I guess Christmas came early on Spotify. Oslo 2 is out!

I´ve just added an hour or so with new Norwegian indie music. A lot of these songs were taken from the new indie compilation Oslo 2 from Spoon Train Audio. The compilation is a great way to discover some new talent from Oslo and rediscover some old familiar bands. You can listen to the whole album on Spotify at this link: Various Artists – Oslo 2

The tracklist for Oslo 2 is as follows

1. Cold Mailman – Time Is Of Essence
2. Hiawata! – Valley Boys
3. Children And Corpse Playing In The Streets – France
4. The Little Hands Of Asphalt – The Next Time We Meet
5. Einar Stray – Arrows
6. Therese Aune – Chamelon
7. Firetop Mountain – How Can You Dance At A Time Like This
8. Go Fandango – End Credits
9. Norma Sass – Born In The 80's
10. Monzano – Cold Waters
11. Casa Murilo – Murilo I Love You
12. Like Spinning – Crush (And Naivety)
13. Sepukku Zephyr Dance – Carousel
14. Yoyoyo Acapulco – Facial
15. My Little Pony – Capital Of Norway
16. Nomber 5s – Dancing To The Oslo Beat

A new playlist with a fantastic song by Line Larsen

I've added new short playlist for you to enjoy. These are the songs I've added to the suggestion playlist since August. The main reason I feel like posting this one now is the song "One of You" by newcomer Line Larsen. The song takes you by surprise. Give that girl a hug now. She's hurting! The perfect song to celebrate or despair the autumn.

Other artists on the playlist include Kings of Convenience, Lama, Kråkesølv, and Children and Corpse Playing In The Streets.

Enjoy!

Autumn Is Here - Northern Exposure Shortlist Vol. 3

A great playlist with Norwegian electronica

Surfing the great internet I found this gem: Radio Anders - Det norske hus

It's a playlist with Norwegian electronica. Very groovy! Give Anoras a shout here.

Introducing the shortlists

As I mentioned in the previous post I want to make shorter lists for Northern Exposure and here are my first attempts at that.

The First Northern Exposure Shortlist I have named Ironic Glowsticks. It's the kind of music you could find on the club concept Get Dancy. All the tracks are quite dancy so to speak.

Ironic Glowsticks - Northern Exposure Shortlist vol.1

The second shortlist is a collection of songs to make you sleepy. I've tried this one for sleeping already and it works. Play at low volume.

Bedheaded - Northern Exposure Shortlist vol.2

Thoughts about the future

I've done a major update to the playlist today. You can see all the tracks added on the sidebar under Newest entries. If you want to listen through the whole playlist you now got 10 hours of indie bliss ahead of you. This has got me thinking though.

I will keep on adding music to the Northern Exposure playlist but I will also try to make shorter playlist based on themes, moods maybe every other week or so. I think it will be more interesting and easier for people to relate to shorter playlists than this mammoth.

I want Northern Exposure to evolve. That means a better design, maybe collaborate with other likeminded Nørwegians and foreign vikings.

And most of all I want Google to release Google Wave right now. That tool will make writing in English so much easier:)

Got some thoughts too? Comment please!

Lukestar now on Spotify

Seems all my prayers have been heard by those Swedes in charge at Spotify. Now you can listen to Lukestar too, although only their first album Alpine Unit.

Let's hope they add Lake Toba soon. Alpine Unit is also a great album. If you like it go buy Lake Toba you cheap bastards:)

Firetop Mountain on Spotify

The band I'm playing in has just arrived on Spotify. It's called Firetop Mountain, and our music is in the same vein as Lemonheads, The Posies and Death Cab for Cutie. Jangle pop, power pop, indie rock and a little twist of emo one might say. Check out our album on Spotify:
Firetop Mountain – Indians Aren't Afraid Of Heights

Dearest wishes
Michael Sollien AKA Lastninja80

Mas-Kina finally on Spotify: Sigh & Explode amongst others

It took quite a while but finally indie label Mas-Kina Recordings has made their entry in the Spotify age. Check out these fantastic artist:

Tvang, Sigh & Explode, Go Ahead Drink Drink, Infidels Forever, Funguson, Stargun, The First Cut.

2 great Norwegian indie bands not on Spotify

This time we're gonna do something different. There are a few bands that deserve to be on the Northern Exposure playlist had they only been on Spotify. So this post is gonna be focused on our wishlist for Northern Exposure.

Sigh & Explode

This band is an shock & awe attack on your eardrums. S&E plays intelligent and arty screamo / post-hardcore in the vein of The Blood Brothers and fellow Oslo-band Rumble In Rhodos. Genre purists have made a habit of criticizing the band for this, but when S&E released their debut record "These Seem Like Tarantulas" we believe their tongues were tied. Produced by Emil Nikolaisen of Serena Maneesh fame and Bjarne Stensli of Harrys Gym the record trancends the usual hardcore fare by light years. It's a record filled with details elegantly hidden beneath white noise and clever soundscapes. Go to MySpace, have a listen, and we put our money on that you will agree.



