scandinavia - Austin Town Hall

ATH Interview: Free Range

February 14, 2023 RayRay Leave a comment

As we closed out the year and wrapped coverage in December, one artist hit me with several memorable songs and left a lasting impression going into 2023. Chicago based Sofia Jensen, and her recording project Free Range, really struck a chord with me and will likely be a top new artist to push in the coming year. After three incredible singles to serve as an introduction to the project, Sofia is releasing a full, debut LP this week entitled Practice and I am here to push this gem of a record however I can. I was fortunate enough to send along a few questions to Free Range and I’m pumped to share this intimate look into Sofia’s process and musical tastes. Full interview with some song links and LP streaming/buying options after the jump.

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More From Summer Heart

March 4, 2016 RayRay Leave a comment

Around a month ago I shared with you fine folks a true gem of a newsingle from Swedish based lo-fi pop group Summer Heart. Today I have even more new music in the form of this single “The Forbidden”. Once again we are treated to a lo-fi, enchanting pop number full of rises and falls. I think it’s time that we all start paying attention to David Alexander and his Summer Heart Project.

Still no word on an official release date for the new EP, but stay tuned.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/249642855″ params=”color=ff9900&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

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Dark Force of Beauty from RA

February 10, 2015 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

A while back I brought out a heavy bit of gaze from RA, but I think this track’s going to be getting a lot more notice, as it’s quite similar to the work bands like Iceage have been promoting. There’s a heavy-handed guitar creating a wall of reverberating noise, but there’s a sterile vocal that haunts the track, creating this dark emotion in that modern post-rock manner. The tune sucks you in beneath it’s natural current, rolling you through it’s brooding sentiment until you find yourself fading out in the end. It’s just another reason that people need to take note of the band’s forthcoming effort, Scandinavia, which hits on March 3rd via Adrian Recordings.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/03-The-Void.mp3]

Download – RA – The Void [MP3]

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Noisy Number from Sweden’s RA

January 26, 2015 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

Oh Sweden how I love you. Sometimes you’re soft and gentle, then other times you’re noisy and chilling. RA definitely gets the nod for the noisy side of things. They’ve got this wall of guitar noise that shreds your speakers; it sounds dangerous (like what you remember IceAge sounding like before they were boring). They’ve completed their debut, Scandinavia, after working through a ton of singles, so I wanted to get this out there on your radar. Adrian Recordings will be handling the release on March 3rd of this year.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187504112″ params=”color=ff9900&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

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Subtle Beauty From Let’s Say We Did

June 4, 2014 RayRay One comment

It’s rare that I find a band who can be so mellow, almost hushed with their sound, and yet still be so powerful and captivating with the end product. That’s just what I’ve found today with new band to me Let’s Say We Did. Now these guys hail from Stockholm, and it seems a fitting birthplace, as these songs could easily be the soundtrack to an early, cloudy morning in Scandinavia. Breezy, beautiful, and enchanting are all words that could describe this track “(Won’t You Please) Tell Me Something” found below. If you dig, check out the band’s brand new EP called Such a Shame over on bandcamp.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/150310155″ params=”color=ff9900&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_artwork=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

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Holograms Bring Us Scandinavian Punk

July 2, 2013 RayRay Leave a comment

I’ve really been digging this new track “Flesh & Bone” from Stockholm based experimental punk group Holograms since it dropped yesterday. It makes me think of what might happen if you mixed the hardcore tendencies of a band like Iceage with the more atmospheric qualities of a band like We Were Promised Jetpacks. If that’s a terrible comparison, check it out for yourself and make your own description.

New album, Forever, will hit the streets on September 3rd via Captured Tracks.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/87462744″ params=”color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=false” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

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