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Strikkland (Photo: Krichan Wihlborg)
Strikkland is a new electronic band from western Sweden. Their music is a bit of the harder kind, but there are also calmer songs.
Normally, I never write about new bands, but I believe in this. We have two people who are focused on what they do, and I want to see them live now.
The band consists of two gentlemen, named Henrik J and Henric C.
Four years ago, they started playing for fun. Henric has been playing instruments since he was a kid. They started with software synths, but after a while they got some hardware synths and started to work with those, too.
In 2019, the idea of releasing music to the public came, and in 2020 they started to come up with some songs.
Creating a video was obvious when Henrik works with film production in his daily job.
They’ve released some songs that you can hear on Spotify, and this fall an LP is expected. The disc will be released in physical and digital formats.
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The Swedish artist, Niels Gordon, has released his second album – the first on vinyl. Land is released today on Lamour Records.
It comes only days after the death of Florian Schneider was revealed to the world; which is fitting, because Kraftwerk are one of Gordon’s biggest influences. Last year, Gordon created this cover version of “Europe Endless” for the podcast Blå måndag:
Another of Gordon’s influences is OMD, for whom he opened in 2018.
Cold War Night Life’s photographer, Krichan Wihlborg, took some time to sit with Gordon for an early listening session ahead of the new release, and returned with photos and an enthusiasm for the new record.
Now that he is releasing a new album, I take the opportunity to visit Niels Gordon in his studio, which lies a little outside of Gothenburg in Sweden.
When I arrive, he greets me warmly and invites me to his house in the woods. We go back to his studio. Once inside, it is a pure dream for anyone who likes electronic music. In the midst of all the synths, you also find a bass and a number of pedals.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with his music, Gordon creates music with old analogue synths and more modern technology.
Niels is called Niklas by his friends and has created music almost his entire life. He has played in many different constellations over the years, ranging from punk and country music to electronic music, and much more. For many years, he has created electronic music with several others and constantly nurtures the synth which he bought as a 12 year-old boy.
The music that Niklas makes now is electronic; reminiscent of what Tangerine Dream sounded like in the 80’s and 90’s. For those of us who love the analogue sounds, this is a pure dream to listen to. Sit down with a pair of good headphones or speakers and float away in wonderfully rich sound.
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I am sitting in the car for a trip to Karin Park in Dalarna.
I come to the small village where she lives and see a beautiful wooden building that used to be a church. I am received by Karin and her daughter, who welcome me in.
Once inside the nave of the church, you see a lot of instruments – and, of course, the church organ – but the magical room with synths, from the 70s until today, is found up a staircase.
Karin goes to change, and I stand in a room with a fantastic light – a pure dream for a photographer. It strikes me that, in this room, you can create incredible music and such possibilities.
Karin grew up in the village, but for several years she managed to log time in some big cities and countries before returning here with her husband, who is also a musician from Norway.
Karin recently released a new album, Church of Imagination; and on it, as usual, you will hear Karin’s most beautiful singing voice and well-composed music.
If you have missed her music, go listen and buy her records.
Today, we need to support our artists when they can’t play live (and this applies to all other artists too)!
Why did I visit Karin in her church?
As many of you know, I photograph. I wanted to photograph Karin Park in her home environment off-stage. At the same time, I want to help her reach more people with her music. Since she has an incredibly good singing voice, I want her to continue as an artist after this historical year. So, if you like electronic pop music, you should really give her an opportunity.
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