http://www.myspace.com/mumtheband 


來自冰島的Múm,新作回歸早期的快樂氣息,他們還在愛沙尼亞租了個四周圍有許多湖泊,擁有百年歷史的老屋用來寫歌錄音.新專輯中的大部分歌曲出產於冰島最近的政治動盪時期,Múm 天真爛熳安靜平和理想主義的音樂世界與現實中混亂不堪恰成強烈對比! 


Two years after the release of their last album, eccentric pop maestros múm return with their fifth album proper, simply named Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know, a flickering candle of an album. The album is a much more laid back album than múm's most recent outings, more relaxed and quietly sad, often recalling sand running through fingers or ripples on a lake. And to an even greater extent than their previous albums, Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know is an ode to the light in its different shapes, from a fading bulb to the blinding sun. Sometimes the music sounds naively utopic, but always manages to stay effortless and pure. As usual, the songs are brimming with unusual sounds, this time much of the songs revolve around a lightly prepared piano, hammered dulcimer, a string quartet, marimbas, guitars, ukuleles and in the background of a few of the songs one can hear Örvar's parent's parakeet singing with the piano. 


The album was recorded in countless different places in four different countries, although most of it was done in múm's native Iceland. Gunnar Örn Tynes moved to a cabin in the countryside where much of the album sprang to life, but as always múm have a hard time staying put and recorded in both Estonia and Finland. In Estonia borrowed a beautiful, many hundred-year-old house in Leigo, a place of hundreds of lakes, where they wrote new songs and recorded with the Estonian Suisapäisa Mixed choir. Much of the music was hatched in the middle of Iceland's recent political turmoil and uprising. The Icelandic government was forced to resign after intermittent civil unrest and the constant banging of pots and pans. By stretching the imagination, one can imagine a link between the turbulent political situation and the serene idealism hidden in the music. 

 

試聽: www.myspace.com/peoplepressplay

品嚐過Electric President的豁達電子民謠，現在來聽聽Ben Cooper以個人出發的Radical Face全新專輯「Ghost」；延續了Electric President的乾淨悅耳，Radical Face致力於更加開闊的民謠音樂路線，令人加倍回味起Paul Simon、Sufjan Stevens乃至Ben Gibbard等人的風采。多才多藝的Ben Cooper去年連同Alex Kane以Electric President名義於柏林Morr廠牌底下發表同名專輯，同時也是Morr從來未曾有過的精湛民謠風味。正當許多樂迷還浸淫於Electric President那愉悅的光輝與豁達的曲調之下，Ben Cooper重返昔日Radical Face的崗位上，並持續以臥房錄音樂派的Lo-Fi精神，集結鋼琴、吉他、斑鳩、手風琴與唱詩班等素材完成了「Ghost」這張有些陰鬱暗湧的民謠唱片。回歸最質樸的原音樂器伴奏，Ben Cooper以激勵人心的歌唱訴說著一幕幕發生於臥房陰暗深處的鬼影幢幢。

試聽: http://www.myspace.com/radicalface

堪稱Morr Music旗下指標性的音樂人，來自奧地利的 B. Fleischmann，最新發行了雙CD現場錄音專輯，分別收錄2006年四月在柏林新國家美術館的音樂會，以及2003年六月為廣播電台ORF所做的演出。兩首各為50分鐘左右，長篇但一氣呵成的作品，不乏旋律性且因為細節撐起的情感張力而飽滿。「Melancholie」以合成器聲響作為和聲層層疊起，並運用大提琴探索樂評口中他一貫的「奧地利式田園憂鬱」氣質，「Sendestrasse」則延續了他巔峰之作《Welcome Tourist》（2003）雙CD第二張的實驗特性，半即興地大量使用電氣噪音和類似黑膠唱片的炒豆子聲，從扭曲改編舒伯特的鋼琴小品出發，再帶入招牌的groovebox電子打擊樂器節拍，讓人不得不開始shoegazing的出神膜拜。 

myspace: B. Fleischmann

創作力非常豐富的F.S. Blumm（Frank Schultge），在這張《Summer Kling》當中，不單自己運用超過十五種樂器編曲，還邀請許多好朋友為他演奏樂器、提供電子聲響、田野錄音等，然後再提煉成結構上接近TNT時期的Tortoise、充滿芝加哥爵士與後搖滾參照的美好聆聽體驗，但依然保有F.S. Blumm始終如一的簡樸純真氣質，引領聽者感受如白雲綠茵的悠閒夏日氣氛。

http://fsblumm.free.fr/

Blessed with living in the vodka-pickled tundra’s of 21st Century Iceland, Benedikt H. Hermannsson has a rich cultural heritage to call upon – with the contemporary musical success of Sigur Ros, Múm and Bjork, juxtaposed against an oral tradition that stretches back centuries; meaning anyone is able to pick-up and read ancient manuscripts without the need for dialectal translation. But we digress…

Opening through a rattle of percussion and thrumming acoustic guitar, the appropriately titled ‘Beginning End’ kicks off Benni Hemm Hemm’s eponymous debut with the kind of dribble-inducing enthusiasm usually reserved for kid’s birthday parties. Brimming with indie-guitar goodness, things are cranked up a gear with the introduction of parping horns, soaring strings and a batch of sugar-blasted atmospherics that brings to mind the joyous exuberance of the Arcade Fire.

