Battle of the bands

lo-fi-fnk [Sweden]

lo-fi-fnk performed live in Tallinn on 10th of November. Of course many of us went to see them and enjoyed it very much. Wanting to find out even more about them, we asked them some questions, so here's the interview. We're glad to have it.



lo-fi-fnk – whats the story behind the name?
We wanted to make modern dancemusic which wasn't as fat and pumped up as what we heard on the radio. More lo-fi. And funky. Figure out!

Did either of You made any music before you got to know each-other?
Yes a lot. Leo was a heavy metal guitarist and August was a dj in a band called "the hidden carrots".

Your calendar is pretty full of gigs all over Europe right now, does it tire You off sometimes?
Yes, when we were playing the other month we fell asleep in the backstage area to be woken up by the arranger 2 minutes before stagetime! Leo talked swedish to the audience and we all were like "where are we".

You have travelled to perform in many places by now, which places have You got to like?
We loved Estonia (seriously!). Barcelona is really nice. Iceland is crazy. And New York of course.

Is there some place You haven’t gone yet, but definately would like to go?
We'd love to go to Brazil and Japan. Hopefully next year :)

The place you live in Sweden – do You like it there?
No, but it's ok when you are not home that much, u forget how boring it is when ur touring.
At least at we have a studio here.

You have become quite famous now, do people on the streets already recognize You and say hello? :)
Hahahaha.. When we go to indie-clubs people stare and like always someone wanna talk to you. That is ok, but not when people think they can be rude just because they heard our music. I mean some people act like they know you.

Are You envolved with some other music-projects presently as well? If so, which?
Yes, but they are very secret.

What music are You listening yourselves at the time?
Buddy Holly, Orup, Das Glow, Jitset, Fleetwood Mac, The Teenagers for example!

Which bands or projects, we might not know of, would You recommend for us to check out?
The Teenagers if you don't know of them.
Jitset.

Could You tell a bit about the process of creating Your music? Where You get the ideas and how the lyrics are shaped out? Do You do it together?
Words and phrases can pop up in your head anytime and music mostly comes when you just play around or walk around in the town. Our music brings us together.

Are You also working or still studying somewhere or can You concentrate only on music?
We make music and merchandise for a living.

What do You like doing on your spare time?
We have no spare time.

You played in Tallinn recently and we enjoyed it very much, but were a bit sad, that Your gig was a bit shorter than we would have liked it to be :) Is it always the case and why?
We wanna leave them wanting more u know. And also, that was our first show without our bass-player who wasn't let into your beautiful country because of earlier misdeeds.

Did You have time to explore Tallinn a bit as well? Did You find anything interesting?
Yes, August was assaulted by estonian/russian roughneck racists twice! That was quite interesting, but scary.

Thank You so much!

Stella - Love You Boy

Made in Stella`s rehearsal, last weekend by group of "multimediapirates" and thats why whole concept of a song is cut upside down. You might not recognize it unless you have heard them doing the same song for Raadio2 Vibratsioon Session. And that is about to happen soon...

Kavinsky [France]

Killed in a car crash back in 1986, Kavinsky is now a Zombie in need of revenge.
"Testarossa Autodrive"

Massiv Dansk Invasion [Sweden]

MDI & netlabel & myspace



[mp3] Tarzan bjuder på tårta och Jane
[mp3] Hej På Dig, Göran Kropp
[mp3] Kris för Milanosyrror (C. Hülsbeck cover)

Massiv Dansk Invasion is Niklas from Sweden who generates catchy computer-game soundtrack electronica and also plays synths in Massiv Dansk Invasion live group. He has released a self-titled album and you can download it free from MDI homepage. And the live-show video seems pretty cool, eh?

As MDI homepage is only in Swdedish I decided to chat with him and let him translate it and asked questions about MDI, Niklas and music. He also said tehere is English version in Alces2 web, but our chat-log is here:

mlips Tell me a bit about yourself.
MDI My name is Niklas Eriksson, a pretty common name in Sweden. I live in Sweden, in a province called Småland. In that province, there is a town called Värnamo. That's where I'm from. I'm studying on my last year of gymnasium. I'm not making music all days. I need some time for inspiration too.

mlips Are you happy living in Sweden when it comes to music?
MDI Well... I think we have a great tradition of popular music if you look for example at Abba, Robyn and all the electronica you've uploaded on to your blog. So, I must say that I'm a bit proud. I remember how proud I was when I heard The Knife from the radio in a store in Paris.

mlips Sometimes I'm a bit jealous to Swedes, thinking of music, but I'm also happy to live so close to Sweden :)
MDI I understand that. Don't think I've ever heard something from Estonia.

mlips Talking about your own music. when did you make your debut-album?
MDI I've done music for pretty long. But I released my so called debut-album in the spring 2005. I was 17 then.
The oldest songs from the album are from august-september 2004.

mlips Have you changed your taste in music or have it always been electronica?
MDI I can really tell that I have. In some ways. For a while ago I enjoyed metal-music, but I got tired, that it seemed to me that they were just competing of being the most skilful players. Now I think it's more important HOW the instrument is used, not how good it's played.

mlips What is the deal with live shows? I understand that you make your music alone, but you also have a band named MDI. Is the music the same that on the record?
MDI Almost. We don't have the same possibilities to make the same sounds as on the records, but the songs are the same. The instruments aren't the same either. This makes that we sound more like rock band than a electronica band live. But in Värnamo it makes no difference. There aren't many listners to electronica here. And much less electronica musicians.

mlips I watched the video from youtube - is that the first live show?
MDI That's right. The first with the band. I think it was a pretty good show. The crowd was drunk and we played as good as we could. But the microphone was at another part of the stage. I had to walk across the stage all the time. The stage workers didn't think we would speak anything just because we don't sing anything.

mlips How many live-shows have you had?
MDI I've counted them to six.

mlips Which do you like more - making music alone or with the band?
MDI When I'm creating music on my own at home, I have more freedom. If I'd like to add another channel I don't have to be able to play it live. Or I should be, but I don't want those obstructions when I'm making music.
But of course it's more fun just to play live to all the people who doesn't care anyway.

mlips And finally, do you have any recommendations or tips for us about bands we would probably like but haven't fond yet?
MDI Have you heard Slagsmålsklubben? Then I say pluxus, but I don't think that they're playing anymore. Unarmed Enemies, 047.

Lo-Fi-Fnk [Sweden]

Finally, one of our favourites, since the firsts posts were made to microlips, Lo-Fi-Fnk is going to play live in Estonia. Let's go to mutant disco!

Steppin' Out (Juuso P's ballad version) [mp3]
Steppin' Out (The two beauties from Hot Chip remix) [mp3]