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THE CRUNCHY FROG NEWSLETTER
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Greetings Crunchynators,
Summer is
swiftly approaching the central part of the Earth disc (or for all
y’all old school round-earthers and globe conspiracists: ye ole Northern
Hemisphere). Alas, no one will be kicking out the proverbial jams at
summer festivals this year. We will not be gathering to worship in front
of that mighty alter of rock and/or roll this annus horibilis.
Instead
some of us will be roaming the open land, some of us will be isolating
in caves, some of us will be dwelling in cities, some will be sailing
the high seas of cheese. All of us will need some fine tunes and some
high grade, class A, top notch reading material to get us though the
loud-music-weak-draft-beer-and-urine-dust-inhalation withdrawal. Luckily, your favorite record label can supply you with some releases that should render you perfectly [drum roll] agog! Oh, and you're welcome.
1. YUNE: AGOG
- debut LP straight out of the Danish dessert
2. IGLOO & SNEUMS KALEJDOSKOP
- recent re-diculously respected re-releases
Thanks for reading and sharing and supporting. We love ya.
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1. YUNE: AGOG
- debut LP straight out of the Danish dessert
The most recent signing to the label is the amazing youngsters from Yune. They impressed us with a fantastic elaborate and multilayered sound and very mature songwriting skills that reminded us of… well, nothing really, but has affinities to bands such as Talk Talk, (some of) Radiohead, Blonde Redhead and etc. Their debut LP is called AGOG. And as a Spröd Bulletin subscriber you’ll get a hefty 25% discount if you happen to order it from our mail-order and use the (case sensitive) code “agog12”.
Click the cover to go reclaim your discount and order this beautiful thing.
By the way: yes, this is the front cover. The band designed it themselves and boldly put the track list, producer credit and even barcode on the front as ornaments. This leaves the even cooler back cover open for this fine image.
If you forgot to click the front ... this is your big chance. Click and buy buy buy!
The combination of the dry, yellow sand and the fresh, juicy blue-ness gives away a lot about the contents. Seb wrote a beautiful press release waxing poetic on the album, and here it is - most of it:
AGOG is the debut album from Danish indie quintet Yune made with indie producer extraordinaire, Nis Bysted (Thulebasen, Iceage, Choir of Young Believers, Felines etc). True to the desert theme permeating the album, AGOG describes seemingly hopeless situations and trying to get out of them without knowing if the glimmer of hope on the horizon is an oasis or a mirage.
On AGOG, Erlend Eggestad and Nikolaj Bugge’s guitars whirl around and through each other like a dust devil across the desert floor, combining Tuareg sleight with a blockier/linear Western sensibility. Synthesizers shimmer like heat in the air, while bassist Mads Flethøj Ege and drummer Tobias Andreassen create a rolling, heavy backbone – a motion that feels as if navigating treacherous ground. Finally, singer Tobias Sachsen moves from shoegazy legato and staccato phrases delivered with an almost casual urgency, as on the earworm chorus of lead single ‘Odd One Out’, or the mysterious ‘Unna’, which culminates in a hazy string climax that feels as if gravity has shifted by 90 degrees, the landscape soaring by you in horizontal freefall.
The album is characterized by a self-assured recklessness. With just four tracks written, the band booked four days in the studio with DIY-veteran Nis Bysted, convinced that it would result in an entire album. And it did.
The musical references to North Africa ended taking the band on a journey to Morocco, where the videos for singles ‘Odd One Out’ and ‘Low’ were filmed, as well as the photos and the album cover. This trip was likewise spontaneous and relatively unplanned. The band knew where they were going and that they wanted to make a couple of music videos, but they had never met the director, Niklas Adrian, before they met in the airport. And aside from the location, the videos were completely unplanned. As on the album, everything was left to the band’s mutual intuition. A common guiding star called Yune.
