Independent label, blog & events since 2008

CONTACT: nopaininpop@gmail.com

RECENT: The Bedroom Club III / Sim Hutchins / Jire / Throwing Shade / Ukkonen / Karen Gwyer 


sup@susrecords.com

Founded 2012 in New York. 


Benjamin Finger was educated at Oslo Photo Art School before he started to study fiction film at the Film and TV Academy (NISS) in Oslo to become a director. Since then he has done several short films, music videos and participated at various photo exhibitions, besides working for television, NRK. He is now a freelancer (director/photographer) and have by accident been composing music since 2005 WITH A HEALTHY DISREGARD FOR GENRES. His debut album "Woods of broccoli" was released on How Is Annie Records march 2009. The follow up "For you, sleepsleeper" was released in 2010. Besides his solo projects he also makes up one half of the electronica duo Beneva vs. Clark Nova.

"For You, Sleepsleeper possesses an amophous fluidity that's like the flickering flow of dream content" - Textura

"We rejoice in an album that begs to be played again as soon as it is over, and we yearn to enjoy it every single time we play it" - The Silent Ballet

"Benjamin Finger’s soundscape is unexpected and wide, also in the Kim Hiorthøy kind of way; intense and weird but the same time cinematically beautiful; almost like watching the starry night sky on the influence of acid" - No Fear Of Pop

"I feel somewhat stupid and helpless trying to describe this album, but it is essentially like having an extremely beautiful, bittersweet dream" - Foxy Digitalis

"But for as many sounds as Finger incorporates, there’s nary a moment that overstimulates" - Fracture Compound

"A must-hear, must-buy album if you didn’t already reach that conclusion! - Soundscaping

"For You, Sleepsleeper leaves the listener charmed by and addicted to its hesitance and fragility" - ATTN:Magazine

"For You Sleepsleeper often becomes busy and cluttered, while in part it remains beautiful in its construction, home to acoustic bordering on classical influences, and touches of subtle framework" - Igloo Magazine

"The core of the album lies in the ambient electronic realm, and the tracks shift from trembling energy to warm tenderness through layers of organic instrumentation and field recordings" - Satellite for Entropy

Interview by The 405: 
http://thefourohfive.com/news/article/introducing-137-benjamin-finger-interview

Interview by Indie for Bunnies:
http://www.indieforbunnies.com/2010/10/21/intervista-con-benjamin-finger/

Interview by Plastelin:
http://www.plastelin.com/content/view/864/107/

Musikk fra Norge:

Benjamin Finger i solo utgave (er også ene halvdelen av duoen Beneva vs. Clark Nova) er ute med nytt album den 15 september i år, på How Is Annie Records. Det nye albumet har fått tittelen "For You, Sleppsleeper" og er utstyrt med 11 flunkende nye lydlandskaper.

For de som ikke kjenner til Finger så er han utdannet ved Oslo Fotokunstskole, studert filmvitenskap mellomfag ved HIL og fiksjonsregi ved NISS. Han har regissert en rekke kortfilmer og musikkvideoer og har bla. deltatt på den årlige Vårutstillingen for fotografer på Fotogalleriet. Finger ga i fjor ut sitt debutalbum "Woods of Broccoli" som stort sett fikk positiv omtale til tross for at albumet både var innadvent og tidvis intens slik at man måtte være i modus for å få utbytte av det. I år leverer finger et mer lystig og "åpent" album som tidvis kan brukes på diskotek for de som krever noe nytt å danse til, men de fleste låtene er soundtracks til kortfilmer som burde lages. Surrealistiske lydlandskaper som kanskje er avant-garde pop eller rett og slett friform pop. Det er slettes ikke så sært som det høres ut som, dette er faktisk svært så lyttervennlig.

Låtene er stort sett bygd opp rundt synth/piano temaer som så blir belagt med alt fra trafikklyder og vakre klanger til glitch og heftige beats. En låt som "Drowned in Elbows" kunne ha vært en Prodigy låt, men er det definitivt ikke, likeledes kan man spore inspirasjon fra så fjerne inspirasjonskilder som Balisk tempelmusikk til Supersilent, fra techno til frijazz. Her er klipp og lim i beste collagestil en rød tråd igjennom albumet, men i motsetting til mange andre røde tråder er denne av den sorten som leder an til nye oppdagelser. Man vet aldri hva som møter rundt neste tone og det gjør albumet svært så forførende og tiltalende.

