Late last year I was fortunate enough to travel to the Illosaarirock Music Festival in Turku, Finland. Besides all of the interesting food, saunas and really great people, one of the highlights of this trip was seeing the band Disco Ensemble play in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. Granted, I heard of the band before being I worked with their label Fullsteam Records, but not until that point did I fully grasp what the band was really capable of. Their last record, Magic Recoveries, was softly released and then buried here in the States by Universal, never really getting the attention it deserved… so yes, that is why you probably haven’t heard of them yet. The band since entered the studio in Helsinki and recorded a follow up that will take any At The Drive In fan and kick them in the teeth. A proper US release is eminent but for now you can hear their new single “White Flag For Peace” by visiting their MySpace. For those of you in Europe, I am jealous of you as you can order a copy on 7″ from their label… but for now I’ll settle for a stream. Check out video teaser after the jump.

“White Flag For Peace” – Disco Ensemble – LISTEN

How many bands from Russia can you honestly say you’ve heard of? Of those bands, how many can you say are actually good? Until a few months ago, I could honestly say “zero” and I’m sure you can’t even count them on one hand. I gave up even paying attention… until I was invited to the Illosaarirock Festival in Joensuu, Finland. Looking over the roster, I noticed one band on the 2 day long festival from Moscow called Everything Is Made In China. Awesome name. Could they actually worth listening to, though? “Probably not,” my Russian friend said “there are 3,500 bands in St. Petersburg alone and not a single one even knows how to play their instruments.”

We were both wrong. EIMIC took the stage and absolutely mesmerized the entire crowd. 1000 people stood in perfect silence as the band fill the tent with lush synths, beautiful melodies and epic, Caspian style drums keeping everyone entranced. I immediately got my hands on their debut album, 4 (2007), and didn’t stop listening for months… Now they have a new record in the works, a new video (posted below for the track “Automatic”) and a fan here in the US hoping that someone will put the record out.

It seems like once a month an artist from Scandinavia comes across my desk and completely makes my jaw drop. This month it was the artist Delay Trees from Helsinki & Hämeenlinna. Mixing some of the best sounds of Editors and Coldplay, Delay Trees manages to tenderly melt the ears right off of your head and then surgically reattach them (being all smart and stuff). Check out the song “Tarantula / Holding On” from their new EP, Soft Construction, above and for those of you in Finland, check out one of their shows below and remember how jealous I am of you that you can see these guys and Rubik on the same bill.

Apr 16 2009 Doris – Tampere
May 2 2009 Suisto-klubi (+Rubik) – Hämeenlinna
May 28 2009 Helatorstai-klubi @ Henry’s Pub – Helsinki
Jul 1 2009 Lepakkomies (+Kaskas, Ballet) – Helsinki

Thanks to another job, I will be heading out to Cannes, France for MIDEM this year. Though I won’t be posting for a few days due to my lack of internet access, feel secure in the fact that I am going to come back from the south of France with a boat-load of great music to listen to. That music will then make it’s way onto my computer, morph itself into blog-form and become a post right here on this site. It’s the future you son of a bitch, deal with it.

Our first day will consist of lounging and getting good food with our friends over at Fullsteam Records from Finland. Be sure to check out some of their artists such as Rubik, Lapko and Downstairs. After that everything is up in the air as my belly will be filled with fine wine and aged cheese.

Will you be at MIDEM as well? Hit me up!

Recently an A&SB family member took a trip to Finland for a music conference and came back with a collection of some of the finest music we have never heard. The music world of Scandinavia is a grossly untapped resource of incredible art that we feel needs to brought into the U.S. mainstream. One of those artists in his mighty collection that stood out was JOENSUU 1685. Their new, self-titled album takes everything you love from My Bloody Valentine, Skywave and The Jesus & Mary Chain and blends it together beautifully – giving you the feeling of taking a warm piss on a cold Winter’s night. This album has yet to dock on the shores of U.S., but for now check out the song “You Shine Brighter Than The Light” on their MySpace or in the video below and expect to hear more about the band who John Ponemon of Subpop called “the most impressive artist” of the Lost In Music festival of Finland.

What’s better than finding $5 in the pocket of an old pair of jeans? Nothing, right? Wrong. Finding music you’ve never ever heard of before and falling in love with it is way better. This rare event doesn’t happen to me often, so when it does it becomes something very special to me. Hailing from the icy world of Helsinki, the band RUBIK has filled this little void in my life for the time being. Their latest release, Bad Conscience Control, has yet to hit the states (and who knows if it ever will) but do your research – the internet is a very big place filled with opportunity. You can find this record if you try. So try and try hard. If you adore the tones and vocals of Lovedrug, the mood set by a Sigur Ros record or the production of Mew, then you’ll find yourself loving RUBIK.

Rubik – A Hard Try

Are you a fan of music from Finland? Probably not. Should you be? Probably. The band LAPKO hails from this otherwise forgotten country (here is the U.S. at least) and is better than most of the shit you’ve been listening to lately. Their 2007 release, Young Desire, features stand-out tracks such as “This Is An Aggressive Melancholy” and the title track “Young Desire” that can be heard on their MySpace page. This is yet to be available in the U.S., but for your sake I hope that changes soon.

For fans of: Mew, Thrice, Tiger Lou, Lovedrug
European tour dates: Click here