Worth ‘Millions’ – Panda Panda EP Review

Foto Ming Unn

It might well be the case that a rolling stone gathers no moss, but it’s often the case that a rolling snowball results in an avalanche!

Norwegian band Panda Panda currently has so many snowballs rolling down the slopes of Galdhøpiggen (not just the highest mountain in Norway but in all of Northern Europe) that the combined effect has been an avalanche of press attention and a barrage of enthusiastic reviews.  If they keep firing out releases at this pace, they’ll be so snowed under with wordy positivity, that they won’t be able to move out through doors of their off-piste cabins.

In less than a month, the Pandas (as I affectionately call them), have dropped two singles, one video and an EP. Meanwhile, back at the Nordic ranch, they are currently to be found skating around Norway with their Riot Factory stable-mates, Snøskred and Dråpe, the latter of whom they’ll be joining at the Hulen venue in ‘sunny’ Bergen on 22nd April, dets here.

Having previously featured Panda*2 on this site – check out the interview feature here – it makes sense to continue the tradition and dip into their latest release, ‘Millions‘ EP.  A four-track affair, it comprises the two already released singles, ‘New Friends‘ and ‘Halcyon Years‘, alongside two new songs, ‘Why Are You Still Here‘ and ‘Fuels‘.  Recorded in Greener Studios, Trondheim, the EP benefits from the midas touch of fellow Norwegian, Karl Klaseie’s mixing and production skills.

Panda Panda Live at Trondheim Calling (FB)

Time to talk music!

Up until now, EP lead track, ‘New Friends‘ was probably the Pandas’ most identifiable song, and by default, the sound by which they had become recognised .  Alternating between indie rock and ballad, this passionate yet tender track, peaks and troughs as many times as the relationships at it’s thematic core.  A melting pot of vibrant guitar jams and a low-key, delicately nuanced duet, the musical maturity of this track blew me away the first time I heard it, and still does.  In addition, there is something altogether quite haunting about the central instrumental line running through ‘New Friends‘, that no matter how many times I listen to it, the depth of its poignancy always catches me, especially at the tail-end of the outro.   Check out the home-made visual for ‘New Friends‘ here.

In contrast to its predecessor, follow on single, ‘Halcyon Years‘, has a rockier, more experimental thrust.  Edgy and urgent, the track boasts a frantic criss-cross of Wildhagen riffs and fuel-injected Sponås drumming, yet somehow in the midst of this punchy, propulsive thrang, we find a playful’n’poppy vocal duet, that sweetens the ferocity of its instrumental accompaniment.

One thing that comes across quite clearly in Panda Panda’s music, is not just their willingness to embrace diversity and change, but also their ability to have a lot of fun while doing so.  You’ll catch my drift from this live edit of ‘Halcyon Years‘ – Voila!

Turning our attention to the two previously unreleased tracks, it’s time to share some exclusive insider info which we recently managed to wheedle out of the band.  Speaking about the creative background to ‘Why Are You Still Here?, the Pandas explain:

“‘Why are you still here’ was at first intended for Håkon’s super secret electronica project. The first demo was full of gritty lo-fi beats, an out of tune piano and lots of random noise. Last summer we started playing it at a rehearsal and it immediately felt like a Panda Panda song. We wrote some new lyrics, and rearranged the song structure. We also got noise guru Øyvind Brantsegg, to track some noisy «Marimba Lumina» in the studio.”    

Well Håkon, your super secret electronica project, isn’t really so super secret any more is it??  Oops!

I mentioned earlier that Panda Panda will be playing support to Dråpe in Bergen this weekend, and interestingly enough, one of the first things that struck me when I heard this track was how similar in structure and playing style it was to the latter’s own music, right down to the tight intensity of the lead guitar sequences not to mention the three tons of reverb.  

Another track, another catwalk on which Panda Panda can parade the diversity and borderless creativity of their musical wares. Again, as with most of their compositions, this track alternates between strident and stripped – fizzing with frenergy one minute, and practically in a state of stasis the next.  The extent of Wildhagen’s guitar playing prowess is further exemplified on this track, as is the comparative ease with which the R/S of Jonathan Fimland Kleven (bass) & Oddbjørn Sponås (drums) sync with each other.  

The only word I can use to describe the vocal on this song is stunning.  The purity of Ragnhild’s lark-trilled vocals sends shivers down my spine: it is an unfiltered vocal, whose clarity is of a quality only Norway can produce.  This is the type of crystal clear vocal that so much is expounded upon by the international press. 

You can hear ‘Why Are You Still Here?’ on the Spotify playlist below.

The final track on the EP is called, ‘Fuels’.  Giving us some more exclusive background, the band divulge:-

“The chorus of ‘Fuels’ was actually a part of the first song we made together. It was a really loud song, with a chorus that we loved but a verse that we hated. After some nail biting rehearsals, trying to make it work, we decided to pick the tune apart and make the chorus into an entirely new song.”

