Indochine - Photos & Videos from "Babel Babel" Album Launch & Signing Session, Rough Trade East London, September 25th

French superstars Indochine were back in London for an intimate semi-acoustic performance and signing session to promote their new album "Babel Babel" at Rough Trade East record store last week. The event sold out in advance quickly and the band treated the lucky fans who were there to a thirty minute semi-acoustic performance, which included tracks from the new album and some crowd favourites, including "Nos Célébrations", "Kao Bang" and "Un été Français". Here are some photos and videos from a very special evening...

 

 

 

 

 

All photos copyright Retro Man Blog 2024. For more videos from the show please check out our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here and subscribe for free.

Retrosonic Podcast with Inge Johansson on Gatuplan, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, CSS, Imperial State Electric & Much More...

For the latest episode of our special Lockdown Lowdown series we welcome former bassist with The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Inge Johansson into the virtual Retrosonic studio to discuss the excellent debut album "Kampen Går Vidare!" by his new solo project Gatuplan. In this thoroughly entertaining chat, Inge takes on a musical journey from the isolation of growing up in a small town in the north of Sweden to finding hope and creative inspiration in the music of Heavy Metal and Punk Rock. There are tales of his first forays into becoming a musician and the early influences on his bass playing. This leads onto touring and recording with acts as diverse as Totalt Jävla Mörker, CSS, Nicke Andersson's Imperial State Electric, Cryssis and The Most and Inge cheerfully recounts his time spent with each of these bands and the characters he met and worked with along the way. Of course we cover his time with The (International) Noise Conspiracy and of running Ny Våg, a record label and club night with frontman Dennis Lyxzén. The episode is sound-tracked by superb songs from each of the featured bands along with a selection of some of Inge's most inspirational musical moments from Kiss, Black Sabbath, The Exploited, Chumbawamba and The Specials. Of course, we also concentrate on Gatuplan and Inge explains the story behind the project, introduces his new bandmates and confesses the somewhat surprising influence behind the choice of band name. So, crank up the volume, sit back and enjoy!

Retrosonic Podcast · Inge Johansson of Gatuplan & The (International) Noise Conspiracy

Tracklisting (please click highlighted links for more information)

Gatuplan "Skandinistas"

Gatuplan "Millennial Blues"

Kiss "Heaven's On Fire"

The Exploited "The Massacre"

The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Up For Sale"

Black Sabbath "War Pigs"

Totalt Jävla Mörker "Under Sions Kalla Stjärna"

The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Hiroshima Mon Amour"

 The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Black Mask"

The (International) Noise Conspiracy "Capitalism Stole My Virginity"

CSS "City Grrl"

Imperial State Electric "Deride & Conquer"

The Most "Really Good"

Cryssis "Time of Our Lives"

Gatuplan "Min Revolution"

The Specials "Nite Klub"

Gatuplan "Dee Dee Ramone"

Chumbawamba "Give The Anarchist a Cigarette"

Gatuplan "Cashen Dom Tas"

With many thanks to Inge. Retrosonic theme tune by Adam Donovan. Podcover photo by Diego Aldabaldetrecu. You can order the Gatuplan album "Kampen Går Vidare!" and 7" singles from Sound Pollution Records here and check out more info on the band at their official Facebook page here. Subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at Soundcloud, Spotify or Apple Podcasts/iTunes.

Marie Modiano - Two New Albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" & Debut Novel released on September 30th.

Marie Modiano by Julien Bourgeois

Marie Modiano, the Paris based singer, songwriter, poet (and now author), will be very busy on September 30th as she simultaneously releases two brand new albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" and her debut novel "Upsilon Scorpii" all on the same day! I saw Marie perform as part of a special Scandinavian weekend event at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris last year and was captivated by her performance. I snapped up a copy of her album "Outland" at the merchandise stand and although it has since become one of my favourite albums of recent years, it was slightly disappointing that so many of the great songs she played that night were actually new and unreleased at the time. But now the long wait to hear those songs recorded is finally over and we also get the bonus of the second album too. The Event in Paris was curated by Swedish Singer-Songwriter Peter von Poehl and orchestrated by Martin Hederos, who not only appeared on stage with his own band, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, but also with Marie and Peter too. Equally as busy was the excellent drummer Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose) who played brilliantly during Marie and Peter's sets and then rocked out with his band Free Fall. You can read a report and check out photos of that great weekend on the Blog here.

