from minamiasagaya to everywhere

OH NO! (a big one)

It seems like Annie's spring tour of Scandinavia will be cancelled. She was supposed to headline KB in Malmoe on May 12. This is a real bummer. I can't remember when I looked forward to a concert this much.... Perhaps Dizzee Rascal in the autumn, or Cymbals' goodbye-show over a year ago.

This makes me really sad.

'OLA!

THE EMBASSY TO MALMOE ON MAY 12.
THE LOCATION HOWEVER, A MYSTERY.
SAME VENUE AS ANNIE, ANYONE?

The two handsome boys in the back of the photo are Torbjörn and Fredrik.

MeroMero MP3/Podcast Version

Now up at iensu.libsyn.com!

Downloadable MP3 of yesterday's show is here!

The RSS feed is here!

I haven't decided how to use the blog space over at libsyn yet, so for now there will be identical posts at the two blogs. As for server space, I'm using their 100mb/month service, which means that there will be two MeroMero shows available in MP3 per month. I will try to use the remaining space for interviews and reviews that I've made for Radio AF. The first one to be popping up at libsyn will probably be an interview with Xavier from Tahiti 80.

There is a working comments function at the other blog too. So feel free to discuss the shows.

MeroMero : Episode07

Yesterday's MeroMero served as a teaser for Saturday's j-club oo-e!
For you who aren't anywhere close to Malmoe, the show is a worthy substitute as it's a mix of some of our most played and loved tunes.

MeroMero07 - 20050420 - presenting oo-e's digest!

Playlists, questions, downloads : meromero AT radioaf DOT com

MeroMero will soon be available as mp3 downloads and also getting its own podcast.

oo-e april 23

Spring's last oo-e strikes on a Saturday!
This time together with kawaii Kumako!

The Beauty of Cycling

Unfortunately I haven't been showing you so much of my love for cycling. Since I have very few classes at the university this semester I have been able to follow Eurosport's nearly* excellent coverage of the 2005 season's first races. The Swedish commentators Roberto Vacchi and Anders Adamsson aren't just two big cycling freaks. They also possess a great knowledge in describing what's what in their fave sport. A couple of hours are enough for them to get you through the jungle of transfers, new teams, new sponsors, new ranking systems, and most importantly new designs of the jerseys. They do it all in quite a subtle, fun, and not at all non-critical way.

So even if you never thought of cycling as a spectator sport, try to turn on Eurosport tomorrow, Wednesday 20, for the classic La Flèche Wallone. It's a 200 kilometre hilly race which ends with a 1 kilometre climb of 12.9% on average, to the summit of the Mur de Huy. I'll be cheering for Kim Kirchen of Fassa Bortolo.

As for the picture above, it's a destructive way of showing my cycling interest. Last Friday the race Indiana University Little 500 was held in Bloomington, Indiana, and the photographer Mark Zalewski caught the whole course of events in the worst crash I've ever seen. The whole series of pictures is available here.

* On Sundays they have to show some motorcycling, which shortens down the cycling broadcast to sometimes just a 30 minute summary.

Daft Punk Head Bangers

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Found this cool site the other day. Seems like it's way out of date, but it still hands us some mixes, remixes and videos of Daft Punk, Cassius and Cosmo Vitelli. Headbangers Entertainment is Pedro Winter's management company for these artists, and he went on to form the label Ed Banger(in French, basically the same pronounciation as Headbangers) where he for example put out the excellent Mr Flash-cd I was bitching about a week ago. Anyways, the two most notable findings on this site are the Daft Punk Remix of Gabrielle's Forget About The World, and the abnormally cheesy but funny video to Cosmo Vitelli's Party Day. Even though this page was made over 2 years ago, it's still damn sharp!
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Oh, and Daft Punk's Technologic promotion video is beautiful, unpleasant, hypnotical and just extraordinary creepy(it features some gums not made in this world). So to all of you who's been complaining about Human After All: Watch it right before bedtime! (Thanks to Kris for the link!)

Buzztracker

Did you ever wonder about how different news and events are interconnected with each other?
Did you ever want to see a map of where it's at? Right now?

Well, you have to look no further. My friend Craig Mod, a Tokyo-based artist, created this tool and named it Buzztracker. Check it out and, as it's just opened, give them some feedback.

Craig is also one of the guys behind the book Kuhaku, a very entertaining collection of short stories on life in Japan. More info on that is to be found here.

The image above shows where it's buzzing the very moment you're reading this.

mixi(ミクシィ)

こんにちは！
結局に、僕はミクシィに参加しました。楽しそうなインターネット・コミュニティですね。
「イェンス」というニックネームにしましたので、ミクシィを使っている人、是非そこでも色々な面白い話をしましょう！よろしく！

I have finally started using the Japanese internet community Mixi, so if you're on there, send me a message! At a first glance, I must say that iｔ seems pretty cool, and actually quite serious for a net community. Be aware though, it's only in Japanese.

