News archive: Testbild!
RIP IT UP + FRIENDLY NOISE FILM + TESTBILD! INTERVIEW
It’s been a while since we updated with news here. Bascially we’re on vacation at the moment… But anyway, here are some things that you should know:
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This weekend it’s time for the second Rip It Up in Säffle, probably the nicest music festival in Sweden. Not only will people like The Clientele and Days be performing live, two Friendly Noise bands will also seize the stage: Most Valuable Players and The Dreamers.
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The first Testbild! interview in English avaliable on the web was published a couple of weeks ago by Songs And Sonics. And it’s not only a first, it’s a great one.
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And here’s the first document of the ongoing film project about Friendly Noise, by the brillliant Sebastian Rozenberg:
Friendly Noise Dokument from Sebastian Rozenberg on Vimeo.
[Concerts, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!, The Dreamers]
INFO OM TORSDAGEN PÅ DEBASER + TESTBILD!-TURNÉN
Speltider för Friendly Noise-torsdagen på Debaser Slussen:
Differnet, Most Valuable Players och Testbild! kommer spela live.
19:00 Öppnar
Ca 20:00 Första bandet spelar
Ca 21:00 Andra bandet spelar
Ca 22:00 Tredje bandet spelar
01:00 Stänger
Action Biker + Friendly Noise spelar skivor.
Inträdet kostar 80 kr.
Våra kommande skivor, Action Bikers “Hesperian Puisto” (intervju i dagens DN ) och “Splendid Isolation”-samlingen, kommer tyvärr inte vara klara. Vi har haft lite otur helt enkelt. Men de är på gång.
Testbild! är på turné, här är datumen, ställena och tiderna:
Tors 27 Debaser Slussen, Stockholm (Friendly Noise label night med Differnet och Most Valuable Players, DJ: Action Biker. Kl 19.00, 80 kr)
Fre 28 Fyrisbiografen, Uppsala (Insläpp 16.30, konsert 17.00, 50 kr)
Lör 29 Chinabigrafen, Jönköping (kvällstid, prisvärt inträde)
[Action Biker, Concerts, Differnet, Events, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!]
MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS LIVE!
On Wednesday, 5 March, it’s not only the FLM/Friendly Noise night at Allmänna Galleriet, it’s also the night of the highly anticipated live comeback of Most Valuable Players! At Debaser Slussen, supporting A Mountain Of One, and it’s MVP:s first concert in 16 months.
* Some new reviews: Pop News about The Dreamers, Broken Face about Testbild!, Pop ‘n Cherries about Robotboy, and Too Much Apple Pie about Action Biker.
[Action Biker, Concerts, Events, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!, The Dreamers]
FIVE YEARS OF FRIENDLY NOISE
In March it’s exactly five years since our first record, “Friendly People Making Noise”, was released. We will celebrate this jubilee by a whole bunch of events this Spring. It all seems interesting and fun, we think. For interviews and/or more info contact us first through e-mail: friendlynoise@gmail.com
* In March it’s exactly five years since our first record, “Friendly People Making Noise”! We will celebrate this jubilee by a whole bunch of events:
* First, on Wednesday 5 March, there will be a release party at Allmänna Galleriet for the second issue of film magazine FLM where Friendly Noise again is responsible for the musical content: Sarto will perform live, we will DJ, and videos for “Clouds in transit” by Testbild! and “I look out for you” and “ICA Lappis” by Action Biker will be shown.
* Then, on Thursday 27 March, there’s a Friendly Night at Debaser Slussen, where Testbild!, Most Valuable Players and Differnet will perform live. The same night we hope our two new records will be available for the first time: “Splendid Isolation” (FYN 068), a compilation of a selection of songs from our 2007 mp3 series, and “Hesperian Puisto”, the long-awaited debut album from Action Biker (FYN 069). Don’t miss the Action Biker interview in the new issue of Bon, issue #42.
