Conceptual “Chinese whisper” release from Edda Magnason and Adrian Recordings.

Artist: Edda Magnason
Title: Jona
Catalogue number: arweb 139
Label: Adrian Recordings
Release: EP

1.      Edda Magnason – Jona
2.      Edda Magnason – Jona (Vidderna Remix)
3.      Edda Magnason – Jona (Vidderna Remix) (Niva Remix)
4.      Edda Magnason – Jona (Vidderna Remix) (Niva Remix) (Justus Köhncke's BLAX OMEN Remix)



Get it at iTunes: itunes.apple.com/se/album/jona-ep/id519707011

Stream it from Filter: filtermagazine.com/index.php/media/entry/listen_edda_magnason_reveals_new_track_remixes_filter_premiere

Watch the video to the original via The Arts Desk: theartsdesk.com/new-music/edda-magnason-interview-video-exclusive
Watch the video to “Jona (Vidderna Remix)” via No Modest Bear: nomodestbear.com/blog/video-premiere-edda-magnason-jona-vidderna-remix/
Watch the video to “Jona (Vidderna Remix) (Niva Remix)” via PSL: blogg.svt.se/psl/2012/04/30/premiar-edda-magnason-jona-vidderna-remix/
Watch the video to “Jona (Vidderna Remix) (Niva Remix) (Justus Köhncke's BLAX OMEN Remix)” via Discobelle:

Watch all videos via Youtube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFD07B50D01D2A328

Edda Magnason released her second album, Goods, (first on Adrian Recordings) last year to worldwide critical acclaim. It was also announced that she will be playing the leading role in a major film project about the Swedish all time great jazz singer Monica Zetterlund. The filming is taking place right now, but just before she went into the actor bubble, she recorded one off track that we now are releasing in one of our most interesting concepts up to date.

The release has one baring concept line in form of a musical ”Chinese whisper” and some bonus features.

This is the story:
Edda Magnason went into the studio with long time friend and mega electro pop star Familjen in the producer’s chair. Together they recorded her track Jona. That’s the first track of the release.

Instead of adding the usual 2 or 3 remixes of the track we started a “Chinese whisper”. We asked Vidderna to do a remix of the original track and then we asked Niva to do a remix of the Vidderna remix, without hearing the original, last Justus Köhncke remixed the Niva remix without having heard either the original or the Vidderna remix. It all became a musical “Chinese whisper” going from Familjen’s nearly Portisheadish sound to deep underground German techno from Justus Köhncke. This creates the EP Jona by Edda Magnason.

1.      Edda Magnason – Jona
The original track is produced by fluorescent Swedish electro star Familjen. Best known for his worldwide hit Det snurrar i min skalle. In 2012 he will release his 3rd album.

2.      Edda Magnason – Jona (Vidderna Remix)
Vidderna is the name of Niklas Tjäder. Deeply associated with the progressive disco sound of Malmö. He is also a live musician with Korallreven. Now touring the world.

3.      Edda Magnason – Jona (Vidderna Remix) (Niva Remix)
Niva is Sweden’s new contribution to the more danceable chill wave scene. His singles and remixes are floating around the web with high remarks in big magazines like Line of Best Fit and Pitchfork. He will release his debut album in 2012.

4.      Edda Magnason – Jona (Vidderna Remix) (Niva Remix) (Justus Köhncke's BLAX OMEN Remix)
Finishing of the release is the legendary German disco and techno producer Justus Köhncke. Nowadays best known for his work for the German techno label Kompakt, but even before that he was a big star on the European electronic scene as a member of the trio Whirlpool Productions that had a big hit with From Disco to Disco. In later days he has collaborated with Can’s Irmin Schmidt and been drawn to a more krautish sound. Here, however, he delivers a warehouse underground techno banger.

In addition to this Nisse Axman has made moving graphics, let’s call it videos, to the full release.

