5 Years of NFOP

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For You, Sleepsleeper.

24 Dec 2010 — Tonje Thilesen

As many of you probably have noticed already, I always get extra excited when I discovering 'new' music from Norway, yet to be picked up by the mass. Maybe it's because the lack of interest in music in this cold country (compared to our Swedish neighbours), or maybe because I'm a sucker to anything atmospheric — I don't know. Benjamin Finger, whom is already signed to the lovely Oslo-based How Is Annie Records, recently released his debut album entitled "For You, Sleepsleeper" — containing 11 beautifully composed tracks which leaves me with the feeling of diving into a ocean of unpredicted, echo-like sounds. Benjamin Finger's soundscape is unexpected and wide, also in the Kim Hiorthøy kind of way; intense and weird but the same time cinematically beautiful; almost like watching the starry night sky on the influence of acid (not talking by experience). His music falls into the experimental genre, I guess, at the same time as containing elements from both ambient-acoustic and electronic; at times almost like a more ambient version of the Japanese mastermind Cornelius. Don't forget to take a look at the many beautiful visuals for the album here, created by Benjamin himself. Benjamin Finger - Drowned In Elbows Benjamin Finger - Chunks Of Plaster Read more →

As many of you probably have noticed already, I always get extra excited when I discovering 'new' music from Norway, yet to be picked up by the mass. Maybe it's because the lack of interest in music in this cold country (compared to our Swedish neighbours), or maybe because I'm a sucker to anything atmospheric — I don't know. Benjamin Finger, whom is already signed to the lovely Oslo-based How Is Annie Records, recently released his debut album entitled "For You, Sleepsleeper" — containing 11 beautifully composed tracks which leaves me with the feeling of diving into a ocean of unpredicted, echo-like sounds. Benjamin Finger's soundscape is unexpected and wide, also in the Kim Hiorthøy kind of way; intense and weird but the same time cinematically beautiful; almost like watching the starry night sky on the influence of acid (not talking by experience). His music falls into the experimental genre, I guess, at the same time as containing elements from both ambient-acoustic and electronic; at times almost like a more ambient version of the Japanese mastermind Cornelius. Don't forget to take a look at the many beautiful visuals for the album here, created by Benjamin himself. Benjamin Finger - Drowned In Elbows Benjamin Finger - Chunks Of Plaster

2010: Some remarkable videos.

23 Dec 2010 — NFOP
Though MTV has absolutely nothing to do with it anymore, 2010 was the year the music video came back. Primarily thanks to Vimeo's amazing features and capacities, in the twelve months that lie behind us now we were confronted more or less each single day with a stockpile of videos flooding our inbox. The most significant phenomenon about the emergence of this Vimeo culture is how it has changed the face of the music video itself. Today, it's next to never about showcasing artists, jumping around and singing in artificial surroundings, nor is it principally about telling a story, with a few remarkable exceptions regarding the latter point. Principally, it's all about capturing the music's atmosphere, more than ever before. Considering the means to achieve this, archive.org proved to be an inexhaustible source of material for video collages, to an extent that my friend Oskar of No Modest Bear coined the phrase that "archive.org killed the video star", and there's a lot of truth in this blunt statement. Another blogger even suggested the need for a new category for this kind of work, as "music video" could not serve as an accurate term for it. The videos we've decided to highlight below generally do not belong to the "archive.org" kind, yet they are trying to (literally) picture the songs' spirit, sometimes also their deeper, implicit meaning, every single one of them employing amazing techniques, driven by the director's imagination and outstanding talent. These videos are, and this is the most exciting aspect of the new generation, interpretations of the music in the true sense of the term. So please enjoy our selection, in no intended order: Kendal Johansson - Blue Moon (Video by Christian Kian Zubicky & Philippe Tempelman) Gem Club - Spine (Video by Brianna Olson) Coma Cinema - Only (Video by Tyler T. Williams) Wonder Wheel - Purple (Pradada Remix) (Video by Frank Ouelette/Moduli TV) Autre Ne Veut - Emotional (Video by The Olde English Spelling Bee) d'Eon - Keep the Faith (Video by Megazord) Casiokids - En Vill Hest (Video by Fantefilm) How To Dress Well - Date of Birth (Video by Ezra Ewen) Papercutz - Lylac (Helios Remix) (Video by Keith Kenniff) Holy Spirits & Gem Club - Fingertips (Video by Nathaniel Whitcomb) Read more → Though MTV has absolutely nothing to do with it anymore, 2010 was the year the music video came back. Primarily thanks to Vimeo's amazing features and capacities, in the twelve months that lie behind us now we were confronted more or less each single day with a stockpile of videos flooding our inbox. The most significant phenomenon about the emergence of this Vimeo culture is how it has changed the face of the music video itself. Today, it's next to never about showcasing artists, jumping around and singing in artificial surroundings, nor is it principally about telling a story, with a few remarkable exceptions regarding the latter point. Principally, it's all about capturing the music's atmosphere, more than ever before. Considering the means to achieve this, archive.org proved to be an inexhaustible source of material for video collages, to an extent that my friend Oskar of No Modest Bear coined the phrase that "archive.org killed the video star", and there's a lot of truth in this blunt statement. Another blogger even suggested the need for a new category for this kind of work, as "music video" could not serve as an accurate term for it. The videos we've decided to highlight below generally do not belong to the "archive.org" kind, yet they are trying to (literally) picture the songs' spirit, sometimes also their deeper, implicit meaning, every single one of them employing amazing techniques, driven by the director's imagination and outstanding talent. These videos are, and this is the most exciting aspect of the new generation, interpretations of the music in the true sense of the term. So please enjoy our selection, in no intended order: Kendal Johansson - Blue Moon (Video by Christian Kian Zubicky & Philippe Tempelman) Gem Club - Spine (Video by Brianna Olson) Coma Cinema - Only (Video by Tyler T. Williams) Wonder Wheel - Purple (Pradada Remix) (Video by Frank Ouelette/Moduli TV) Autre Ne Veut - Emotional (Video by The Olde English Spelling Bee) d'Eon - Keep the Faith (Video by Megazord) Casiokids - En Vill Hest (Video by Fantefilm) How To Dress Well - Date of Birth (Video by Ezra Ewen) Papercutz - Lylac (Helios Remix) (Video by Keith Kenniff) Holy Spirits & Gem Club - Fingertips (Video by Nathaniel Whitcomb)

