Robot state of mind
Mikrokontrol
Passion Boys - Robot Sexie Time
Team Plastique
Stamba
Knightlife
Ronin
Weltklang

Non-Robot state of mind
The Bran Flakes
Gangi
Lola Dutronic
Fabienne Delsol
Tears Run Rings
Televise
Fluorescent - Death Mix

Most people already know that the Swedes are world-famous for their blondes, meatballs and stores of consumer-assembled furniture. What they might not realize however, is that Sweden continues to be a major player in the pop world. Yes, the music of ABBA continues to be a worldwide juggernaut, with countless hundreds of millions of records sold, along with the success of Mamma Mia! on the theater scene and now on the big screen. But post-ABBA Swedish pop music has spawned plenty of other internationally successful bands - A-Teens (ABBA for kids), The Cardigans and Roxette to name but a few (not to mention the fact that chances are pretty good that the hot US chart-toppers you hear were likely penned by a Swede). So, on my recent jaunt through the Scandinavian wonderland, I familiarized myself with the next New Wave of Swedish Pop.

Now, on to the smörgåsbord of...Summer Breeze. Though not all of these songs originate from Sweden, they still keep with the overall warm, breezy theme.

01 Cloetta Paris - Did We Collide
This will appeal to fans of fellow Swede Sally Shapiro. For a more Italo Disco selection, check out the lead single Secret Eyes of Cloetta's debut album of the same name.

02 Annie - Songs Remind Me Of You
Due out in October, here's another one that has the same amped up Stacey Q feel as #1. Pop heaven.

03 Blank + Jones - The Night Starts Here (feat. Stars)
One of the rare occasions you'll hear a Trance artist on RobotSound, this number is off of Blank + Jones' new release, The Logic of Pleasure. Bernard Sumner also sings a track on the LP.

04 Bon Voyage - Monster
Bon Voyage is the new project from Starflyer 59 (Christian alt-rock) frontman Jason Martin and his wife. You might be familiar with Jason's brother, Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric (Christian synthpop). Praise!

05 Zeigeist - Black Milk
More Swedes here. The girl vocalist, Princess, sounds a lot like Karin from The Knife.

06 The Kid - Transient Dance
You can hear the New Order influence in this track from these fresh-faced goth-poptarts straight outta Gothenburg, SE.

07 Grafton Primary - Relativity
The debut LP from these Aussie Indietronica rockers will be out soon-ish. I hear some retro-futurism here [Human League, Gary Numan, New Romantix-era DMX Krew].

08 Morgan Geist - Most Of All
One of the less recent selections, this 2006 track features Jeremy Greenspan of synthpoppers Junior Boys. Disco-tastic!

09 Kuryakin - Still Here
The sunshine pop keeps shining on with this track from Kuryakin's soon-to-be-released EP.

10 Aprilsrain - Left Alone
Representing the Bay Area, Aprilsrain allow for some splendid indie pop enjoyment.

11 The Sound of Arrows - Danger!
All the Swedish Indie record stores had these guys playing on their stereos. Watch out for this hot debut!

12 Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning
This Kiwi girl is sure to keep you cool this summer. Some of her songs remind me of Luscious Jackson's disco-y stuff. Check the video here.

13 Air France - June Evenings
Some people are referring to this as Balearic Beat (what Ibiza Eurobots listen to after the drugs have worn off). To me, it's kinda like clubby Xymox from their later years.

14 Gentle Touch - Once You Used To
Easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl.

15 The Daysleepers - Release The Kraken
Venturing into Nu-Gaze territory, The Daysleepers hail from New York City. Luscious, ethereal indie rock.

16 Errors - Salut! France
Changing gears once again, these Glaswegian instrumentalists on Mogwai's label straddle the fence between indie and synthpop. Rest assured though. You'll still get your fix of Melodramatic Popular Song.

17 Jesu - Hard To Reach
Godflesh turned Nu-Gaze. Taking the name from the final track on Godflesh's 2007 swansong, Hymns, Justin Broadrick and friends have shifted into entirely new directions.

Catch the breeze...

I felt mysteriously compelled to compile some dark tracks on the site tonight (as I am wont to do on particular dates/holidays) since once again it's Friday the 13th. No death/black metal or anything inherently malevolent by nature. Just things off the HD that fit with the theme (somewhat).

So, in honor of the day and in the spirit of keeping music evil, here are 13 ways of turning to the dark side...

Chromatics - The Killing Spree
Ceremony - Nothing Inside
David Gilmour Girls - Crimson As Murder
Ladytron - I'm Not Scared
Darker My Love - Post Mortem, Post Boredom
Absolute Body Control - Into The Light
Kiko - 7 Minutes
Automat - Eau Trouble
The Consumer - Dissociaty Identity
Neon Electronics vs. The Hacker - Better Way
Gosub - Lost In Our Ways
New York City Survivors - The Shadow
Eggfooyoung - Bad Dream

I'd say enjoy, but that's not particularly scary. How about what Elvira, Mistress of the Dark used to say...Unpleasant Dreams!

You know what? I think I'm starting to burn out on everything Neu Rave (no, it's NOT rave) / New French Touch (God I hate that term) / Noisy Machine Rock / Ed Banger style - the RobotSound™ posse have given to derisively referring to all of it as "Daft Punk Breaks." Maybe because it's just a bit too prevalent and trendy or that in six month's time I'll have heard just about everybody trying to sound like or get remixed by the latest incarnation of Justice/SebastiAn/Boys Noize/Kitsune act. Don't get me wrong - some of it is brilliant. But seriously, I'm beginning to have a hard time differentiating everything; listen to it for too long and you start to malfunction like some head-spinning, out-of-control cyborg! Are any of you experiencing this output? Can I get an "exact match" anyone?

Now that I've ranted, I think I may have found the antidote to my current, sample-induced frenzy. It's more of a return to a personally, much-loved era in music, albeit with some modernizing upgrades. This is for those of you who liked getting lost in the dreamy soundscapes of Slowdive and Seefeel, or enjoyed drifting away to the hazy abrasiveness of My Bloody Valentine or The Jesus and Mary Chain. It's perfect for your post-Night Out soundtrack. I believe you'll agree that sometimes it's nice to just leave them all behind and get washed away in the distortion.

Loud is the New Quiet.

Lights Out Asia
Ceremony
Malory
Ulrich Schnauss
A Place To Bury Strangers
Death By Audio
Spooncurve