fallen/legen blog

Klangraum Vol. 3: Gothenburg

von Florian Naumann

What’s the sound of a city? fallen/legen is looking out for acoustic answers. After Bavaria’s capital the follow up: Gothenburg. Sounds, spaces from Sweden’s westcoast.
Download Klangraum-Mixtape -> here: Tape, Artwork, Wortraum (zip-Datei, 106 mb)
Wortraum Göteborg -> hier (Texts from and about Gothenburg in Swedish, English and German)

Gothenburg – a strange choice? In summer, Gothenburg is a fascinating city: The islands of the archipelago, looming like tortoiseshells out of the sea, the long alley of the dockside cranes, the red and yellow houses of Haga, dusk and dawn mixed up into one, and the constant euphoria above the hills… – the plan to chose Gothenburg for our third Klangraum arose out of different reasons, though: To find some great bands in Gothenburg – easy job, this. Musically, the city is blossoming all year, and grows the most beautiful plants. In post-rock (tenderversions beautiful back-catalogue: September Malevolence, Audrey, Once We Were; EF and Immanu El), with singer/songwriters (Björn Kleinhenz, Jens Lekman, Kristofer Aström, Winter Took His Life), Shoegaze and Twee (Afraid of Stairs, Bye Bye Bicycle, Boat Club), in rather electronic sounds (Thermostatic), and in that strange variaton called Göteborgspop (Håkan Hellström, Vapnet…). An impressive botanical garden for the small city that Gothenburg is.

Anyway, to get to pluck some of those musical flowers for our mixtape turned out to be hard: Cause for our little project, there’s only music without fees and royalties – the Swedish royalty company, anyway, is called “stim”, and seems to be found virtually everywhere. Musicians who do not promote a decidedly anti-commercial strategy or ideology and have ever set a foot on a stage, are generally registered with stim, it seems. Sense and nonsense of that tendency will be discussed some other time at this place…

So it rained regretful rejects on our requests. Enough for a compilation of its own. Of all the more or less well-known bands mentioned above only Once We Were made it to the tape – they ransacked their archives for us. That we finally got to another “klangraum” is a result of a lot of musical research – and even more the result of the help of some skilfull experts: Johan Björklund (of the Label Häleri, and (ex-)member of September Malevolence, Holmes, Malysz…), has with strong patience created a list of promising bands for us; Daniel Öhman (EF, Halo of Pendor, Michailov) did something similar. Without them, this project would definitely have failed. And there was as well Malin Dahlberg (We Are Soldiers, We Have Guns), who wrote a song especially for us… Thanks a lot, tack så mycket to all of them! As well as to all the young bands that shared their music with us.

The result is a mixture of the young, wondrous, lo-fi und almost-forgotten… A walk through Scandinavia’s biggest harbour-town, that starts post-rockily dreaming, that quickens the step every now and then, remembers days in the archipelago, stops in living- and teenager’s rooms, and wonders about the town’s and life’s oddities… to cut it short: enjoy! (Hunt’s What a Night, by the way, will only be available till march 5th. So be quick and tell your friends!)

01 Michailov – Day One (Pt. 2/1)

Michailov‘s myspace-page depicts one of those brickstoned block of flats that are so typical for Gothenburg – above the roof blue sky, and above all Michailov‘s stoically reckoning harmonies. It’s like leaving the house on a cold morning, and wandering through the empty streets… Michailov are currently working on the soundtrack for a German art movie. And sound a little like The Notwist‘s light-glittering music for the movie “Lichter“.
So far only published on myspace.

02 Dvalà – Like Doves We Fly
Gothenburg with its big post-rock-tradition: September Malevolence, Scraps of Tape, Once We WereDvalà, the youngsters, are already part of those bands’ inheriting generation. And they already prove their big talent: mouth organs, melodies, every now and then some creaking electronic sounds and the climax: Everything in its place, strong enough to carry the listener for some 20 minutes. Gliding like doves from overlook to overlook.
From: If These Waves Were To Stay-EP (self-production, 2009)

03 Dorena – I Huset Jag Växte Upp
Dorena are also part of the tape’s post-rocking prelude. In their very own style: With the shuffling intro and the glistening guitars… some vague Dire Straits-reference, and in addition the voices and noises of the playground-days. And after the break in the middle of the song follows one of the year’s catchiest climaxes. When was the last time you could hum along a post-rock-verse?
From: Holofon (self-production, 2009)

04 Lars Ludvig Löfgren – Give The Dog A Bone
…then the leap out into the life of the city’s streets: It jingles and seethes and swings – fast, fierce and a little sarcastic. Emotion and relativation: What better could be said about a pop-song?
From: Heterochromia (Häleri, 2009)

05 Malysz – Knivdansen
Knivdansen, “the knife dance”, has already some miles on the clock – without any damage. The band is watching from the beautiful crossroad between rock and post-rock, and, maybe, wonders about the Swedish winter and its speed. Anyway: “As the train hits/Your brother’s chest/You get overwellmed/By his concience.”
From: Hooray For Prisons (On Fire!) (Häleri, 2004)

06 Claes Strängberg – Archipelago
Claes Strängberg has more than one time been part of the europe-touring band outfits of EF (as a guitarist) and Immanu El (as singer and guitarist) – Archipelago is his first solo effort. In its entirety acoustic; one day in Gothenburg’s archipelago, and the long aftermath… A sincere highlight for our sampler. And for every memoryful winter- or summernight.
So far only published on myspace and last.fm.