So, onto the new albums and Marie Modiano is once again reunited with Martin Hederos and Peter von Poehl on the English language "Ram on a Flag", which follows on perfectly from "Outland". With lyrics and music by Marie except on three tracks which are co-written with Peter von Poehl, the album was recorded at various studios in Sweden and features Marie on vocals and piano, Peter von Poehl on guitar and vocals, Martin Hederos on piano and organ, Christoffer Lundquist on bass and saxophone, Jens Jansson played drums and percussion and Thomas Ebrelius on violin and viola. Just like its predecessor "Outland", the album is a stunningly orchestrated piece that is organic and uncluttered and has a slight tinge of melancholy. Similar to Martin's old Soundtrack of Our Lives colleague Björn Olsson's current solo music, "Ram on a Flag" is extremely evocative of a coastal landscape, you can almost hear the sounds of seagulls and fishing trawlers heading off into a beautiful sunset. The lyrical subjects of "The Islands and The Skerries" and the stunning "Long Journey on a Rock-Pool Train", with it's swelling gospel choir backing vocals, reinforces that coastal atmosphere even further. My favourite track on the album is "New Wings of Mine", which would make a great choice as a single, and features some seriously impressive, almost Jon Entwistle style bass. "Paper Boots" is a great duet with Peter von Poehl, who also shares vocals on "Shutters of Sand" which is an epic track that builds nicely to a crescendo. The album ends with "Twilight Rhapsody", a beatifully simple piano based song that highlights Martin's admiration for Erik Satie and would be appeal to those that appreciated Soundtrack of Our Lives "Tonight". So, "Ram on a Flag" is a really impressive follow up to "Outland" and thoroughly recommended if you enjoy the orchestral side of The Soundtrack of Our Lives, David Sylvian's more accessible work, Kate Bush and other similar emotionally engaging music.

The second album "Espérance Mathématique" is a collection of Marie's poems put to music by Peter von Poehl and was recorded and mixed in Paris. It's a spoken word album with Marie reciting her poems in French over music performed by Ludwig Dahlberg on drums, Nicolas Mathuriau on percussion, with the string section of Zach Miskin and Marielle de Rocca Serra. All other instruments are by Peter von Poehl and the string arrangements are by Martin Hederos. Of course, my understanding of the album, if not my enjoyment, is hampered somewhat by my not speaking French, so I cannot appreciate the poems themselves, but I can certainly enjoy the wonderful delivery from Marie and of course the music itself. What springs to mind first of all are the two great Serge Gainsbourg concept albums "Histoire de Melody Nelson" and it's more musically diverse follow up, "L’Homme à tête de chou". So, an impressive double hit of albums from Marie, with both complimenting each other perfectly.

Marie with Martin Hederos & Peter von Poehl, Paris 2012 - Steve Worrall

Marie Modiano is the daughter of French author Patrick Modiano and originally started out as an actress, studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and appearing in films such as "La Vie Privée". She then began peforming as a singer with a folk-jazz-pop group that included Grégoire Hetzel (piano), Daniel Yvinec (bass), and Arnaud Lechantre (drums). In collaboration with Hetzel as her producer and co-writer, she released her full-length debut album in 2006 on Naïve Records entitled "I'm Not a Rose", which included the single "C'est dur l'Amour". She then collaborated with Peter von Poehl and Martin Hederos on her 2008 follow up, "Outland", some of which was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion, the Gothenburg based studio run by Kalle Gustafsson from The Soundtrack of Our Lives. Then in 2012 l’Arbalète/Gallimard published a book of Marie's poems "Espérance Mathématique", on which the new album of the same name is based.