"For You, Sleepsleeper" er et sjeldent overflodsalbum av ideer, utfall og kreativitet som man skulle hatt flere av i Norsk musikk. Det er slike album som virkelig får fram ønsket om å høre mer og flere ganger, noe som dessverre ikke er en selvfølgelighet. I strømmen av likegyldig pop og rock er Benjamin Finger mannen som burde vært holdt fram som et forbilde innen norsk pop. Ikke siden Anja Garbarek ga ut "Balloon Mood" har norsk pop produsert et mer spennende album.

I'm Ryo Nakata.
I run small fragments recordings in Japan.
small fragments recordings is small music label.
ambient, drone, idm, classic and more...

OUT NOW
chihei hatakeyama / norma 

Future release:
Tobias Hellkvist /TBA/ end of 2012
Maps and Diagrams / TBA 


distribution

Experimedia[US]

Norman Records[UK]
Stashed Goods[UK]
RHYTHM ONLINE[UK]

P*dis[JP]
Linus Records[JP]

Artist, Musician.
Analog modular digital electro-acoustic soundscapes. Fieldrecordings. Remix. Live sets.
100% Arne Borgan. 
50% Cloudbuilder with Ulf A. S. Holbrook. 
25% CTLab with Arnfinn Killingtveit, Martin Palmer and Ulf A.S. Holbrook. 
Used to be 33.333...% of ARM with Are Mokkelbost and Alexander Rishaug.
Based in Oslo Norway since 1997.
Contact: arne.borgan(at)arneborgan.com

https://soundcloud.com/arneborgan
http://www.arneborgan.com
http://cloudbuilder.no/
http://ctlab.teks.no/

All photos by me except where noted.

Band Contact: 
theoverneymusic@gmail.com

Bookings:
ed@freetradeagency.co.uk

Markus Guentner, born in 1981 in Regensburg, began his musical journey at the age of 13, when he started creating his first mixes on turntables and a mixing console. Just a year later, he began his DJ career in Regensburg’s clubs. At 19, he released his first tracks, which gained attention, particularly the “REGENSBURG EP” from 2000 on KOMPAKT, which featured a re-arranged bell recording from the St. Wolfgang Church. Shortly after, he released his debut album “IN MOLL.” Numerous contributions followed on the POP AMBIENT series.

In the 2000s, Guentner became a regular DJ worldwide and worked with labels such as Ware, Warner, and Sending Orbs. In 2002, his cover of the Talk Talk classic “Such a Shame” entered the German Dance Charts. He was also part of the “Hildegard Knef – Reform Session” in 2002.

Guentner’s music blends various genres and attracted fans such as Sven Väth and the Pet Shop Boys. His track “Express Yourself” was used in the 2015 film Equals, which won the “Best Soundtrack” award.

Since 2001, Guentner has also been working on film soundtracks, producing music for short films and projects like the ZDF show KAVKA. In 2005, he collaborated with Ivo Watts Russell (4AD) on a rework album for “The Hope Blister” and was involved in the art project “Flashbox.” Additionally, in 2006, he co-founded the music collective SUBLIME e.V. in Regensburg.

In the 2010s, Guentner’s musical style shifted further toward ambient and neo-classical music. Together with Heiko Badje, he founded the atmospheric project Stareaway and released another solo album, SHADOWS OF THE CITY (Moodgadget), in 2014. He also worked on music projects for various exhibitions and films. During this time, Guentner began performing more frequently as a live act worldwide (Substrata/Seattle, Enter./Ibiza, UpToDate/Bialystok, among others).

His music evolved further with albums such as THEIA (2015) and EMPIRE (2018), which featured collaborations with artists like Rafael Anton Irisarri, Julia Kent, bvdub, and Tom Moth. His 2020 album GRADIENT SPIRITS was created as a live improvisation during the pandemic, and his 2021 release EXTROPY explored humanity’s development through technology, concluding the triptych of his works.

Guentner is known for his consistency in the music scene. In 2023, his solo album ONDA was released, along with a collaboration with Joachim Spieth on the album OVERLAY. In 2024, he released the album KONTRAPUNKT, the 50th release from the label A STRANGELY ISOLATED PLACE, which is entirely made up of collaborations (including Abul Mogard, Hollie Kenniff, Arovane, and more).

Finger Benjamin is following