#3 Put Your Hands Up For Neo-Tokyo
04 Sep 2010 — Tonje Thilesen
#2 Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
03 Sep 2010 — Tonje Thilesen
#1 Kafka On The Shore
02 Sep 2010 — Tonje Thilesen
Kafka On The Shore - Money & Rum
I feel very honored to be given the keys to No Fear Of Pop while Henning is on his vacation in Sweden. I know I have some big shoes to fill in, but I will definitely try my best to provide you guys with both with my new and old discovers within the world of music, as well as some personal favorites. Being Norwegian myself, I have also decided to put some focus on the music scene of Norway; which I think has yet receive the attention it deserves on the Internet.
First out, however, is the nifty little music project by Biu Rainey from London entitled Kafka On The Shore. Biu's music is simply just beautiful in every way; pretty compositions and sweet vocals meeting washed-out and slightly distorted guitars. His first EP We Are Adventurers takes us out on a journey starting off with the dream poppy, tropical Travelling, while slowly moving over to the more indie/electronic-ish Everybody's Favourite Selkie; and finally ends in my personal favorite, the lovely Money & Rum (above).
I also think that there can be drawn parallels between the title We Are Adventurers and Murakami's own Kafka On The Shore (from where he clearly has gotten the name from). The book is by all means the story of travelling, both in the original meaning of the word but also a journey in the characters mind and mental evolution. Without getting too deep here, I'm almost certain that Biu got at least some of his inspiration to We Are Adventurers from the very book itself.
"Time weighs down on you like an old, ambiguous dream. You keep on moving, trying to sleep through it. But even if you go to the ends of the earth, you won't be able to escape i t. Still, you have to go there- to the edge of the world. There's something you can't do unless you get there."
Remember to snatch the EP for free from his bandcamp here.
Occupied.
02 Sep 2010 — Henning Lahmann
So. It's finally about time for me to have some vacation. But as NFOP is always thinking about her readers, she has found a way to save you from ultimate boredom:
Our new intern Tonje, author of the wonderful Oslo based blog The Technicolor Sleep, will be taking care of these pages in the next ten days. So, you'll probably find less dreamy chill tunes up here till I'm back (apparently they don't need dreams these Norwegians since they got oil), but instead you'll be blessed with deep insights into the contemporary, post A-Ha music scene up there.
Enough of those cheap clichés, read the other side of the story over here.
Have fun. Be nice. Read more →
You’re not in control.
02 Sep 2010 — Henning Lahmann
Darragh from Wexford, Ireland makes some wonderfully lush and dreamy bedroom music as Sacred Animals, easy to listen to yet challenging if you're willing to let the songs surround and capture you. Despite the intricacy of the tunes' structure and sequencing, Darragh has written and recorded everything all by himself. His debut four track EP Welcome Home will be released as a handmade CD package limited to 75 items by the new Irish label Delphi, due October 1st. You can already stream all tracks via Sacred Animals' bandcamp.
NFOP is proud to present the EP's opening track Wired, Islands, a stunningly beautiful ballad that draws inspiration from huge artists such as Thom Yorke or Bright Eyes. This pal is for sure someone to keep an eye on. Young hopeful.
Sacred Animals - Wired, Islands
Read more →
Young Hunting.
01 Sep 2010 — Henning Lahmann
Take a listen to the b-side of Young Hunting's premiering 7 inch Into Yr Mind b/w Sonata, out this month and available for ordering soon via K Recs. The Los Angeles band makes some stunningly beautiful and mature pop music, harmony driven tunes with complex instrumentation that at times remind us slightly of bands like Fleet Foxes or Local Natives. But enough said already, simply let them take your breath away.
You can stream both songs and purchase the digital release right now on Young Hunting's bandcamp.
Young Hunting - Sonata
Read more →
Plastic Flowers.
01 Sep 2010 — Henning Lahmann
Plastic Flowers is Tallahassee, Florida's Sean Earl Beard's solo effort, and it's some really fine, 80s wave infused lush and sleazy synth pop sensation, upbeat yet with a perceptible melancholy in Beard's laconic crooning on Drive Me Home. We've been waiting for this.
Watch our much adored Beko DSL for a digital single release with two brand new gems, out October 4.
Plastic Flowers - Drive Me Home
Plastic Flowers - She Learned the Best Way
Read more →