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Europavox Advent Calendar 2020


Europavox Advent Calendar 2020

Christmas doesn’t taste the same this year? We couldn’t agree more… But cheer up! The Europavox Family cooked you something special for December: a musical candy a day! From all across Europe, the best picks from Europavox Project partners, team, artists, and journalists!

Each and every day until Santa parks his sleigh outside your door, we will share their favourite musical crushes of 2020 💝

DEC, 25th

My pick of the year is… Snorri Hallgrímsson!

Regardless of whether they are undisciplined like the Daughters Of Reykjvík or contemplative like Snorri Hallgrímsson, Europavox artists from Iceland are offering one more reason to love this country devilishly contrasted. In line with his compatriots Ólafur Arnalds or Jóhann Jóhannsson, Snorri Hallgrímsson dangerously plays with silences, stretches the notes, and engages in slow dancing with melancholia. Smooth but not plain – his music in which life definitely teems incessantly in desertic moors does not allow beatific and tranquil drowsiness.

Snorri Hallgrímsson
Néoclassique / Islande

Snorri Hallgrímsson

“ Deeply atmospheric neo-classical with a healthy dose of Icelandic melancholy ”

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DEC, 24th

My pick of the year is… Benny Sings!

Benny Sings — Shoebox Money is probably in my top 10 songs of all time, and Benny Sings is one of my favorite songwriters. There’s also a beautiful gold 7″ single of his lovely song “Can You Believe It’s Magic” available on his Bandcamp in case anyone needs some holiday gift ideas.

Benny Sings
Pop / Pays-Bas

Benny Sings

“ A soft, sun-dappled soundtrack for summer lazing ”

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DEC, 23th

My pick of the year is… Andrea Laszlo De Simone!

A classy, sober, and timeless project. Immensità is an accurate name for this album. Emotions guaranteed.

DEC, 22th

My pick of the year is… MOURN!

their lyrics – verbalizing my own impressions and feelings about 2020:
‘this feeling is disgusting, this feeling is disgusting
this feeling is disgusting
– iiiiit sucks!
The future is uncertain
and I don’t know if I can take it,
are we gonna be alright?’

Mourn
Rock / Espagne

Mourn

“ A band as raw as sushi ”

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DEC, 21st

 

My pick of the year is… IDLES!

Hitting back at 2020 as hard as 2020 hit us.
💥

IDLES
Punk / Royaume-Uni

IDLES

“ IDLES come across like Henry Rollins, one that you want to take home to your mum, and discuss the values of public health care ”

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DEC, 20th

My pick of the year is… Junius Meyvant!

Colorful. We’re in love with him. Sending out signals from us.

Júníus Meyvant
Pop / Islande

Júníus Meyvant

“ Melodic, spacious soul-folk from Iceland ”

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DEC, 19th

My pick of the year is… Marina Satti!

 

Marina Satti is the perfect musical mix between a strong cultural heritage (in that case, Greece) and worldwide modernity. She has been my sunshine in this awful year, and I’m now looking forward to dancing in the streets of Athens, singing Mantissa out loud!

“ ”

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DEC, 18th

My pick of the year is… De Ambassade!

De Ambassade’s psych-rock-haunt energy has been on my radar for a while now. Dutch dynamite not from this world, and totally destructive live!

De Ambassade
Experimentale / Pays-Bas

De Ambassade

“ A cold, empty dystopia never sounded so exciting ”

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My pick of the year is… Emilie Zoé!

I discovered her at the same time as Emma Ruth rundle and I am a fan of the énergie she has. I always wanted to sing with this intensity and I explore a lot of thing by my way of singing and she is a precious source of inspiration.

DEC, 17

Emilie Zoé
Rock / Suisse

Emilie Zoé

“ A Swiss singer-songwriter with lo-fi guitar sounds ”

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My pick of the year is… Repetitor!

Can you ever imagine a musical mix of Sonic Youth and Black Sabbath meets Hüsker Dü, all sung in the Serbian language? Some would say it’s a bizarre formula. But Repetitor do this.

DEC, 16

Repetitor
Punk / Serbie

Repetitor

“ A high-octane blast of loudness and energy, this trio leads the assault of new Balkan rock. ”

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Our pick of the year is… King Krule!

