2007-09-27T15:23:00.000+02:00

The second confirmed artist for the night at Landet on Monday the 29th of October is TWIG!
You can listen to four fantastic songs on the myspace page.
And you should also do what I just did - order their 3" single from Cloudberry!
Twig makes pop songs that sounds like nothing I've heard before, they've put together the dark side of Soft Cell, the grace of Divine Comedy and Morrissey's sense of humour and made something quite unique of it. Krister's description below is quite accurate too, I guess.
The debut album will be out on Plastilina early next year!

"...described as a cross between The Wake and Orange Juice. And I have to say that is the most well-founded description of that kind I have heard!"

/ Krister, The Rain Fell Down/Don't Die on My Doorstep

Talk About the Past on Twig

Download Helen of Troy from the "Life in a Swedish town" single!

Elenette interviewed on P3 Pop! + various news bits

2007-09-26T13:13:00.000+02:00

P3 Pop has once again interviewed an artist released on Cosy Recordings! This time it's Kalle Berglund, the crooner from Elenette, who talks about the Swedish 80's wave of, er, new wave! We can expect a lot of music from the likes of Reeperbahn, Lustans Lakejer and Ratata. I'm really looking forward to hearing this, and so are you. Listen this Monday - 10 PM once again!

I could also tell you a bit about what's happening with the label at the moment.

* "A short melodrama" by After-School Sports and Johan Hedberg's self-titled debut EP has now sold over 100 copies each. Be sure to get one of each for yourself! One day, they will all be gone. Distribution isn't sketchy as Swedesplease said, it's right here!

* Johan Hedberg will, despite the stalking skills of the larger labels, stay at Cosy Recordings for another release! This record can be expected sometime in the winter, or in the spring. Johan is now back from the Brazil tour with SKWBN (hurry up and become huge for real lads, so you can bring me along for the tambourine next time!), working on a number of songs... and trust me, they're all brilliant and the second collection of songs might be even better than the first one!

* Elenette will release no less than TWO EP's on Cosy Recordings! The band is set to record in October, and we probably have a release party to look forward to sometime in November! The first EP will probably consist of five or six songs, same with the second one (that one's got a theme about men!).

* Someone also told me that Cosy Recordings is mentioned with kind words in the latest issue of Swedish music magazine Sonic. I'll have to check that out. It was out of stock at 7-Eleven Järntorget this Saturday, but today I'm going to Borås hoping to see Hammarby grab their first points in the fourth game of the season. And the central station is usually good for magazines.

And, well, let's not forget that Cosy Den is also a club night!
The release party for Days is now just weeks away - keep your eyes and ears open!
And for the next night at Landet in Stockholm on the 29th of October, a second act will probably be confirmed here tomorrow!

Cheers!

2007-09-18T00:49:00.000+02:00

Thank you very much to Kaninkanon for a brilliant Saturday night! What a great arrangement. And such hospitality! I've got a lot of Kaninkanon V fanzines with compilation CDR's - let me know if you'd like one - the price is set by you (i.e. not too little and not too much!).

And thanks to Sara Martinsson for having the good judgement to make a great interview with After-School Sports - and for the kind words about Cosy Den. Listen here! The interview with Alice starts 14 minutes into the second hour (after the first 57:01 minutes, the second hour starts automatically).

After-School Sports on P3 Pop this Monday!

2007-09-13T09:08:00.000+02:00

On Monday the 17th, P3 Pop on Swedish radio will be about challenges, and the people interviewed are Kevin Drew from Broken Social Scene and Alice Luther Näsholm from After-School Sports. Don't miss out on it! 10 PM. Read more here.

Apartment club pictures - the best of

2007-09-12T11:51:00.000+02:00

I've just put some of the best photos from the apartment club nights.

pt 1
pt 2
pt 3

Cosy Den back at Landet with Paddington DC!

2007-09-12T01:35:00.000+02:00

Yeah, Landet is starting to feel like home now.
Not saying I'm planning to move back to Stockholm, but with venues, it's a lot easier there than here at the moment.
Ask me about the release party for Days and you will see what I mean (but yes, it IS still happening!).

Anyway - I hope everyone who came to Landet in July enjoyed the night, and that you'll come back on Monday the 29th of October for another couple of great gigs!

The first artist confirmed is PADDINGTON DISTORTION COMBO!

Calle Olsson (Bear Quartet, Paper, Fireside and more) has made distorted, melodic, repetitive and most of all beautiful music under that name since 1999.
When PDC performs live, you never quite know what to expect - it's never the same from time to time.
I'm looking forward to this a lot myself - I've seen PDC live six or seven times but it was a while ago now, and it's always been brilliant in different ways.
The first time I saw a PDC show was at Osaka vs Tokyo, in the tiny cellar of Läckerbiten. I was there because I'd just fallen madly in love with the Bear Quartet. I had no idea what to expect, but after two or three songs, I was dancing as if I was in heaven. I bought a copy of the current limited-to-ten-copies release, rushed over to Zombie Bar where Mats and Victoria were spinning records this Tuesday, told them they had to put on The sun is down and the sky is grey. When they kindly did so, I sat there, as close to the speakers as possible, with my beer. And I felt alive.

There are so many, but here are a few of my favourite PDC songs for your listening pleasure:

I like the weak ones, I like the sad ones (from Hoppfull musik för hopplösa människor, 2001)
They talk talk talk (from Hoppfull musik för hopplösa människor, 2001)
Clean sound suckers (from Songs in D-struction, 2001)
Put things (from Songs in D-struction, 2001)
The sun is down and the sky is grey (from the live session at P3 Pop, 2004)
For 5 seconds I felt loved (from Please don't confront me with my failures, I have not forgotten them, 2004)
Keep it sharp, let it slip (from Please don't confront me with my failures, I have not forgotten them, 2004)
All hope is gone (from The sun is down and the sky is grey, 2005)
Oh no/oh yes (from The sun is down and the sky is grey, 2005)

New artist on Cosy Recordings: ELENETTE!

2007-09-09T03:21:00.000+02:00

I'm very proud to announce that Elenette, the incredible four-piece from Stockholm that combine synth pop with saxophones and intelligent lyrics (how often does that happen, huh?), will release an EP on Cosy Recordings pretty soon - hopefully in November!
In addition to the myspace link - you'll find more info, a couple of free mp3's and lyrics here!

Let's have a picture of the band celebrating the deal:

Unfortunately, you won't get to see me jumping around in the living room, but I am!

Song list from Taramasalata!

2007-09-08T18:59:00.000+02:00

Here's what I played yesterday at Taramasalata - click links to download. Thanks a lot to Lisa and the others for a great night!

Nixon - Summer love song
The Frost - A song about us
Johan Hedberg - Hurra för fredag fest och öl The Jazz Butcher - She's on drugs
Heavenly - Shallow
The Marshmallow Kisses - Everyone else is ahead, far ahead
Pipas - Barbapapa (view live clip from Turku!)
Cats On Fire - Praying on a sunny day
Go-Betweens - Love goes on!
This Perfect Day - This friendship of ours (view video!)
The Bear Quartet - Dead from the waist down
Denim - Middle of the road (view video!)Chloë - Prekär
--------------------------------------------
Amelia Fletcher - Can you keep a secret?
McCarthy - We are all bourgeoisie now
Fat Tulips - So unbelievable!
The Jazz Butcher - Bad dream lover
Cats On Fire - Crooked paper clip
Bronski Beat - Smalltown boy (view video!)
Nixon - Dance to a different tune
My Favorite - Homeless club kids rmx (view unofficial video!)
They Go Boom!! - Sleepyhead
Fosca - The millionaire of your own hair
Hefner - Dark hearted discos
--------------------------------------------
Elenette - Ge mig nåt att skylla på
Honeymoons - 15 seconds
They Go Boom!! - Sunny September
Lill Lindfors - Om vi hade en dag

Taramasalata flyer!

2007-08-24T02:46:00.001+02:00

Here's the pretty flyer for the next Taramasalata night, Friday the 7th of September. I'm really flattered that they want me to come by and play some songs that make me shiver, as it's possibly my favourite club night in Gothenburg. I'm looking forward to it a lot, hope to see you there!

September the 22nd, 2002 - part one

2007-08-11T09:05:00.001+02:00

This will probably provide some good laughs, especially for the British among you...
Me and a friend decided to make lists of favourite bands from the past.
Apparently, I'd already listed some in an online diary.
My taste has changed quite a bit, but as you'll see, a lot of music will probably stay with me forever.
Just thought it'd be interesting to see what's aged with me and what's hasn't.

