Razika: Chicago Reader review

August 28, 2011Comments Off

You can read it here.

In his review a couple weeks ago, Ben Ratliff of the New York Times made an astute observation about the debut album from young Norwegian quartet Razika: “Enjoy it while you can; one gets the sense that some aspect of this group’s mood or musical ability will fall and harden, like a soufflé, and never be the same again.” It’s not hard to think of examples of the phenomenon he describes. There are bands that spend lots of time before making their first record working on their songs and their sound, passionately driven by the newness of the endeavor, and then there are bands that arrive at something magical almost in spite of themselves. There’s nothing wrong with either path, but in both cases something’s often lost when bands move on from that first record—charming naivete, maybe, or depth of engagement. Or both.

I’m not sure which if any of these scenarios might apply to Razika’s wonderful debut Program 91 (Smalltown Supersound), a loping, sweetly melodic blast of crystalline guitar pop propelled by simple ska-like rhythms, but it’s hard to image anything similar being made by seasoned musicians. All four members of the band are 19 (all born in 1991—hence the album title), and they’ve been playing together for about six years, which has allowed their vocal harmonies to achieve an appealing effervescence. The guitar playing of Marie Amdam and Maria Råkil is clean toned, bordering on bubbly—maybe they’re interested in East African guitar music, but I’m betting the similarities are accidental. Possible sources of inspiration aside, their bright, alternately chiming and skittering lines are infectious, and perfectly buffet the guileless, tuneful singing.

The record reminds me of early Britpop bands like the Flatmates, Talulah Gosh, and others of the the C86 era; the superficial borrowing of ska grooves also connects them to even earlier Rough Trade bands, though the comparisons to the Slits I’ve read seem misguided if not downright sexist (being all-female at this point isn’t really a strong similarity). In any case, Program 91 has provided an unexpected summer pop blast—at least for the two weeks I’ve had it. My interest could fizzle soon—sudden infatuation is sort of how this kind of stuff lives and dies—but for now I’m hooked. Below you can hear one of the Norwegian-language songs. About half of them are in Norwegian and, naturally, make the whole thing even more appealing.

Razika nice Pitchfork review

August 25, 2011Comments Off

The first song on Norwegian indie-pop outfit Razika’s debut, Program 91, is titled “Youth”. It’s an exercise in writing what you know. The band is made up of 19-year-old girls who have known each other since they were six and have been making music together since they were 14. Razika recorded Program 91 over the course of one year on weekends, to work around their school schedule. They’ve had the privilege not only of being compared to the Slits, but also of pointing out that the comparison’s kind of sexist, since they sound nothing like the Slits. If you’re the type who wonders why you weren’t more proactive when you were younger, avoid this album. Program 91′s basic makeup is spiky, sharp, post-punk-inflected pop, executed with laser-precise accuracy (and a re-contextualized cover of “Why We Have to Wait”, a song by 1960s Norwegian pop group the Pussycats). In the record’s back half, slight dub touches and ska-worthy rhythmic figures enter the mix; the former is squint-your-eyes noticeable, while the latter explicitly serves the band’s unassailable sense of time-keeping. The interlocking syncopation is strong enough to suspect that Gorilla Glue plays a part in holding everything together– that, or lead singer Marie Amdam, who hugs her syllables tightly and with added zest (on “Vondt I Hjertet”, you can practically feel the spit from her inflected accent hitting your face). Like a lot of indie-pop albums, Program 91 is relatively quick and dirty. But despite its brevity, the album’s second side drags a bit, as the skanked rhythms begin to bleed into each other with a lack of individual distinction. Stick around, though, for the album’s gorgeous, windswept closer “Walk in the Park”, an airy slice of melancholia that addresses an open-book relationship while closing out this band’s first chapter. After all the peppy guitar lines and young-at-love-and-life razmatazz that one’s heart could handle, Program 91 melts down to gentle strums and layered “ba-da-da”s, saying farewell in the “we’ll meet again” way that only the best of friends do. — 7,3 – Larry Fitzmaurice, August 23, 2011

Hear new Mungolian Jetset track on MTV Hive

August 25, 2011Comments Off

Check out a new track called “We Are The Shining” from the album “Schlungs” on MTV Hive here.

Imagine the disco-electronic sounds of Röyksopp meeting up with the futuristic mythology surrounding George Clinton‘s legacy and you’ve got the makings of Norwegian duo Mungolian Jetset. They’ve created their own secret language, called “Mung Su,” created a fantasy world with soldiers known as the “Knights of Jumungus,” and they’re really into poetry. Such is classic geek fodder, but these two dudes have figured out how to make this all sound chic.

