It’s February and that means it’s time for another by:Larm festival in cold but beautiful Oslo, Norway. Wait, you have never heard of the by:Larm fest? And yes, I said Norway, as in Scandinavia. Well, we here at the Future Of Rock N’ Roll are always trying to bring you the best of whats next, and sometimes, we travel far and wide to bring it to you. That’s why next week, Joe will be traveling all the way to Oslo, Norway, along with Larry from Future Sounds to bring you coverage from this years by:Larm festival.

The event itself has been taking place since 1998 in Norway, finally taking permanent residence in the capitol city of Oslo in 2008. It’s a music festival by night and a conference by day, so you might say it’s a smaller, colder, Scandinavian version of SXSW, or at least it has a comparable format, minus the day parties of course. The lineup for the festival is a great batch of interesting bands, although we know most of them you won’t be familiar with, at least not yet. So to get you more acclimated, here are the bands we are most excited about seeing next week in Norway along with some of their music for you to sample.

Seabear – This 7-piece band hails from Iceland and is getting ready to release their second album, We Built A Fire, in March on the Morr label. What started out as the lo-fi solo project of Icelandic singer/multi-instrumentalist Sindri Már Sigfússon’s (aka Sin Fang Bous) has now morphed into a full on indie pop celebration. In addition to playing by:Larm, Seabear will be making their US touring debut this year during SXSW.

MP3Seabear – Lion Face Boy

Oh No Ono – Quickly becoming a WOXY favorite already, Oh No Ono are one of Denmarks most promising art-pop bands. Under The Radar magazine had this to say about the band.

“The second album by this Danish five-piece is the first to be released in the U.S., and it’s about time. Oh No Ono creates fantastical, experimental pop that knows no boundaries.”

Oh No Ono’s second album, the first to be released in the US, is out now from Friendly Fire Recordings.

MP3 – Oh No Ono – Helplessly Young

Serena-Maneesh – Probably the most well known act on the bill, at least to us here in the States, has got to be Serena-Maneesh. After the success of their debut album in 2006, we haven’t heard much from the band, but the timing could not be better for this showcase in their home city because Serena-Maneesh have a brand new album on the way titled No. 2 : Abyss in B Minor due out March 22nd on 4AD Records.

MP3 – Serena-Maneesh – Ayisha Abyss

***Serena-Maneesh***

Casiokids – When they aren’t busy touring the UK with the likes of Hot Chip, releasing the first ever Norwegian language pop single in Great Britain or being called the “best thing to come out of Norway since Black Metal” by NME, Casiokids are a humble electro-pop collective from Bergen, Norway. Seriously, this group has alot going for it, even if you don’t understand a word they are saying.

MP3 - Casiokids – Fot I Hose

Children And The Corpse Playing In The Streets – Despite what you have already decided this band sounds like due to their name, they really don’t sound like that. Unless of course, you guessed lo-fi indie pop that comes from two girls that have delicate harmonies to peddle, not the Norwegian Black Metal you may have inferred from the band name. Seriously, listen to this song.

MP3 – Children & The Corpse Playing In The Streets – Fucked Up Beautiful

diskjokke – diskjokke is the stage name for 27-year-old Norwegian producer Joachim Dyrdahl, who, along with with Prins Thomas and Lindstrøm, is a vital part of the rising Nordic electronic scene. Pitchfork labeled one of his songs “spacey electro-disco” and we agree. When it comes to dancing, the by:larm crowd should be moving to diskjokke this year.

Efterklang – We fell for Efterklang the first time we heard them, with their sweet yet sincere indie pop tunes and we were not alone. The band signed to 4AD Records in the US to release their third album, Magic Chairs this spring. The four piece have been friends since childhood and bandmates since 2000 and are primed for a North American breakout.

MP3 - Efterklang – Modern Drift

***Efterklang***

And there are loads more bands we are excited about and just learning about for the first time. So next week, get ready as we bring you as much and maybe more than you want to know about Oslo and the by:larm festival!

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