I added the song I believe I liked the most with the artist/band at the time. I have thought hard and really tried not to let current favourites get in the way. The selection of videos is mostly based on what's available online.

So, here we go then. Back to 9.40 AM, September the 22nd, 2002, a Sunday.
Lived with my grandmother at the time, she passed away earlier this summer. This one's for her.

Hope you'll enjoy it (please leave a comment if you want to).

22 Pistepirkko - Birdy

Phew, off to a good start! These Finns are pretty unique and sympathetic. I still like them, but I don't listen a lot to the records really. "Birdy" is still as adorable as it was back then. It is a perfect pop song™, it really is.

60ft Dolls - Stay

I still have a soft spot for every band I've seen supporting Oasis... The size of the spot varies though! I still think this is a pretty good song, but if I'd pick a song with the Dolls today, it'd probably be "Pig valentine".

Ash - Petrol

They're obviously not a very interesting band fifteen years down the road. But look at this. Sixteen or seventeen years old, the lads. And don't forget to crank it up to the gigawatts.

The Auteurs - How I learned to love the bootboys

A big favourite with my first girlfriend, this. And so were a lot of the songs in this list. It's still good, but I've discovered that there's a lot more to Luke Haines than singing in a cool voice.

Autorock - Allt påminner om dig

The title translates "Everything reminds me of you", and I could have this played repeatedly for nearly an hour back then. Autorock (horrible band name, I know) were the band that followed after Hardy Nilsson's demise. Not as good, but still way better than no Janne Pettersson songwriting at all.

Bad Cash Quartet - This night or next

I used to be quite an avid fan of these boys, who were often accused of being ignorant upper-class brats (how original). This one's from their second album, with which they "made it big". Yeah, you can see for yourselves in the clip above, from Hultsfred festival two months before I wrote down that list. I was there.
The rock-ish ending of the song isn't on the record, but I didn't mind. But I remember being annoyed with Martin, the singer. I think I saw four concerts with them that summer, and he said "here's another song that goes straight to the heart" a couple of times too many.
You can kill the clip at 2.52 if you want (that's when you've just seen the beautiful Hammarby flag). Not that 21 year old Mattias thought "Heart attack" was a crap song, but it hasn't aged that well. Don't know if "This night or next" has either, but I remember crying through it so many times that I guess it's meant a lot to me.

Beagle - The things that we say

This Malmö band is forgotten by Wiki, and there wasn't much more than their hit song. I almost pity that picture of the sleeve, not only is it tiny, the resolution's from 1992.

The Bear Quartet - I don't wanna

BQ are fantastic inspiration and well worth checking out for anyone who doesn't want to compromise with whatever they want to do. Although I wouldn't say they're still the best band in the world... I think they've become a bit too stubborn over the last couple of years. This song is from a beautiful album called "My war" (2000), and it was strange to see this band on MTV (this was just before Alternative Nation became impossible to watch). I could go on and on about The Bear Quartet, but the club being named after one of their albums should really be enough to convince you to listen further. Yeah, and this song then.

Billy Bragg - The boy done good

Around this time, I began to realize that there was a way to get rid of my double-life. A coy indie boy wearing mascara and a football lad trying to act cool. Cheers for that (and a lot of other things), Billy.

The Bluetones - Bluetonic

Yeah, they opened for Oasis together with 60ft Dolls... eh. I still quite like this one.

Blur - To the end

Still wish they would have called it a day before it became too embarrassing. This one is still pretty good though.

bob hund - Allt på ett kort

The song is about childhood images stuck in the memory. This band has appealed less and less to me over the years. But I still go bonkers if I hear this one at a club! Don't think there's a video for it, here's a live version from 1996. This may be a tiny bit of revisionism, but I know this was one of my very favourite songs at the time.

Bright Eyes - If winter ends

Let's just say I'm glad my general mood is better now than six years ago.

Broder Daniel - No time for us

I have a theory. I believe this band is to some degree responsible for the amount of music created in Sweden since the last good album they made ("Broder Daniel forever", 1998). When the big hype suddenly struck, along with them having songs featured in the Lukas Moodysson film "Fucking Åmål" ("Show me love" abroad...), it somehow became a little bit more okay to be different. In nearly every school class by that time, there was this girl (or boy) who was an avid Broder Daniel fan adapting the singer's style.
Lots of black make-up, lots of online diaries quoting "I wear black on the outside, because black is how I feel on the inside", and - inevitably - lots of getting into their new favourite band's own influences (The Jesus & Mary Chain, Joy Division, The Stooges, The Smiths etc). I believe that the size of the indie (whatever that is) following in this country can partly be explained by the way a sizable number of people started to despise the mainstream scene, realizing that there's more out there.
I've never really gone public with this theory, so I'm a bit nervous, but there you go. Anyway, this is the last song on that album from '98. The quality if the clip isn't the best, it's from one of the last Broder Daniel gigs. And no, the singer's name isn't Daniel. It's Henrik. And he used to play this one on his own as an encore the last years the band existed. They managed to almost quit while they were ahead...

Bruce Springsteen - Born to run

This was long before I'd ever heard "Nebraska", of course. I even set up a gig with a boy named Nils, who called himself Highway Patrolman while making music, without giving it a chance.

Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine - Sheriff Fatman

I was surprised at first as I didn't think I knew about Carter USM back then, but soon I remembered how I put this on at an afterparty in the Nockeby area of Stockholm to impress some girl (how drunk was I?). Needless to say, I failed miserably. Carter aren't cool, and neither am I. But it was more that bloody Bomben hipster's fault than Carter's. You fat bastard.

The Clash - The call up

Before I moved in with my Granny, I used to live in this horrible summer house area in the south of Stockholm. No shop or anything during the winter. Impossible to get to after 1 PM, no matter what season you wanted to get home from somewhere (probably part reason why I ended up being too drunk at too many afterparties). Nothing nearby and some five kilometres to walk when the buses had stopped running.
However, the huge marine army base was always nearby. In the winter, when all the families from town had left the place, my only company on the bus were all these boys who were keen on becoming men. I used to sit and listen to this one, wishing I'd had resistance all over my face. I did heed the call up though - I'd just met a girl and I was sure two months behind bars would make her forget about me rather than impress her. Instead, I pleaded insanity.

The Confusions - Lovely

This band from Sundsvall is generally regarded as quite boring. They were probably big in Japan at some point. I don't know anyone who loves them. This song is nice though.

Covenant - Like tears in rain

Damn those girls, Covenant never did me any good.

The Cure - Push

I guess they were quite a big part of my life for a while, and I think I owned every record up until "Bloodflowers". I went to Roskilde in 2000, mostly to see The Cure. They were to play right after Saint Etienne. I was happy to hear rumours that the gig with Fat Bob and the others was delayed, as that meant I could spend more time trying to get eye contact with Sarah Cracknell.
When I headed back to the big stage, I was in a buzz. They'd played "He's on the phone" as an encore, Sarah had looked at me at least twice, and I was about to see The Cure. Well, I was wrong. Nine people had just died and the gig was cancelled. I finally got to see the band at Arvika a couple of months before I wrote this list. My mood wasn't the best - I'd managed to arrange a meeting with a girl (who had a Morrissey tattoo), but she wasn't too keen once we were there. It was far from a greatest hits show, no "Push" though.

Daddy Boastin' - Stor stark

This gentleman from St Vincent used to be a constant side kick with The Latin Kings, Sweden's best known hip hop group. "Stor stark" means "large glass of beer", and the song is anti-booze - Boastin' likes weed a lot better - he tells the story of a woman who drinks because she's lonely. Featuring his daughter in the chorus. Play the video but give your eyes a rest - it's far from the official video. I sometimes have to pick up my copy of the single just to prove to myself that the song actually exists.

David Bowie - Rock'n'roll suicide

"Bridge over troubled water" for the Broder Daniel kids. Nothing wrong with that.

Depeche Mode - But not tonight (extended remix)

Lots of memories involved here, better not try Youtube.

Dr Higgins - Kåkfararbrallor

This title would translate as "Old lag pants". I still regard Dr Higgins as one of the best bands in Sweden, and I had the pleasure to see them live several times. Four boys with analogue organs and drums, creating something that words can't describe. You can listen to a sample of the song "Alla har sina skäl", from their final release, here.