Check the 3 first videos from the band here:
"Odd One Out"
"Low"
"Running Down the Hour Glass"
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2. IGLOO & SNEUMS KALEJDOSKOP
- recent re-diculously respected re-releases
During these lock-down we have had the good fortune to be able to present to you two fine re-releases. The first is the second album IGLOO from the seminal Danish band superheroes.The album was hugely influencial to a lot of bands and artists* and remains one of the top sellers for our label to this day. The original vinyl has been sold out for ages, but upon the album’s 20th anniversary we re-issued the album on white 180g vinyl with the track list and sequence from the original CD version (which back in 2000 was considered the “real” version). The first 500 were quickly sold out, but now it’s back in stock and available in shops and right here from our mail order. Just click the artwork and bring that baby home.
superheroes: IGLOO - re-issue available again
And speaking of sold out first issues. Recently we had the distinct pleasure and honour to help bring back in print a fantastic photobook and memoire from the grand old man of Danish music journalism, Jan Sneum. It is a gripping tale of a life in music told by a singlular voice from a man with an omnivorous appetite for music - especially the ones that take the road less travelled and make something unique and awesome. A man of our hearts. The first edition of Sneums Kalejdoskop was sold out in a split second, and it was bugging us that only 500 good people got to enjoy this fine book. The 1st edition included a double vinyl with Jan's reading from the book, an eclectic mix of music and Jan's interviews with the likes of Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithfull, Wayne Kramer (MC5), David Thomas (Pere Ubu), Lydia Lunch and many others. The sonic tale is not a part of the 2nd edition that just came out, but is now available on all the digital platforms. You oughts go have a listen. If you hit the artwork below, you'll have the option of ordering the book or listening to the 4 episodes (4 sides) of the audio. NB: The audio tale and the book are not interchangable but nice companions.
Click the cover to go buy and/or listen to Sneums Kalejdoskop.
Words really doesn't do the book full justice, so we made a little leaf-through film. Check it out.
Click to get a tasty taste...
OK, we sincerly hope you'll consider buying the book. Jan made absolutely no money from the 1st edition, and all profits from the 2nd edition goes to this fine man to whom we owe so much. It's a perfect read for the summer - and an even greater gift. Get it at book stores, record shops or at our bars Whammy Bar (Amar), The Mudhoney (Nørrebro), The Flatiron (Nørrebro) or Crane Brothers / Tahonga Lounge (Hillerød). Our partner in the bar business, Morten Varano, also was part of the little junta who put money and effort into getting the 2nd edition out. Credit and thanks is also due to Mads Mulvad and Christian Villum from Ctrl+Alt+Delete Books + Sofie "Tone" Nielsen and all the people who worked non-profit to get the original edition out in the first place.
Thanks.
Have a surprisingly great summer. See you on the other side. Maybe even in person!!!
CRUNCHY FROG
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*) Some quotes (in Danish, clearly) from people that dug - and still dig - IGLOO by superheroes.
"Der er få albums, hvor jeg kan huske hvordan jeg følte første gang jeg hørte det. Tug of War med Paul McCartney fx .. lige dér viste jeg, at jeg ville arbejde med at optræde. IGLOO med superheroes er et andet af de albums. Jeg kan huske, at jeg tænkte: Det her er det bedste, danske album nogensinde. Det indvarslede den bølge af unge mennesker, der ikke forsøgte at være danske, men internationale - som det mest naturlige. Jeg lytter stadig på IGLOO."
- Casper Christensen (som bad superheroes om at skrive titelmusikken til sin første TV-sitcom, Langt fra Las Vegas).
”IGLOO
er lyden af ungdom og pop, et helt unikt sted mellem det rå og det
blåøjede. Dreng-pige harmonierne og de skamløse popsange blev en kæmpe
game changer for os, og superheroes er uden tvivl det vigtigste danske popband for vores egen historie.”
- Anders SG, Alphabeat
"Jeg
glemmer aldrig, da jeg hørte Miami for første gang. Hele familien var
samlet foran kassen på Violvej i Skive. Jeg sad med popcornene trukket
helt op under hagen og frem på skærmen til årets Danish Music Awards
tonede aftenens sejeste band frem: SUPERHEROES! DE VAR OGSÅ FRA SKIVE!?