Temple Songs.

22 Dec 2010 — Henning Lahmann
I have no clue who might be behind this pretty shoegazey pop project named Temple Songs, as the mail I'd received the other day was painfully short and meaningless. One of their bandcamp tags suggests the band is hailing from Paris, which could be true of course, but it could just as well be wrong. So anyway, what I can say is that this is some very fine pop music, nice melodies and layers of distorted guitars and a lot of reverb, and the whole thing sounds as if someone had accidentally thrown the master tape into the family pool, it's so heavily drowned in lo-fi noise and hiss that the vocals are more or less indecipherable. But it's not French I think. Temple Songs - I'll Be Fine Temple Songs - Let's Go Outside Read more → I have no clue who might be behind this pretty shoegazey pop project named Temple Songs, as the mail I'd received the other day was painfully short and meaningless. One of their bandcamp tags suggests the band is hailing from Paris, which could be true of course, but it could just as well be wrong. So anyway, what I can say is that this is some very fine pop music, nice melodies and layers of distorted guitars and a lot of reverb, and the whole thing sounds as if someone had accidentally thrown the master tape into the family pool, it's so heavily drowned in lo-fi noise and hiss that the vocals are more or less indecipherable. But it's not French I think. Temple Songs - I'll Be Fine Temple Songs - Let's Go Outside

Alberto EP.

21 Dec 2010 — Tonje Thilesen

Ever since the release of his latest EP Three Songs For Ryan back in August, we've been longing to hear more of the ambient pop mastermind Warren Hildebrand aka Foxes in Fiction. On his newest EP Alberto he once again blesses us with a bunch of wondrously crafted tunes that will make your mind float away for 26.7 minutes (and probably a lot more); something I guess we all need these days. Grab your free copy here — released yesterday via Warren's own Orchid Tapes.

Fifteen Ativan (Alternate Version)

Read more →

Ever since the release of his latest EP Three Songs For Ryan back in August, we've been longing to hear more of the ambient pop mastermind Warren Hildebrand aka Foxes in Fiction. On his newest EP Alberto he once again blesses us with a bunch of wondrously crafted tunes that will make your mind float away for 26.7 minutes (and probably a lot more); something I guess we all need these days. Grab your free copy here — released yesterday via Warren's own Orchid Tapes.

Fifteen Ativan (Alternate Version)

...Is Growing Faith.