Lukestar

They won the Norwegian Grammy for best rock album of 2008. No wonder 'cause Lake Toba from Lukestar is indie rock with a difference. If you like the high pitched meaows of Mew and Sigur Rós you will love lead singer Truls's voice. Lukestar's appeal comes from clever songcraft and them sounding like they are playing live on their record - no Pro Tools touch ups or autotune as far as we can tell. Go to their MySpace and hear for yourself.

Northern Exposure all around the web

The playlist is available on a great number of spotify-sites. Here are some of them. If you wanna help gain exposure for norwegian indie music you can go to one or more of these links, rate the list or add a comment. Much appreciated!

Spotifyplaylists http://spotifyplaylists.co.uk/2009/04/02/northern-exposure/

Spotifyfriends http://www.spotifyfriends.com/playlist/northern-exposure---norwegian-indie-collection.html

Spotifylist http://www.spotifylist.com/en/playlists/2009/5/20/northern-exposure---norwegian-indie-collection

Yourspotify http://www.yourspotify.com/?p=2086

Sharemyplaylists http://www.sharemyplaylists.com/northern-exposure-norwegian-indie-collection/

Spotifynd http://spotifynd.com/leave.asp?id=208

Spotifylinks http://www.spotifylinks.com/?p=811

Nö Music

Northern Exposure just got more exposure. This time on the most excellent blog Nö Music. This blog is dedicated to spreading the love of Norwegian indie music, just like this one:) Tusen takk, Andreas. Bookmark this beauty right now!

Spotlight Artist June 10 2009 - Monzano / The Little Hands of Asphalt

We're a little late for our weekly Spotlight artist, so this time we'd like to present two artists for you.

Monzano

Monzano's record High Horses & One Trick Ponies from 2007 is one of those records you're bound to eventually fall deeply in love with. Their blend of cute pop melodies and progressive post-punk aestethics, analog synths and the most heartfelt lyrics this side of the atlantic, is almost as catchy as a certain pandemic. This record deserves a broader audience. Songwriter and singer Sjur Lyseid likes to keep himself busy. This spring he released another record with his solo-project The Little Hands of Asphalt, called Leap Years.

The Little Hands of Asphalt

The melodies are in the same vein as Monzano but the inspirations seems to come from different places than with Monzano; bands and singer/songwriters like Bright Eyes, Ryan Adams and Elliot Smith. Complimented with the beautiful voice of Marit Falkum Enerhaug and several other fabulous musicians makes Leap Years one of the best norwegian records this year.

Listen to Monzano - High Horses and one trick ponies

Monzano on MySpace

Listen to The Little Hands of Asphalt - Leap Years

Little Hands of Asphalt on MySpace

Spotlight Artist June 1 2009 - Monopot

Monopot are one of those bands that should have gotten a lot more attention when they were around. It's easy to understand why when you realize that they sound very similar to other post-rock acts like Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky. Although they share a similarity to these bands their record Optipess from 2002 stands out as one of the best of its kind. It's pure atmosphere and crispy guitars droning along, lulling the listener into a state of bliss. Try it, you won't be dissapointed.

NB! Every track on the record begins with the prefix "spor" which simply means "track" in Norwegian.

Spotlight Artist May 25 2009 - Harrys Gym

Harrys Gym is a band that received a well deserved hype last year when they released their self-titled debut album. It was a long wait for a lot of fans. Due to some problems with their former record label their original debut album never got a release. Instead they recorded a new one in their own studio with drummer Bjarne Stensli as producer. We're happy they did.


The music sounds like a mix between Blonde Redhead and The Knife. Chilling analogue synths layered upon clockwork drums added to the hauntingly beautiful voice of Anne Lise Frøkedal, also of I Was A King fame, cuts this band apart from most bands in Norway and (dare we say) the rest of the world.

Listen to Harrys Gym on Spotify

Visit them on MySpace

Watch the video for "Top of the Hill":

Spotlight Artist May 18 2009: Hiawata!

Welcome to Northern Exposure. This is a blog dedicated to showcasing norwegian indie acts on the great music service Spotify.

Missing any great norwegian indie bands on the playlist? Don't panic! We've created a collaborative playlist for you to add suggestions for new tunes: suggest new tunes for Northern Exposure here!

Every week we'll give an artist or band a little extra attention. This first week we introduce to you the lovely Hiawata! An Oslo quartet playing jangle pop reminiscent of bands like Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr. and Norwegian indie legends Beezewax. Their latest record just found it's way to Spotify and is aptly named: These Boys And This Band Is All I Know.

Hiawata! on Spotify

add them on Myspace

Watch their quirky video for the song Valley Boys: