Competition
winners January 16, 2008. Here are the randomly selected competition winners! Congratulations!
Siamesisk EP:
Jeppe Vejen, Denmark
Henrik Lukas, Denmark
Piotr Wicijowski, Poland
SOPA DELICIOSA double-cd:
Andreas Hoff, Norway
James Harding, England
Bo Mølgaard, Denmark
Thanks
a lot everybody - for playing along with this silly little game. You always
come through and make it lots of fun!
There were a lot of suggestions. Some of you had more than one. And all
these titles came from both Denmark and elsewhere. Some people from non-Danish
speaking countries even tried coming up with something in Danish even
though they were allowed to do it in English. And actually some didn't
really know what they were writing, which is kind of interesting.
In order for everyone to get something out of the answers given your webmaster
have taken the liberty of translating the non-English titles into English
(it wasn't easy!). You're all a bunch of little poets out there, aren't
you? And then there are those naughty ones who - like Henriette did on
the last album - started inventing new words (you bastards, ha-ha!). ;-D
The winners will receive the "Siamesisk" live EP once it's released
mid-February (maybe even a little before). The SOPA
DELICIOSA compilation will be sent out shortly.
More
live EP details / Site updates / Thunderbear news January 6, 2008. Manager Jesper Majdall has send the cover for the new orchestral
live EP. It continues with the line of artwork layout by Hrafnhildur Halldórsdóttir
from the "Samme stof som stof" album and single.
Morningside Records write on their website that they will release it as
a cd digipack limited to 2000 copies. And they add "We wont
bring you this one on vinyl, but are sure someone else will (!!)."
One's guess could be Danish Vinyl Production who have done all the previous
Under Byen albums.
American music website Pitchfork
writes that the same EP released by the band's Canadian label Paper
Bag Records also will be limited to 2000 copies.
So concluding from this information it seems there are two cd editions
(probably identical) and a vinyl version on the horizon. When there's
more news on this it will be posted here, of course.
"Siamesisk"
has been added to the Discography page with
info and cover. So has the "Live at KEXP - Volume Three" compilation,
the "SOPA DELCIOSA" compilation and the "Beneath The Surface
Volume 3" sampler compilation from the Bella Union label.
The Reading
page was updated with two books. All the many weblinks on that page have
not been checked or updated, though.
In the latest
news update from Morningside
Records they also write about Under Byen's former member Thorbjørn
Krogshede: "Thunderbear has
almost finished recording a new piano only album. Well let you know
if hell let us release it!".
As a bit
of bonus news it might of interest to some that Dennis Block of Stine
Sørensen's former band Strumm has discovered a bunch of old 7-inches
by the band which are now being made for sale at the shop Route 66 in
Århus and Copenhagen. It's a really nice EP on pink vinyl with energetic
drumming and vocals by Stine from when she was part of this trio some
years ago. They actually got a MySpace
page now. But there's only one song from the 7-inch on there. There's
a really catchy "pop" remix, though.
X-massy
new year's competition December 22, 2007. It's been a bit quiet on this site for a while. And also about time
to have the annual competition if we want to squeeze it in to 2007. So
here we go: Up for grabs are three copies of the coming live EP "Siamesisk"
with Under Byen playing with The
Danish Radio Sinfonietta. It will be released on February, but will
be shipped to the winners as soon as it's in the hands of manager Jesper
Majdall.
This nice fella handed your webmaster a cd-r copy the other day and it
sounds mighty fine and biiig! The tracklist goes as follows:
1. Plantage
2. Af samme stof som stof
3. Siamesisk
4. Den her sang handler om at få det bedste ud af det
5. Tindrer
Your webmaster
is throwing in three copies of the new "SOPA DELICIOSA" compilation
with several Under Byen sideprojects on it (read the previous news item).
Norman Records just reviewed it and singled out Sara Saxild's duo The
Sad Lovers and called their song "divine" (to which your webmaster
can only agree). You can read
that here.
And what
should you do in order to get your hands on this? It's becoming increasingly
difficult to come up with challenges, so this year it might seem a bit
silly. But silly can be fun! So before
January 12th send an e-mail to lsd_dk@hotmail.com with...
Your title of a hypothetical Under Byen song.
Yes, it's not like the band has asked me to do this, but just write your
suggestion for a new song title for a song they haven't already written.
Be creative, have fun! If you're Danish write it in Danish, and if you're
not, then feel free to do so in English if you don't feel comfortable
enough with Danish. You can check out the Lyrics
page for inspiration if you want. The winner will be randomly chosen
among the suggestions, but I hope you will play along.
Have a merry christmas and a happy new year!
Lars
New compilation
with Under Byen "sideprojects" December 2, 2007. A new cd called "SOPA DELICIOSA" is coming out. A double
cd compilation featuring three tracks by Under Byen members together with
other musicians. It's released by the small label Sound Of Perpetual Astonishment
(SOPA) run by the webmaster of this website.
The compilation contains over two and half hours of music on a total of
44 tracks. Canadian singer Wendy McNeill who supported Under Byen on their
big tour of Denmark in the fall of 2006 is also on it with a new track.
And yes, your webmaster here actually also snuck a track in there under
the name Resident Tourist. Plenty of other great songs from artists from
10 different countries can be heard on it. The price is 80 DKK (11 euro
/ 16 $) and it can be ordered through www.sopa.dk.
You can read more about the release at the cd's page on the
SOPA website. Very soon a website dedicated to the compilation will
be up at www.sopa.dk/sopadeliciosa.
For now you can see the full tracklist and listen to a preview of some
of the tracks there. The YouTube preview can also be viewed below the
cd-cover on the right of this text.
Here is some information on the Under Byen-related tracks on the cd:
Nils
Gröndahl & Oliver Hoiness is a duo made up of Under Byen's
noisemaking violin- and sawplayer together with Oliver, labelboss of Lolita
Industri and part of several bands such as Joy L, Skammens Vogn and many
others. Their contribution is a melodic instrumental track with guitar,
violin and various effects.
The Sad
Lovers is a duo made up of Sara Saxild and Anna Brønsted. Anna
is also part of the band Our Broken Garden and plays with Lise Westzynthius.
The song "My Man" is a slow and warm stripped down song with
great vocal harmonies.
Dazzle
Ships is a quartet featuring Under Byen members Morten Larsen (on
drums) and Morten Svenstrup (trading his usual cello for the bass) alongside
Filip Granlie (of I Am Bones and other bands) and Dennis Block (formerly
of Strumm together with Stine Sørensen).
The song is an acoustic song to begin with, but turns into a rather grandiose
creature with drums and much else by the end.
Release
date for orchestral live EP / Facebook group December 1, 2007. Finally there is an official release date for the coming live EP
with Under Byen playing with the The
Danish Radio Sinfonietta. The title of the release is Siamesisk
and it will be out on February 18th in Denmark and North America.
A little
extra note: Norwegian Under Byen fan Lars André Dahl has started
an Under Byen group at Facebook. So if you're on that site you can go
here for some of that action. There's also an artist page for the
band here.
EnnaBella
festival this weekend November 15, 2007. Don't forget the EnnaBella From Hell'a festival this Saturday (th
17th) in Aarhus! Read more at www.ennabellafromhella.dk.
Discography
updated October 23, 2007. Nils Gröndahl and Morten Svenstrup participated in the recording
of the two latest releases by Efterklang, "Under Giant Trees"
and "Parades". Both have therefore been added to the Discography.
So has to older French compilations that turned up.
