July 2011 ~ NORDIC MUSIC

Sunday, July 31, 2011

FRENCH FILMS - FINLAND (Helsinki)

Sunday, July 31, 2011 Aga 2 comments

The band, which was compared to Joy Division or even to the Cure cannot be passed by indifferently...
The other good reason for me to start this band exploration is fact that they are coming to my hometown - Łódź (Poland) for this year's Nordland Art Festival (my favorite one ;)) Getting familiar with French Films makes this event expectations even more exciting.
French Films is young band, but attracts a lot of attention already. The group got started in 2010 by putting couple of home demos on their myspace page, which led to largely positive feedback and interest all over the world. The musical style of the band varies between garage, surf rock, post punk and new wave pop.' [1] They bring a breath of fresh air but at the same time there is something oldschool in their style and that combination makes them stand out in a very positive way. Their forthcoming album is called "Imaginary Future" and the release is planned for September, we are looking forward to it!

CONTENTS:

makeshift logo made by me ;)

BAND NAME (etymology)
FORMATION YEAR
GENRE
HOMETOWN
RECORD LABEL
MEMBERS
HISTORY
DISCOGRAPHY
OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEOS
LIVE PERFORMANCES
INTERVIEWS (in English)

(etymology)

This is how Johannes explains the bandname etymology:

'Joni was talking to me about some French film he had just seen. Never mind what the movie was, I just thought that French Films would probably be a good name for a band.' [source]

2010

Indie Rock

Espoo / Järvenpää / Helsinki

GAEA Records

Johannes Leppänen

(guitar, vocals)

Joni Kähkönen

(guitar, vocals)

Mikael Jurmu

(bass, vocals)

Santtu Vainio

(keyboards)

Antti Inkiläinen

(drums)

This is how Johannes describes the story behind forming their band:

'I play with Antti in another band. Mikael used to be the guitarist and lead singer in a band called Yes Please! and we used to play a lot of shows together, so we became friends over time. Joni and I met in a bar where he told me that we should form a band. Me and Mikael had already thought about forming a band together with Antti, so I asked Joni to join. Joni brought Santtu (who had never even played keyboards before) with him.' [source]

EP:

'Golden Sea' (November 2010)

1. Golden Sea
2. Take You With Me
3. Lift Me Up
4. Dropout Jr.

"Golden Sea"

Tallinn Music Week 2011 pt. 1

("Take You With Me")

Tallinn Music Week 2011 pt. 2

Tallinn Music Week 2011 pt. 3

"Lift Me Up"
(2011)

Friday, July 29, 2011

NORDLAND ART FESTIVAL 2011

Friday, July 29, 2011 Aga No comments

Nordland Art Festival is an idea of showcase music festival. By this festival we want to build a music round table of Nordic, Scandinavian and Baltic countries area. In next few years, festival will be involved in promotion activities regarding young bands and musicians which will represent Norway, Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Iceland . By the invitation of music professionals from record labels, music managements, music agents, music media, we will also aim in building a music platform which will be very helpful with contacting music professionals from nordic, scandinavian and baltic countries. Nordland Art Festival is also good occasion for cultural exchange , place where creative young people from Scandinavia And Baltics can show their works in music and film area.

NAF Is also the best place on the map of polish festivals, where you can find music promoters, music agents from music managements, delegates from music labels, film directors, all from scandinavian, nordic and baltic countries, who can share their impressions and experience. During festival we are planning concerts , music showcases, presentation of music promoters, and some film presentation.

NORDLAND ART FESTIVAL 2011

ORGANIZER: Michał Zając

DATES: 6,7,8 October

PLACE:

Country: POLAND, city: ŁÓDŹ

EXPECTED NUMBER OF GUESTS: 3-5 thousand

PROMOTION: Materials sent to the press (3 thousands journalists from all over
Poland), press conferences in Lodz and Warsaw, concerts and shows announcing the festival, media patronage, social media.

Nordland Art Festival is based on two complementary pillars - the festival and music industry meetings.

1. THE FESTIVAL

This year the festival will be more developed and will include:

1. Concerts
We will present concerts of Scandinavian music - electronic, rock, independent, and jazz. Concerts will take place mainly in the Wytwórnia Club and the Philharmonic of Łódź.

2. Screenings
We will screen Swedish, Norwegian and Danish films, these iconic and new ones as well. This event will take place in one of cinemas in Łódź.

3. Club music scene
This is the new part of Nordland Art Festival events. There will be a second music scene - in the clubs, where young Polish artists (including 40% of bands from Łódź) will perform also for music industry delegates from Scandinavian and Baltic countries. The idea is to promote interesting local music projects on the international scene.

4. Photography exhibition
It will be one of planned cultural events, which aims at promoting Scandinavian culture.

5. Other cultural events (as Scandinavian design exhibition)

2. MUSIC INDUSTRY MEETINGS

This part of Nordland Art Festival is all about meetings mainly among music industry delegates from Poland and other European countries. This year NAF invited above 20 delegates. Foreign delegates will conduct seminars about creative music business. Nordland Art Festival is about to become first serious forum of music industry meetings in Poland. The main aim is to promote Polish and Nordic music on the international scene. To fulfill this goal NAF has already built strong international web of connections, which will grow bigger.

This year's line up:

Sleep Party People (DK)