On the group’s first proper full length, Schlungs, the duo mix the dark grooves with the disco-pop on tracks like “Bella Laney” and “2010: A Space Woodsey,” which riffs off Star Wars and 2001: A Space Oddessey all at once. Which makes for a very playful approach, the way dance music is supposed to be. “We Are the Shining” is the first track to emerge from Schlungs — a five minute, ’80s disco-inspired synth-jam that takes that playfulness and fills a prescription for any pending apocalyptic moments that may be upon us: “Dance for the end of time,” the Jetsetters suggest. It’s a language anyone can understand.

Schlungs is out October 11 on Smalltown Supersound.

Hear Razika’s “Aldri” on Pitchfork

August 18, 2011Comments Off

Listen to Razika`s Aldri on Pitchfork`s Forkcast here.

Razika 8 out of 10 in NME

August 17, 2011Comments Off

Razika interview in Elle Magazine

August 16, 2011Comments Off

Check out this Razika interview in Elle Magazine US.

When you hear about a Norwegian all-girls band breathing new life into ska with infectious youthful energy, it’s best to stop and have a listen. Razika—four teenaged girls from Bergen, Norway—could make even the most staunch of ska’s critics take note. Their take on the genre is a shimmering update, one that crosses with pop.

Razika’s debut album—Program 91, out August 16th—is the band’s “youth history,” and five years in the making, sbassist Marie Moe and guitarist Maria Råkil told us, just days after violent attacks in their home country. The album’s name comes from a combination of their favorite band (Program 81–Norwegian new wave) and the year they were all born (1991). A bilingual gem, Program 91 might just be infectious and melodic enough to thrust the Norwegian language into the spotlight. Yes, the album is all about youthful energy, but Razika does it with enough polish to rise above the expected messy bedroom rock outfit.

ELLE: So I have to ask—how are you dealing with the upheaval in Norway right now?

Razika: It’s horrible for everyone. We can’t understand what’s happening here. It’s so unreal. We feel a deep compassion towards all of the people involved.

ELLE: What does Razika mean?

Razika: When we were 14 and 15, the four of us used [“Razika” as] this code word for a cute boy—it sounds really silly now. It’s kind of like saying “check him out, he’s a cute boy.” We were just like “yeah it’s Razika on the left.” It was the only right name for the band.

ELLE: Is it a made-up word?

Razika: No, it’s actually an African girl name. It was this weird girl at our school, so it was kind of funny ha-ha, Razika. We didn’t tease her or anything, she was okay, but we just liked the name.

ELLE: What bands influence you?

Razika: I think everyone in the band [has a] different favorite artist, but we’ve also had some mutual bands that we liked—like The Specials, Bad Manners, Bob Marley [and other] reggae and ska artists, but then we also have the new indie rock bands like The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys.

ELLE: So you guys sing mostly in English but why did you also include some Norwegian lyrics?

Razika: We don’t know, actually, why some of our lyrics are in Norwegian and some are in English, but we’re surrounded by both languages all the time, you just write what comes natural to you, and sometimes it’s Norwegian and sometimes it’s English. It sounds weird, but we don’t know how to explain it.—Alison Baitz

Razika: Great New York Times review

August 13, 2011Comments Off

Check out this great Razika review in The New York Times.

The members of Razika, a Norwegian all-female quartet, were born in 1991, but their attitudes sound born yesterday. Razika plays naively sweet and imperfectly rhythmic ska-pop. “Program 91,” the band’s first album on Smalltown Supersound, is light as air, with lyrics about young love and frustration, and guitar tones so transparent they sound almost African. Enjoy it while you can; one gets the sense that some aspect of this group’s mood or musical ability will fall and harden, like a soufflé, and never be the same again.

Smalltown Supersound at the Øya Festival

August 9, 2011Comments Off

Both Razika and Mungolian Jetset will play Oslo’s Øya Festival this week. Check out the program here.

Office playlist: Best of 2011 so far

August 7, 2011Comments Off

Here is a list of our office favorites of 2011 so far:

1. Kurt Vile “Smoke Ring For My Halo” (Matador)
2. Burial “Street Halo” 12″ (Hyperdub)
3. Todd Terje “Ragysh” 12″ (Running Back)
4. Washed Out “Within And Without” (Sub Pop)
5. Zomby “Dedication” (4AD)
6. Harvey presents Locussolus (International Feel)
7. Mathias Eick “Skala” (ECM)
8. Biosphere “N-Plant” (Touch)
9. Destroyer “Kaputt” (Merge)
10. J. Mascis “Several Shades Of Why” (Sub Pop)