All acts
ready for Sara's and Stine's festival October 22, 2007. The EnnaBella From Hell'a festival on Saturday November 17th - which
Sara Saxild and Stine Sørensen of Under Byen are putting together
with two other friends - now has the full programme set up. Eight acts
from six different countries will share their original music with the
rest of us in the old art cinema Øst For Paradis in Under Byen's
hometown of Aarhus next month.
Fans of Under Byen might rank Henriette Sennenvaldt as one of the best
female vocalists in Denmark. And this webmaster is not the one to argue
with that. On this festival there's a chance to witness two more of the
country's finest: Marie Laurette Friis and Hie Soo Moon. Below you can
see the full line-up with links for websites with sound and information.
Maria
Laurette Friis (DEN) of Tys Tys performs with theremin player
Pamelia
Kurstin (USA). Harpcore (DEN)
- A mix of classical harp music with pop and electronica. Taxi
Taxi! (SWE) - Fragile indie pop from the young twin sisters. Barbara
Morgenstern (GER) - Producer, singer and pianist playing different
electronic indie pop in German and English. Rockettothesky
(NOR) - Peculiar pop voice in a magical sound universe. TriMooGas (DEN) - experimental rock trio with cello, drums and
Hie Soo Moon
of Blob
Back Fahrenheit in front on vocals and guitar. Wet
Dog (UK) - Catchy and melodic punk rock from London. Sofia
DeVille (SWE) - Old school rock'n'roll and beautiful vocal harmonies.
To check out the festival's schedule go to www.ennabellafromhella.dk.
There you will also find info about the workshop for young female musicians
that's also part of the festival.
Photographer
puts Under Byen on book cover October 21, 2007. Photographer Morten Larsen (not the band's drummer) who did the frontpage
photo session of Under Byen for the magazine Gaffa has made a book. It
contains photos of Danish and international musicians (Nick Cave, Iggy
Pop, Jarvis Cocker etc.) and has a picture of Under Byen - or more precisely
Henriette Sennenvaldt - on the cover. The title of the book is "Any
Colour You Like" and is published by Gaffa itself. You can read more
about it at Gaffa's
webshop and also order it from there. The price is 296 DKK (roughly
40 euro).
Nils
Gröndahl live video and pictures online September 22, 2007. For those it might interest: some live videos and a bunch of really
nice black and white photos (by everpresent Mr. Jint) are now online.
They are from Nils Gröndahl's concert with Oliver Hoiness at the
SOPA Night at 'Rumstativ' in the Aarhus festival week. Here they performed
with a lot of other acts of which there are also videos and photos. Go
here to see all that.
Stine
and Sara organize music festival in Aarhus September 19, 2007. Stine Sørensen and Sara Saxild are currently working on setting
up a one-day music festival for female artists in Aarhus. Together with
Anne Brønsted (singer in Our Broken Garden and The Sad Lovers -
the latter along side Sara) and Hanne Tjessem (concert organizer) they
will put i it all together using the city's nice, old art cinema Øst
For Paradis for the event. The festival - called Enna Bella From Hell'A
- happens on Saturday November 17th.
So far three acts are confirmed: Taxi Taxi!, Wet Dog and Maria Laurette
Friis (of Tys Tys) who will do a special show with theremin player Pamelia
Kurstin. The rest of the programme is under wraps for now. But it will
probably be a very interesting selection of exciting acts.
Yes, four great gals with superb taste in music is putting all this together
in one of the nicest places in Aarhus. So, all you need to know is...
that you gotta go. If you want to read a bit more before that you can
visit: www.ennabellafromhella.dk
and www.myspace.com/ennabellafromhella
Stine,
Anne, Sara and Hanna are doing Enna Bella From Hell'A.
Interview
book with Henriette published September 18, 2007. In July of this year Henriette Sennenvaldt took part in an interview
series by journalist Anya Poulsen on Danish National Radio DR. The book
with these conversations - a total of seven - has now been published.
The title is "Feminint Forstærket" (roughly translates
as "Feminine Amplified" - or enhanced/reinforced) and the other
female artists in it are:
Signe Høirup
Wille-Jørgensen (Speaker Bite Me / Jomi Massage)
Maria Laurette Friis (Tys Tys)
Ane Østergaard (Band Ane)
Soma Allpass (Trains And Boats And Planes)
Kirstine Stubbe Teglbjærg (Blue Foundation)
Kira Skov (Kira & The Kindred Spirits)
DR writes
about the book here.
There you can also see the photographs of all the interviewees. DR's own
website has the book for sale here,
but it will most likely also be available through regular bookstores in
Denmark.
Danish
tour starts tomorrow September 12, 2007. Tomorrow Thursday Under Byen play the first of six gigs on their
small Danish autumn tour. These are the dates:
September
13: Stars, Vordingborg.
September 14: Lyd & Litteratur, pAKHUSET, Aarhus
September 15: Studenterhuset, Aalborg.
September 27: Store Vega, Copenhagen.
September 28: Tapperiet, Køge.
September 29: Toldkammeret, Helsingør.
Orchestral
live EP to be released September 10, 2007. Morningside
Records and some webzines have announced that the live recordings
done with The
Danish Radio Sinfonietta back in April of this year will get an official
release. The recordings have been mixed so they sound better than the
original live broadcast and webcast. The EP has a preliminary release
date in early November and the songs it are: Plantage, Af samme stof som
stof, Siamesisk, Den her sang handler om at få det bedste ud af
det and Tindrer. More good news: it will be available both on cd and vinyl.
Further
news: Anders Stochholm will be part of the touring band with
Lars H.U.G. this October. Two of the six shows will be part of the
DFDS Rock Cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo - which Under Byen took part
in August of 2006. Live dates on this
site.
Nils
Gröndahl show in Aarhus August 19, 2007. One more Under Byen-related show during the Aarhus
Festival Week: Nils Gröndahl will be performing with Oliver Hoiness
on September 7th as part of the Rumstativ
events on the harbour. More precisely as part of the SOPA
Night there - starting at 20.00. You can read much more about the show
at Sopa.dk and all the
other great music during the week at Rumstativ.dk.
Nils and Oliver performed together earlier this year in Copenhagen. You
can see pictures and video from that show here.
Unique
duet show in Aarhus / Discography update August 17, 2007. On August 30 Under Byen will take part in a socalled "unofficial"
opening of the Aarhus Festival Week. Under Byen's part of the show will
be a unique string of special duets arranged by the band. Among the duet
performers are Christian Hjelm of the band Figurines, Steffen Brandt of
the band TV-2 and singer Povl Dissing. During the band's career it has
covered songs by TV-2 and Povl Dissing live. You can read more (in Danish)
at the website of the Aarhus Festival Week here.
The compilation
cd "Fine Fine Music" released by Excelsior Recordings in 2006
has been added to the Discography.
German
show announced July 29, 2007. On Under Byen's MySpace
page the band has now announced another show on August 3. This will
be at the Haldern Pop festival in Germany where the band has played before
four years ago. Part of this show was later released as a live EP.
Aarhus
show confirmed July 25, 2007. One more show will be part of the previously mentioned autumn tour
of Denmark. This will be at pAKHUSET
as part of 'Lyd & Litteratur' [Sound & Literature] in Aarhus on
September 14. The Pakhuset is part of the Studenthouse in Aarhus and is
situated on the harbour. The Concerts page
has been updated.
New radio
interviews July 18, 2007. When Under Byen was in Portland, USA, recently they did interview
at the KPSU student radio there. Stine and Morten Svenstrup are talking
a bit and playing some music. You can go
here to read about it and download it. Or right-click and "save
as" on this
link to download it directly. It's in English.