Martin Hederos, Marie Modiano, Ludwig Dahlberg, Paris 2012 by Steve Worrall

The albums "Ram On A Flag" and "Espérance Mathématique" are both released on September 30th by Nest and Sound Records and on the same day, Marie Modiano's first novel "Upsilon Scorpii" is published by l’Arbalète/Gallimard.

With many thanks to Damien Besançon at Laitdbac Records and Ludwig Dahlberg.

Free Fall: Camden Dingwalls February 15th, The First London Show, Exclusive Paul Slattery Photographs

Free Fall (L-R Mattias Bärjed, Kim Fransson, Ludwig Dahlberg & Jan Martens) - Photo by Paul Slattery

Mattias Bärjed has certainly hit the ground running, it's not been long since The Soundtrack of Our Lives packed up their flight cases for the very last time - just before Christmas in fact - with their final shows at the Sodra Teatern in Stockholm. Now, his side project Free Fall, which has been bubbling under for the last couple of years, has developed into a fully formed and full time band in it's own right. A band that have just unleashed their stunning debut album "Power & Volume" in a blaze of positive media reaction. There have been numerous magazine, web-site and Blog features including a full page spread in Classic Rock magazine, all extolling the virtues of this Swedish rock "super-group". Tonight, the band were making their very first appearance in the U.K. as a low-key support to The Datsuns at Camden Dingwalls, and from talking to some people in the venue, it seemed a pleasant surprise for most to find out the calibre of the night's support band. It was certainly a great chance to catch the band at such an intimate place as I am sure next time they return it will be as headliners at much larger venues. 

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

The band, comprising Mattias on guitar, vocalist Kim Fransson, bassist Jan Martens and ex-International Noise Conspiracy drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg, took the stage and slammed straight into the superb opening number, "Free Fall". Now, Mattias has never hidden his admiration of The Who, this is after all a man who once upon a time proudly wore a Union Jack jacket when touring with The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and indeed the album's title is taken from a Pete Townshend quote. "Free Fall" is more of a nod to "Quadrophenia" era Who with it's frantically strummed guitar intro and unbelievably great bass playing from Jan Martens. As Mattias commented in a recent interview, "the only one who could play the bass like that is Jan, or John...! (Entwistle)".

Jan Martens of Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

In fact a lot of Free Fall's songs are built around Jan's growling bass riffs, he has always been a superb player, you only have to listen to The Nymphet Noodlers "Going Abroad" album or "Pole Position" from The Jan Martens Frustration to realise that, but in Free Fall his inventive bass work is second to none. The band's mission statement comes next, "Power & Volume" is - sorry but I just have to use this word - "awesome", it has one of the fastest riffs I have ever heard and standing as I was, right at the front, I got the full force of Ludwig Dahlberg's depth-charge strength drumming right in the the chest. "Power & Volume" was the first song they ever wrote, apparently it originally started off based around an African drum beat but it has since mutated into a Motorhead-style thrash that takes the breath away. The next song, "Midnight Vulture" has a nice slow groove with Kim's voice not a million miles away from the throaty growl of Bon Scott.

Kim Fransson of Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Actually, there is a lot of that AC/DC groove in Free Fall, and similar to their Swedish counterparts Spiders, that goes a long way to making their music far more accessible to me, as I have never really been into the Heavy Rock genre. "Damnation" has a heavy thudding minimalist rhythm over which Mattias sprays his trademark guitar. Next up is "Top of The World" which is a fine uptempo number with a funky guitar riff and here the band hit their stride, proving they are going to develop into one of the best live acts on the circuit. The too-short set draws to a close with the new single "World Domination" and, while Mattias leaps and kicks on one side, Jan throws his bass about on the other and Ludwig drums up a storm behind him, this is where Kim really takes control. He is brought to his knees by the song's immense chorus as he stretches his voice in a mightily impressive display of raw rock and roll vocal pyrotechnics. Kim may look angelic but there is a devil lurking within! It was a great show, much better than when I saw them in Paris last year. There is a chemistry evident both on and off the stage and a confidence that is bound to grow when the band head off on their upcoming European Tour and get  to play shows more regularly. Check out Free Fall's Facebook page for news on tour dates, more reviews and info on how you can order the album.