Echobelly - I can't imagine the world without me

Not a band I listen to every day, week or even month nowadays. I was madly in love with Sonya Madan at the time, of course. It's still nice to come across an Echobelly 7" that I didn't already have. And watching this video makes me pretty happy.

Edson - Sunday, lovely Sunday

Me and my best friend's main objection to this band is that the songs are simply too perfect. There's not a lot there to surprise you, so it takes a very good tune for the cows to come home. There are a handful, and this is still one of them.

Eggstone - Birds in cages

Still one of the saddest songs I've ever heard. And "maybe it will rain tomorrow/maybe I'm insane tomorrow" brings even more pain as it's so tounge-in-cheek it hurts.

***

To be continued.

Twee karaoke

2007-08-11T08:05:00.001+02:00

Okay, hold on.
Isn't this going a bit too far now?
The Orchids and St. Christopher, and now this.

The Siddeleys will never reform. If they did, it wouldn't be The Siddeleys anymore, it would be something else, so what would be the point? - Johnny Johnson, 2001

If loving them is wrong...

2007-08-03T01:30:00.000+02:00

Johan Hedberg interview + distribution details for the new releases

2007-08-01T19:09:00.000+02:00

Johan Hedberg interviewed himself for his blog, about the record and future plans - read it here (in Swedish)!

And distribution for his record and the After-School Sports album is available through these great stores:

Apple Crumble Record (Tokyo, Japan)
Fraction Discs (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Hedbergs Bok & Musikkafé (Visby, Gotland)
Plastilina Records (Pulga la Tienda - Lima, Peru)
Smash Hits Productions (IMPO Record Shop - Taipei, Taiwan)
Vollvert Records (Berlin, Germany)

A big thank you!

Underjorden - Christian's photos!

2007-07-31T22:43:00.000+02:00

As promised, here are Christian's photos from Underjorden!

The Young Untold.
Microphone.

Yellow-brown-red.

With Martin.

The Faintest Ideas.
The bass string broke.

Yellow.

b/w is killing you.

The Besties.
Audience-guitar-dance-mash.

Marisa.
Hey ho let's go.

Sitting. Dripping.

Lovely.

Stockholm according to Christian!

2007-07-30T20:27:00.000+02:00

Christian did not only take these photos, he has also been creative with them.
Here they are, with his notes.
Have a nice cup of tea, enjoy, and come back tomorrow for Christian's work from the night at Underjorden last Monday!

Well, Brahehus.
And having your own label means work-work-work.
So hard that Mattias fell asleep while he was folding After-School Sports covers. You had too see it!

You can spot two "bästisar".

Johan Hedberg.
With a b-a-n-d.

Not a goalie storie.
But fine.

After-School Sports.
Alice & Agnes.

Agnes & Alice.
Voices.

Alice & Agnes.
Casio love.

The Besties.
b/w.
Colour ain't right.

Synth + drum = the usual.

Cats On Fire.
From a distance, it was c-r-o-w-d-e-d.

Records for sale in Copenhagen on September the 15th!

2007-07-29T00:39:00.000+02:00

If you're nearby in mid-September, you should definitely come to the Kaninkanon V festival at Global in Copenhagen.
Soda Fountain Rag, Rough Bunnies, A Smile and a Ribbon, Roadside Poppies and many more will play!
You will also have the opportunity to buy records from Cosy Recordings & Distro at special continental prices!
Hope to see you there.

After-School Sports - artist of the week at digfiSongs!

2007-07-28T23:11:00.000+02:00

I really can't stop listening to "Wind up" myself. The majority of the times I visit this page, it's because I want to listen to "Wind up" and can't be arsed to find the folder it's in, on the shitty Mac that I'm currently on... here are some things written about Alice's songs. Everyone needs this album, it's true.

Veckans artist Artist of the week at digfiSongs:

Nej förresten, glöm tweejämförelsen. Den missar målet. Låt oss ta det från början. Alice Luther Näsholm är arton år, bor i Stockholm och är den som agerar under namnet After-School Sports. Hennes låtar är som skolexempel på den bästa sortens indiepopbagateller – 90-sekundershiten ’Almost Left My BF For His Casio’ som Lars Jämtelid hyllar här är bara en i raden. ’Wind Up’ är en annan, ’Charlie’s 18th Birthday’ en tredje.
Tilldragelsen på Landet var också en sorts releasefest för A Short Melodrama, After-School Sports nya cdr-släpp. Där finns förutom ovanstående en blekt pastellfärgad cover på Lily Allens ’Smile’. Rekommenderas!

No, nevermind, forget the twee parallel. It misses the target. Let's start from the beginning. Alice Luther Näsholm is eighteen years old, lives in Stockholm, and the one behind the name After-School Sports. Her songs are textbook examples of indie pop trifles of the best kind - the 90 second hit 'Almost Left My BF For His Casio" - celebrated by Lars Jämtelid on this website - is just one of many. 'Wind Up' is another, 'Charlie's 18th Birthday' a third.
Last weekend's event at Landet was also a release party for A Short Melodrama, After-School Sports' new cdr album. In addition to the songs mentioned above, you'll also find a bleakly pastel coloured cover on Lily Allen's 'Smile'. Recommended!

1. ’Almost left my bf for his Casio’ - After-School Sports

Alice Luther Näsholm gömmer en glimrande eurohit med blockflöjt under årets mest utstuderat skruttiga lo-fi-produktion. Låter som hon spelat upp låten utan bas på datorn/stereon och suttit i rummet bredvid och spelat in på en risig kassettbandspelare. Retsamt och charmant! Extra plus självfallet för att den bara är en minut och 20 sekunder lång.

Alice Luther Näsholm hides a glimmering euro hit with recorder under the year's most studied and dodgy lo-fi production. Sounds as if she's played the song without bass on the computer/stereo and sat herself in the next room and recorded on a small and shitty tape recorder. It's teasingly and charming! Extra plus, obviously, for the fact that it's only one minute and 20 seconds long.

Lars Jämtelid, digfis sommarlista / digfi's summer list

Det är ju bara att duka under! Alice Luther Näsholm är sval och sjunger som en ängel. Tänk Ulrika Mild (Compute) och Anna Persson (Sambassadeur) i samspråk med Madelaine och Sarah från Fibi Frap. På scen är hon två men det räknas som soloprojekt.
Det är plastiga trummaskiner, små finurliga melodier och så denna drömska sång. Det är rosa tyllgardiner som gömmer knivar. Enkla samplingar varvat med handklappsvänliga takter från helt underbart billiga instrument. Den lilla synthen ser ut att kunna gå sönder under fingrarna, Alice spelar varsamt så musikmaskinen hinner med.
Allt är väldigt vackert och jag kommer bära med mig det länge.

Well, you can only give in! Alice Luther Näsholm is cool and has the voice of an angel. Think Ulrika Mild (Compute) and Anna Persson (Sambassadeur) in a room with Madelaine and Sarah from Fibi Frap. Onstage, she's two, but it's a solo project. It's plastic trum machines, smart little melodies and - then again - these dreamlike vocals. It's pink tulle curtains hiding knives. Uncomplicated samplings mixed with handclap-friendly beats from wonderfully cheap instruments. The little synthesizer looks as if it could break under the fingers, Alice plays carefully so the music machine doesn't slip behind.
It's all very beautiful and I will carry it with me for a long time.

Jerry Boman, TV4 Göteborg / TV4 Gothenburg

Tafra and The Garlands on Swedish radio tonight!

2007-07-26T04:51:00.000+02:00

Tafra's "I'm sorry, Bräkne-Hoby", released on Cosy Recordings, will be aired on the radio show P3 Lab tonight!
We can also look forward to an interview with fantastic pop duo The Garlands.
Tune in right after the ten o'clock news, kids!

Underjorden tomorrow!

2007-07-22T11:38:00.000+02:00

Thanks to Stockholm for filling Landet on a fantastic Friday night! More pictures will be published here soon.

Tomorrow at Underjorden, we'll have another great evening together with Yellow Mica. The Faintest Ideas, The Young Untold and The Besties will play. See you there!

Do-do-do-do-do believe the hype!

2007-07-18T17:45:00.000+02:00

The After-School Sports album will be #1 on more lists than this one...

Flyer for Sthlm #3 and the Gothenburg night!

2007-07-17T01:24:00.000+02:00

*
This is what Christian creates in twenty minutes.
Watch out for those album covers, folks!

Cosy Den in Gothenburg on Monday the 23rd!