Danish National
Radio has made a string of interviews with female Danish musicians. One
of them is Henriette Sennenvaldt. This hour-long program will be broadcast
this Saturday, July 21, on DR P2 at 14:03. But it's already streamed online
here.
So go there for a very rare interview with Under Byen's leadsinger. It's
in Danish.
To read more about the other interviews go
here. In September a book with the interviews, "Feminin Forstærket",
will be published. The radio shows are done by journalist Anya Poulsen.
Danish
tour in September July 17, 2007. From information gathered on the internet it looks as if the band
is putting together an autumn tour of their home country in September.
Including gigs at some venues they most likely haven't played before.
No official information from the band or its manager yet, but the following
gigs can be found when visiting Beatbox
Booking and visiting Danish venues on the internet:
September 13: Stars, Vordingborg.
September 15: Studenterhuset, Aalborg.
September 27: Store Vega, Copenhagen.
September 28: Tapperiet, Køge.
September 29: Toldkammeret, Helsingør.
Then one can only guess if September 14 and 20-22 will be used for shows.
But so far this is the information that's out there.
Pictures,
live video and press clips July 5, 2007. While Under Byen's label Morningside Records are complaining
on their website that the band does not send any postcards home and the
rest of us are curious to read reviews, see some pictures and possibly
hear some of their performances (like the coming KEXP session) we can
enjoy some pictures in the meantime.
Already some brand new (and really good) ones online from the first show
on tour at the El Ray Theater in Los Angeles on June 28. Go
here for those.
And there
are also some older ones: At Stensgaard.dk
you will find photo sets from three gigs from the last Danish tour (plus
sets of support act Wendy McNeill). And at Scenestars
there are some shots from the band's showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas,
on March 15, 2006.
For moving
pictures you should visit YouTube. Your webmaster here got permission
to upload some nice video from the last Danish tour on that site. A bit
better quality than most other (digicam- and mobilephone shot) Under Byen
clips on YouTube. This one was filmed with a dv-cam (a bit shaky at times)
and has improved sound by adding soundboard sound into the mix. So go
here to see Under Byen do a 9-minute long performance of "Den
her sang..." at Forbrændingen in Albertslund last November.
Also: A
few quotes have been added to the Press
Clips page:
"If youre a fan of Sigur Ros, Bjork, the experimental side
of Radiohead, the meditative hypnosis of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and
the moodiness of Portishead you need to see Under Byen. (...) After obsessing
the good part of a year over the majestic beauty of their third album
(first North America release) Samme Stof Som Stof, I witnessed their splendor
firsthand when they performed for KEXP during our March SXSW broadcast.
The experimental electronic rock collective exceeded expectations creating
deeply emotional soundscapes at times delicate and introspective, at times
bombastic and mind numbing."
- KEXP Blog on US radio station KEXP's website, July 2007.
"While
they've got the essentials (guitar/feedback, bass, drums), their sound
is also defined by other, stranger sounds: piano and strings that recall
classical music, unsettling percussion cadences reminiscent of Einstürzende
Neubauten, and the torch-singer-from-the-Twilight Zone vocals of Henriette
Sennenvaldt. Some might think she "sings like" Bjork, but the
Icelandic vocalist projects adolescence, as opposed to the Nico-like cool
of Ms. Sennenvaldt. "Samme Stof Som Stof" is the latest thing
in appealingly uneasy listening, ranging from the stripped-down synth-pop
of "Af Samme Stof Som Stof" to the orchestral elegy "Liste
Over Sande Venner Og Forbilleder."
- SF Weekly, "All Shook Down" Weekend Guide, June 2007.
Updated
tour schedule June 29, 2007. The tour schedule put on MySpace by the band recently does not correspond
with the one on the fansite. But the band are the ones in the know and
have the latest adjustments - and so shall it be at the fansite!
The gig on July 2 will be at Nightlight Lounge in Bellingham near Seattle
and the one on July 7 in Boise has been removed from the list. The Concerts
page has been updated.
Interviews
& review June 29, 2007. Some reading matter for you: OC Weekly interviews Morten Svenstrup
in this
article - where the phrase "northern light junkyard music"
pops up. Straight.com has talked to Nils Gröndahl and has this
article to offer - in which fellow Danish band Aqua are called "Eurodance
atrocities", he-he. And then Wireless Bollinger has discovered the
Thunderbear cd and given it a nice review where the writer concludes that
"the musicianship will drive you into a jealous rage. You can read
that one here.
KEXP
compilation with live track / Coming radio session June 26, 2007. When Under Byen were in the US last time around they played a show
for the college radio station KEXP. Now the station has put out a compilation
cd and lp with various live tracks from different artists - among them
Under Byen. The song is "Den Her Sang Handler Om At Få Det
Bedste Ud Af Det" and the band shares the album with such others
as Frank Black (of The Pixies), Beirut, Lady Sovereign and Grizzly Bear.
You can read all about the release made to raise money for the station
here.
Also: Morningside
Records have announced on their website that the band will play a KEXP
session when they reach Seattle on the tour they start this Thursday.
US tour
kicks off this week June 25, 2007. Under Byen are leaving for the US today and on Thurday they embark
on another tour there - with a one-gig trip to Canada also. All but one
show will be together with The Album Leaf. They start at the El Rey Theater
in Los Angeles on June 28 and end up at The Knitting Factory in New York
on July 9. Be sure to catch them at one of the shows.
Check the Concerts page for details.
Pictures
and video from Nils Gröndahl show May 28, 2007. Those interested in the solo efforts by Under Byen's violin- and sawplaying
noisemaker Nils Gröndahl can take a little trip to the website
www.sopa.dk. There they'll find pictures and video from Saturday's
Pre-Forma Nova Festival show at Global in Copenhagen. Here Nils performed
with Oliver Hoiness.
Visit Nils at
the SOPA site too, if you will, and listen to his cd. There are still
some left for sale.
And you can also go check out the line-up for this year's Forma Nova Festival
at their MySpace
page.
Updated
US tour schedule May 22, 2007. Manager Jesper Majdall now has the updated list of shows on the "fall-turned-summer"
tour of the USA (plus a bit of Canada). Some changes have been made to
the original list announced by Paper Bag Records earlier this month. About
a handful of the announced shows will not be played and the New York show
has got a new venue and new date. Check the Concerts
page for the details.
And don't
forget that it's this Saturday that Nils
Gröndahl will be playing a rare solo show. Well, not strictly
solo as he has invited Oliver Hoiness (of Blob
Back Fahrenheit, We
Love You Joy (formerly Joy Lieberkind) and other bands) to perform
with him. Details on the gig can be found at the venue Global's website
here.
Rare
live solo show with Nils Gröndahl May 7, 2007. On May 26 Nils Gröndahl will do a rare solo performance (although
maybe with some friends to help out) at the venue Global
in Copenhagen. This will be as part of a pre-festival gig to promote this
year's Forma
Nova Festival. Other bands that day are Harmony Boys, Lamburg Tony,
De Agtige and possibly Blob Back Fahrenheit. DJs will be Rumpistol, Copyfokking
and Carl Emil. Visuals for the gig will be done by Bottega Arete.
Your webmaster will be present as well to promote the SOPA
label and Nils Gröndahl's cd which was put out through it. So cds
will be for sale there.
Paper
Bag Records announces US tour! / Compilation appearance May 3, 2007.
Under Byen's Canadian label Paper Bag Records sent out a newsletter today.
Here it annonced the coming North Amerian fall tour where the band will
join The Album Leaf on some dates. Before listing the live dates let's
just mention that Paper Bag Records also revealed that Under Byen will
be featured on the next "Live at KEXP" compilation which will
be out this summer.