And as bonus features we throw in Edda’s demo version of the track, also recorded by Familjen though. When we asked pop sensation Simian Ghost to make a Adrian Recordings Advent Sunday Mixtapes he mashed up the Vidderna remix with a track from Den svenska tystnaden called Du ser träd and all of a sudden we had yet another fine bonus track to this release.

Finally we decided to upload the music from Marcus Cato to the masses. We suggest that you listen on Spotify or chose your favorite platform.

 

 

 

In early 2008 two hungover people meet over a coffee in Malmö. One was Magnus Bjerkert of Adrian Recordings, the other was Marcus Cato. Cato was, and is, still one of the most talented songwriters and musicians Adrian Recordings ever met. He is also, however, on a different planet. Even though he played with, and made music with artists like Familjen, Emil Jensen, David & The Citizens and Jens Lekman, he doesn’t have the same ambitions as regular musicians and not the same agenda.

 

That very day Marcus was very frustrated, he complained about all the new music he heard, he said that he hadn’t heard anything truly new, interesting or emotionally captivating since the days of rag time. Magnus did not agree, but he was intrigued by Marcus’s enthusiasm and negativity. Magnus knew that Marcus himself was capable of making the music he wanted to hear himself, and Magnus was curious to hear the result. Magnus challenged Marcus. Magnus would buy recording devices to Marcus and in return he would record 3 tracks a week. The best of the tracks would be published on Adrian Recordings’ web site. This would continue for one year. The task was overwhelming but Marcus accepted. And Marcus Cato is the only one we know that actually have the skills and is stubborn enough to fulfill it.

 

This is the origin of one of the most interesting musical project in recent years.

 

 

* What happens creatively with a musician if he is forced to produce music in a speed of 3 tracks a week for one year?

* How do you experience music when you are so overwhelmed by the quantity of it? You can’t divide it into parts. You have to accept that the parts are considered as a whole. This was, and still is, opposite to how many people consume music nowadays.

* At the time, internet was even more fragmentized than it is now. It was a puzzle, with too many platforms with no real impact. The result was that people tried to be everywhere without doing it really well. We decided to do it the other way around. We wanted the interested listeners to come to us. We figured we would reach the true music fans by the method. Therefore the only place online where you could hear Marcus’s music was from a small streaming player at www.adrianrecordings.com. We called it the opposite of internet. But Marcus is opposite of so many things. The player is still there.

 

Marcus Cato started to deliver and the tracks just kept coming. The quality is remarkably high and always out of interest. The frames was expanding by force. In his own world he created an ever expanding micro cosmos, and once you stepped into his language you where forever a native, but neither we nor Marcus Cato are telling you what to speak.

Marcus also delivered track titles but he let Magnus combine the music with the titles. He started the series with the track “Vasamuseet, spejar efter land” and finished 52 tracks later with “Ridå”. It’s an imprint of a person. We drained him of music. This music is meant as a whole. A whole person.

The additional 2 pictures is made by artist Leif Holmstrand and photos of them was taken by Mika Korhonen.

- - - -
“Close to the water I’m overwhelmed by the feeling that this is the place. But although I dig and dig there’s not a single gold nugget in sight. The dream changes. Suddenly I’m stuck in the hole with nothing but my head sticking up. I hear light tunes. They circle around my head. I wear a helmet but to no avail. The tunes penetrate my skull and nest inside my soul. It’s beautiful. It’s Cato. Cato, alas!, the smooth Marcus Cato and the one with sharpened canine teeth. Everything he does is reduced and simple – but seductive. He is allowed to trust every melodical whim. He knows how to manufacture these little whims out of large blocks of experience. How to slowly and carefully chisel out overlapping melodies on a piano. How to grind the barrel-organ in some fabulous French movie. How to make brittle and rustling guitar sounds hover above the landscape. I rise from the grave (still void of gold nuggets) and remove the helmet. Liberated.”
Leif Holmstrand,
writer & artist

 

More info: www.musicquack.com/2011/08/cato-one-year-project.html