2007-07-14T20:54:00.000+02:00

Told you things would probably happen in Gothenburg right after the night in Stockholm.
And they do!
Cosy Den and Yellow Mica really want you to come to Underjorden on Monday the 23rd and enjoy The Young Untold from the US, The Faintest Ideas from Gothenburg, and as if that wasn't enough there's ALSO at least one secret band from overseas!

THE YOUNG UNTOLD is Ara Hacopian from Boyracer, The Castaway Stones and The Saturday People. Yeah, and a band. I couldn't really put it better than Fraction Discs did: "short, snappy and great punk pop songs". The music somehow reminds me of The Bright Lights, and those of you who know me will be sure that it's not a bad thing at all. For this night, the band will consist of members you may recognize from some of the finest bands in Gothenburg.

The Young Untold at Indiepedia
Listen to four songs on The Young Untold's myspace page

THE FAINTEST IDEAS are trashy and jangly. They are rough and beautiful. Well, I guess you know that by now. Since the days when they were called The Javelins, these four boys have known how to create bangers. Perhaps even before that. Maybe they were born trashy and jangly? Could be. TFI are also great live. Next Monday, you'll get another chance to enjoy that experience!
Listen:

When I was 7
I was raised as a polar bear
Dexter's got a sinister heart
Nastacular
Nosebleeders on the track
You're beautiful (this one's also been covered by Boyracer - check out their version here!)
Nothing will ever happen
My best friend

The entrance for these three gigs will probably be the lowest since the apartment days!
There will be no alcohol sold at this event, but please throw an after-party and we will all come!
Pre-booking is not compulsory, but recommended if you want to be sure to get in, as the venue is quite small.
As always, you pre-book by sending an e-mail with your name.
See you there!

The Besties - Prison song + new song by After-School Sports!

2007-07-12T23:43:00.000+02:00

We need to get even more exited about next Friday, don't we?

New song by After-School Sports! "Wind up" from the record that will be called "A short melodrama" - listen on her myspace site!

And here's the video for "Prison song" by The Besties!

Records coming together

2007-07-06T03:19:00.000+02:00

Some info about the releases, then!
Both the Johan Hedberg and the After-School Sports records will contain at least 6 songs.
They will therefore be closer to full-length albums than EP records, really.
The prices will be kept as low as possible, but both records will look pretty fancy, so I guess they'll cost at least 40 kronor each.
The covers are nearly ready for print! I'll put up pictures here once they're finished.
Just two weeks left now!

Doors open at 7 PM!

2007-07-05T00:29:00.000+02:00

Doors at Landet will open as early as SEVEN, because we don't want to be stressed up with those four great gigs, do we?
Please come early as the place is VERY small.

***

Oh, and by the way, check out this highly unofficial and quite ridiculous video for Cats On Fire's "I am the white-mantled king"...

For background, click here (in Swedish).

The Bridal Shop to DJ on the 20th!

2007-07-02T02:00:00.000+02:00

More good news.
Ida and Daniel from fine Stockholm band The Bridal Shop will do the DJ-ing at Landet!

Furthermore, everyone in Gothenburg should check back here soon, more Cosy Den nights will probably follow very soon after the night in Stockholm.

Shrieking!

2007-06-22T17:09:00.000+02:00

A bit late. But thanks to the audience at the last Cosy Den night for giving Saturday Looks Good To Me this:

The next night was at Cosy Den in Gothenburg, and we had a ridiculously high-energy show to wrap things up before we drove all night back to Copenhagen and then flew for 16 hours back to Michigan. That show might have been the caper of all shows we played, or maybe I was just delirious. At one point, though, I noticed everyone was screaming. The entire audience was actually shrieking in what seemed to be terrified delight. The best.

***

...and here's the picture of the week!

The Besties to play at Landet!

2007-06-18T00:50:00.000+02:00

THE BESTIES from New York (well, they're from Florida originally) will also play at Landet on the 20th of July!
Marisa, Kelly, Frank and Rikky know very well how to make us say words like "bubblegum", "sweet", "adorable" but also "awesome" when we've had a listen. And those male backing vocals balances it all up perfectly.
I guess you've already figured out that I have a thing for girls that are keyboard geeks. And make great pop songs using those. I'll get two shows like that at Landet! I'm SO in luck.
The Besties in Sweden to hang out and to play some songs for us, first at Landet, then at Emmaboda and possibly in Gothenburg, too! After that, they're off to take on Britain. I'm very glad they'll make a first stop at Cosy Den!

Listen:

The Besties - Theme song
The Besties - Zombie boy
The Besties - Pirate song
The Besties - Space song
The Besties - Birthday song
The Besties - Western song

You can also hear "Rod'n'reel" and "Working title" on their myspace!

Read:

Indie mp3 review of the "Singer" album
Lost Music review of the "Singer" album

What a fantastic line up this is. And I haven't even announced the DJ's yet...
And you'll get it all for just 50 kronor!

Cosy Den goes Stockholm once again!

2007-06-02T00:02:00.001+02:00

Cats On Fire will play at the lovely Landet again on the 20th of July!
The night will also be the release party for the Cosy Den releases 004 and 005 - After-School Sports and Johan Hedberg!
More details to follow.

Thanks!

2007-05-27T18:49:00.000+02:00

Yesterday was a blast!
Thanks to everyone involved, special thanks to the bands for incredible gigs, and to Martin, Elin and Jörgen for helping out more than I could have asked for.

Liechtenstein

Chris and Fred

More photos coming soon!

Goodbye, Keith

2007-05-24T23:43:00.000+02:00

Thank you for the songs.

Song list from Les Yper Sound!

2007-05-21T21:47:00.000+02:00

Had great fun at Les Yper, but then again, I knew it would be ace!

Thanks to everyone involved.

Here's the song list:

(Ville DJ-ing)

Ring Snuten! - Mellanstadiediskot
Nixon - Dance to a different tune
Bart & Friends - How can you tell me you love me?
Stars - When?
The Bridal Shop - From seas
Television Personalities - My dark places
The Tidy Ups - Dizzy heights
Dr Higgins - Alla har sina skäl

(Äänijännite live)

Slits - Typical girls
Lily Allen - Not big
Liechtenstein - Stalking skills
Girls At Our Best - Politics
Scaredycat - Anna banana
Don Lennon - A secret band
Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere
The Field Mice - This love is not wrong
Days - Never came to last
The Cat's Miaow - Third floor fire escape view

(Most Valuable Players live, followed by me and Hanna DJ-ing, wish she'd written down her songs!)

The Shamen - L.S.I.
Baxendale - Battery acid
Teen Anthems - We're indie shit
The Moldy Peaches - Downloading porn with Davo
Twa Toots - Please don't play "A rainy night in Georgia"
Eggstone - Taramasalata
The Stone Roses - Made of stone
Desireless - Voyage, voyage

(Niko DJ-ing)

Park Hotell - Low on resistance
The Embassy - It pays to belong
The Field Mice - Emma's house

Flyer!

2007-05-15T23:37:00.000+02:00

Christian's just finished the flyer for the next night!
Yeah, and as you can see, Fraction Discs will join in on the DJ-ing!

Liechtenstein to play on the 26th!

2007-05-13T22:49:00.000+02:00

I'm very glad to announce that there will indeed be another concert on the 26th, apart from the ones you already knew about.
And as always with Cosy Den, it's not just any band...

LIECHTENSTEIN have blown me away in a way that's quite rare.
Their smart lyrics, perfect yet charming live shows and - last but not least - the re-invention of the girl new wave beat...
Liechtenstein's influences include Talulah Gosh, Girls At Our Best, Television Personalities and Shop Assistants. That's nothing that Renée, Teresa, Naemi and Elin are trying to hide.
Still, the three songs on the band's debut 7" on Fraction Discs are smart, impressive and very much so.
It's all coming together to one of the freshest things I've heard for a long time!
With shows in Säffle and Oxford coming up, it would be a shame if we didn't get to see them in Gothenburg before...
Oh and by the way - people who know me well probably know of my obsession for tiny countries. There are also a couple of good bands named after them! After Monaco and The San Marinos, here are Liechtenstein!

The pre-booking is now open.
The entrance may rise a little bit because of the addition to the line-up, but no more than 10 kronor.

Discount for the first 40 on the 26th!

2007-05-11T01:03:00.000+02:00

Like I wrote a couple of days ago, I'm going to let the entrance be 90 kronor instead of the 70 kronor I guess I'd need. This is because I lost some money the club night before.
On the other hand, there will be a discount for the first 40 people who pre-book a ticket.
If you're among the first 40 who pre-book, you will only be charged 70 kronor at the entrance!
Remember, pre-booking opens Saturday! Scroll down for instructions.