The tour
according to Paper Bag Records:
28-Jun Los
Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater w/ The Album Leaf
29-Jun Pomona, CA - Glasshouse w/ The Album Leaf
30-Jun San Francisco, CA - Slim's w/ The Album Leaf
2-Jul Eugene, OR - WOW Hall w/ The Album Leaf
3-Jul Seattle, WA - Neumo's w/ The Album Leaf
4-Jul Vancouver, BC - The Plaza w/ The Album Leaf
6-Jul Portland, OR - Doug Fir w/ The Album Leaf
7-Jul Boise, ID - The Venue w/ The Album Leaf
8-Jul Salt Lake City, UT - Urban Lounge
9-Jul Denver, CO - Bluebird
11-Jul Chicago, IL - Abbey Theater
12-Jul Toronto, ON - Lee's Palace
13-Jul Montreal, QC - La Sala Rosa
14-Jul New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
15-Jul Boston, MA - Middle East
Henriette
Sennenvaldt live in London tonight May 2, 2007. Howe Gelb, the so-called "godfather of alternative country",
is doing a show with a whole bunch of guests tonight at The Barbican in
London. Henriette Sennenvaldt is also on the programme as part of his
band Giant Sand.
This is the second time that Howe Gelb does an "all-star" show
at The Barbican - the first time almost being "legendary" by
now.
Other guests tonight include Isobel Campbell and Emiliana Torrini. You
can see the programme here
(pdf-file).
Show
with orchestra streamed online April 29, 2007. Saturday's show with the Denmark's National Radio's Entertainment
Orchestra at the Radio House in Copenhagen is now streamed online. As
a little bonus there are also two little videos of the band rehearsing
with the orchestra. Go to www.dr.dk/radiohusetrocker
for all that.
The show itself was also shot for tv, so chances are that at some point
the band will finally make it's way onto Danish tv screens.
The picture on the right is by our friendly neighbourhood photographer
Jint. Shot of the empty radio hall before the show. Visit him at www.jint.dk.
He's putting together a new website called www.shooting-rockstars.com
at the moment. Henriette is featured on the front page there.
Live
at the Danish national radio this Saturday April 25, 2007. A bit quiet on the News page these days. But let's just remind people
that it's this Saturday that the band plays with the big orchestra in
Copenhagen as mentioned in previous news story. Hopefully soon we can
bring some new live dates.
Live
project on Danish national radio / US tour planned for 2nd album re-release March 26, 2007. On April 28 Danish National Radio DR says goodbye to its old Radiohouse
building in midtown Copenhagen before moving to new surroundings. This
is done with the annual "Radiohuset Rocker" one-day festival
in the studios in the house. The last band to ever play there will be
Under Byen. So says a press
release from Denmarks Radio.
The band's show will be one of a kind as it will feature a collaboration
with the in-house RadioUnderholdningsOrkestret [The Radio Entertainment
Orchestra]. According to music magazine Gaffa Under Byen's "former
keyboardman" Thorbjørn Krogshede is currently arranging the
music with the orchestra.
Among the other bands playing this year at "Radiohuset Rocker"
- before Under Byen puts on the grand finale at midnight - are Blue Van,
Maria Køhnke, Murder, The Floor Is Made of Lava and Lily Electric.
You can visit "Radiohuset Rocker" on the web at www.dr.dk/radiohusetrocker.
Tickets are 150 DKK in pre-sale (info about where to get it is in the
press
release).
The Danish
Rock Council (ROSA) has written an article (in Danish) about Under Byen's
tour of the US and Canada. You can read
that one here (and check out some photos). Gaffa
has the same one online too. In it manager Jesper Majdall says:
"It's been an all or nothing tour with us aiming at big well-known
venues. This way we have something to build upon in September where we
plan another tour there - to coincide with the re-release of "Det
er mig der holder træerne sammen" in North America."
Thorbjørn
talks about leaving Under Byen in Gaffa March 25, 2007. In the March issue of the music magazine Gaffa Thorbjørn Krogshede
talks a bit about his decision to leave the band. That's in an article
entitled "Under Byen - Under reconstruction". Very clever.
The article says he lost his enthusiasm for the long, hard tours and not
making any money as a musician.
- Other grown-ups get m0ney for what they do, laughs Thorbjørn.
You can make music for free for some years, because it's the greatest
thing in the world. But Under Byen is very close to a full-time job, and
I also have my job as a music teacher to take care of.
Nils Gröndahl says:
- Thorbjörn has meant a great deal to the band which Under Byen has
become since 1999. He has treated his key instruments with great eagerness
to explore. He and I have run a hard race against each other to develop
the soundscape with pedals and effects.
Still Nils looks to a bright future. The composer's friendly exit does
not come as a big surprise to the band who has now recruited pianist Rasmus
Kjær as a substitute for liveshows.
- Now we go on a tour of the US. When we come home we will have to find
out how Under Byen will sound without Thorbjørn. For instance it
opens up for a less piano-dominated sound, says Nils.
Seen from the outside the solution could be a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson-model,
where Under Byen was touring while Thorbjørn stayed home and composed.
- Fuck, man, why didn't I think of that? No, I'm probably more the kind
of person, that likes a clean cut. Either I'm in or I'm out, says Thorbjørn
who will now also focus more on his solo project Thunderbear.
- Who will be the next main composer on Under Byen's next album? I have
no idea. But I'm sure it will be great!, says Thorbjørn.
Roskilde
2006 show streamed / Live photos March 24, 2007. As of writing this Danish national radio are broadcasting 24 hours
of live recordings from last years Roskilde Festival. Tonight - or more
precisely in the night Central European Time - Under Byen's show
will be broadcast. That's actually March 25th and that's between 4.00
and 5.00. And don't forget to turn the clocks forward one hour tonight
(at least in Denmark, that is).
Click 'Hør kanal' on this
page. You can see the whole schedule at Gaffa here.
Some photos
from the Chop Suey gig in Seattle have made their way online here.
KEXP
live show online / Win vinyl album / Web remixes March 18, 2007. Under Byen's March 16 show at the South By South West festival in
Austin, Texas, is now available for download online. Go to the KEXP
Blog to do that. If you want to see pictures from Day 3 of the KEXP
shows go
here.
Under Byen's
Canadian label has a contest going on at the moment where you can win
the vinyl version of "Samme Stof Som Stof". The contest ends
on March 26. Go
here for that one.
The website
Stereogum who sponsors the current tour stateside has put two new remixes
of "Af Samme Stof Som Stof" on their website. You can download
them here.
More
reviews March 11, 2007. The tour seems to be going rather well. A lot of writing about it
on the web too.
The Globe And Mail has reviewed the Toronto gig here
where Henriette Sennenvaldt now has become an "unapproachable, icy
Bond-girl". The Canadian music blog For The Records writes about
the same gig here
and also has a bunch of pictures here.
The Eye Weekly also reviewed the gig and the reviewer has found her new
favourite band. Read
that one here.
Articles
and blog reviews March 10, 2007. More news on the ongoing tour of the USA and Canada. The blog Midnight
Poutine writes about the gig in Montreal. Chromewaves was writing
about the show in Toronto the
day before and also the
day after. And there are also lots
of pictures. The Boston Globe also had an
introducing article before the show there.
And as you can see here on the right the band actually made the cover
of The Eye Weekly magazine
mentioned yesterday. Looks great, doesn't it?
Interviews
/ Compilation appearance March 9, 2007. A couple of interviews have popped up. There's one in the Toronto
Star and one in The
Eye Weekly. The latter has a rather rare interview appearance by Henriette
Sennenvaldt.