Wtf. Asger på guitar gik på gymnasiet med min storebror. Thomas
Christensen, på trommer, var min klaver lærer og Bjarke på keys/guitars
mor var min frisør. Mit liv blev aldrig det samme efter jeg havde set
Thomas Troelsen hoppe rundt på scenen i forum. Min begejstring spredte
sig hurtigt til mine venner og IGLOO blev soundtracket til vores tidlige
teenageliv. De bacardi-breezer fedtede kælderfester hos Malte gik så
hårdt ud over hans IGLOO CD at vi måtte bestille en ny til ham på
Crunchy Frogs (retro cool) online store. Da vi selv startede et band,
skulle det selvfølgelig være indie pop med analoge keyboards og tørre
hårdslående spader. superheroes viste os vejen og i særdeleshed
IGLOO gav os et tidsløst lydtæppet til nogle af de vigtigste år i vores
liv. Evig respekt og tillykke med de 20 år.”
- Mattias Kolstrup / Dúné & Liberty
“superheroes var mit aller første danske band crush. Pop svøbt i indie, Thomas
Troelsen i front som rock star med bar overkrop og eyeliner. Da IGLOO
blev udgivet, lyttede jeg til den på min discman på cyklen, hver dag i
minimum et år og drømte om, at jeg også havde en ven, der hed Johnny og
var på vej til Miami. TAK her fra.”
- Mette Lindberg / Asteroids Galaxy Tour
”IGLOO, var the shit! Seriøst, fra første gang jeg hørte den plade var jeg klar over, at jeg var forandret. Mit ejet kunsteriske sind blev overbevist om, at man som dansk kunstner kunne begå sig internationalt, og sammen med Lars Von Triers film var IGLOO en del af min lyst til at presse citronen. Efter længere opportunistisk opførsel lykkedes det mig at få lov at lave en musikvideo til ”Wasting Time”, sammen med Christoffer Bo. Den er set 1782 gange på YouTube, men det er stadig en af mine absolutte favorit værker.”
- Anders Morgenthaler
”Første gang jeg stødte på superheroes er mange år siden nu - før internettet rigtig tog fat, så man skulle
virkelig gøre en indsats for at opdage og få fat på ny musik - ikke
mindst når man boede i Vejle. Vores daværende bassist fik
fat i Dancing Casanova pladen og superheroes blev hurtigt et af de få
danske bands vi kunne identificere os med. Allerede debuten var et ret
gennemført, men også lidt rodet univers af retro-referencer. På IGLOO
bliver konceptet strammet op og universet fuldendes - både lydmæssigt og
visuelt. Da IGLOO udkom var jeg 19 år og lige begyndt på højskole - endda med en, som kendte nogle af dem fra superheroes. Det var ret eksotisk og gjorde jo ikke pladen mindre interessant. Jeg
hørte pladen igennem forleden og synes stadig den lyder frisk og skarp.
Og selvom den jo er et firser-fascineret festfyrværkeri af new wave,
synth-flader, punk og analogt retro-gear, så er det helt tydeligt, at
der altid er en kerne af god sangskrivning.” - Kasper Nørlund / Spleen United
"For mig personligt og for Crunchy Frog generelt kan superheroes og IGLOOs betydning ikke overdrives. Det var det første band, hvor vi rigtigt fik hul igennem til udlandet. Min kone Jessi og jeg agerede nærmest som reserveforældre for det meget unge band. Når de var i København boede de hos os, og på turnéerne var vi tourmanagers, lyd og lys-teknikkere, roadies, bandpsykologer og kokke. Jeg udsendte deres plader og Jessi bookede dem. Vi fik begge udvidet vores netværk markant, og kunstnere som Junior Senior og PowerSolo kom faktisk i stald hos os pga. at superheroes tog dem med som supportbands.”
- Yebo, Crunchy Frog
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If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy!
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