DJ-ing at Guckusko festival Saturday and at Les Yper Sound next Friday!

2007-05-08T23:03:00.000+02:00

This Saturday, Fridlyst is setting up a great festival in Gothenburg!
Five fine bands, plus a secret band (no pun intended!) that's one of the largest to have played at Cosy Den in the past...
I will DJ a bit between the bands.
Don't miss out on what looks like a fantastic night!

And on Friday the 18th of May, I will DJ at the great Les Yper Sound in Turku, Finland!
On stage, Most Valuable Players and Äänijännite will blow us away.
Hope to see you there!

Pre-booking opens Saturday! + Cosy Den to present more record releases

2007-05-08T01:15:00.000+02:00

The pre-booking for the next Cosy Den night opens on Saturday the 12th!
Since I lost some money last time (it was SO worth it though!), I'm going to let the entrance be 90 kronor instead of the 70 kronor I guess I'd need.
Hopefully, there will be a third band on the bill.
As always, send your name along with your social security number to popen_maste_do (at) hotmail.com, and pay at the entrance.
Please be sure to bring your ID card if you're under 23.

***

I'm also thrilled to annonce that our wee record label will have two new artists under our wings!
JOHAN HEDBERG and AFTER-SCHOOL SPORTS will release EP records during June!
And if everything goes the way I hope, there will be a release party for both of them, in the awful/wonderful place we know as Haninge.

The label name is, from now on, COSY RECORDINGS. The old name was simply too long, and too internal.

More information on this will be announced further on!

Quiet!

2007-05-02T22:09:00.000+02:00

This sign at How Does It Feel To Be Loved? in London is just brilliant.
And the rules are the same at Cosy Den, although we have no signs yet.

Review and video

2007-04-30T19:39:00.000+02:00

Jerry Boman has yet again written a review of the Cosy Den night! We may not see eye to eye on everything, but for those of you who read Swedish, it's here!
He also filmed a song:

Johan Hedberg's "Var dig själv" live at Cosy Den

Speaking of Johan - he's now got a myspace page.
Amongst other things, this means that Johan has been forced to name his songs...
"Har du själ?" is now apparently called "Var dig själv".
Click here, and you can listen to four songs!

Tack!

2007-04-29T20:07:00.000+02:00

Thanks, everyone!

60 kronor on Saturday, and more

2007-04-25T19:53:00.000+02:00

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the entrance would be 50 kronor +/- 10 kronor.
And since I'd like to be sure not to lose a lot of money, I will raise the entrance with 10 kronor.
There are now just 54 pre-booking spots left! Hurry up before they're all gone!
And, in case someone still needs the info about how to book a ticket, here is a reprise on how it's done:

Send your full name and birth date to popen_maste_do@hotmail.com - you will be contacted with further information. Payment of tickets is made at the entrance.

***

I was interviewed by the TV4 Gothenburg reporter Jerry Boman today, about the return of Cosy Den. You can read it here!

***

A couple of days to go now!
Meanwhile, enjoy this fantastic tune. Play it over and over.
Just the "carpe diem... my arse" at the end makes value for almost any kind of money, and you get the whole song for free. What a great deal.

Girlfrendo - I would kill for some weirdness (live)

DGOIK 003: Tafra!

2007-04-21T15:05:00.000+02:00

At the I'm From Bräkne-Hoby festival this summer, Niklas Tafra (of Chloë and solo fame) was supposed to play bass with Suburban Kids With Biblical Names. Instead, he never woke up in time.The minibus with the Kids, Erik Halldén and his band and a couple of festival guests simply had to head down south with an empty seat.

After some time, Niklas wrote a song to apologize for his absence. It's called "I'm sorry, Bräkne-Hoby".

Me, Pär and Lars have forgiven him, of course. And now, Don't Get Off In Kortedala recordings very is proud to release the song as a limited edition single. It will be made in 30 copies and it's hopefully available for purchase (for the cost of making it) at the return of Cosy Den, the 28th of April. If there is any profit, it will be donated to the struggle for a cultural center and the survival of the local ceramics oven in Eringsboda, near Bräkne-Hoby.

The single looks like this (cover by Christian!):

London CDRs

2007-04-18T21:07:00.000+02:00

Here are my mixed CDRs for Thursday night in London:

Download cdr1

Download cdr2

Think the links will expire quite soon. If anyone's interested later, I'll upload them again for you.

Spiral Scratch tomorrow!

2007-04-11T21:14:00.000+02:00

I've noticed some international traffic on this website (well, otherwise I wouldn't have switched to English, duh!). Including some people from England.
So, if you're around London tomorrow, you shouldn't miss out on this:

I've promised to put together a couple of mixed CDRs for inbetween the shows. So, er, I better get started! See you there!

nygubbe4.mp3 getting press attention + more Bräkne-Hoby photos + mp3 blog?!

2007-04-09T18:37:00.002+02:00

The first Johan Hedberg song, still with the title nygubbe4, has recieved its first number one spot!
When Jerry Boman was about to DJ at Join Our Club, he was asked by Göteborgs-Posten to list five songs to boost our springtime.

"1. Johan Hedberg (nygubbe4) Den skönaste svenska texten. EVER!"

***

I managed to track down Matloob from the Cambridge band Roadside Poppies on myspace, and he'd uploaded some photos. Now we can all enjoy some more pictures from the I'm From Bräkne-Hoby festival! Check them out!

This one of Andrew from Pants Yell! enjoying some of the cotton candy provided by Music Is My Girlfriend is my pick for a teaser!

***

I'm not sure if I'll go through with turning this into a combined club and mp3 blog, but I've got to know what it would feel like. As you may have noticed, I'm not much of a writer, at least not in English, so I'll probably just upload a song for you once in a while without a decent ammount of context.
Anyway, please enjoy one of the finest songs by The Brilliant Corners.

The Brilliant Corners - Boy and the cloud

The Electric Pop Group completes the line-up!

2007-04-07T13:15:00.000+02:00

I'm glad to announce that Gothenburg's own janglers, THE ELECTRIC POP GROUP, will be the third band on the bill April the 28th!
Given the perfection of the songs that this band aims at (and not seldom reach), it's obvious that they've been inspired by the likes of Jesus & Mary Chain and The Field Mice. But then again, there's something there that's definitely their own. There's a sweetness to the songs that Erik, Martin and Linnéa put together, now also with the help of Jimmi and Gustaf.
It seems logical that TEPG have shared stages with Sambassadeur and Tillmans, and it seems equally logical that the word about their self-released debut album has reached abroad. In June, TEPG will play at the Indie Tracks festival in Ripley, England. A festival that I'm intruiged to visit myself. The only thing that's not great about this is how tricky it will be to decide who will play first and last... I have to say this is an excellent way to complete the line-up for the return of Cosy Den!

Listen for yourself:

She's playing with your heart
Walk away
Popgirly
Why can't you?

Some of the nice things written by nice people about The Electric Pop Group:

"I just discovered this band called The Electric Pop Group. They might be the best new thing I’ve heard this year. It’s December already, so that was about time. I must be a bit of a Johnny-come-lately as at least one, two, three, four others have been writing about them, but whatever. This is just brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Think Field Mice, think Brighter, think any random Sarah band." / Think Small

The haunting adolescent lyrics are pretty well in the foreground and deservedly so. They make me seventeen again, and it's all darn catchy, cute and melancholic. / Indie mp3

"The Electric Pop Group seem to be some miraculous millenium reincarnation of The Field Mice" / Skatterbrain

"The LP is strong from start to finish with no filler and that's such a tough thing to do -
to make an LP that consistently hits the high spots and make no mistake. The Electric Pop Group have made that LP." / Lostmusic

...and the updated flyer:

After-School Sports will play on the 28th! + more

2007-04-03T13:07:00.000+02:00

The second addition to the line-up is AFTER-SCHOOL SPORTS!
After-School Sports is the lovely solo project of Alice Luther Näsholm, 17, from Stockholm. Her music could be described as lo-fi and twee pop sounding. Some of her influences include Trixie's Big Red Motorbike and Lily Allen... Alice used to be a member of the brilliantly named The Never Invited To Parties, who are sadly no longer together. Listen to the After-School Sports songs. They're great. And Alice has got one of the finest voices in Swedish pop at the moment.

Thanks to Carol for helping out and to Nils for the tip!