‘I Can Love You In A Wheelchair’, meanwhile, is an ebbing folk song that matches the likes of The Tindersticks in its blunt yet heartfelt predilection – taking a difficult subject then injecting it with a solipsistic wit that is caustically effective. Elsewhere, ‘Til Eru Fræ’ presses the glottally rich language into action for a galloping charge through Icelandic-country, the steel guitar pock-marks of ‘Fight’ hint at a fog-shrouded desert, whilst ‘Sweaty In The Sunshine’ works up a real head of steam through percussive bursts that press the whole band into frenzied action. Brilliant stuff.

 冰島繼Sigur Ros, Mum和Bjork後，又一出色音樂單位。

The Year Of是來自奧地利的五人組，之前已在Bernhard Fleischman的2003年專輯「Welcome Tourist」合作過，團名取自歌曲"Take Your Time"。某個程度也是支超級樂隊，團員包括Morr Music廠元老級樂手Bernhard Fleischman、主唱Christof Kurzmann、電顫琴與吉他手Burkhard Stangl、貝斯手Werner Dafeldecker，這幾個人在維也納實驗電子、劇場配樂、即興噪音圈都非常活躍。還有來自Thrill Jockey廠Trapist樂隊的Martin Siewert，有著後搖滾，電影和現代舞蹈音樂的經歷。

首張專輯「 Slow Days」結合了爵士、電子與民謠，貼近內心，私密懇切，一開始引人注意的是Christof Kurzman的歌聲，器樂演奏也到達室內樂團的層級。像是"Sleep"那逐漸遠去的吉他，彷彿凝視著日出，一種難以言明的哀愁，Christof Kurzmann唱到「Don't get me wrong, It' just a song」，的確，不要想太多了，這只是一首歌。(更多介紹 by galeer)

Ben Cooper與Alex Kane，兩人今年二十歲左右，多才多藝，寫作、繪畫、音樂各種創作質量兼具，在組成 Electric President 之前，已有以Radical Face等化名的音樂創作與錄音經驗。同名專輯以筆記型電腦加上吉他等原音樂器，花了八個月時間，雖是在家裡手工製造完成，卻一點也不lo-fi，技術水平與錄音品質極高 ，悅耳而動聽。( more by  galeer)  

冰島精靈樂團 mum絕跡多時的首張專輯（最早在1999年發行），不但讓世人對冰島音樂再一次刮目相看。也奠定日後mum揚名國際的基礎。值得鼓掌的是德國電音名廠Morr近日重發這張專輯，夢幻旋律與怪異聲響、原音樂器與電子節拍，還有Gyda與Kristin這對雙胞胎姊妹的初次啼聲，互相矛盾卻又融會貫通，自有一種既童稚卻疏離的奇異美感，歷經六年依然難捨難離，也難怪許多人把這張專輯認定為IDM pop的經典瑰寶！試聽

相關文章：

http://www.wretch.cc/blog/trackback.php?blog_id=galeer&article_id=206950 / galeer

http://www.digforfire.net/index.php?p=144 / 胡凌雲

作者：galeer

「我自己也搞不清楚為什麼我的漫畫中有那麼多沒有結果的愛。是我對這種情愫不自覺的傾向嗎？莎莉愛奈勒斯，奈勒斯卻受不了她；露西愛謝勒德，謝勒德也受不了她；查理布朗愛紅髮女孩，可是卻不敢接近她。這種沒有結果的愛其實滿好笑的。我想是因為我們都能輕易的辨認出來吧，我們都曾被我們喜愛的人拒絕過，而且很有可能是我們一生中所受最致命的打擊！」

如果，要我描述為什麼如此喜愛 The American Analog Set、Yo La Tengo與Low等吉他緩飆(slow-core)後搖滾，只有史奴比作者查爾休茲(Charles M. Schulz)的這段話，可以表達我聽此類音樂的感覺。（繼續閱讀）

延伸閱讀：美式類比，靜謐美麗─American Analog Set採訪 / coldbean