Mattias Bärjed of Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

Ludwig Dahlberg of Free Fall - Photo by Steve Worrall

Paul takes one for the team..! - Photo by Paul Slattery

You can listen to Mattias talking to us about his journey from The Nymphet Noodlers, to joining The Soundtrack of Our Lives, his successful Movie and TV soundtrack music right up to forming Free Fall, on this Special Edition Retrosonic Podcast.

Free Fall's debut album is out NOW on Nuclear Blast Records and available on vinyl, CD or download. You can see more photos, including backstage before and after the show shots, by "Liking" the Retro Man Blog Facebook page. There is a live video of "Damnation" up now on the Retro Man Blog YouTube Channel, which also features lots of The Soundtrack of Our Lives material.

Free Fall - Photo by Paul Slattery

With many thanks to Mattias, Ludde, Jan and Kim and also to The Datsuns. Photographs strictly copyright Paul Slattery 2013 and Steve Worrall Retro Man Blog 2013 as credited.

Free Fall - The first UK appearance Friday February 15th at London Camden Dingwalls

Free Fall, the Swedish Heavy Rock "Super-Group", will be making their very first live U.K. appearance this Friday, February 15th at Dingwalls in Camden, London as support to The Datsuns.

Free Fall's debut album "Power & Volume" is out on February 22nd on Nuclear Blast Records. Free Fall were started by guitarist Mattias Bärjed – while playing guitar with The Soundtrack of Our Lives - as he felt the urge to form a classic four piece band (drums, guitar, bass, lead vocals), that would play straight-up heavy Rock 'n' Roll. As far as a musical direction, there was a clear intention to sound like a mix between early Van Halen, The Stooges and The Who. Other obvious influences on the band would be rock classics such as Led Zeppelin, UFO, AC/DC and Judas Priest to name a few. First in line to join the band was long time friend and ex-Nymphet Noodlers band-mate Jan Martens on Bass, who was to be joined shortly after by Drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose). The last and very vital piece of the Free Fall puzzle was lead singer Kim Fransson, who has that raw vocal style of Steve Marriott and Bon Scott.
 

Free Fall live in Paris - Photo by Steve Worrall

The latest issue of Classic Rock magazine has a full page feature on the band and the track "Free Fall" is at Number One on their "Heavy Rotation" chart. You can also check out the Retro Man Blog review of Free Fall's May gig at La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris here and read all about Mattias Bärjed's soundtrack to the new political thriller "Call Girl" here. Also available to listen to and download for free is our exclusive interview with Mattias on this very special edition of Retrosonic Podcast.

Free Fall Photos on the flyer copyright Steve Worrall Retro Man Blog 2013.

