The word new is so funny when it comes to music and blogs. The Hype Machine's "Popular" chart even suggests that a week ago is old. I want to make it clear that music I put forth as new is simply new to me. It may be decades old, but if it's something I've heard for the first time recently, then it's good enough for me.
While we all wait for Justin Vernon to trek out to his cabin in Wisconsin and whip up another album, I guess I'll just have to subsist on tracks like "Berlin" by RY X. As per his wiki page, RY X is Ry Cuming, an Australian musician based in L.A. and signed to a Stockholm label. Of course. This song is totally long enough to hook but short enough that you're wondering if it cut off or something instead of naturally coming to an end. It's beautiful, regardless.
I fell in love with "Fall 4 U" from Young Hunger when it came out just over a year ago, but for whatever reason I never payed much attention to the rest of the album. Well, I finally got around to listening to "I Owe You This" and it gets my thumbs up. Here's a Guardian bio of Chad Valley a.k.a. Hugo Manuel, written just before the release of "Young Hunger", in case you want to do some reading.
Believe it or not, one of my first Scandinavian electronic crushes was from Norway, not Sweden. Röyksopp's Melody A.M. album is still one of my electronic classics - up there with Daft Punk's Discovery, Cassius's 1999, Jazzanova's In Between, the Wipeout 2097 soundtrack, Chemical Brothers's Surrender, Underworld's Beaucoup Fish and the Hackers soundtrack. I'm probably missing a few, but that's a pretty solid list. Hm - I see that they were actually nominated for a Grammy in 2009. Cool. "Something in My Heart" is the duo's most recent release and it features Jamie McDermott of the Irrepressibles. Last I checked, this single was roaring up the Norwegian charts and might crack the top 10 (bated breath).