The British
label Bella Union - run by former Cocteau Twin Simon Raymonde - has released
a compilation cd on which there is a song by Under Byen. It's "Den
her sang handler om at få det bedste ud af det" and cd title
of the cd is "Beneath The Surface Volume 3: A Bella Union Sampler".
You can read more about it at Bella
Union and at MusicOMH.
Other artists on the cd include fellow Danes The Kissaway Trial and Australia's
Dirty Three among others.
US tour
is on! / Live show on US radio March 7, 2007. Having played their first couple of gigs on the current US and Canadian
tour Under Byen are on the road as of writing this. Going through Canada
then down to Texas for the South By South West festival and ending up
in Seattle.
Seattle
radio station KEXP will
be at one of the SXSW shows and broadcast it live. That's on Friday, March
16th at 5:00 PM. Read more about that here
and tune in. If you at SXSW then KEXP have the following to say:
"The entire 8-hour broadcast and the live performances are open to
the public and we encourage you to come down and watch. If you plan to
come to view a live band please arrive and be seated at least 10 minutes
prior to the scheduled time. Viewing will be limited to a first come first
served basis only. The Austin City Limits studios are located at KLRU
TV."
The blog
'Late Night Wallflower' has a bit on the show at the Bowery Ballroom in
New York. You can read that here.
Discography
updated with new guest appearances February 18, 2007. The album "Ffffooo K Tsscch!" by Kirsten Ketsjer (a.k.a.
Kirsten Ketsjer The Rock Band) has been added to the Discography.
Nils Gröndahl - who from time to time takes part in projects by the
Yoyooyoy label - has contributed with his violin on this fine album. It
has just been released this week and it's a joyful mix of catchy guitar
tunes, energetic experimental outbursts and free-floating soundscapes.
All tied together with equal amounts of instrumental improvisation and
original lyrics.
Furthermore the tracklist (what wonderful track names!) have been added
to the Frisk Frugt album in the Discography
- also a Yoyooyoy release.
You can
listen to mp3s from the albums and much more at www.yoyooyoy.dk.
US tour
updates / David Byrne "goes north" / MySpace featured artist February 14, 2007. The Concerts page has been updated with
the latest info on the very-soon-to-come US tour. Cleveland and Opolis
are now on the tour. And there are now "only" two shows at SXSW.
Little details here and there have also been corrected.
David Byrne,
former Talking Heads mainman, who earlier wrote warmly about the band
in his blog, is currently spinning a lot of Under Byen's tunes alongside
other great artists mainly from the northern reaches of Europe - such
as Stina Nordenstam, Sigur Ros and Hanne Hukkelberg. A lovely selection.
Go to www.davidbyrne.com/radio
and check out the tracklist and have a listen.
Under Byen
are featured on MySpace's
music page right now. Right in time for the coming shows. Let's hope
it will help pack the venues.
Help spread
the word, if you know people in the neighbourhood who you think would
like to go and see a great show! :-)
And Happy
Valentines, all you lovers out there!
Henriette
Sennenvaldt photo session February 5, 2007. Photographer Anders Von Greffelstejn shot a really great photo session
with Henriette Sennenvaldt last year. Anders and Henriette felt like sharing
these great photos with the rest of you. So here they are! Go
here to see them.
Two critics
awards for Under Byen / Discography update February 4, 2007. Under Byen won the critics award Steppeulven for Live band of the
year and Singer of the year (Henriette Sennenvaldt). Contratulations!
The four other nominations -
Album of the year, Song of the year, Band of the year and Author (best
lyrics) of the year - went so someone else. You can see the full list
of winners at Gaffa.
The Discography
page has been updated with the following releases:
Nils Gröndahl - Jeg har noget tilsvarende derhjemme
Moi Caprice - You Can't Say No Forever
Frisk Frugt - Guldtrompeten
One solo
release and two albums with guest appearances.
Nils
Gröndahl solo cd released / Critics award show tonight February 3, 2007. The remastered re-release of Nils Gröndahl's solo soundtrack
for an art exhibition in 2004 is now out and available for sale. The title
is "Jeg har noget tilsvarende derhjemme" [I have something similar
at home] and it consists of one 26 minute track in several parts. A journey
in sound where deep thundering noise, minimal electronic jittering blend
with violin.
Only 50 copies have been made, so don't wait for too long, if you want
one.
The price is 50 dkk / 7 euro / 9 $ and it can be bought at www.sopa.dk
(payment via Danish bank or Paypal). Read more on the Shop
page at the site, if you are curious.
The cd is released alongside Italian lo-fi pop act Marzipan
Marzipan.
Tonight
the Danish Music critics' award 'Steppeulven' decides what artist are
getting recognition for their accomplishments this year. Under Byen is
the band with the most nominations: six in all! Read more at www.steppeulv.dk.
Thorbjørn
Krogshede leaves Under Byen January 22, 2007. Thorbjørn Krogshede, Under Byen's composer and man at the keys
and many other instruments, has decided to leave the band. Webzine Soundvenue
had this news today. Manager Jesper Majdall was quoted saying that Thorbjørn's
leaving will not affect the future existence of the band.
"It's not 'the big story' in our world", he says. "People
come and go in this band and the situation was the same when Katrine Stochholm
left the band a few years ago."
The reason for leaving the band is that Thorbjørn wants to concentrate
more on his studies and does not feel like doing the amount of touring
that the band is doing these days.
Thorbjørn's last show with the band was the fantastic gig at Pumpehuset
in Copenhagen in early December of last year.
You can read the article in Danish here.
This fansite's
webmaster wishes Thorbjørn all the best and thanks him for his
great work with the band.
And a little
side note: Soundvenue had an article this December where the band picked
their favourite albums of the year. Somehow it went unmentioned on this
page. Read on here
(in Danish).
Danish
Music Award nomination January 15, 2007. The annual mostly-major-label Danish Music Awards - where the mainstream
Danish music biz congratulates itself on another year gone by - have announced
this year's nominees. As usual a few bands have most of the nominations,
but for some reason Under Byen have snuck in and gotten a single nomination.
Or more precisely Henriette Sennenvaldt has - as female singer of the
year. You can see all the not-terribly-surprising nominations at Ekstra
Bladet here.
Morningside Records labelmates Oh No Ono have two nominations.
Much more
interesting, but with less public attention, are the Danish critics award
Steppeulven where
Under Byen are nominated in six categories.
Another
US date January 12, 2007. Manager Jesper Majdall has just confirmed another show in the USA.
This will be at the venue Chop Suey in Seattle on March 21. Thanks, Jesper!
North
American tourdates January 11, 2007. The dates for the big upcoming tour of North America have been announced.
Plenty of US shows this time around. And even an MTV gig in Canada. Looks
exciting! Keep checking back for updates and more possible shows.
2007 - March 2: Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston, USA (with Frida Hyvönen
& El Perro del Mar).
2007 - March 5: Bowery Ballroom, New York, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 6: Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 7: La Sala Rosa, Montreal, Canada (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 8: CMW, Toronto, Canada (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 8: MTV Live, Toronto, Canada (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 9: Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 11: Wexner Art Center, Columbus, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 12: Abbey Theater, Chicago, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 13: Renses Art Center, St. Louis, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 15: SXSW, Kork Agency Show case, Austin, USA.
2007 - March 15: Stereogum, day party, Austin, USA.
2007 - March 16: KEXP Live, Austin, USA.
2007 - March 18: Knitting Factory, Los Angeles, USA (with Frida Hyvönen).
2007 - March 19: Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, USA (with Frida
Hyvönen).