Here's the direct link to Johan's first song!

And here's yet another great flyer from Christian:

As if this wasn't enough - here are some photos from the I'm From Bräkne-Hoby! festival last summer that I hadn't seen before! It's Lucio from the great Italian Polariod Blog who've taken them. I particularly love this one with parts of the crowd. Thank you (artists, visitors, crew) so much again for being there on one of the best days of my life!

Another note. The following distro items are now sold out:

Ultrasport - False start city
Cats on Fire - Happiness is chemistry
Penny Century - Lost at sea EP
Penny Century - This is not my song anymore

This week's picks

2007-04-02T15:50:00.000+02:00

I'm happy to have completed two thirds of the line-up for the 28th! It's going to be a fantastic night.
However, I'm pretty fed up with my own superlatives, so I'm going to ask someone else to write this time. Stay tuned! The second part of the line-up will be released in about 10 hours.

The computer is broke. I've got to run it in safe mode and that means no sound... so if you'd like me to hear the music you make, uploaded mp3's are a much better way than links to streamed songs! Meanwhile, here's what's in the mp3 player for this week:

After-School Sports - various songs
Agent Simple - Shaking an egg 7"
Anorak Girl - Cybersex 7"
Black Box Recorder - England made me
Brilliant Corners - Growing up absurd
Brilliant Corners - What's in a word?
Butcher Boy - Profit in your poetry
Cats On Fire - The province complains
Don Lennon - Radical
Electric Pop Group - S/T
Johan Hedberg Goalie Store - various songs
McCarthy - At war EP
Sea Urchins - Pristine Christine 7"
St Christopher - Say yes to everything 7"
Strawberry Story - Clamming for it
They Go Boom!! - Demos 88-91
Ungdumshälsan - 8 anledningar att hata ett band
White Town - First seven inch

Comments...

2007-03-31T20:46:00.000+02:00

Er, I never noticed that Blogger has started requesting comment moderation.
So I thought everybody had forgotten about Cosy Den! Not one single comment since November.
Please feel free to comment further on, haha. Your comments will be published a lot quicker from now on...
Oh well - here are the comments compiled, so that no-one feels ignored or anything.

In response to the photo set after Sibiria, Pipas and Bromander:

nils-mar said...
you pushing the two super annoying kids out of the sibiria crowd was the best part, except Pipas! det bästa!
11/23/2006 11:45:00 PM

In response to the song list from my dj set at Svanen:

Klas said...
Hitkavalkad!
Synd att jag inte åkte då. Ville se almedal också.
11/26/2006 02:10:00 PM

In response to the release of info about the Christmas Twee night:

Martin said...
Hoppas ni får tråkigt! Skittråkigt! Hoppas ni sitter i varsit hörn, missar spelningarna, blir matförgiftade och bara lyssnar på Peter Jöback!! För om inte jag kan komma, ska ingen ha kul!! Annars blir jag avundsjuk!
11/27/2006 11:22:00 AM

In response to the release of Christian's flyer for the Christmas Twee night:

Anonym said...
asså vafan. Jag fattar inte hur jag bokar biljetter! Jag vill ha minst 3 st till hyml imårrn (tors). Kom igen. Min mail är hund_ankan@hotmail.com
12/20/2006 10:46:00 PM

In response to the news of the Christmas Twee night being sold out:

Jerry Boman said...
Tack för igår! Trevligt som alltid, och bra musik...också som vanligt!
12/22/2006 01:57:00 PM

In response to the thank you post after the Christmas Twee night:

Jerry Boman said...
Haha, ja det kan man lära sig något av! Hahaha! Grymt bra med RB var det iallafall!
12/25/2006 06:34:00 PM

In response to the interview with Mattias Björkas:

Jerry Boman said...
Det här var kul att läsa! Tack! Super!
1/30/2007 12:58:00 PM

In response to the post about The Garlands:

Anonym said...
Vilket fynd! Men vilka är dom???
/musikenligtjerry-jerry
2/05/2007 03:48:00 PM

In response to the announcement about the Days release party:

ville said...
Heja!
2/26/2007 05:06:00 PM

Jerry Boman said...
Cosy den är tillbaka! (dansar en liten dans)
2/24/2007 05:14:00 PM

In response to the distro update:

Anonym said...
hello -- wanted to contact about the him kerosene cd ep -- want more info how to order ??? from the u.s.
3/24/2007 10:38:00 PM

Saturday Looks Good To Me and Chris Bathgate - on the 26th of May!

2007-03-26T04:26:00.000+02:00

Yes, on Saturday the 26th of May, the lovely Saturday Looks Good To Me from Detroit will come and play at Cosy Den!
The last time Gothenburg saw a visit from Fred Thomas and his friends was in 2005.
I remember those shows as great ones, and I know I'm not the only one who's fallen in love with SLGTM's fantastic pop songs. Even if I hadn't heard more of them, a buzzer like "Alcohol" would probably have been enough for me to bring them here... Since I first heard it, I've gotten to know SO much more of their work, both sweet little 4-track songs and songs that are just... big and remind me of Ladybug Transistor. The new album by Saturday Looks Good To Me is called "Filled up the room" and will be released on K records, in September 2007.
Yes, this Saturday is looking very good to me!

Listen to some songs:

Can't ever sleep
Disaster
Diary
The girl's distracted
When the party ends (LP version)
Keep walking (CD version)
Empty room (LP version)
Lift me up
Underwater heartbeat
Meet me by the water

***

Chris Bathgate, who plays bass and guitar with Saturday Looks Good To Me, will also perform!
In 2006, Chris released his third full-length album, "Throatsleep". Nice little pop songs, varying from being quite folky to rather gothic. You can hear two songs from it below. Chris is opening for SLGTM during their European tour.

Listen:

Buffalo girl
I know how you are going to die tonight

***

Note: the pre-booking for this event will open shortly after the event on April the 28th.

Distro update!

2007-03-17T23:44:00.002+01:00

Here is an update of the distro range available at Cosy Den events!

Annemarie - The living model EP
cdr ep, 30 kr
1.The living model 2.Won't be nice 3.Apple (Suicide on your stereo set) 4.Wonderboy
Music Is My Girlfriend, 2005

Avgång 77 - Handbok för rättshaverister
cdr ep, 20 kr
1.Arbetsskygg 2.Ge mig en present 3.Rör på häcken 4.BD punk 5.Rebellflickan
Self-released, 2007

Livets Ord #5
fanzine, 20 kr
60 pages of comics by Henrik Bromander! Guest appearances by Simon Gärdenfors, Sandro Müntzing and Karin Hagen
Self-released, 2003

Cats On Fire - Happiness is chemistry
7", 40 kr
A1.My friend in a comfortable chair A2.Happiness is chemistry B1.They produced a girl (demo) B2.Stars (demo)
Elva, 2004

Hospitalet - SFH2
cdr ep, 20 kr
1.Åh nej, åh nej 2.Du var inte där, men jag var där 3.Har du varit på hospitalet 4.Ingenting allting
SFH, 2004

Kattmusik - Kudaranai
cdr ep, 20 kr
1.Love broken down 2.Tonight 3.The words of Roddy Frame 4.A stroll down Kuromegawa 5. Haus broken down
Self-released, 2006

Las Palmas - Vi blir i familjen
gatefold cd ep, 30 kr
1.Intro 2.Partybroms 3.Män på gränsen till nervsammanbrott 4.Argentina 5.Ut ur mitt liv 6.Du har mail
Edenborg, 2006

Penny Century - This is not my song anymore
cdr single, 20 kr
1.This is not my song anymore 2.Tangled up in my sheets 3.Too bitter to be charming
Self-released, 2006

Penny Century - Lost at sea EP
cdr ep, 20 kr
1.Lost at sea 2.Summer outside 3.Graduation 4.Season of mist 5.This is not my song anymore
Self-released, 2006

Robotnícka - Spectre en vue...
cd album, 60 kr
1.Bidip-bip? Dip-bidip! 2.Hatzanasumi 3.L'espoir 4.L'avion 5.Last ninja II: Central Park 6.010000101011101 7.Banana 8.Double dragon IV: Axes of evil 9.Highway to Costa del Sol! 10.Relief (doomed to a violent mummyfication) 11.Discowgirlz (il etait une fois dans l'est) 12.Frisco Derrick wunderstaches (uber bier kommissar) 13.Object liberation go!
Bloodlink, 2004