07 Hunt – What A Night Can Do (included only for a short time!)
Hunt is the new sideproject of Winter Took His Life‘s Susanna Brandin. Otherwise playing totally acoustic, Hunt is the place for her, to try to patiently build up the atmosphere with synthies and electrical guitars. And that’s how it sounds: The long, early dusk following the Swedish summernight. Silent, resonating, light. You have to be there. Or listen closely.
So far only published on myspace.

08 The Berndt – Autosave
There’s even some pop in town: Brightly colored videogame-levels, are being built up by The Berndt. Blithe, and off the cuff. Autosave me. Being autosaved – sounds convenient, for life’s brighter moments.
Aus: GBGBG (Pophat Music, 2010)

09 Tim, Face Berlin – Lake
…and so do Tim, Face Berlin belong to Gothenburg’s promising post-rock-offspring. Lake “fits the town best”, thought the band, and yes: It could depict a walk through the town, strolling and running, from the classy canals of the mid-town, to the place where the huge cranes stand, loading the ships all night. And everything that happens  in a human brain on a walk of this length.
So far only published on myspace.

10 Halo of Pendor – Papercuts
Halo of Pendor is Daniel Öhmans solo-project. And Papercuts has got a history. Here’s what the author says: “Papercuts is about trying to bear everyday life, consisting of a job you detest, and a relationship you hate. You live in that constant mental winterdarkness, without even really asking yourself  “why?”. There’s different ways to go. It’s just about taking responsibility for yourself, and daring to go one’s one way. I remember how I, about two years ago, sat in my flat, and sang the words “papercuts and a worn out heart” while I was jingling on the guitar, silent, as I didn’t want to disturb my former girlfriend. The dark nordic winter lived constantly inside of me, til the day I broke up with myself and nearly everything around me. Two years later I finished Papercuts and I realise that I go on completely different ways today. The nordic wintercold came back, but it doesn’t reach my soul any longer.
Bislang nur auf myspace veröffentlicht.

11 The 100 Sound Tone Bank – Cattribute
For one time Klangraum in the sense of the word: In nearby Vänersborg has Sofie combined the noise of the 100 Sound Tone Bank (a keyboard-like instrument, hailing from childhood-days) with the purring of the cat: That’s the livingroom’s noise. Cattribute.
So far only published on myspace.

12 We Are Soldiers, We Have Guns – Electricity
Malin Dahlberg alias We Are Soldiers… has done a special track for our Klangraum. It’s written in and about Gothenburg: “because I have strong feeling for the town right now”, she wrote. A disappointed love-song for the city maybe: “I’ll put a 40-minute bus ride between me and the lot of you” – the feeling of leaving years and memories behind, driving out of town in a car (or one of the blue Västtrafiken-busses). Maybe.
So far unpublished. We’re proud!

13 Holmes – We Are Getting Older
Westcoast – but maybe rather the American? Holmes‘ albums contain bloody mature, coherent pop. And as with every good pop song, it’s the individualisable generalisation that gets you: We are getting older. What else should you say…
Aus: We’re Getting Older 7″ (Wild Honey Records, 2009)

14 Once We Were – Untitled (Live)
Out of royalty-reasons, Once We Were – masters of the simply techniqued construction of enigmatic, haunting structures  –  Once We Were couldn’t share any of their official releases with us. But there was this bootleg of an appearance in Malmö’s Johanneskyrka, that contained a new song… that’s the one we got. Another premiere. And the hall is a result of a Swedish Lord’s house “klangraum”.
So far unpublished.

15 Michailov – Day One (Pt. 2/2)

16 Linnéa – What I’d Really Want To Say To You
Linnéa is only 16 years old – but “one of the big talents”, as Johan Björklund said. That is: Oasis’ Married With Children in even-more-authentic, captured straight out of the room, and sung in a crystal clear voice. We hope to see again soon… On some real record, then.
so far only published on myspace.

Ein Kommentar.

  1. Klangraum Vol. 3: Göteborg-fallen/legen Am 1. March 2010 um 19:59 Uhr.

    […] this article in English: click. […]