Competition
winners! January 10, 2007. Here they are. Finally! The winners of this year's x-mas competition.
And wow, how many they are! So many prizes. :-)
But before
we announce the winners let's just take a look at the input from the competition.
The top three of songs that got the most votes are interestingly enough
from each of the three albums. The old favourite "Legesag" was
clearly the winner, but was closely followed by newcomer "Den her
sang...". Still, the many songs voted for without a doubt show that
Under Byen is not a band floating on a fragile cussion of single hits.
19 different songs got voted for! From the massive behemoth "Film
og omvendt" (the evolution of it live was often mentioned) to small
instrumental interludes like "Lenin" and "På disse
kanter". Some were chosen because they where the very first Under
Byen song people heard, others were chosen because the lyrics affected
people very much personally and yet others had blown people so much over
backwards at a live gig that the experience was still recalled vividly.
And here is the list! Please note that many songs share a spot on this
list because they got the same amount of votes.
1. Legesag
2. Den her sang handler om at få det bedste ud af det
3. Gå ind i lyset
4. Hjertebarn + Det er mig der holder træerne sammen
5. Film og Omvendt + Mission + Om vinteren + Plantage + Lenin
6. Vindeltrappe + Jeg er din mand + På disse kanter + Af samme stof
som stof + Tindrer + Kyst + Puma + Slå sorte hjerte + Pilot
Thanks a
lot for everything you wrote, folks! It has truly been a pleasure as webmaster
to read all the super kind e-mails. It's evident that the music really
touches you. All your nice words will be passed onto the band. They enjoyed
reading the results from the last competition so much - and most surely
will this time too. :-)
And now
here are the winners!
Book
of Henriette's lyrics Rasmus Kjær Jessen, Denmark
T-shirts (male) Thomas Kudela, Germany
Martin Petersen, Denmark
Girlie t-shirts Sophie Slot, Denmark
Maria Lyhne Grønaa, Denmark
Vinyl of "Samme stof som stof" Lars Andrè Dahl, Norway
Bella Boelsgaard, Denmark
Signed posters Sam Loncke, Belgium
Maria Abelone Bach, Denmark
Andrew Robinson, New Zealand
Thunderbear cds Pablo Baudí Canales, Spain
Franck Levallet, France
Nils Gröndahl cds Luciano Recabarren, USA
Martina Thiebes, Germany
Morningside Records sampler compilation cds Emilie Gjølby Melgaard, Denmark
Marie Jensen, Denmark
Kristina Dahlberg, Denmark
Kenneth Christensen, Denmark
Feliks Schuenemann, Germany
The prizes
will be send to you soon.
And then
- as once before - a little apology from your webmaster for asking such
a hard question to you all. Some wrote: Then what is your favourite,
Lars? And yes, it's damn tough. All depends on one's mood, if it's a live
version or something else. But for nostalgic reasons... I put my vote
on "Fugle og ild". It was the song that stuck in my head for
ages after the very first gig I saw - way back before "Kyst"
was released. It simply wouldn't let go - and that deserves a vote.
Thanks to
the band for providing all these lovely prizes for yet another fine competition
here at the site!
More
competition prizes December 28, 2006. Your webmaster just realized that he could in fact also throw in a
few prizes to make it a bit more exciting. Not another 'århus:nu'
book/cd this time, but the about-to-be-released cd by Nils Gröndahl
(violin & saw) called "Jeg har noget tilsvarende derhjemme".
Two promo cds are up for grabs (just the same as the sales copies except
they are not numbered) besides all the other prizes.
The music on this cd was originally released as the soundtrack for an
art exhibition of paintings in 2004, but is now rereleased in January
2007 in a limited number of copies through the new label SOPA
(run by the webmaster of this site). The cd contains a 26 minute track
where deep thundering noise, minimal electronic jittering blend beautifully
with violin.
You can read a bit more at www.sopa.dk.
Happy new
year, folks!
Lars
Christmas
competition December 23, 2006. This is very last-minute, but it's still x-mas! Time for a competition.
The band and Morningside Records have put these nice things up for grabs.
1 book of
Henriette's lyrics
2 t-shirts (male)
2 girlie t-shirts
2 vinyl of "Samme stof som stof"
3 signed posters
2 Thunderbear cds
5 Morningside Records sampler compilation cds
To enter
the competition send an e-mail to lsd_dk @ hotmail.com (remove the spaces)
and write which Under Byen song is your favourite - and why. You decide
yourself how much you want to write. Remember to include your postal address
and t-shirt size!
And do it
on January 7 at the latest.
This question
has been asked before in an earlier christmas competition. But new songs
and new listeners have come since then, so let's try that one again. ;-)
Thanks to
Under Byen for an exciting year with a superb album and so many fantastic
shows. And great to see all you folks out there who support the band and
also drop by this website.
A truckload
of merry christmas wishes to all of you!
Your online
servant,
Lars
Live
photos from Rotterdam December 23, 2006. As a last little present right before christmas today you will get
a total of 31 photos from the November gig at Rotown in Rotterdam, Holland.
Photographer Marc Nolte was at the show and shot all these fantastic photos
in beautiful black and white. Some of them must be among the best Under
Byen live shots done so far. Just check out this one of Nils on the right.
Go to this page
and check them out. And go to www.marcnolte.com
to see some of Marc's other great photos. Thanks a bunch, Marc!
Live
photos from Silkeborg December 22, 2006. Last year photographer Casper Vildrik Justesen shot some amazing photos
at the venue Rampelys in Silkeborg, Denmark. This year he returned to
"the scene of the crime" with his camera and shot even more.
Check out his great new set of photos here.
Thanks a lot, Casper!
More
end-of-the-year charts / Norwegian reviews December 20, 2006. Several media have placed Under Byen's "Samme stof som stof"
album in their "best albums of the year" charts. As mentioned
earlier Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet put it straight at number one on
the Danish chart. Webzine Undertoner follow the good suggestion and does
exactly the same. You can read that here.
Danish alternative radio chart Det Elektriske Barometer put the album
at number 18 - with two fellow Morningside labelmates, Christian Hjelm
of Figurines and Oh No Ono, popping up at number 15 and 1 respectively.
Danish webzine Diskant put Under Byen at number 7 in their "best
album of the year" chart and at number 1 in the "best Danish
album of the year" chart. You can see that here.
US webzine
JamBase put the album at number 19 in their "20 Great Albums You
Didn't Hear In 2006" list... luckily some of us did. ;-) You can
read that one here.
Congratulations!
Three Norwegian
newspapers have also review the album: Rogalands
Avis, Bergens
Avis and Bergens
Tidene / BergenPuls.
Bergens Avis (four of six stars): "The orchestra has much in common
with Icelandics Múm and Sigur Ros, but here everything is organic.
Vocalist Henriette Sennenvaldt sings Björkish fragile/crazy and exploratory.
(...) The magic starts on the song 'Den her sang handler om at få
det bedste ud af det'."
Rogalands Avis (six of six stars): "They are impossible to classify.
(...) The unified whole is just as clattering, violintrembling, melancholic
and joyful as a perfectly balanced overall sound should be. (...) It's
so nasty and nice my stomach hurts."
Bergens
Tidene / BergenPuls:
"Refreshingly unpredictable. Despite clearly defined songwriter duties
you get the feeling of a creative democracy. The band has eight members
of which one plays saw and violin, lovely. The result is a kind of semi-gloomy
"after club"-music, but free of digital elements. (...) The
use of strings can sometimes remind me of dEUS."