Sibiria - Norrlands inland
cd album, 70 kr
1.Vårsplitter 2.Kastalskolan 9E 3.Christian Olsson 4.Omtagning 5.Laaksonen, laaksonen 6.(Jag kunde ha varit) Vem som helst 7.Hat tillbaks 8.Men i tusen år 9.Ring mig när du är full 10.Som ditt husdjur 11.Utnyttjad och konsumerad
Hybris, 2005

Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - #2
cdep, 30 kr
1.Funeral face 2.Teenage poetry 3.Guns n' ammo 4.Jullåten 2004
Labrador, 2005

Ultrasport - Nothing can go wrong
cd, 80 kr
1.Nothing can go wrong 2.Fire on the streets 3.Kissing summers 4.Behind the playground 5.You are evil 6.It's hard to look dignified when people sit on you 7.The boy that never lied 8.Ballgames 9.Sharing secrets 10.Much of your heart
Gashopper, 2005

Ultrasport - False start city/Tired of the lovers
cdr single, 10 kr
A.False start city AA.Tired of the lovers
Self-released, 2006

White Town - A new surprise EP
7", 40 kr
A1.A new surprise A2.Melissa Joan Hart B1.Make a right at Jordfallsmotet B2.Theme from a post-watershed cop show set in Wellingborough
Heavenly Pop Hits, 2006

White Town (EP cover)
pin, 5 kr

Woelv - Gris (edition scandinave)
cd ep, 40 kr
1.La cordillere des hommes 2."Pour Vancouver et ailleurs" 3."Gris" 4.Le ventre de sa mere
Elv, 2006

I also sell some things not related to the club, just because I think they deserved better than being hidden away at some record store for another couple of years...
Hopefully someone will want to give them a new loving home.

Babybird - Ugly beautiful
cd album, 20 kr
1.Goodnight 2.Candy girl 3.Jesus is my girlfriend 4.I didn't want to wake you up 5.Dead bird sings 6.Atomic soda 7.You're gorgeous 8.Bad shave 2 9.Cornershop 10.King bing 11.You & me 12.45 & fat 13.Too handsome to be homeless 14.July 15.Baby bird
Echo, 1996

Babybird - You're gorgeous
cd single, 10 kr
1.You're gorgeous 2.Bébé lemonade 3.You're gorgeous too 4.Carcrash
Echo, 1996

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - The only living boy in New Cross
cd single, 10 kr
1.The only living boy in New Cross 2.Watching the big apple turn over 3.Panic
Chrysalis, 1992

Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - 1992: the love album
cd album, 20 kr
1.1993 2.Is wrestling fixed? 3.The only living boy in New Cross 4.Suppose you gave a funeral and nobody came 5.England 6.Do re me, so far so good 7.Look mum, no hands! 8.While you were out 9.Skywest and crooked 10.The impossible dream
Chrysalis, 1992

Ettnollett #33, 2000
fanzine, 5 kr
Arab Strap, Labradford, Robyn Hitchcock, Lola Barbershop, EP's Trailer Park, Hep Stars...

Ettnollett #40, 2003
fanzine, 5 kr
Saint Etienne, Logh, Granada, Carpet People, Christian Kjellvander, Constellation Records...

Hardy Nilsson - Ta mig med våld
cd single, 5 kr
1.Ta mig med våld 2.Hjärtattack och vin
Universal, 1997

Hardy Nilsson - Faller tillbaks
cd single, 5 kr
1.Faller tillbaks 2.O wow
MCA, 1996

Him Kerosene - Whatever gets you by EP
gatefold cd ep, 20 kr
1.Whatever gets you by 2.Duckfeet 3.Sordid 4.I got the door
Telegram, 1997

Park Hotell - Girls just wanna die tonight
cd single, 10 kr
1.Girls 2.Hearts
mRa, 2003

Days release party postponed - debut gig for Johan H on April the 28th!

2007-03-11T23:47:00.000+01:00

I'm a bit confused myself, so I understand if you're confused, too. The main points are:

* The Days EP release has been postponed. The release party is NOT cancelled in any way, a new date for it will be presented as soon as the band gets a new release date from Shelflife!
* April the 28th is STILL the date for the next Cosy Den night!

On Saturday the 28th of April, this is what happens:

A couple of weeks ago, Johan Hedberg, the lead singer of Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, sent me a new song with lyrics in Swedish. It doesn't have a title, and Johan doesn't really have a name for the project either. Despite this, "nygubbe4.mp3" with its spot-on lyrics about the Stockholm night life, has already recieved airplay at the brilliant radio show Tandem Pop and everyone who hears it seem to be as excited as I am! Two other top Haninge profiles will join Johan on stage at Cosy Den.
Tomorrow, Johan is going on holiday for two weeks. He is bringing his ukulele, and the chances for more great tunes soon seem good! Until then - listen to his first recording here (it's not entirely finished yet)! Home recordings from Haninge are vicious and you know it!

Not only will we get Johan's first show on this night.
There will also be two other great acts performing - they will be announced in the next couple of weeks!

The pre-booking for this club night opens in two days - on Wednesday the 14th. The entrance will probably be 50 kronor. It may be lowered or raised with a maximum of 20 kronor though.

Here's how to do it:
Send your full name and social security number to popen_maste_do@hotmail.com - you will be contacted with further information. Payment of tickets is done in the entrance.

Please check back soon for more information about the Days release party and other artists performing on the 28th of April!

We have a date!

2007-03-07T17:13:00.000+01:00

Dear friends, thanks for checking back and not giving up on Cosy Den despite the venue problems!

The date to look forward to is most likely going to be Saturday the 28th of April.
Days will perform live as Shelflife release their seven-song EP, which we will all have a first opportunity to get our idle hands on.
A support act has also confirmed it will play. As soon as the train tickets are booked, I'll let you know!

All ticket sales will be proceeded through the pre-booking system. Further details to follow soon.

Days release party

2007-02-23T22:29:00.000+01:00

For those who wonder what I'm up to:

Cosy Den will host the release party for everyone's new favourite band - Days!
They will release an EP on Shelflife Records by the end of April.
A support act for the night is also approached - and it will be the first gig ever for that act!
More info will be published here as soon as all venue details are cleared out.

Bear Quartet compilation + new Park Hotell and Dialog videos!

2007-02-12T22:31:00.000+01:00

I just uploaded a Bear Quartet compilation for those of you not familiar with the band.
Grab it here!

***

Additionally, the fantastic Park Hotell have just finished a video for their amazing song "Low on resistance"! And the equally fantastic Dialog have completed a video for their hit song "To the moon"! Watch them below.

Find of the week

2007-02-04T18:12:00.000+01:00

Well, actually, they found me. Still waiting to find out who they are and when they can come and play...

The Garlands

Mattias Björkas on the Cats On Fire album

2007-01-26T00:07:00.001+01:00

I invited Mattias Björkas, the singer and lyricist from Cats On Fire, over for tea and some appropriate accessoires. We had a good time with Johan, discussing press ethics policies and the saddest authographs we'd collected as kids. After a couple of hours listening to Bear Quartet albums approximately '94-'97, it was time to hear the mastered and sent-away-for-print Cats On Fire full-length album, "The province complains". Just then, I came to think of the article where Alkberg of the same name as us spoke about each song on the forthcoming Bear Quartet album. Thought it would be a good idea to let mr Björkas do the same, for the sake of this website's reading value, and to increase the anticipation about the album even more. I didn't want to ask questions at all, here's what he said while we listened.

1. I am the white-mantled king
- We had severe problems while arranging this one. It took quite a long time, and there are numerous demo versions. Something about the beat just wouldn't come out right, but at the end, I think it did.

2. Astray
- Well, when we'd played it through for the first time, Henry (Ojala, drummer) said it would be a hit song, but that it's 70 years too late...

3. Higher grounds
- People will say the version on Seelonce Mayday was better, it's inevitable... On my own behalf, this is closer to the vision we had for the song to start with. At first, we were going to put it first on that EP. And I guess we should have, although I never thought we got that version right. But it's probably the song we've recieved the most response for.

4. Heat and romance
- This one's probably one of my favourites on the album.

5. Born again Christian
- It's about a certain character. He was in my class when we were between 13 and 15. He was pretty hostile, very ungodly. And now he's a real saint... I don't quite trust him.