* And that’s not all, Friendly Noise will also host a club in Stockholm with live music and DJ:s. It will be the first Tuesday every month, beginning in April, at Sugar Bar.
Other news: The three latest Friendly Noise albums are now available via Radio Khartoum’s Friendly Goods which means much much better availability in America from now on. Also, “Day for night” by The Dreamers are now distributed in Japan, through Quince!
[Action Biker, Concerts, Differnet, Events, Friendly Noise associates, Most Valuable Players, Releases, Testbild!, The Dreamers]
RADIO: TESTBILD! PÅ P3 POP IKVÄLL + EN TIMMES LIVE MED DIFFERNET PÅ P4
Testbild!-intervju i P3 Pop ikväll, kl.22:00:
“Testbild! har funnits sedan 1998 ungefär, när Petter Herbertsson började jobba med ett musikprojekt utan regler där han helt fritt skulle få blanda noise och ambient med sin förkärlek för jazzig, lättlyssnad pop. Sedan dess har projektet vuxit, både i storlek och ambition, och i höstas släpptes det fjärde Testbild!-albumet, “Une Teinte Intense” där Testbild! vanan trogen utifrån en befintlig berättelse tecknar ett musikaliskt landskap där precis allting får plats.
I P3 Pop träffar du Petter och bandmedlemmen Douglas Holmqvist, och så hör du massor med Testbild!-relaterad musik – Testbild! är nämligen inte bara ett av det här landets kanske allra bästa band i sin nyfikna, experimentella genre. De har massor med sidoprojekt också!”
Mer radio: nu på onsdag (13 februari, kl. 12:00) är det en timmes live i direktsändio radio med Differnet i P4:s Uppland Lajv. Programmet sparas på internet i 30 dagar.
ACTION BIKER LIVE + LISTENTOEUROPE APPRECIATION
On Friday 18 January Action Biker will perform live, together with Paddington DC and Park Hotell, at Klubb Spark at Debaser Medis in Stockholm. DJ:s in the restaurant during the evening: Stefan Zachrisson of Friendly Noise together with our friend and Sonic writer, Johan Jacobsson.
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“Une Teinte Intense” by Testbild! has been selected by ListenToEurope Television as one of the best European albums 2007. Here’s their message to us:
“We congratulate that the album of your band has been selected among the best European albums of 2007 by ListenToEurope.
ListenToEurope is a project aimed at the promotion of the best music Made In Europe, and it connects media from 8 different European countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden).
A total of 40 albums were chosen (5 from each country) and 1 video from each album is broadcast by ListenToEurope Television.”
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And some blog attention for Friendly Noise lately:
Bibadi and Elefanten (Sonores) about MVP, BBCCHICKENROBOT about Robotboy, Home On The Fringe and Talk About The Past about our “New Year’s Eve” song, Tobydammit & Co about our mp3 releases, The Jet Set Junta about The Dreamers and Erik De Vahl, and Eliek about Testbild!
[Action Biker, Concerts, Media, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!, The Dreamers]
FYN 65: NEW YEAR’S EVE
Now it’s time for the very last of our free mp3 single releases, the series was a 2007 project; thanks for listening. We end it with “New Year’s Eve”.
MORE FRIENDLY NOISE RELATED LINKS/WRITINGS/THINGS RECENTLY
Pictures from the FLM/Friendly Noise night. MVP:s recent radio interview is now available in the P3 Pop archive. Home On The Fringe is a new blog that has written lots of nice things about Friendly Noise lately, here’s some entries: (best) Friendly Noise, the inexplicable feeling of testbild!, …and i’ve got to be free, FYN 62, sjoberg vs. testbild!. Another blog that has been very supportive is Talk About The Past, here’s what they’ve been saying about MVP, Testbild!, Flow Flux Clan and Erik De Vahl. More blog attention: Beneath A Steel Sky about Flow Flux Clan and Erik De Vahl, and Sally Cinnamon about MVP:s “Rondo”. Music Is The Scenery and Hiroshima Deathmatch on Action Biker.
