You can listen to the individual tracks below by clicking on the artist name and track title, or download the zip of them all by clicking the green arrow to the left.

Dan Deacon – “Slow with Horns/Run for your Life”
From the album Bromst
http://www.myspace.com/dandeacon
Be sure to watch the mini-documentary Pitchfork made during the recording & mixing of this great album – it’ll make you love & appreciate it even more.

Dirty Projectors – “Useful Chamber”
From the album Bitte Orca
http://www.myspace.com/dirtyprojectors

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Skeletons”
From the album It’s Blitz
http://www.yeahyeahyeahs.com/

The Very Best – “Yalira”
From the album Warm Heart of Africa
hhttp://www.myspace.com/theverybestmyspace

Grizzly Bear – “While You Wait for the Others”
From the album Veckatimest
http://www.grizzly-bear.net/

Phoenix – “Fences”
From the album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
http://www.wearephoenix.com/

Amadou & Mariam – “Ce N’est Pas Bon”
From the album Welcome to Mali
http://www.amadou-mariam.com/

The Field – “The More That I Do”
From the album Yesterday and Today
http://www.wearephoenix.com/

Animal Collective – “Also Frightened”
From the album Merriweather Post Pavilion
http://www.myspace.com/animalcollectivetheband

Passion Pit – “The Reeling”
From the album Manners
http://www.myspace.com/passionpitjams
Be sure to check out their music video for this track.

Memory Tapes – “Bicycle”
From the album Seek Magic
http://www.myspace.com/memorytapes

Laura Gibson – “Glory”
From the album Beasts of Season
http://www.myspace.com/lauragibson

A few other favorites from the year:

• Mew – No More Stories…
• The Low Anthem – Oh, My God Charlie Darwin
• Beirut/Realpeople – The March of the Zapotec/Holland
• Various Artists – Dark was the Night
• Fever Ray
• A Sunny Day in Glasgow – Ashes Grammar
• Iron & Wine – Around the Well
• Bat for Lashes – Two Suns
• El Perro del Mar – Love is not Pop
• Taken by Trees – East of Eden
• Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
• The xx
• Atlas Sound – Logos
• The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
• J. Tillman – Year in the Kingdom
• Alela Diane – To Be Still
• Neko Case – Middle Cyclone

If you are a copyright owner of one of these tracks and wish to have it removed, please contact me and it will be promptly removed. These tracks are not posted for profit, but to promote the artists and their labels.

Mixtape Vol.8 – Favorites of 2009 is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

You can listen to the individual tracks below, or download the zip of them all by clicking the green arrow to the left.
This mixtape is dedicated to one of my favorites Swedes – Elisabeth Faile.

Erlend Oye – “Sheltered Life (remix) and Fine Night”
From his 2004 mix DJ Kicks
http://www.erlendoye.com/
Erlend Øye is best known for being half of the Norwegian folk duo Kings of Convenience. He’s also an incredible electronic musician that has released two solo electro-dance albums and fronts electro-pop band Whitest Boy Alive.

I Was a King – “It’s All You”
from their self-titled debut album
http://www.iwasaking.com/
These Norwegian rockers entered my radar thanks to the fella playing the piano on this track – he is none other than Sufjan Stevens. Their album has the feel of a young band trying to establish its style. I’m expecting good things from them down the road.

I’m From Barcelona – “Chicken Pox”
from their 2006 album “Let Me Introduce My Friends”
http://www.imfrombarcelona.com/
Silly. Childish. Nonsensical. Folks might use those words to describe the songs of the 22+ member band known as “I’m From Barcelona” (they’re not, they’re from Norway). However, as you listen to their songs they grow on you and connect in a personal way. For me they bring back childhood memories – especially the track I chose for this mixtape. “You can’t have it once you’ve had it…”

Air France – “Hold On To Me, Baby”
from the SP of the same title.
http://www.myspace.com/theairfrance
You’re going to notice a trend in these Swedish artists – they like to use band names to imply non-Scandinavian locations. Air France has nothing to do with the French airline but they do make dreamy music ideal for listening to while staring out of airplane windows. Their electronic music sounds like it should be part of a soundtrack

The Raveonettes – “Hallucinations”
from their 2008 album Lust Lust Lust
http://www.theraveonettes.com/
This Danish shoe-gazing duo has been a favorite of mine ever since my uncle introduced me to them a few years back. The last album Lust Lust Lust is by far my favorite, but there’s already a new one scheduled for release this October.

Mew – “Apocalypso”
from the 2005 album And the Glass Handed Kites
http://www.mewsite.com/
Danish rockers Mew have jokingly referred to themselves as “pretentious art rock” and as “the world’s only indie stadium band.” They definitely have a big sound and they are a great roll-the-windows-down-and-sing-along-even-though-you-don’t-know-the-words band. (or if you know the words and don’t understand what the heck they are talking about)

The Knife – “Heartbeats”
from their 2003 album Deep Cuts
http://www.theknife.net/
This Swedish brother-sister duo are a bit odd – they rarely make public appearances and when they do, they wear masks. They create dark electro pop unlike anything else you’ve heard before.

El Perro Del Mar – “A Better Love”
from the 2009 release Love Is Not Pop
http://www.elperrodelmar.com/
You Spanish speakers have already figured it out – El Perro Del Mar translates as “The Dog from the Sea.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t explain a thing about her – in fact, I know very little about her background. I do know she has an incredible voice and we’ve used some of her tracks to lull Trey to sleep when he was a baby.

Esbjörn Svensson Trio – “Ballad for the Unborn”
from their 2003 album Seven Days of Falling
http://www.est-music.com/
This Swedish jazz piano trio won me over when I heard them 6 years ago on NPR’s All Songs Considered. Their music had an instantly calming effect. Unfortunately, last year Svensson died in a tragic diving accident and the band is no more.

José González – “Down The Line”
from the 2009 album In Our Nature
http://www.jose-gonzalez.com/
You wouldn’t guess José González is Swedish singer-songwriter from his name. However, his parents were from Argentina and immigrated to Sweden in the 1970s during political turmoil back home. González made a name for himself when he covered The Knife’s song Heartbeats on his debut album and it was used in a wildly popular Sony Bravia commercial.

Fever Ray – “I’m Not Done”
from her 2009 self-titled debut
http://www.www.feverray.com/
Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson is one half of the Swedish group The Knife featured earlier on this mix tape. Her solo debut album under the alias Fever Ray has obvious ties to her family project. Her music is very dark but manages not to be depressing. Like Björk, Karin’s art also goes well beyond her music and extends into her wonderful music videos that accompany her tracks. You can check them out at http://vimeo.com/feverray

The Field – “The More That I Do”
from their 2009 album Yesterday and Today
http://www.myspace.com/thefieldsthlm
The techno scene has always been much more popular in Europe than here in the US. A relatively small number of electronic artists cross over the Atlantic to make it “big” in the US. Swedish musician Axel Willner (aka The Field) received critical acclaim for his 2007 debut album From Here We Go Sublime and made several “Best of 2007″ lists with it. This year he released a new album that is just as good/better than the first one. I was lucky enough to catch The Field on tour earlier this year and see Willner knob twiddling live!

If you are a copyright owner of one of these tracks and wish to have it removed, please contact me and it will be promptly removed. These tracks are not posted for profit, but to promote the artists and their labels.

Mixtape Vol.6: Scandinavianvasion is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

The Field @ The Earl is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development