Tom Robinson of 6 Music presents an Evening with Ja Ja Ja at London Lexington, 27th Jan feat. Benni Hemm Hemm, Montée & Murmansk
By: Thomas Hannan
After a festive hiatus eating Lutefisk and the occasional roasted spud, the good people of Ja Ja Ja – the Nordic music showcase with whom Rockfeedback are media partners (check out our archive of footage from the nights) are raring to return and kick off the year in style, with the very exciting announcement that January’s Ja Ja Ja curator is none other than BBC 6 Music’s Tom Robinson! What a way to kick off 2011, Nordic style.
Tom Robinson has chosen three fantastic bands: Benni Hemm Hemm (Iceland) + Montée (Norway) + Murmansk (Finland). Musically mixing up dazzling multi-instrumental indie-pop, adventurous disco beats and a little distorted and rough around the edges shoegaze, they’ll all be cooking up a fantastic musical feast in the Nordic melting pot that is Ja Ja Ja, held at the Lexington every last Thursday of the month.
For those of you whose ears have been under a big rock for the last however many years, Tom Robinson is quite simply a national treasure. A songwriter in his own right, he has released nineteen albums between 1975-2001, but is best known perhaps for his radio presenting, having worked at BBC 6 Music since 2002, introducing the UK to the best new music around. Who better to pick the best Nordic talent to showcase at Ja Ja Ja? Non-one, that’s our point.
Here’s a bit more information on the bands:
Benni Hemm Hemm (EP pictured above)
Benedikt H. Hermannsson is the man behind Benni Hemm Hemm’s dazzling, multi-instrumented indie-pop, writing and recording the music. Benni Hemm Hemm´s first release was the SummerPlate EP, in the summer of 2003. The EP was a solo release, with only 30 copies released. The first performance with the full Benni Hemm Hemm band didn’t occur until May the following year, at the 5th birthday of Kitchen Motors. In November the band started recording their self-titled debut release, which on release in Iceland, won the band the accolade of ‘Best Album’ award as well as ‘Most Promising Act’ at the Icelandic Music Awards (IMA). The following year the record was released in Japan Europe and the US. In spring 2006 work began on follow up album Kajak, which was released in November, again initially in Iceland, then also in Europe and US the following year. Kajak also won the attention of IMA with a nomination for Best Album the year of its release. In October 2006 the band performed specifically composed music to the film Berg-Eyvind (Mountain-Eyvind) at the Reykjavík Film Festival (commissioned by the Reykjavík International Film Festival), with two performances at Tjarnarbíó, Reykjavík. In the autumn of 2007 Benni Hemm Hemm recorded an EP, Ein i leyni, that was released in Iceland in December that year. In February 2008 Benni Hemm Hemm recorded his third LP, Murta St. Calunga, again released in Iceland, Europe and the US, and again nominated for an award, this time by the Kraumur Fund as one of the outstanding albums of the 2008. This was followed by his third EP Retaliate in 2009. This is Benni Hemm Hemm´s first collection of songs that is sung entirely in English. Retaliate will be released worldwide in April 2010. Benni Hemm Hemm has played across the world: in Tokyo, St. Gallen, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Höfn á Hornafirði, Seyðisfjörður, Portland, Húsavík, Ísafjörður, Kyoto, Houston, Austin, Dresden, Seattle, Stokkseyri, Oslo, Berlin, Brighton, Cleveland, Stockholm, Paris, Washington DC, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Diksmuide, Vienna, Copenhagen, London, New York, Rostock, Philadelphia, Frankfurt, Wilmington, Hannover, Köln, Atlanta, Phoenix, Akureyri, San Francisco, Malmö, Minneapolis, Chicago, Hoboken, Siglufjörður, Boston, Edinburgh.
Montée
Montée is a progressive pop band from Oslo, Norway, founded in 2007 by Anders Tjore, Erlend Mokkelbost and Maya Vik. With musical backgrounds varying from orchestral pop (Turns) to hardcore punk and alternative rock (JR Ewing), the three of them wanted Montée to be a clean slate on which new sounds could be created. Inspired by forgotten pop, a steady disco-beat and strange sounds from far away, they set out to make their band an adventurous one. After a series of popular concerts in Norway and Sweden, the group began recording their debut album Isle Of Now in 2007. On its release in 2009, the album received great feedback from both press and the public, and many stated it was one of the most ambitious and complete pop albums ever released in Norway. Montée was awarded the prize for Best Pop Group in the Norwegian Grammys Spellemann. With the addition of drummer Marius Simonsen and keyboard player Haakon-Marius Pettersen to their line-up, they are now an live entity with a dedicated following. Montée’s live shows are a mix of focused songs and spur of the moment-energy. The second album is near completion, and is currently being mixed by Eliot James (Two Door Cinema Club, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs) in London. The album is a huge leap forward for the band, and the sound is now more ambitious, heartfelt and advanced than ever before. It will be released in Norway in May, and an international release date will be announced shortly.
Murmansk
The name of the band will probably best describe also their music: Distorted, rough-cut and ambient; withdrawn but aggressive. Murmansk combines dark-toned melodies with walls of sound, wrapping their songs in echo and feedback. Even though the band’s sound partly leans towards shoegazing, it also has a more violent and straightforward side to it. You could call it shoegaze with aggressive edge. Or call it whatever you want: shoegaze, krautrock, stoner, noise, indie – there is no wrong way. Murmansk is known for intense and energetic live performances, and so far they have toured with bands such as Liars, A Place To Bury Strangers, Kinski, dEUS and Zombie Zombie. Murmansk started out in 2003 in Helsinki, Finland. It took five years before Murmansk released their critically acclaimed DIY-debut Chinese Locks in 2008 which immediately made the band one of the most discussed newcomers in the Finnish indie scene. The album was ranked high in Album of the Year –polls by both music critics and readers, and the band was shortly signed by Spinefarm/Universal. Murmansk’s second album Eleven Eyes To Shade was released in Germany-Austria-Switzerland in April 2010 with great reviews. The band has played several showcases from the Spot Festival (Denmark) to by:Larm (Norway) and Popkomm (Germany), and performed at European festivals, including Øyafestival (Oslo) and PStereo (Trondheim) and Reeperbanh Festival (Hamburg). International attention is picking up. The band is currently recording their third album.
JA JA JA - IN ASSOC. WITH ROCKFEEDBACK & THE LINE OF BEST FIT
Thursday 27th January
Venue:
Lexington, 96-98 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JB
Stage times:
7.30pm: doors
8:20pm: Murmansk (Finland)
9.10pm: Montée (Norway)
10.00pm: Benni Hemm Hemm
10.35pm: Tom Robinson DJs
More information, music and photos are available on www.jajajamusic.com. Check back soon for Q&A features with the three bands ahead of the gig.
Artists in this article: Benni Hemm Hemm , Montée, Murmansk