The reason why we chose King Krule is pretty obvious to us! He still our biggest inspiration and few years ago he changed our way to approach music and compose! His vibe helped us to craft our own!

DEC, 15

King Krule
Urbain / Royaume-Uni

King Krule

“ The voice of Millennial woe ”

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My pick of the year is… Jesse Markin!

Rich urban-pop arrangements with soulful, introspective songwriting. The sonic palette of Jesse Markin’s 2019 debut album, largely a solitary and intensely personal effort, provide the compelling soundscape to his thoughtful words, rising and falling in line with his uniquely emotive tones with a mind-stretching combination of rap, pop, indie and soul. That’s how damn good Jesse is. Hands down, my artist of the year.

DEC, 14

Jesse Markin
Urbain / Finlande

Jesse Markin

“ A potent, thoughtful mix of indie, pop, rap, and soul. ”

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My pick of the year is… Fontaines D.C.!

I absolutely want to see them on stage! ¡SHA SHA SHAAAA ! 👊❤️

DEC, 13

Fontaines D.C
Rock / Irlande

Fontaines D.C

“ Stark, abrasive and ballsy guitar poetry with an Irish soul ”

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My pick of the year is… Lina_Raül Refree!

The genius producer of Rosalia, Cocanha and so many great artists, decided to make a LP with Lina_Raül Refree is a great Fado Singer
Their first album is a real trip to dark Lisbon
It’s brilliant, dark, atmospheric, experimental, and sometimes noisy…
It was for me one of the best live performance of 2020…

DEC, 12

Lina_Raül Refree
Electronic / Portugal

Lina_Raül Refree

“ A haunting translation of fado tradition ”

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My pick of the year is… The Psychotic Monks!

French post punk band the Psychotic Monks were the very first act i booked for the 2020 edition of our annual festival Loftas Fest. It was the band i was mostly looking forward to see, but sadly due to the pandemic they couldn’t attend. I really hope to introduce this mix of chaos and beauty to the Lithuanian audience as soon as possible. They have a very impressive live performance I highly recommend to see.

DEC, 11th

The Psychotic Monks
Rock / France

The Psychotic Monks

“ A radical band building walls of sound with abrasive guitars ”

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My pick of the year is… Lous and the Yakuza!

DEC, 10th

My pick of the year is… Molchat Doma!

As Belarus continues to rally against controversial leader Alexander Lukashenko, and the world labours under the impacts of the coronavirus, moody three-piece post-punk act Molchat DomA (‘Houses Are Silent’ in English), from Belarussian capital Minsk, have become unlikely breakout stars of 2020. From underground icons to viral sensations, the trio’s latest record ‘Monument’, their third, was recorded and released amid 2020’s darker moments, and deploys dingy synths and stark lyrics.
The result is darkly atmospheric, the droning vocals and dystopian tones often compared to Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, yet delivered in a rapid-fire spiel of their native tongue. Rattling drum machines and echoing verses add to that horror movie feel. A bleak and entrancing reflection of society through 2020’s less than rosey lense, then, delivered with brutalist, doomer chic.

DEC 9th

Molchat Doma
New wave / Biélorussie

Molchat Doma

“ A modern version of post-punk’s claustrophobic bleakness ”

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My pick of the year is… Hania Rani!

Hania Rani is a musician of rare elegance and grace.
I am delighted to see there are still projects focused on the quality of the music.

DEC 8th

Hania Rani
Néoclassique / Pologne

Hania Rani

“ Melancholic pop based on sensitivity, calm vocals and dreamy piano sounds. ”

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My pick of the year is… Black Midi!

I was scrolling through the Europavox roster and the second I saw black midi, I was immediately reminded of the first time I ever came across them. I watched their Boiler Room set in London on YouTube and my jaw was on the floor. I spent a lot of my teenage years playing crazy improvised Jams with my friends and it reminded me of that but on another level. As a drummer, I have huge respect for Morgan Simpson and how he approaches the kit. Their album is amazing but they are on a new level live. Amazing band, amazing musicians, equally great music

DEC 7th

Black Midi
Punk / Royaume-Uni

Black Midi

“ Indie from the future ”

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My pick of the year is… Pongo!