6. The smell of an artist
- This one is also inspired by a certain person. By an occurrence. There's a Finnish artist (Teemu Mäki, website), he's quite well-known. He created this installation, it was some sort of video art. An entire film. In a part of this film, he stabbed a cat to death. Actually, it didn't die until the third stab... And then he masturbated and ejaculated over it. He managed to get this sold to the Finnish museum of modern art. He was charged and convicted, cruelty to animals. The judge ruled that the cruelty was unintentional, though. After that, he published this long article on his website that stated his intention to debate the double standards of morality in the Western world.

7. Chain of saints
- Perhaps a bit short.

8. Mesmer and reason
- I'm really happy about the way it turned out. I just hope that people... perhaps I haven't been clear enough, with what it's about. I just hope it goes down well.

9. If you must tell him
- Someone said that this could be an instant radio hit. He's probably wrong, though. Sometimes it feels as if people just want fast, rough and unpolished songs. But i really, really hope people will be able to live with this album. There is "Draw in the reins". "Higher grounds" and "The smell of an artist", they're also in that cathegory somehow. This is exactly the sort of song that you really fear that people won't listen to in an attentive way. Mikael (The Honeydrips) once said that you can't build an entire album with 7" A-sides. I'm eager to hear his record.

10. The sharp end of a season
- We've had problems with this one aswell, we haven't been able to make it sound good either live or in the studio. Now we just have to get it right so we can do it live. It's really one that's dear to me, I'm glad it's on here.

11. Draw in the Reins
- Felt like quite a big step... Every time we'd rehearsed it, we had to look at each other with shamefaced looks, after having been so shameless! But we got used to it, finally. We weren't agreed about having it on the album, we were two against two. Looking back, it was a good decision after all. I think it fits in. Anyhow, it is different. Something bursted inside us doing it!

12. End of Straight Street
- Quite early on, we thought of it as the song that would close the album. I'm sure people can figure the lyrics out with some googling... Not that there's a certain hidden point or anything; it's supposed to be straight. This is the only song where there's any kind of synthesizer sounds. Ville (Hopponen, guitarist) and Henry added them when I was away and they remained there... They tried to convince me that this was Classy Stuff, that it wasn't the cheezy kind of synth strings. They're probably right.

"The province complains" is out in about three weeks.

From the department of unpublished photos

2007-01-16T17:54:00.001+01:00

Here are some photos that I've forgotten to show you. I got them from Iris. Thank you!
Click for full size, enjoy.

Las PalmasSamarbetssvårigheter

Jens Lekman

Paddington Distortion Combo

Paddington Distortion Combo, crowd

Paddington Distortion Combo

Still Flyin'

Still Flyin'

Still Flyin'

Still Flyin'

Still Flyin'

Still Flyin'

Still Flyin'
Still Flyin', crowd

Still Flyin', crowd

Still Flyin', and crowd

Still Flyin', and crowd

Still Flyin', and crowd

Still Flyin', and crowd

Erlend Øye

Jens Lekman

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, crowd

Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, crowd

Bad news: next Cosy Den cancelled!

2006-12-27T21:12:00.000+01:00

Due to some unfortunate circumstances, we're forced to cancel the Gothenburg show for Great Lakes and I Was A King.
I could have gone through with it, and I might just have, if it wasn't for the sometimes unpredictable habits of the Gothenburg indie crowd. Well, more people should have turned up for Ultrasport and The Faintest Ideas. A weekday would have worked but since you people didn't take the chance that time I can't do it this time. Sorry.
To cheer you all up after this whining rant, I'll be kind enough to illustrate the post with the happiest picture I know:

What a world!

2006-12-22T21:21:00.000+01:00

Jerry wrote a review about yesterday.

Another thing: I'm really glad so many cool chicks showed up!
Guess that's what happens when you've got a lot of cool chicks playing.
Better learn from that!

Sold out!

2006-12-21T16:08:00.000+01:00

Yes, the pre-booking tickets are sold out!
However, you can always come by and ask if someone has failed to show up.
See you!

Christian's flyer for Thursday!

2006-12-18T14:02:00.000+01:00

Important news!

2006-12-08T22:54:00.000+01:00

The Christmas Twee night is moved from Underjorden to Hyml!
Hyml is the new home of Koloni and is formerly known as Ambassaden.
Take the tram number 11 to Vagnhallen Majorna.
More detailed instructions on how to get there will follow soon!
The pre-booking system will still be in use, and there are only 59 places left to fill, so hurry up!

Nothing new right now...

2006-12-08T01:20:00.000+01:00

...so I'll just remind you about this one:

And while you're here, take a look at this fine little video by one of the best little bands I know:

There will be news published here in a couple of days. Check back again soon.

Rastlös joins in on the 21th!

2006-11-27T20:51:00.000+01:00

Yeah, the theme with artists who've played at Cosy Den arrangements outside of Gothenburg but not at the ones in town continues, this time with Rastlös from Stockholm!
She was on the bill when White Town and Erik Halldén played at Louie Louie, and the 21th of December, we get to see her play in Gothenburg for the first time!
Check out four of her songs on the Rastlös myspace page!

shit najs!!!

/ Vit Päls-Calle

Great Lakes (us) & I Was A King (no), Saturday the 13th of January!

2006-11-26T22:11:00.000+01:00

Once again - great news!

Great Lakes from New York, whom you know from when they played at Cosy Den together with The Ladybug Transistor and Company Fuck this summer, will be back in January!

And this time, the lovely I Was A King from Norway will join in!

I'll tell you more about them later, after the upcoming club night so I don't reduce mine or your focus from it, hehe. In the meantime, click their names and check out their songs! There will probably be a third act on the bill, too. And the entrance for this event will be about the same as the next one.

Song list from Svanen

2006-11-24T16:46:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Erik for inviting me, I had a good time!
Here's what I played:

The Fine Arts Showcase - Chemical girl (new gaze early demo)
Rialto - Untouchable
The Ladybug Transistor - The places you'll call home
Bear Quartet - Tibet
The Triffids - Stand up
The French - Wu-Tang Clan
Rock Stone - Sarah's records
The Field Mice - When morning comes to town
Cats On Fire - My friend in a comfortable chair
Mattias Alkberg BD - Nere på parkeringen
Tant Strul - Dunkar varmt
The Lemonheads - Big gay heart
The Sundays - A certain someone
Matador José - Something I can't find
Heavenly - So little deserve
Saint Etienne - Sylvie
Still Flyin' - M'stery tent
Ann-Christine Bärnsten - Ska vi plocka körsbär i min trädgård?
The Honeydrips - Åh, Karolin
Lily Allen - The littlest things
Pipas - Barbapapa
The Cat's Miaow - Hollow inside (version 2)
White Town - Whenever I say hello
Desireless - Voyage voyage
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Scattered pearls
The Field Mice - If you need someone
The Siddeleys - You get what you deserve
Spearmint - Left alone among the living
Fosca - I've agreed to something I shouldn't have
Scaredycat - Anna bananas
Helmut Kool - Så ung, så smutsig
Japan Air - Hate to take in
Annedal - Ulla Skoog
Orange Juice - Rip it up
Stars - When? (demo)
The Chesterfields - Lunchtime for the wild youth
My Favorite - Badge

(Almedal live)

Franke - Drunknandets färg
The Field Mice - Sensitive
Belle & Sebastian - Seeing other people
The Bridal Shop - From seas (demo)
The Magnetic Fields - I don't want to get over you
Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere
The Moldy Peaches - Steak for chicken
Jazz Butcher - Bad dream lover
The Tidy Ups - Dizzy heights
The Mare - Jim Blues, Mary Lame and me
Paddington Distortion Combo - Oh no/oh yes
Dreams End - Death disco
Most Valuable Players - Stockholm doesn't belong to me
James - Laid
Honeymoons - 15 seconds
Go-Kart Mozart - Elephant trunk
Bear Quartet - Same spell on everyone
Cats On Fire - Honey your baby
They Go Boom!! - Island nation
The Magnetic Fields - I'm sorry I love you
Pet Shop Boys - Left to my own devices
White Town - I was Trotsky's nun
Belle & Sebastian - Me and the major
Rough Bunnies - What a world
The Siddeleys - Sunshine thuggery
Strawberry Story - Gone like summer
Free Loan Investments - Kick his balls out
Saturday Looks Good To Me - Meet me by the water
The Divine Comedy - National Express
Man From Delmonte - My love is like a gift you can't return
Laurel Music - No one wants forever #1
Lloyd Cole - Impossible girl
The Auteurs - New French girlfriend
Days - Never came to last
Stars - Heart
bob hund - Det skulle vara lätt för mig att säga att jag inte hittar hem men det gör jag, tror jag