Copenhagen

Took a day out in the Danish capital and ended up talking to some guy from NY who works at the newly opened Guerilla Store of Comme Des Garcons over there, on the other side of the sound. He calls himself X, and as you see, he proved to be quite a good salesman(that black thing is a shopping bag). The store does not only sell cool Japanese clothing, but serves also as an ice-cream bar. Too bad it didn't seem like they follow the Japanese with their outstanding green tea ice. To sell that, would alone be a valid reason for occupying a building anywhere in the world.

On the pictures you can also see fragments of the artificial island which links the tunnel from Denmark together with the bridge over to Sweden, and of the Royal Library. Which goes by the name of the Black Diamond.

Comme Des Garcons' Guerilla Store opened on April 1 and will be open every day 12-19hrs the upcoming year. The address to search for is Islands Brygge 7.

The Herbaliser's Generals

On their forthcoming single, The Herbaliser got some help from the six generals Trap Clappa, Cheech Marina, Daddy Mills, A.K., MacGuyver and last but not least Jean Grae. They made something unique: hip hop that feels new. Hisashiburi!

How it all unfolded...

...at Deluxe presenterar, Jeriko, Malmoe, last night


Handsome Boy Modelling School - The World's Gone Mad
Guerilla Black - You're the One
George Duke - I Love You More
NA Allen - Thanks For Nothing
Four Below Zero - My Baby's Got ESP
Eggstone - Taramasalata
Panache - When There's No Tomorrow
Towa Tei - Time After Time
Milky - In My Mind
Tony Clarke - Landslide
Vivian Reed - Save Your Love For Me
Michel Legrand - Chansons Des Jumelles
Salt Water Taffy - Finders Keepers
The Tough Alliance - Keep It Pure
Out Hud - It's For You
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke - Rubicon
Buffalo Bunch - Time Limited
Client - Radio (Rex The Dog Remix)
Alyoa - It's Been Too Long
Ken Laszlo - Don't Cry (Italo Version)
The Bucketheads - The Bomb
Black Box - Ride On Time
KLF - 3AM Eternal
Mel&Kim - Respectable
Tommy February6 - Everyday At The Bus Stop
The Knife - Heartbeats (Rex The Dog Remix)
Fischerspooner - A Kick In The Teeth
Whitney Houston - The Greatest Love of All

Big thanks to the organisers, other djs spinning some breathtaking soul, and you beautiful crowd!

MeroMero - Episode06

MeroMero06 - 20050406 - Towa Tei

The sixth show of MeroMero was a one hour deal on Towa Tei. We played some tracks from his new album Flash and other goodies. The show starts around one minute into the RealAudio file. If you wonder why, it's because the sound file is an automatic recording of what's aired Wednesday April 6, at 10-11pm on Radio AF, Lund University's college radio station. All weird things that happened in the studio are to be blamed on some malfunctioning CD players from Denon.

Mr Flash presents Monsieur Sexe

I forgot to tell you about the review of Monsieur Sexe which I wrote for Digfi a couple of weeks ago. The text is in Swedish, but the cd is mostly in French and I can tell you that it's one remarkably cool mix-cd! A collage of french chansons, exotica and lounge pop spiced up with sexual humour in a very French way. Listening through it today makes me realize that it's worth a higher grade than the 3 I gave it.

More information on Mr Flash here.

TTA - Keep It Pure

Keep It Pure, the single promoting The Tough Alliance's debut album is some piece of pop!!
If you're in Lund, stop by Mejeriet tonight and you'll hear it, at least once.

Deluxe presenterar 8/4

Fet fest på Jeriko på fredag! Flyern säger pop och electronica i baren/lilla golvet, men jag kan lova en hel del annan god dansant musik. Exempelvis nytt från Towa Tei, Handsome Boy Modelling School och Tahiti 80. Dessutom fransk house en masse. Från min båspartner förväntar jag mig lite hammondhits, låtar med hög igenkänningsfaktor, alternativa versioner av låtar med hög igenkänningsfaktor, och minst en thailändsk 60-talsrökare.

Deluxe presenterar fredagen 8/4
23-03 60 kr innan 24, 80 kr efter.

Big Boss Börén (Radio AF, Impact)
Dj Iensu (oo-e)

Questionable Marketing

Post-britpoppers British Seapower realize that their songs aren't exciting enough. To market their up-coming single they give you a beer coaster with the following words written on it:

Try listening while drinking beer, wine or cider.
the music will be immediately improved

Sorry guys, you'd better suggest some harder drugs to achieve that...