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Out of Scandinavia is an on-going series of uniquely selected musical performances the first Thursday of each month, headlining a myriad of fresh Nordic musicians that features one-off and premiere performances. Through subtle, deft curating of disparate styles, Out of Scandinavia will satiate your craving for innovative and compelling new indie music from the Nordi
Export Music SwedenMusic Export NorwayOut of Scandinavia: New Indie Music from the Nordics is made possible in part by the Consulate General of Denmark, New York; the Consulate General of Finland, New York; the Consulate General of Sweden, New York; Iceland Naturally; Music Export Finland; Music Export Norway, and Export Music Sweden.
Snorri Helgason
Leading Icelandic singer-songwriter Snorri Helgason’s songs are a fusion of soulful folk, energetic chorus-pop, somber ballads and glam-funk. Confessional, sincere and well-crafted, his music is performed with intensity and powers all of his own.
Helgason has been on the Icelandic indie-pop scene for years through his band Sprengjuhöllin. Sprengjuhöllin released two critically and commercially acclaimed albums, topping many year-end lists, winning Helgason an Icelandic Music Award for Best Song in early 2008, and reaching platinum and gold status respectively.
When Sprengjuhöllin went on hiatus in early 2009, Helgason decided to record a solo album that focused on the folk and soul music influences at the center of his musical tastes. Entitled I’m Gonna Put My Name on Your Door (Borgin/Kimi Records, 2009), his solo debut album was released last fall to raving reviews and critical acclaim.
Lau Nau
Lau Nau is a free-spirited Finnish artist. Since the release of her celebrated debut full length Kuutarha (Locust Music, 2005), Lau Nau has enjoyed considerable recognition for her intimate and playful blend of ethnic tinged folk songs with curious and intuitive sounds conjured from familiar and exotic sound sources.
In their 8.0 review, Pitchfork praised Lau Nau’s unique combination of edginess and warmth on Kuutarha: “(Lau Nau) manages to take a million-and-one risks while keeping things subtle, understated, aesthetically intriguing and emotionally resonant.” Stop Smiling magazine praised the album for its “natural beauty, isolation and mystery” and the Chicago Reader called the album “diverse and exotic, with a dying-campfire vibe” echoing a generally held sentiment among critics and fans alike that with Kuutarha, Lau Nau had tapped into something uniquely foreign yet emotionally rich, vital and rewarding.
In May 2008, Lau Nau’s long-awaited follow up, Nukkuu, saw its release on Locust. A part of a continuum of sorts, Nukkuu travels the outer pathways of sound similar to those heard on Kuutarha. The beauty, mystery and daring of her debut are traits that run through the main veins of Nukkuu but there is an almost unavoidable sense of contentedness amidst the tide of musical abstraction that brings the listener one step closer to her interior sound world.
As a live performer, Lau Nau has enjoyed opportunities to perform in a wide array of venues from small informal spots like Massachusetts’s Montague Bookmill and Westers Gallery on Kemiö Island, Finland to larger spaces like Stockholm’s Kulturhuset and New York’s Anthology Film Archives. In recent years, her rare and special live shows have earned her a special place among a legion of fans. This was further cemented when a Lau Nau performance during her 2005 North American tour was counted among The Wire magazine’s “60 Concerts That Shook the World” in its February 2007 issue.
Lau Nau has been an active presence in the Finnish underground for the last decade playing in groups like Kiila, Hertta Lussu Ässä, Päivänsäde, Avarus and the Anaksimandros, organizing concerts, publishing a magazine, and running a handful of small labels starting with POK and, more recently, the Peippo label.
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Photo Courtesy of ensemble mise-en
THU – 1-6-2011 – 7:30 PM
Doors open at 7 PM
$10 ($8 ASF Members)