21 Dec 2010 — Henning Lahmann
Darker My Love member Tim Presley will drop another album under his solo moniker White Fence soon. ...Is Growing Faith will be released January 10 via Woodsist, and after his much-acclaimed self-titled debut on Make a Mess earlier this year, we can expect more 60s to early 70s throwback psychedelic garage, painted in dark colors and deliberately and shamelessly hidden behind a curtain of lo-fi recording hiss. White Fence - Lillian (Won't You Play Drums?) Read more → Darker My Love member Tim Presley will drop another album under his solo moniker White Fence soon. ...Is Growing Faith will be released January 10 via Woodsist, and after his much-acclaimed self-titled debut on Make a Mess earlier this year, we can expect more 60s to early 70s throwback psychedelic garage, painted in dark colors and deliberately and shamelessly hidden behind a curtain of lo-fi recording hiss. White Fence - Lillian (Won't You Play Drums?)

Actio in Distans.

21 Dec 2010 — Henning Lahmann
Berkeley, California resident Paul Skomsvold aka Former Selves returns with his "first experiment with audio cassette tape loops", and the result is a splendidly calm piece of uninterrupted, slowly meandering ambient soundscapes, accompanied only by subtle, distant guitar plucks until a steadily growing cloud of distorted noise sets in, relentless yet somehow still not touching the tune's silent contemplativeness. Make sure you also watch Skomsvold's video collage which perfectly underlines the music's mysteries. Read more → Berkeley, California resident Paul Skomsvold aka Former Selves returns with his "first experiment with audio cassette tape loops", and the result is a splendidly calm piece of uninterrupted, slowly meandering ambient soundscapes, accompanied only by subtle, distant guitar plucks until a steadily growing cloud of distorted noise sets in, relentless yet somehow still not touching the tune's silent contemplativeness. Make sure you also watch Skomsvold's video collage which perfectly underlines the music's mysteries.

Premiere: Mane Mane x Persona La Ave.

21 Dec 2010 — Henning Lahmann
Friendship Bracelet's Ian Nelson's stellar Triple You Tapes imprint is gonna drop Atlanta beat wizard Mane Mane's full length in early 2011, but before that and as some kind of prologue, we're first about to be blessed with an EP consisting entirely of remixes of Mane Mane's phenomenal Skin Fox, a twisted game of purest, early 90s rhythm'n'twist megalomania. Right here, right now, see the jam getting even more ulteriorly with Persona La Ave's bass-heavy, analogue-driven synth excursions that turn Skin Fox conclusively into a tune you'd sell your mother for, even right before Christmas. Head over to our friends at Visitation Rites, No Pain In Pop, Rose Quartz and Chocolate Bobka for more terrific versions, and watch out for more to drop via Get Off The Coast and International Tapes very soon. Read more → Friendship Bracelet's Ian Nelson's stellar Triple You Tapes imprint is gonna drop Atlanta beat wizard Mane Mane's full length in early 2011, but before that and as some kind of prologue, we're first about to be blessed with an EP consisting entirely of remixes of Mane Mane's phenomenal Skin Fox, a twisted game of purest, early 90s rhythm'n'twist megalomania. Right here, right now, see the jam getting even more ulteriorly with Persona La Ave's bass-heavy, analogue-driven synth excursions that turn Skin Fox conclusively into a tune you'd sell your mother for, even right before Christmas. Head over to our friends at Visitation Rites, No Pain In Pop, Rose Quartz and Chocolate Bobka for more terrific versions, and watch out for more to drop via Get Off The Coast and International Tapes very soon.

Premiere: Keep Shelly In Athens x Brothertiger.

20 Dec 2010 — Henning Lahmann
My dance track of the year, Keep Shelly In Athens' brilliant Running Out of You, already received some very nice re-interpretations (head over to GvB for Memory Tapes' take and to NMB for DannielRadall's sweet version), and today it's about time for Athens (sic), Ohio's most laid-back synth pop artist John Jagos aka Brothertiger to add his very distinctive flavors. And indeed, the two-part mystery anthem gets mingled with Brothertiger's thick ambient patterns, vocal manipulation and a heavily jamming drum machine beat until nothing of the original remains the same except for the wonderful vocals. A re-imagination indeed, and an excellent one as well. Keep Shelly In Athens - Running Out of You (Brothertiger Remix) Read more → My dance track of the year, Keep Shelly In Athens' brilliant Running Out of You, already received some very nice re-interpretations (head over to GvB for Memory Tapes' take and to NMB for DannielRadall's sweet version), and today it's about time for Athens (sic), Ohio's most laid-back synth pop artist John Jagos aka Brothertiger to add his very distinctive flavors. And indeed, the two-part mystery anthem gets mingled with Brothertiger's thick ambient patterns, vocal manipulation and a heavily jamming drum machine beat until nothing of the original remains the same except for the wonderful vocals. A re-imagination indeed, and an excellent one as well. Keep Shelly In Athens - Running Out of You (Brothertiger Remix)
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