News editors: Mikael Kahrle & Johan Carlsson

Kent success without limits?


Outdoor July concert in Gothenburg.
Photo by: Mikael Kahrle (Release)

• Can Kent grow any bigger in their home country Sweden? Last week, they reached triple platinum for their latest album "Vapen & ammunition". And for their forthcoming tour, they have sold out Sweden's largest indoor venues, Globen in Stockholm and Scandinavium in Gothenburg. Six dates have been added to the tour and hot new wave pop newcomers Melody Club are hired for support. /Mikael Kahrle

Achtung! Berlin underground exposed
• The Berlin movie "Achtung! Wir kommen" will be showed on this year's international Dokument Art movie fair in Neubrandenburg, Germany. The documentary movie is produced in the eastern Berlin underground scene with interviews, concerts and private impressions of the artists - among them, Rammstein, Feeling B (first band of three Rammstein members), Skeptiker, Blind Passengers, Freygang and The Inchtaboktables. /Jens Krause

Late release for Covenant in USA and Scandinavia

• As previously reported, September 30 marks the release of the new Covenant album "Northern Light" - in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Now, we hear that the release in USA by Metropolis and Scandinavia by Sony Music will probably not take place until two months later. By then, many fans in those territories will have bought the album via import (or downloaded it illegally from Internet of course). No word on other territories.
Fans might want to hunt down the limited digipak CD or double vinyl editions with four bonus tracks. They feature "Don't Go", two remixes of the next "Bullet" and the first single "Call the Ships to Port" in its club take.
Swedish EBM band Dupont and Germany's Seabound will act support on the "Northern Light European Tour". /Mikael Kahrle

New Nick Cave album recorded in Australia
• A new, yet nameless, 12th album with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is made at Sinsing Studios, Melbourne. It's produced by Nick Launay (PIL, Talking Heads) and will not be released until 2003. /Mikael Kahrle

Claire Voyant returns



• A new album with Victoria Lloyd, Chris Ross and Benjamin Fargen - aka Claire Voyant - sees the light of day now in September. The US will experience it a couple of days sooner than we Europeans, as they get it on September 24 (Metropolis), and we see it on September 27 (Accession). /Johan Carlsson

Sadovaja finds German label
• The Swedish alternative band Sadovaja has signed a contract with the German label Luce Music. The company will release the album "White Depression". /Jens Krause

Attention: new album by Gus Gus



• Electronica Icelanders Gus Gus released a new album entitled "Attention" in August. We have seen no sign of the release. The album is the fourth released by the band, now heavily reduced. Since September 9, they are on a one month North American tour to support the release. /Peter Takizawa

Spetsnaz aim at the glory days of EBM
• Tired of future pop? Sweden's Spetsnaz goes for classic, quality but not original EBM à la Nitzer Ebb. This charming duo consists of Stefan Nilsson and Pontus Ståhlberg. These fellows have been around for some time now, in more or less serious efforts like Octoberland, Lazer Stefanz, PAF, Wärk, Volvo 242 and Destin Fragile.
- We believe the good old body music is gone and we want to fill that void. The new future pop or euro body is rather boring after a while, if you ask me, Nilsson says. /Mikael Kahrle

New Mute compilation series to feature label hopefuls
• Early plans: on January 27, Mute Records will issue a compilation entitled "Pre-Set" (on CD only). This is the first in an ongoing series focusing on unsigned artists submissions to Mute and NovaMute. Apparently, both labels were impressed by what they have heard recently and have decided the public must hear some of the unknowns who are featured on this disc. I smell a "Top of the Pops" showdown... / Peter Marks