Danish
critics awards nominations December 10, 2006. Under Byen is leading the field at the annual Danish music critics
awards, Steppeulven,
this year - with an amazing six nominations. Check it out:
- Album of the year (Samme stof som stof)
- Song of the year (Af samme stof som stof)
- Band of the year
- Live band of the year
- Singer of the year (Henriette Sennenvaldt)
- Author (best lyrics) of the year (Henriette Sennevaldt)
Way to go,
guys'n'gals! The award show will be held - and the winners announced -
at Lille Vega in Copenhagen on February 3.
You can
see all the nominated artists at Gaffa.
The official site is not yet updated, it seems.
Botanique
live photos December 7, 2006. Libelia De Splenter from Belgium has been so kind as to sent a whole
bunch of fantastic photos which she shot at the Botanique show in Brussels
on November 9. Go
here and feast your eyes. Thanks so much, Libelia!
Belgian
radio session and interview December 6, 2006. Nils Gröndahl sent a nice link for a radio show online at Studio
Brussel. The band plays two acoustic songs and Stine and Nils are interviewed.
Go here to have a listen. Thanks a lot, Nils!
Danish
live reviews / In the "best album" polls December 4, 2006. The Danish media wrote some really nice reviews of the recent shows.
Danish newspaper JyllandsPosten wrote about the gig at Forbrændingen
in Albertslund and gave it five of six stars. At the same time drawing
parallels to Star Trek which must be a first in an Under Byen review...
"Under Byen are uncompromising in their hunt for new musical horizons,
and this can make the project remind one of the Star Trek manifesto: To
boldly go where no man has gone before. That journey goes both via
an immensely beautiful rendition of the fragile slowmotion ballad 'Tindrer',
which singer Henriette Sennenvaldt colours brilliantly with her drowned
and fallen angel voice. And onwards all the way out into a long-drawn-out
and wild noiserocking acidbath for the senses. (...) And vital - that
is Under Byen. Maybe as never before. The group alternate sensibly between
ingenious and restrained arrangements and collosal sonic assaults. A successful
mission to the stars."
Read it all in
Danish here.
Danish magazine
Gaffa wrote in detail about the going-ons of the show at Train in Aarhus
and concluded:
"Under Byen is still an orchestra in a class all of its own".
Read it all in
Danish here.
Danish webzine
Soundvenue were completely blown away by the tour's grand finale at Pumpehuset
in Copenhagen. A maximum of six stars were given and the words were among
others:
"Under Byen's music was like an arrow through the heart. (...) The
musical experience was so overwhelming and intense that no one could have
left this last show of the band's tour without goosebumps and a throbbing
heart."
Read it all in
Danish here.
"Samme
stof some stof" has also made it into the "best album of the
year" polls. At Gaffa it got into 6th place on the "Best Danish
Albums of 2006" list - which had the barely-just-released "Interkom
Kom Ind" by Nephew at number one (this webmaster wonders how many
people are actually aware of the fact that one of the band members are
also one of the main editors at Gaffa? Not that it has to have anything
to do with anything).
The song "Af samme stof som stof" also made it into the chart
of best Danish singles of 2006 at number five.
This last
Sunday Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet summed up the best Danish albums
of 2006 and placed "Samme stof som stof" at number one no less.
I guess congratulations are in order.
Live
photos December 3, 2006. With the touring over for the moment it's time to look over all the
photos from around the world that have been sent to this site. Thanks
a lot to all of you! They will be posted over the coming weeks - in no
particular order. :-)
First up is Michael Boe Laigaard with a nice selection of photos from
the show on November 24 at Paletten in Viborg, Denmark. Go
here to see them. Thanks, Michael!
Under
Byen at Allmusic.com / Reading matter November 29, 2006. The major website with the ambitious, yet slightly misleading name
Allmusic.com finally made a page on Under Byen. Along with it comes a
nice review of "Samme stof som stof". Read the
review here and the
biography here.
Canadian
magazine Beatroute has a review of "Samme stof som stof". But
not all of it is online, it seems. You can read
that bit here.
French webzine
Eclipshead has an interview with the band. It's in French. Go here to
read
that one (scroll down). If you're not fluent in French then the
babbling fish might help you.
And don't
forget that the band is rounding off their Danish tour this weekend with
shows from Thursday to Saturday in Vordingborg, Roskilde and Copenhagen.
You can read a bit more about the work with the special stage set-up at
the venue Stars at their
website here.
Reviews November 21, 2006. Paper Bag Records has collected a bunch of review quotes on their
MySpace
bulletin. Some of them have been mentioned here before. Others haven't...
"Unpredictability
is one of the Under Byen's defining characteristics. When listening to
Samme Stof Som Stof, one feels as if anything is possible, as if each
song can alter its shape at any moment and become something altogether
different. There is a palpable sense of a band, not attempting to exhaust
the possibilities of each song, but to consciously and playfully invent
each twist and turn, to patiently compose labyrinths constant to their
musical vision. The unexpected chord change which shifts the tone completely,
the ebbing and flowing of unearthly instrumentation, skeletal arrangements
which explode into fissures of sonic debrisUnder Byen are masters
of each. (...) Under Byen is incredibly apt at enrapturing one with what
is happening while at the same time putting her in suspense over what
will come next. They are a band that boldly declares that they don't sound
like anyone except themselves. And they are a band that proves it time
and time again."
- "Album of The Week", American webzine Treble. Read
it all here.
"This
Danish bands 3rd album (and 1st US release) is an evocative set
of atmospheric songs blending elements of post-rock, classical and more
in ways similar to Sigur Ros, but with more nods to both pop song craft
and rock aggression. Dark, moody soundscapes and clanging percussion are
combined with ethereal melodies and lead vocalist Henriette Sennenvaldts
Bjorkian vocals."
- US radio station KEXP. Read
it all here.
"Think
Sigur Ros. Think Bell Orchestre. Think late-era Talk Talk. Think Mogwai.
Then think again."
- Canadian newspaper Ottawa Sun.
"Under
Byen (pronounced Ohnah-Boon) have created a masterful and unique
work that is at once the lace glove and the wool mitten you've been longing
for this fall. Full of experimental sound play that never sounds experimental,
dual drummers that aren't redundant, and built microphones that distort
lovely vocals into something even lovelier, Samme Stoff Som Stof begs
to be considered as one of the year's most impressive works. Unlike so
many bands that appear seemingly out of nowhere with the shelf life of
a half-eaten apple, Under Byen offer a lush, incredibly dense and ethereal
landscape of sound, with a style that stands in stark contrast to the
rest of the world's perceptions."
- American webzine Austinist. Read
it all here.
"A
simple yet very tender and sultry effort in the vein of Massive Attack.
One worth seeking out!"
- 8 of 10 rating, webzine PopMatters.
"A
dangerous sensuality reminiscent of Bjork and Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino making
for a luxurious listen for drama kings and queens."
- CMJ Monthly.
"Dark
textures and warped coos are so reminiscent of the Homogenic-era sound
that I can picture the cardboard elf village within a cardboard elf village
of the imaginary Gondry video that would follow. (...) Throughout the
album, the urge to pull every track to a gushing climax is resisted in
favor of individual instrumental turns and a welcome dose of negative
space. String sections, piano, synths, kalimbas and eerie theremin-like
saw playing helps us forget to miss absent guitars. Even the sequencing
displays a well-developed aesthetic, with short and delicate music-box
pieces cleansing the palette for the opuses. (...) Lack of language comprehension
doesn't diminish the plus-sized emotions on display, even if making sense
of it all is ultimately akin to finding meaning in the frozen face of
a Scandinavian fjord.
- 7 of 10 rating, American webzine Prefix Magazine. Read
it all here.
