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No band is an island

Singapore Sling makes its Prague debut
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By Darrell Jónsson
For The Prague Post
May 23rd, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
The group takes its name not from an exotic drink, but a cult psycho-thriller film.
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Singapore Sling

When: Thursday, May 31, at 7:30
Where: 007 Klub
Tickets: 180 Kč at the venue

Being a cutting-edge rock band from a distant, isolated country can be both a blessing and a curse. If your country is located on an island surrounded by deadly freezing water, it can be an even more treacherous swim to the ears of the outside world.
For the past decade, Icelandic bands such as Singapore Sling have at least gotten hometown support at Reykjavik clubs and festivals for quality adventurous rock. It wasn’t always that way, though. During the 1980s, bands trying anything new would have insults heaved on them from the audience. At times, it seemed the only thing that could warm Reykjavik ears to original local takes on rock ’n’ roll was a nod from either the UK or New York City press.
“That was the case with the Sugarcubes,” says Singapore Sling founder Henrik Björnsson. “Now, the people who thought Björk was a freak mostly have changed their minds. I think this was the case with Sigur Rós, too.”
Unlike earlier Icelandic bands that managed to get heard beyond the frozen rock, Singapore Sling gambled its first overseas tour on North America rather than the United Kingdom. It was a bet that paid off. After its inaugural U.S. tour in 2002, the band’s dense post-shoegazer and garage-psyche sound garnered headline billing at New York’s 2003 Central Park SummerStage Festival.
Often compared to England’s Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, Singapore Sling finally made it to the United Kingdom in 2004, opening a series of concerts by the antic-ridden Brian Jonestown Massacre. Although Massacre front man Anton Newcombe has frequently been known to rub people the wrong way, both onstage and off, Björnsson says the tour was “basically a lot of fun.”
In an effort to increase the band’s continental exposure, this week Berlin’s 8mm Musik label is releasing a Singapore Sling anthology entitled The Curse, The Life, The Blood. This CD draws from the band’s two previous releases (on the Stinky label) — The Curse of Singapore Sling (2003), Life Is Killing My Rock ’n’ Roll (2004) — along with an Icelandic Sheptone label release, Taste the Blood of Singapore Sling (2006).
The band’s name is taken from a cult Greek psycho-thriller by director Nikos Nikolaidis, and its sound tends toward thick layers of guitar textures. In the rhythm section, the drums and bass are often driven home with incessant maraca and tambourine beats. Adding small percussion instruments is a technique that Björnsson developed in his early four-track demo recordings.
“I like the sort of things that help a song glide along,” he says. “And riding on top of all the other instruments with their buzz and drone, I like the steadiness the maracas bring.” Such details give the band’s recordings a wall-of-sound sensibility that has been compared to Brian Wilson or Phil Spector.
Sharing the bill with Singapore Sling will be Rany Telo [aka The Bodywounds], which seemingly has risen from the late ’90s grave of Czech bands to re-emerge now that local ears have finally caught up with their avant-retro and country rock-tinged intentions. The band was last seen on local radar with its 1996 Indies release Polyester. With its shared penchant for being both melodic and intense, Rany Telo should prove a perfect support act for Singapore Sling’s Prague debut.

Darrell Jónsson can be reached at features@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (23/05/2007):

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