News/Blog
JA JA JA Feb - The DiS Review!
The DrownedInSound review of last month's JA JA JA bash feat. Ungdomskulen, Vuk and The Good The Bad is in! "The Nordic nations, it seems, are disproportionately wealthy – both in actual, financial terms as well as in musical terms. A total population of around 26 million has resulted in more high-quality artists in recent years than you could hope to shake a stick of Silver Birch at. Tonight brings three more to London's Lexington, one act apiece from Norway, Denmark and Finland..."
Click here to read the full story!
SPECIAL: Megaphonic Thrift, Hjaltalin LucyLove, Husky Rescue
Ja Ja Ja is proud to present a special showcase at this year’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC). Curated by Rob Challice of Summer Sundae fame, this exciting event will feature four bands that together offer a taste of today’s massively buzzing Nordic scene, namely mighty and acclaimed acts Lucy Love (DK), Megaphonic Thrift (NO), Hjaltalin (ICE) and Husky Rescue (FI). Tickets are £6 in advance – click here to get ‘em!
Lucy Love has been regularly referred to as Denmark’s Grime queen – “a female version of Dizzee Rascal with a Nordic twist” if you will. Her rapid flows, catchy hooks and snappy beats make for an exciting a performance style that’s backed by a DJ and dancers and has won applause across Europe.
www.myspace.com/lucylovemc
&n...
The Good The Bad Release iTunes EP
The Good The Bad return with a new EP “From 005 - 008” to give us all a new year’s dose of their hip-shaking dirty cool. This band always mean business when they roll into town or decide to release something to us mere mortals, so it’s time you got involved.
After signing to London’s freshest label Stray Cat Records and successfully releasing their first EP “From 001 – 004” late last year, TGTB are set for huge things in 2010! Click here to purchase their new EP on iTunes (note, clicking link will indeed open itunes).
The Good The Bad are Adam Olsson (Baby Woodrose, The Setting Son) on lead guitar, Johan Lei Gellett (Baby Woodrose, Kira, The Kindred Spirits) on drums and Manoj Ramdas (The Raveonettes, SPEkTR) on baritone guitar. Adam justifies the absence of a lead singer because, “We couldn’t find one that would stand behind the drummer, but we don’t need a vocalist anyw...
Photos from last month's Ja Ja Ja night!
The good people of The Line Of Best Fit had the foresight to bring their camera to our last outing at The Lexington. Click through and check out their sweet photos from the night.
The 405 Review January's Ja Ja Ja night: Thumbs up!
"[...] I have to say that none of the acts were entirely what I was expecting from a showcase of Nordic music, but maybe the point of this evening was to make it known that not all Scandinavian bands are like Sigur Ros or Bjork."
Read the rest of 405's review here.
Clash Music: Ungdomskulen's Bergen
Norway has a reputation for Black Metal where band members murder and each each other. Bergen in the north, however, is a meting pot of many styles of music all rubbing shoulders in a scene that’s got killer bands rather than bands that kill.
With one of Northern Europe’s most vibrant music scenes ablaze thanks to the patronage of Whitest Boy Alive, Datarock, Annie and Ralph Myerz, the scene is set for the next ‘Bergen Wave’ led by none other than angular glam rockers Ungdomskulen.
Read the rest of Clash Music's article here.
The Guardian - "Oslo: Norway's music and festival paradise"
Norway's ruling party celebrated its election victory in a rock venue; more than 20% of the population attends a music festival every year; and it's not unusual to find gigs taking place in a mausoleum. Oslo is the music-mad capital of this music-mad nation, and the city's modest population of 550,000 sustains numerous venues, outstanding record shops and countless festivals.
Annual events cater for a wide range of tastes including metal, jazz, folk, world and electronica, while the Øya rock festival puts most larger UK equivalents to shame when it comes to bands, organisation and environmental credentials. And while showcase industry events Folkelarm and by:Larm attract music business figures from around the world to check out the talent, Norway's social democratic principles ensure that the gigs are also open to the public.
Read the rest of The Guardian's Oslo piece Read More >>
Ja Ja Ja Picks A Winner!
As regular Ja Ja Ja attendants will know, we threw a hell of a contest last month, where those who signed up for our newsletter and named their top three Nordic bands could win a free trip to Iceland (room and Blue Lagoon included!). And we picked a winner!
Via an intricate system involving random number generators and a whole lot of coffee, we managed to pluck London resident Richard Moynihan out of the thousands of folks who entered to win. And folks, believe us, Moynihan deserved to win!
When we caught up with him after Leaves stunning set at Ja Ja Ja #3 at The Lexington, he was literally too flabbergasted to speak, drizzling happiness and lager on the rather nice shoes that he wore to the event: "I am really happy. Sigur rós are my favourite band and I have always wanted to go to Iceland but never been able to afford it,” said the winner when confronted. His other Nordic favourites were Reykjavík electro wizards múm and the ever-compelling Thomas Dybdahl ...
Sudden Weather Change - Album Review
Our Icelandic compadres Sudden Weather Change caused a major fuss back home when they released their lauded (and snappily titled) debut album "Stop! Handgrenade in the Name of Crib Death ‘nderstand?" - or "SHIT NO CD" for short.
The buzz has slowly but surely spread, and in advance of their highly anticipated Ja Ja Ja performance this month at The Lexington, we were proud to stumble across this glowing Subba Cultcha review.
Take it from us, their live shows are mindblowing too. If you haven't seen SWC perform yet, come and see what all the fuss is about on the 21st!
A Note For The Diary (via Sean Adams, DiS)
Drowned In Sound head honcho is curating (and DJing) our January party. He just posted more information over at his blog...
Win 2 tickets to see Jaga Jazzist in London!
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