Seven Finnish bands to Popkomm, Berlin

Taking place 8-10 September in Berlin, Germany, Popkomm showcase festival will feature seven Finnish artists: Jesse, Kiki Pau, Murmansk, Pintandwefall, Sweatmaster, The Capital Beat and TV OFF.

New albums are at hand for many of the bands. Electro-pop hybrid TV OFF released their debut cd Music Machine in early 2010, and the garage-rock band Sweatmaster's fourth studio album Dig Up The Knife was released in August 2010. The 8-man reggae-ska band The Capital Beat released their debut album A Greater Fire in late 2009. Murmansk, described as "shoegazing at its most inspiring", have recently released their second album, Eleven Eyes to Shade (2009) also in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Indie-rock act Kiki Pau – also with a new effort White Mountain – will play another gig in Berlin on 8 September, and a whole German tour will follow for Pintandwefall, the energetic all-female outfit. Synthesizer-duo Jesse will have another showcase gig at the New Talent Showcase of Berlin Festival on 10 Sep. Murmansk will continue to Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival in late September.

The Finnish presence in Germany doesn't end with Popkomm's main showcase. LCMDF (Le Corps Mince de Francoise), recently reshaped from a trio to a duo, will have a gig at the Berlin Festival on 10 September. Disco Ensemble will tour with Jaakko & Jay in Germany and elsewhere in Europe in September and Germany. Jazzkomm, Popkomm's platform for jazz now organized for the first time, will feature the Finnish guitarist Kalle Kalima as part of the German jazz trio Baby Bonk.

Merja Hottinen / Fimic
27 August, 2010