Evocative, tender, with vocals as delicate as raindrops falling on the first petals of Spring, this is quite a beautiful song that, with its pared-back, organic production, exposes the depth of the bands adept and intuitive musicianship.  Sparkling Omnichord chords that twinkle like stars, float over a night sky of of bass driven melodies, building to a delicious cloudburst of hazy instrumental gorgeousness of such exquisite tenderness as to induce an hypnotic trance.

You can watch the live visual for ‘Fuels’ here.  It was shot outdoors on a Trondheim roof, which, I’m led to believe, has seen more than it’s fair share of mini-festivals!!  Secret…shhh.

It is worth pointing out that on listening to the ‘Millions‘ EP, it becomes apparent that the crux on which the Panda Panda wheel turns, is the provident pairing of Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit and Håkon Brunborg Kjenstad. Their perfect symbiosis is the central element from, and around which, all else springs and flows.  The combination of their dawn and dusk vocals, both complements and evokes the lyrical content in perfect harmony with its instrumental backdrop, to such a successful degree as is rarely witnessed in modern day duets.

All things considered, Panda Panda has released an EP of a technically high standard and exceptional musical quality.  Its highly complex arrangements are, on the surface, so glossed over by production of such polish and panache, that one can easily be fooled into missing the intricate web of elements that lie hidden within its dense sonic undergrowth.  I tried to find fault with this EP, and yeah, maybe at times the sound is a little off balance, but only intermittently, and by a fraction, and we none of us would be human if we were perfect.

This is an astonishing debut compilation, made all the more remarkable by the fact that this band only got together a little over a year ago.  As I have said before, Panda Panda has a musical maturity beyond its years and by producing such an eclectically styled, lyrically astute and instrumentally challenging concoction as this at the first attempt, it would not be beyond the bounds of possibility that when their full length arrives, it will be, if not perfect, as phenomenally close to it as this far-sighted group of unique and unbelievably talented musicians can get.   9.5/10

Panda Panda is : Ragnhild Fangel Jamtveit (vox/synth), Håkon Brunborg Kjenstad (vox/guitar), Herman Wildhagen (vox/guitar), Jonathan Fimland Kleven (bass) & Oddbjørn Sponås (drums)

Follow Panda Panda on Facebook, Spotify, Instagram and Twitter.

‘Millions‘ EP is available now via Bandcamp and all digital channels, details here:-

Spotify: http://bit.ly/millionsEP_Spotify  

Tidal: http://bit.ly/millionsEP_Tidal  

Itunes: http://bit.ly/millionsEP_iTunes

Snøskred’s ‘Mirage’: A Shimmering Chimera Under the Norwegian Sun

Foto: Kristin Slotterøy

Mirage: “an unrealistic hope or wish that cannot be achieved”

In advance of the release of their International Debut album, ‘Empty House’, on 19th of February, Norwegian indie four-piece, Snøskred, have just dropped single, ‘Mirage’ the third track to be lifted from their much anticipated LP.

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“Are all the memories here to stay, Can I just store them, or will they slip away?”

” ‘Mirage’ is about things that seem difficult to understand and explain, but which have a clear internal logic,” explains vocalist and guitarist, Karl Klaseie.  “The track was recorded last summer during the hottest day of the year, in a studio without much air conditioning, but with a gigantic window through which the sun was blazing. It’s possible that left its mark on the track.”

On one hand ‘Mirage’ feels ‘random’ – it has an overwhelming sense of having been created via the freeform methodologies so successfully used by such jazz enthusiasts as Mark Hollis, or those 70s Kraut experimentalists, Can.  It is a like a series of musical layers – a melding of several sketches, spliced and diced, that have been very haphazardly “mille-feuilled”.

On the on the other hand, there is an underlying sense of of cohesion, albeit one that was arrived at by chance.

“Your skin feels just like new, but the scars though, always tell the truth”

Each individual sketch has its own personality – the dark beat driven intro with is sense of anticipation, the OMD vibing synth beats (speed it up a bit and you’re in Enola Gay territory), the infectious if slightly schizoid slide riffs of Lars Ove Fossheim through which Klaseie adds barely there scratches of guitar.  Muddled through that sonic cocktail are the intermittent mini-sermons from the Hammond and the varied percussive interpretations from thumping bass drum to the continuous soft-chick high hat that slowly builds into something more defined and insistent.

Guitarist Lars Ove Fossheim elaborates, “The song evolved with the help of minimalist drum machines from 1982, a gospel-like Hammond organ, a bass player in a trance, a super-close Telecaster and overdubs slide guitars”.  (Makes note to ask what had bassist Hvidsten Berger in a trance?)

Bit by bit the layers are built upwards from Martin Hvidsten Berger’s continuous bass loops bubbling into the continuum and beyond, that act as the foundation for the musical stack. Yet despite the many and varied layers, it is a track full of spaces – big, small, wide, deep – they are omnipresent throughout, adding to its expansiveness.

“Is there someone looking out for us? The same way every shepherd looks out for all his sheep, But there’s no-one, looking out for me”

‘Mirage’ has a very ‘Albatross’ vibe, comprising a slow moving, heavy atmosphere full of lifeless heat intermittently relieved by washes of shimmering slide.  It is the clever combination of these divergent elements that creates the perfect musical mirage.  Lyrically, it is searingly honest, but the trademark lazy-like dreamy quality of Karl Klaseie’s vocal lessens the sting somewhat.