Retrosonic Podcast: Mattias Hellberg Special Edition

Mattias Hellberg & Nikke Ström - Photo Steve Worrall

Our final Episode in the Retrosonic Podcast series on Sweden is a special feature on the Gothenburg based singer, songwriter and guitarist, Mattias Hellberg. Mattias has been a pivotal figure in the Swedish music since the late 1980's, and as he finishes off recording his next album with new band The Fur Heads, he kindly took the time to discuss his eclectic and exciting career with us. Mattias talks about his first forays into the music scene back in his hometown of Karlstad, putting on gigs in the college canteen for bands such as Union Carbide Productions. Then he formed his own band Ugly Jake, which later transformed into The Nymphet Noodlers with Martin Hederos, Mattias Bärjed and Jan Martens. Following the Nymphets' split he went on to work with ex-band mate Martin as the duo Hederos & Hellberg, which was an unexpected success and ended at a sold-out show at the Gothenburg Concert House. He has also toured and recorded as a guitarist with Stefan Sundström, and various bands including The Solution, The Hellacopters and The Soundtrack of Our Lives. In between his collaborations with the Dub Reggae band Kanzeon and working with Ugandan/Swedish soul singer Jaqee on her successful album "Nouvelle d'amour", he has also released two solo albums and one with his Psychedelic Funk Rock outfit The White Moose. As if he wasn't busy enough, in 2005 he was asked to sing with legendary Swedish rock outfit NationalTeaterns RockOrkester for a summer tour, but ended up becoming a full member of the band, touring with them every year. Along the way Mattias mentions some admirers such as Iggy Pop, Ryan Adams, Van Morrison and the MC5's Wayne Kramer. Now, surrounded by a great band including NationalTeatern's bassist Nikke Ström, he seems to be putting all his experiences and eclectic influences together with some fantastic genre-defying new material. The next album promises to be something very special...

Hederos & Hellberg (and friend...) - Photo by Anders Magnusson

The Episode is generously soundtracked with lots of great music from a selection of Mattias Hellberg's many phases. We're also honoured to have some superb exclusive and unreleased songs from his forthcoming album. I'd like to sincerely thank Mattias for his generosity and time. You can download the Episode free of charge from the Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud site. Many thanks also to Anders Magnusson for contributing the excellent Hederos & Hellberg photograph.

Free Fall - "Power & Volume" new Album and 7" Single news

Mattias Bärjed - Photo Steve Worrall

Free Fall, the Swedish Heavy Rock "Super-Group", has just announced a record deal with Nuclear Blast Records. Free Fall was started by guitarist Mattias Bärjed – while playing guitar with The Soundtrack of Our Lives - as he felt the urge to form a classic four piece band (drums, guitar, bass, lead vocals), that would play straight-up heavy Rock 'n' Roll. As far as a musical direction, there was a clear intention to sound like a mix between early Van Halen, The Stooges and The Who. Other obvious influences on the band would be rock classics such as Led Zeppelin, UFO, AC/DC and Judas Priest to name a few. First in line to join the band was long time friend and ex-Nymphet Noodlers band-mate Jan Martens on Bass, who was to be joined shortly after by Drummer, Ludwig Dahlberg (ex-International Noise Conspiracy and Mattias Hellberg's White Moose). The final, last and very vital piece of the Free Fall puzzle was to find a lead Vocalist. And not just any vocalist - but a guy that could deliver the very high standard in over the top vocals that the band was looking for to front Free Fall. The word hit the streets that the band was looking for a vocalist in the school of Steve Marriot and Bon Scott.

After some time, help was found from Mattias and Ludwig's long time friend and producer Don Alsterberg (Graveyard, José Gonzales etc). Don claimed that he knew a guy called Kim from his hometown that he was sure was the right guy for the job. Kim Fransson showed up at rehearsals, the band jammed a couple of songs and the rest will be history. After signing a deal with Nuclear Blast, the band went into Studio Cobra in Stockholm and have, together with producer, engineer and mixer Martin Ehrencrona, recorded an album that will show the world what Free Fall and their "Freedom Rock" is all about - Power and Volume!

"Power & Volume" is scheduled for an early 2013 release. However, a first impression of what their Freedom Rock is all about will be due on November 30th 2012 when the band release the 7“ Single of the album's title track. "Power & Volume", the single, will be made available on black (retail version) and white vinyl (Nuclear Blast Mail order only) as well as digitally via iTunes. All versions of the single will also feature the non-album track, "Stand Up For Your Rock 'n' Roll".



Jan Martens, Ludwig Dahlberg & Kim Fransson - Photo by Steve Worrall

Free Fall will be opening for Gothenburg band and labelmates, Graveyard, in Oslo, Norway on November 8th and in Malmö, Sweden on November 15th.

Check out the Retro Man Blog review of Free Fall's May gig at La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris here.

You can also read all about Mattias Bärjed's soundtrack to the new political thriller "Call Girl" here.