Unexpected late 3rd birthday gift: Say Lou Lou 's debutalbum 'Lucid Dreaming' (Vinyl review)

A couple of years ago I went to Eurosonic-Noorderslag in Groningen to see and listen to the latest upcoming acts from Europe. Although, if I recall correctly, Finland was in the spotlights a Swedish twin managed to attract my attention. Not just the female aspect as well their music: eighties-like popmusic with pleasant vocals by the ladies. They called themselves Saint Lou Lou but changed it only a few months later into Say Lou Lou and played some gigs as support-act for Hurts. That was in 2013. In the last two years they released some singles on vinyl but recording their actual debut album took some time. February 23rd 2015 the

wait was over. Or at least, for the happy few living in Scandinavia. The worldwide release will be april 6th.

Recently I visited their management-team in Oslo during by:Larm-festival and my eyes got hold of their vinyl-release. In the line of their previous vinyl-sleeves clean yet quite artistic and appealing. Next stop: the recordstore. I bought my copy at the physical shop www.tigernet.no and had to wait a couple more days to put the needle on the record. My previous hesitation if I actually should buy it vanished instantly. This was far better than I had expected! Apart from one of their previous singles 'Better in the Dark' all their great songs are there. Including several other beauties! What about their collaboration with Lindstrøm 'Games for Girls'? A catchy tune with a real eighties feel to it that will get you moving. But as SLL is better known for heartbroken songs the fans will love this record. Previously they released 'Julian' but my favorite is most likely 'Angels (above me)'. Soothing tunes to recover from heartache.


The Scandinavian birthday-presents keep on coming!


Surprise-factor: 7/6 ;-)

Wow-factor: 5/6

Download-code included?: Nope (unfortunately)

Live review: Tula (SE/DE) doesn't play covers.

Some bands just seem to stay under the radar until they play some song that attracts more audience than just their inner circle. The partially Swedish partially German band 'Tula' initially wrote their own darkish electronic music with female lead vocals until they recorded a cover "Wicked Games" of Chris Isaac. A wonderfully fragile electro-infused re-interpretation of a classic popsong. It got picked up by German radio and it turned into a hit. Unfortunately I hadn't heard of it until an announcement of their upcoming gig in SugarFactory (Amsterdam) popped up on www.nordicvibes.com. "Tonight, beautiful minimalistic Scandipop for just 5 euro!". Their own Facebook however could make your eyebrows raise a little. Genre: "Whatever". 

The night started of with the support-act singer-songwriter Stuart Mavis (NL). Interesting choice yet very entertaining with some good songs in Dutch and English.  About half an hour later the headliner of the night took the stage. Tula began their performance with a low-fi yet strong intro. A great start of the night! Unfortunately after about 3 songs it all sounded alike. Surely the melodies, drums, bass were not the same but the first impression of "Nice!" faded away quite soon. The singer couldn't change the wearing of as also in the vocal-parts there were many repeats in lines and vocal-manners. In the end it got on my nerves. But they could still score bonus-points. The crowd called out for "Wicked Games" as Tula returned for a reprise. The reply astounded me the most: "we don't play covers". After about an hour of more or less the same the band bowed for their audience leaving some of them disappointed.

Tula wasn't really bad, but they just couldn't live up to my expectations. Especially not playing their breakthrough cover-song. The Woohoo's and cheering from their German fans in a crowd of just about 25 people made it even worse. Especially as they woohoo'd during some of the songs. Hopefully they'll manage to get a real good producer to salvage their songs otherwise they are prone to fade away. The band probably would reply: whatever.

Live-performance: 4/6
Music-Wow!-factor: 1/6

Nordic Adventures 2015. Part 2: The PO-12 rhythm

In part 1 of my 2015 Nordic Adventures I discovered the latest inventions of the Swedish electronic/design brand Teenage Engineering which teamed up with the Swedish fashion brand Cheap Monday. Three small pocket-sized musical instruments which you could compare with Korg's small size Monotron-synthesizers.  As soon as I returned home I did some research watching the youtube-films on Cheap Monday's website. Although the actual instruments look really really unfinished (they are shipped without a casing which you can buy them separately or make your own) looking at the displays you can see the fun of engineering it. The OP12-Rhythm (drumcomputer) has a sewing machine stitching rhythms while the OP14-Sub with the looks of a submarine generates the bass. Finally there is the OP16-Factory manufactures melodies.

At first I was keen on getting the Factory but as the youtube samples really didn't arouse me I decided to buy me a OP12. Only 3 days later I still feel very lucky. It took some time to get to know the basics as some functions are hidden. It is a fun item to work with and with the proper know-how it will find it's way to the stage as it IS a true musical instrument!

Unfortunately pricing went up.. It costs about $59 worldwide but about 69euro's in Europe. Nevertheless it is actually worth it. And to be honest, I think it is superior to any of the Monotron's.

Nordic Adventures in 2015. Part 1: Flying to Oslo.

I guess I'm really starting to become more nordic minded as I expected. Only 2 months after leaving Helsinki after the new years celebrations I'm on my way back. This time with destination Oslo for the by:Larm music festival.  The latter wasn't totally unexpected as the plans unfolded 6 months earlier. But still, with already another trip scheduled for May to do some running and meeting my Finnish sweetheart(s) a bimonthly Nordic trip is apparently necessary to satisfy my Nordic needs ;)

Flying to Oslo by SAS also has another advantage, the 'Scandinavian Traveler' magazine. Now I'm totally up to speed on several topics. And some advertisements are really so down to earth and honest. What about a orthodontist/dentist  with a far from perfect smile advertising for his treatment to get the perfect smile. Perfection, it ain't all but you can find it here. As are our designs. Perfect and highly appreciated designs for instance by Teenage Engineering (check out the OP-1 synthesizer which is used by artists like Jean-Michel Jarre and Apparat Organ Quartet). Did you know the founder of Teenage Engineering, Jesper Kouthoofd, was also one of the founders of Acne (the well known fashion brand)? When I translate his last name into English it would mean Cold Head. According to his story and the bits of dandruff floating in his hair he is probably the opposite. But geniuses are entitled to. Their latest inventions seem to be a touch of such a genius. Three small synthesizers with a price-tag of just $59,-. Cutting on the manufacturing price wasn't easy but without a package or bag and the display-handle included in the body they succeeded. Most ironic fact? You can probably get your own piece of musicality at the nearest Weekday-store! Cool! I can hardly wait to get my own copy ;) Now I only need to find myself a Weekday in Oslo..

Update: As the Weekday-store in Oslo didn't have the actual items I started looking for those on the Internet. At Teenage Engineering they were available no less than €69 in Europe and $59 worldwide (ex P&P). Luckily Their collaborator Cheap Monday was as the name suggests cheaper. On a Monday night I bought myself an OP-12 for €59.. and a T-shirt of their collaboration. Can't hardly wait to start making music!