Architecture in Helsinki

No, the headline doesn´t talk about the Australian band. This time Im talking about the "architecture" in Finnish music, where the indie scene has got more established in recent years. Since my mother is from Finland, I thougt it was suiting for me to put together a list of some of my favourite songs from Finland in recent years. Notable acts include Regina, Montevideo and of course Cats on Fire.

The latter band have gained most international fame (rightly so) of all the Finnish bands. The Drumming Cat certainly does not hope he is one of the cats on fire...Mjouch that would hurt!

/The Drumming Cat

El Perro Del Mar worthy winner

At yesterday´s annual Manifestgala, organized by independent record companies in Sweden, one of my personal favourites El perro del Mar won the award for best pop. In my mind a worthy and I consider her album "Love Is not pop" the best Swedish album of 2009. Listening to that album you almost feel like you are floating in the sky (and this time its a wonderful experience, despite my fear of heights). Another favourite, Jenny Wilson was nominated for best live act, but Fever Ray won it. Jenny Wilson´s album "Hardships" is also worth mentioning.

Both of them were the two best concert experiences for me last summer and both of them are on tour: El perro Del Mar will soon appear in several cities in North America while Jenny Wilson stays at home in Europe.

/The Drumming Cat

Am I black enough for you?

In my mind this is one of the absolute best music documentaries in recent years. Swedish filmer Göran Olsson describes the life of legendary soul singer Billy Paul. The documentary discusses everything from his contribution to the movement of the rights for African-Americans in the U.S. to what the song "Am I black enough for you" meant for his career and what impact Philadelphia have had on music in history. The documentary includes interviews with Questlove from the Roots, Kenny Gamble and Billy Paul himself. If you haven´t discovered Billy Paul yet, I suggest you do it now.

/The Drumming Cat

A blog post about Post

A couple of days I got a recommendation to listen to the Swedish indie band Post. I felt thrilled when I listened to their music and felt I had to recommend them to other music lovers as well. Their music can be said to be a combination of classic 80´s indie bands combined with sometimes electronic melodies.

/The Drumming Cat

Ian Brown vs. Joan As Police Woman

Last night I attended a concert with Ian Brown at Göta Källare in Stockholm. The former Stone Roses singer´s psychadelic songs created the perfect concert atmosphere and those of you haven´t seen him live, I really recommend it!

At the same time, just a bloc away at Debaser, Joan as police woman also performed live. Her beautiful songs often referred to as "Punk rock r`nb" gave me a great concert experience at the Way Out West festival 2008 in Gothenburg. Of course I wasn´t able to attend her concert since I watched Ian Brown the same evening, but I hope Joan touched every person´s soul just as I experienced it that time in Gothenburg. On the other hand i hope the audience yesterday were able to enjoy the concert without constant interuption from some man with strange questions like "Joan, will you marry me?", as the case was in Gothenburg...

Anyhow, if you want a good concert experience, watch Ian Brown or Joan as police woman when they visit your town. You won´t be disappointed.

/The Drumming Cat