PONGO is simply brilliant! Europavox
invited her on several occasions, and she struck us down each time. PONGO excels on stage, with a powerful, captivating voice, and crazy energy. Her mix of breakdance, samba, electro, black music; it’s the kuduro, of which she is the queen. It is fresh and exciting. PONGO will help us to forget this 2020 lousy year and to think about getting together as quickly as possible on the dance floor. Uwa Uwa Uwa !

DEC 6th

Pongo
Electronic / Portugal

Pongo

“ Love from a gentle force of nature ”

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My pick of the year is… Sir Was!

 Cool/fresh tracks that feel modern and old-school at the same time.

DEC 5th

sir Was
Pop / Suède

sir Was

“ A pop auteur at the peak of his powers ”

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My pick of the year is… Sinead O’ Brien

My favorite new artist of 2020 is Sinead O’Brien, an Irish poet, and performer who released her debut EP, Drowning in Blessings, in September. Her influences: Mark E. Smith, Patti Smith, The Slits. In a year of anxiety and uncertainty, her powerful songs mixing spoken words and post-punk have brought me some much-needed thrills!

 

DEC 4th

Sinead O’Brien
Punk / Irlande

Sinead O’Brien

“ Lyrical prodding from a sharp, poetry-loving punk. ”

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Molchat Doma

Our pick of the year is… Squid!

Squid – fast-swimming cephalopod mollusk with ten arm

December, 3rd

Squid
Punk / Royaume-Uni

Squid

“ Snappy, class-conscious, snarling guitar music ”

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My pick of the year is… Camilla Sparksss!

Camilla Sparksss finds the way to a perfect sound synthesis of the last 50 years of independent music, mixing 90’s industrial rhythms with modern electronics, no wave vocals with introspective and distorted poetry, leaving just enough room for the dancefloor. And all with a punk attitude.

DECEMBER, 2nd

Camilla Sparksss
Electronic / Suisse

Camilla Sparksss

“ A radical, bewitching artist inspired by post-punk and indus ”

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To begin with, our communication squad has been working hard to build this calendar.

Please meet:

Léa, Head of communication at Europavox Festival,

Manon, Digital Communication Manager at Europavox,

Salomé, Project Manager at Europavox,

Bérengère, Administrative Manager at Europavox,

Clémence, Community Manager at Europavox Festival,

and Margot, Community Manager at Europavox!

DECEMBER 1st

My pick of the year is… My Ugly Clementine!

 Pop. Rock. C’est girl power. ✊ (and one of the video clips includes roller derby!)

My Ugly Clementine
Pop / Autriche

My Ugly Clementine

“ A refreshing blend of empowerment, indie college rock and modern bubblegum pop ”

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My pick of the year is… MOURN!

 If I had to describe Mourn, I’d say it’s a rock version of Haim. A concentrate of pure energy in my ears that made me want to go to one of their gig, like right now! 🤘

Mourn
Rock / Espagne

Mourn

“ A band as raw as sushi ”

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My pick of the year is… ÄTNA!

 Great beats and vibes… and soon we’ll all be dancing together again!

ÄTNA
Electronic / Allemagne

ÄTNA

“ Like Fever Ray meeting Grimes in London’s grandiose Royal Opera House ”

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My pick of the year is… Glauque!

 I saw them with the team at Eurosonic last year, a revelation!

 

 

Glauque
Electronic / Belgique

Glauque

“ The most intriguing new Belgian electro band ”

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My pick of the year is… Biig Piig!

 I like the way she puts her soft voice on soothed productions. I can listen to her all the time, everywhere, and it reminds me a little of IAMDDB which is for me the British queen in the genre.

Biig Piig
Hip-hop / Irlande

Biig Piig

“ Emotion-tinged, mellow beats from the after-party ”

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My pick of the year is… De Ambassade!

 It’s cold and very elegant new wave music. The lyrics in Dutch remind me of the year I lived in Antwerp, Flemish Belgium.

De Ambassade
Experimentale / Pays-Bas

De Ambassade

“ A cold, empty dystopia never sounded so exciting ”

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