The song ends with a series of tightly coiled guitar riffs and random bursts of spitfire drumming (much to my delight), the only constant still being the bubbling thrum of the bass.  However, a jigsaw of many parts, it warrants several repeat plays if only to recognise and do justice to, the various sketches and their respective performers.

A collection of musical oddments, thrown together at will, the many elements of ‘Mirage’ somehow cohese to paint a musical picture that was only ever just a blurred figment of someone’s imagination.

Snøskred have proved that by leaving the creative door open when they entered the rehearsal room, they allowed themselves the space to develop a more cinematic, unique and potent sound than had hitherto been present in their songs.  Which bodes well for their much anticipated album, ‘Empty House’ due out on 19th, the vinyl ed of which I want parked on my turntable asap, and which I envisage shall remain there, for some time to come.

You can buy, preview & download ‘Mirage’ via iTunes or Riot Factory on Bandcamp.  ‘Empty House’ is available to preorder via iTunes.

Watch the phantasmagorical video for ‘Mirage’ made by film-maker friend of the band, Eirik Havnes.

Follow Snøskred on Facebook and Twitter.

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Single Review : Snøskred – ‘Lexington Hotel’

Today we are introducing Snøskred, an upcoming four-piece from Norway. They hail from Trondheim,  Norwegian music mecca and home of rock, and comprise Karl Klaseie (vocal/guitar),  Lars Ove Fossheim (vocal/guitar), Martin Hvidsten Berger (bass) and Kyrre Laastad, (drums).

Snøskred are signed to indie label, Riot Factory, and it was through RF sub-label, Sad Songs for Happy People, that they released their domestic debut album, Whiteout, in late 2012.  Recorded in Greener Studios, Trondheim, the album was self-produced with the help of Gold Celeste frontman, Simen Hallset.  Two singles, Come Closer and We Are (7″) were warmly received with the album itself being hailed as one of the best indie releases of the year.

Much touring, gigging, projects, writing, and recording later, September 2015 saw Snøskred release ‘Puzzle’, the lead track from their long awaited international debut album, ‘Empty House’ which they started recording in June 2014, again in Greener, and which is due for release 19th February coming.

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In advance of the album launch, the band have just dropped new single ‘Lexington Hotel’ about which lyricist, Karl Klaseie explains:

“‘Lexington Hotel’ came to me in a dream after a late night viewing of Scarface. I was in the middle of a mobster shakedown and woke up thoroughly confused and sweaty.”

 

Louche, I think is the word I’d use to describe this track; a slow, sexy, languidly louche sonic strut.  Actually, it doesn’t so much strut, as undulate, to the provocative rhythm of its sensual pulse.

Fraught with tense, menacing, guitars, and blackened by moody, cavernous basslines, the lingering instrumental is an atmospheric slow-burn. Martin Hvidsten Berge’s bass peripatetics wholly underpin this track – a musical marvel to behold on this doom-laden composition – its dark, heavy, syrupy sound transudes through tremolo heavy walls of grinding guitars.

Kudos to Kyrre Laastad for some very cleverly arranged percussion including some lovely, lazy conga/batá beats. Actually, the sync between the RS is tighter than tight, thereby adding to the songs intensity by making it feel somewhat claustrophobic.

Conversely, the chorus is something of a release, coming like a breath of fresh air after the stifled atmosphere of the verse. Warm melodic Kraut-country lines lift the mood, with some gorgeous, shimmering guitar sequences from Lars Ove Fossheim, giving memorable if momentary relief.   And so it plays out, long stretches of dark, brief flashes of light, which lead into a final electronic fuelled thrum that gives the track an interesting if unexpected close.

The vocal has Damon Albarn stamped all over it, with vocalist Karl Klaseie having that same Albarn-esque way of letting the vocal slip effortlessly from his lips – languorous, subtly playful, and nonchalantly cool.

Timing is everything and Snøskred’s is impeccable: the arrangement is timed to perfection, thereby ensuring maximum effect.  Highly imaginative, exceptionally well mixed, arranged with pinpoint accuracy, and very perceptively produced, this is an extremely unique and very strong track that hopefully gives a pretty clear indication of what is to come on the album.

A rich, sticky ooze of dark toxicity, ‘Lexington Hotel’ lures, captivates and holds you in the thrall of its highly potent and dangerously addictive nature.  You are left longing for more …

Snøskred play two live sets during  the Trondheim Calling Festival, the first on Thursday 4th at Moskus 23.00, the second on Friday 5th at Olavshallen Lille Sal 23.30, details here – http://trondheimcalling.no/artister/sn%C3%B8skred/

‘Lexington Hotel‘ is available to stream via Spotify and to download via Amazon.  It is also available via Bandcamp.  The album, ‘Empty House’ is scheduled for release via Riot Factory, on 19th February.  You can follow Snøskred on Facebook and Twitter.