"Under
Byen's sound ranges from fairytale shimmer to visceral brutality, while
always maintaining, or at least always returning to, a continuous sonic
narrative. The textures recall the heavier drone of Pelican or Growing
married with the folk-inflected pastoral of Espers or Joanna Newsom. (...)
It all comes together on tracks at turns gorgeous and sweeping or dark
and atonal, but always well crafted, well balanced, and well worth zoning
out to."
- Album Of The Day, American magazine Spin's website Spin.com.
They have
been added to the fastgrowing Press
clips page.
Spin.com
Band Of The Day November 20, 2006. Another of the big US music mags (besides Rolling Stone and Pitchfork)
has caught the scent of Under Byen. This time it's Spin. Today the band
is "Band Of The Day" at Spin.com. You can read
it all here and rate the band. And discuss
the piece here, if you feel like it.
Odense
show cancelled November 19, 2006. The show in Odense has been cancelled - as has most of the shows at
the venue this winter. According to the venue's website it is due to financial
difficulties at the place. You can read more at www.studenterhus.dk.
We hope to get you back in business again, Odense Studenterhus!
Lyrics
book in print / Pitchfork review November 17, 2006. The lyrics book that has been mentioned on this site before is now
finally in print. Manager Jesper Majdall was kind enough to sent one in
the mail to your webmaster. And the first impression was simply: a lot
of love must have put into this little book.
It's a hardcover, not-so-thick book measuring 14 x 17 centimeters. But
as the saying goes: size doesn't matter. At least not here. This is pure,
concentrated Under Byen. :-)
The book contains pieces of the artwork known from the "Samme stof
som stof" packaging done by Anna Rosa Hiort Lorentzen and Hrafnhildur
Halldórsdóttir - as well as great new artwork by Julie Nord.
The book does not contain all the lyrics from Under Byen's albums, but
selected ones from all three. Yes, "Legesag", "Kyst",
"Det er mig" are there, but also many of your other favourites,
I'm sure. On the left page there's the Danish original and on the right
page is the English translation.
The nice surprise is that there are also lyrics - or poems - that have
not been on any album. Including the text used for Henriette Sennenvaldt's
contribution about "a book made of snow" for an art exhibition
(what might be one of the more explicit examples of Under Byen's
quirky humour). Other pieces are most likely totally new to the public.
The book will be made for sale on the ongoing tour of Denmark for the
price of 150 Danish kroner (DKK). Which is roughly 20 euro or 26 US dollars
by current currency.
500 copies have been made and manager Jesper Majdall wrote the following
on the fan forum not long ago: "I'll
try and make it available for orders outside of Denmark. I'll keep you
posted." As soon as the website gets more info on this matter it
will be written first thing on this news page. I am sure there are quite
a few people outside Denmark who would love to get their hands on this
great piece of reading matter.
The quite
influential webzine Pitchfork Media has reviewed Under Byen's "Samme
stof som stof" album. And they like it. Not just throwing their ratings
around they give it a 7.7, but the text itself is pretty much all positive.
A good review.
Once the writer gets over the reviewer-doing-comparisons along the lines
of "sounds like Björk and Mogwai falling down a well together",
"sounds like they're straining toward being the Animal Collective
of Mogwais" and namedropping Bark Psychosis and Kim Gordon of Sonic
Youth (hey, those are new ones) they go on to say:
"They thread thin, sneaky melodies through shape-shifting veils of
fog. Samme Stof Som Stof's sound palette is a vivid and varied range of
grays and blues; each song is like some giant machine on the verge of
shuddering apart."
And they also have this to say about the band's (and this webmaster's)
mother tongue: "There are a couple of things that make Danish such
a neat language. One is its whimsy-- from the looks of it, you just throw
together any letters you like and then pronounce them however you want."
Geez, those Americans. :-) You
can read the whole review here.
Special
gig at Stars / Review November 16, 2006. On November 30th Under Byen will play at the venue Stars
in the town of Vordingborg on the southern tip of Zealand. On that particular
occasion Stars is giving birth to a new concept of theirs. One that tries
to move away from the traditional "band-on-stage-in-front-of-audience"
setup. So it says in the local Vordingborg paper Sydsjællands
Tidende.
The crew at the venue are currently working on different models in an
attempt to place the band in the middle of the concert hall on different
levels. Furthermore the usual dark-walled place with instead have white
surfaces. Videoprojections will also be an important part of this idea.
The audience will be able to "interact" more with the artists
playing, the article says. The concept is planned to be used at more shows
to come - not just for Under Byen. No more details as of yet, but they
seem rather determined to try something different at Stars.
The website
I
(Heart) Music wrote about the "Stof" album, and Little
Radio used the same article. You can read the full review by clicking
the links. They had good things to say:
"The
band isn't going for grandiosity as much as they seek to create small,
spooky spaces. (...) The band gets a lot more raucous than Sigur Ros could
ever imagine. The contrast between the two creates a wonderful dynamic
that runs throughout the whole album, as the band build up a really tense
atmosphere, and then throw the kind of cathartic release that makes it
all worthwhile -- which, really, is a word that could be used to describe
the entire album. Samme stof som stof is a rewarding album to listen to,
and hopefully one that will help Under Byen succeed here on their own
terms."
North
American spring tour in the works / Article and review November 10, 2006. Americans and Canadians listen up! Your next Under Byen fix is not
far away. Under Byen's manager Jesper Majdall has these nice things to
say: "Under Byen will be back in USA and Canada around March 2007.
We hope to set up about ten shows. Among them appearances at Canadian
Music Week and South By Southwest. I hope to have a tour schedule ready
in two weeks time. Stay tuned for more". Thanks a bunch, Jesper.
The many new fans in North America will be sure to dig that piece of news.
MSNBC's
website has a nice article about Under Byen claiming that the band is
among "new artists you need to know now". Well, we knew already,
didn't we? ;-) And yes, indeed "something's rocking in the state
of Denmark". And soon very much so with a whole 11 shows on Danish
soil. Read
the article here. Nice reading, that one. The writer is not in doubt:
"By
all accounts, Under Byen is one of the best live bands playing today.(...)
Under Byen will be touring North America this spring. As for me, I cant
wait that long Im flying to Denmark at months end to
catch the last show of this tour." Enjoy the trip! :-)
Amplifier
Magazine has also reviewed the "Stof"
album stating that "Under Byen is
a band of another place and time." And yet another reviewer seems
to have been touched... "The feelings that Under Byen conjures within
the listener are truly mysterious and transcend any purely verbal level.
Music this powerful speaks for itself." Read
it all here.
Another
Canadian front page / Live video and photos / MySpace update November 9, 2006. Following the band's front page on the Montreal Mirror now comes another
such one on the Vancouver-based magazine Discorder.
It features an article on the Pop Montreal festival with some very nice
words about Under Byen. The website doesn't seem to be working properly
right now, so it's not possible to read the article. However, the piece
of the text concerning Under Byen was kindly supplied by Under Byen's
manager Jesper Majdall by e-mail. Hopefully Discorder will forgive me
for putting it here, all things considered.
"Up
next was the Danish group Under Byen, and they took to stage with an impenetrable
Nordic air. There's been a lot of talk lately about their Sigur Ros-inspired
soundscapes, but their live show definitely complicated the comparison.
Eschewing the guitar in favour of a well-rounded string section, extra
percussion and an amplified saw, they played complex, mournful arrangements
that left jaws agape. Lead vocalist Henriette Sennenvaldt, whose picture
graces the cover of this issue, swayed at the back of the band, but her
remarkably Bjork-like voice commanded everyone's attention, even with
all the