[Action Biker, Events, Friendly Noise associates, Media, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!]
OTHER MUSIC
Good news for our American friends, our six latest CD releases are now available at Other Music, the legendary and super friendly record store and mailorder. Here’s what they write on their website:
“In our endless quest to try to introduce you to interesting sounds ahead of the curve, we bring you six new titles from Friendly Noise. Based in Skarpnack, Sweden, the label’s output combines the styles and sensibilities of imprints like Morr Music, Karaoke Kalk, Type, and Hapna. You can also detect a sort of post-Belle and Sebastian charm in their artists, the musicality and orchestration bolstered by an overall sophistication that unintentionally seems to reference Les Disques du Crepuscule.
One of the most recent Friendly Noise releases, Testbild!’s Une Teinte Intense is a good one to start with to get an overall sense of the label. Excellent production qualities showcase a variety of modern, trans-continental pop thanks to old-fashioned songwriting decorated with sampled bits and field recordings. What results sounds like the United Nations of Antena: a little dubby indie tropicalia here, a little Arabian ambient pop there, a little mod-pop Free Design/ indie-lounge a la Sea and Cake there; but Testbild! maintain a skilled balance of sweet and mature throughout.
The Dreamers’ Day for Night is another great release for trying out Friendly Noise. Featuring a male/female duo with the vocal texture and cadence of Broadcast’s Trish Keenan, but with its own musicality, personality and atmosphere set in a breeze-blown, sun-drenched pasture, the record is really charming and full of self-assured confidence — light on its feet in that Brazilian way and positive in that modern indie way, but solid and thoughtfully written. The Dreamers are very easy to like but definitely not just another guilty pleasure.
I really wish I had the time and space to elaborate on all the releases but listed below are some other great Friendly Noise titles that we’re carrying. (Click on the title to add to your shopping cart.) [SM]
MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS: You In Honey $12.99
Excellent post-Dntel electronic songs with exceptional variety, subtlety and charm.
DIFFERNET: Collapsing Universe $12.99
Also excellent female-led pop-tronica that has slightly more abrasive electronic sounds but still maintains the label’s overall qualities. They’re almost like a Friendly Noise version of the Knife, but more personal. Includes a killer cover of Eurtythmics’ “Savage!”
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Are You Scared to Get Happy? $12.99
Includes tracks by the Field and Radio Dept., as well as Flow Flux Clan, Testbild! and Kuryakin…not a bad place to start!
TESTBILD!: Imagine a House $12.99″
[Differnet, Distribution, Media, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!, The Dreamers]
LATEST
* The Dreamers’ long Swedish national radio interview from last week can now be found in the P3 Pop archive, where they store broadcasts for a month. It’s the show dated 12 November and you can listen via Real Player or Windows Media Player.
* Differnet has a brand new song, “Collapsing Universe” (no, it’s not on their album with the same name!), on the Stupid Dream label’s CD compilation “Elektronisk kompilation” released a week ago.
* Lots of things have been written about the Friendly Noise stuff lately. Links extravaganza:
Heaven Is Above Your Head writes about Testbild! and The Dreamers, more from Louis Philippe on “Une teinte intense” by Testbild!, and a great 4/5 review of that same record by Ned Raggett at Allmusic. Soundvenue and NWT reviews “Day For Night” by The Dreamers.
Feedback on our new Most Valuable Players mp3 single: “songs of the year” according to The Embassy, “huge disappointment” says Swedesplease, and more at The Jet Set Junta, Ondskans mp3-blogg, Digfi and Talk About The Past. Rockomondo likes Robotboy and so does 78s and Swedesplease. Add Some Music writes about Friendly Noise.
[Differnet, Media, Most Valuable Players, Testbild!, The Dreamers]