INTERVIEW 51. azure blue

For a long time, I hear people saying that we know more about the space than about the oceans. That always seemed odd to me since I can touch the ocean with my feet. As I grew older and smarter (?) I started to understand the reasons why’s that. Perhaps for the same reason – or infinite others – some people have this connection – maybe bond is a better word – with the salty water that surrounds us.

And maybe the idea of grandness is better understood with the ocean since the grandness of the space is too abstract to our little minds to understand.

From the deep ocean comes Tobias Isaksson. Actually Tobias comes from Sweden and Azure Blue – his electronic project – comes from the ocean. A dreamy and crystalline ocean with gentle  and warm tides. 

Tobias is no stranger to music fans, since he was part of Irene and Laurel Music. 

"If Laurel Music was the sound of a lost first love and Irene was the impossible dream of endless summer, Azure Blue is the night after the day after. "

Rule of Thirds is the name of his debut album and it'll be released next Wednesday (November 23) via Hybris. "The Catcher in The Rye" is the first single.

The Catcher in the Rye by Azure Blue

Here's our interview. Tobias talks about his love for the ocean, his debut album, pre-release anxieties and perfect pop songs.

keep reading...

the catcher in the rye

Azure Blue ~ The Catcher In the Rye (single) (Hybris, 2011)


Azure Blue is Tobias Isaksson from Sweden. This is his brand new project, and here, he's embarking into an electronic dream through romance and longing. In case you're wondering, yes, he's the guy from Laurel Music and Irene, two bands that made history in the swedish indiepop scene and got worldwide recognition, releasing albums through Sweden's beloved Labrador.
Beautiful electronics and vocals creating, somehow, a perfect song for daydreaming, reflection, infatuation and lazyly dancing by yourself.

"If Laurel Music was the sound of a lost first love and Irene was the impossible dream of endless summer, Azure Blue is the night after the day after. It's the summary and the reflections of the future at once." Enough said.

'The Catcher in the Rye' is the first single of his debut record called 'Rule of Thirds', out in September through Hybris.

download







facebook
myspace
soundcloud
buy it

where do you go to (my lovely)?

biker boy ~ where do you go to (my lovely)? (hybris, 2009)

i've just posted biker boy's debut ep and now it's time for his latest work... some other time i'll post the in between releases.
here's the beautiful version for the lovely peter sarstedt's song that recently (well, not that recently) was used on the short movie 'hotel chevalier' by wes anderson.


ps: the single also features a remix by mr. banana that is not included here.

and here's the video directed by patrik gebhardt.



site
myspace

heart

biker boy ~ heart (hybris, 2005)

a swedish artist making melancholic electronic tunes with highly addictive beats. 'heart' is his debut ep and since then he has released 4 other works.
he spent last year releasing one single per month and that became the full lenght 'calendar' that also has a remix version.
he has just released a free single with a nice cover of peter sarstedt's lovely hit 'where do you go to (my lovely)?'.
he sounds like pet shop boys but has a morrissey-esque way of writing lyrics. swedish newspaper dagens nyheter has a good way to describe his music: "a morrissey on speed - with synthesizers".

heart is a very gloomy and blue ep and with beautiful and honest lyrics about heartbreakings and heartbreakers wrapped in sophisticated synth melodies.
the title track once was (curiously) tagged by me as 'makes me think about the future of transportation' ... go figure... still is a beautiful song with a brilliant video already posted on the section 'music to see'.



01. heart
02. situations
03. worst case scenario
04. please, don't mind



site
myspace
buy it

skaizerkite

montt mardié ~ skaizerkite (hybris, 2009)

this is the third proper studio album from david pagmar, a swedish boy in his early 20's creating delightful pop tunes about heartbreaking and its ramifications using a very peculiar storytelling similar to pelle carlberg and hello saferide.
this time, the album recovers some textures used in his first album. to me 'clocks/pretender' sounds fresh and breezy and makes me think about small cities, the countryside, open spaces... skaizerkite sounds more urban, a bit like 'drama' and its guitar hooks and catchy-dancy melodies.
there's at least one line in every song that should be mentioned... how not to fall when you hear in the vibrant 'one kiss' "... then she ran across the street/ and though it meant the world to me/ one kiss don't mean a thing..."
or when in 'dungeons and dragons' - one of the best geek love song ever made - he sings
"i still play dungeons and dragons, baby/ i can't stop thinking about star wars, baby /and if you wanna be with me you're gonna have to get use to / i don't say goodbye, i say may the force be with you".
the great thing about montt mardié is that his lyrics have all the potential to be lame and filled with romantic fatalism... but what he does is to turn love and its longings into a right-on-the-face slap with simplicity, honesty and cleverness.
the ballad 'a wedding in june', another perfect colaboration with andreas mattsson, is a song about the reocurring girl that left him and her wedding day.
'the stairs of the house that haunted this town (jenny, jenny, jenny)' is probably the heavist track on the record with guitars and lush orchestrations and an insanely addictive chorus melody and
backing vocals to die for.
wonderfull and uplifting heartbreak songs! (if that's possible...)



01. welcome to stalingrad
02. one kiss
03. click, click
04. elisabeth by the piano
05. bang bang (echo in warsaw)
06. unknown pleasure (feat. anna lovisa)
07. last year in marienbad
08. a wedding in june (feat. andreas mattsson)
09. dancing shoes
10. the stairs of the house that haunted this town (jenny, jenny, jenny)
11. dungeons and dragons
12. i love you annie

here's the video for 'danceshoes'


site
myspace
buy it

the lawlessness of the ruling classes

andreas mattsson ~ the lawlessness of the ruling class (hybris, 2006)

if this blog were here back in 2006 mr. mattsson debut album would definitely be in my 'best albums of the year' list... it's emotional most of the times, terribly sad for moments and beautiful from the begining until the end. andreas mattsson has a unique songwriting skill and is a master when creating pop tunes. but first things first:
andreas was a member of popsicle, one of the best swedish bands in the 90's and is, nowadays, a member of vanessa and the o's with vanessa contenay-quinones, niclas frisk from atomic swing and jame iha, former guitarist of the smashing pumpkins; he also had a big roll on the last album from hello saferide playing a variety of instruments and will be performing live with her.
this release contains 11 tracks going from ballads full of orchestrations to electronic upbeats to voice and guitar sadness. what makes this album so amazing is the attention given to every detail, specially when it comes to create melodies and the use made of each instrument. each one has its own tempo, its own distinct notes... and when together, they go so well, form such a unique atmosphere that hits you straight in the heart.
'you're never lonely when the band plays' is one of the highlights with its lush orchestrations and hearfelt melodies;
'through the evening, through the snow' is a more conventional pop tune;
the saddest song is 'it's easier to handle all your friends than to keep just one love alive' and you'll feel andreas power because, using just his voice and acoustic guitar, he'll make you cry like there's no tomorrow;
'so old, it's new' is the dancy song of the album with its flertations with electronic uplifting beats, great to dance a little...




01. Four majors
02. Down on the corner
03. It's easier to handle all your friends than to keep just one love alive
04. Where the wave breaks
05. Metal sky
06. You're never lonely when the band
07. Through the evening, through the snow
08. Summer of speed
09. I guess I should feel something
10. So old it's new
11. Every record, every book

here's the video for 'so old, it's new':


buy it