Artist description Hailing from Rejkyavik, Iceland, the mysterious, elusive SINGAPORE SLING at once celebrate and cross-pollinate the diverse, ambitious artistic vision of the best of the early CREATION RECORDS roster, running the gamut from the JESUS & MARY CHAIN to PRIMAL SCREAM to MY BLOODY VALENTINE to SWERVEDRIVER. Their music is at once renegade and retrospective, a bristling, anarchic sonic attack, mounted atop classic, hook-laden psychedelic pop. Their debut album, "THE CURSE OF SINGAPORE SLING", set for release in the US on STINKY in June (17th), is a dark and dangerous aural cocktail mixed from three alternately squalling/furiously riffing guitars, thrusting bass, hypnotically wailing keyboards, primal drums and strategic percussion. Their production strategies are simple but effective: singer-songwriter-guitarist Henrik Björnsson lays down basic tracks on his 8-track and the rest of this band mates show up, crank up the volume to "11" and let 'er rip! SINGAPORE SLING's hypnotic wall of sound simultaneously evokes the era of THE BEATS, classic 50's AM rock radio and the infinite promise and possibilities of the open road, times when Rock'n'Roll was redemptive and pure - all brute, raw power that didn't make sense and wasn't expected to. SINGAPORE SLING's music also reverberates with the proto-punk manifestos of SUICIDE, THE STOOGES and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (all among the band's chief musical heroes). Not surprisingly, SINGAPORE SLING was recently cited by SPIN magazine as "one of Iceland's brightest young rock hopes". [source:Stinky Records]

Music Style Rock

Musical Influences The Velvet Underground, The Standells, Lou Reed, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Iggy & The Stooges, The Ramones, Primal Scream, My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver, Suicide, Pere Ubu, The Beats, Spacemen 3, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Slayer, The Doors, Sonic Youth, The Rolling Stones

Similar Artists Love & Rockets, The Raveonettes, Interpol, Cato Salsa Experience, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Ikara Colt, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, The Hives, The White Stripes, The Warlocks, Kings Of Leon

Artist History The band formed in Spring of 2000 and garnered critical plaudits and attention for their appearances at the 2001 and 2002 "Iceland Airwaves Festivals". In late 2002, SINGAPORE SLING released the Icelandic version of their debut album, "THE CURSE OF SINGAPORE SLING", on Iceland's HITT RECORDS, to both critical acclaim and chart success in Iceland. Now, the band is set to make its mark in North America, with "THE CURSE OF SINGAPORE SLING" set for release in 17th of June. An odyssey into the underbelly of rock music, the album launches with the dark and unabashedly sexy "OVERDRIVER", shifting into the PHIL SPECTOR-esque "SUMMER GARDEN", and then into the menacing, grooving guitar riff of "NUTHIN' AIN'T BAD". Other highlight tracks include "LISTEN", which is featured in a videoclip that includes the band performing with the accompaniment of a bevy of bikini-clad dancing girls tapped from the Icelandic female volleyball league. In anticipation of the impending release of "THE CURSE OF SINGAPORE SLING" in North America, SLING recently played their first ever US shows, in March, including a show at the "South By Southwest Music Festival" and several packed New York shows (including a sold out show opening for "THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE"). In late June, SINGAPORE SLING will be hitting the road for their first ever national US tour, in support the release of "THE CURSE OF SINGAPORE SLING". The tour will kick off with a headline performance at New York’s "Central Park Summerstage" festival, as part of a special Iceland Day event (with support acts APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET and TRABANT). Among many other tour dates, SINGAPORE SLING will be supporting THE RAVEONETTES and THE WARLOCKS on their "July West Coast" tour dates. [source:Stinky Records]

Group Members In addition to leader Henrik Björnsson (singer-songwriter-guitarist), the other five Slings are Helgi Petursson on guitar and keyboards, Einar Kristjansson on guitar, Toggi Guðmundsson on bass, Bjarni Johannsson on drums and Siggi Shaker on marracas and tambourine. "Can style be content? Certainly. In the hands of Singapore Sling. Casting, also, is content. And so begins the legacy. Singapore Sling was founded by Rock'n'Roll addict HENRIK BJORNSSON in the spring of 2000 and since then there have been numerous line-up changes. HELLGI PETURSSON is also an on and off member of the band but he keeps disappearing for long periods of time. His musical input to the band consists of feedback and general mayhem. The Slings play Rock'n'Roll music and the roll is very important to them. Among their influences are rockabilly, garage and new wave. They have never heard of the SMASHING PUMPKINS. God bless the psychotic bastards." "RAVISHING! STUNNING! REMARKABLE! TWO THUMBS UP YOUR ASS!!" Rupert Brown [source:Island Airwaves 2001]

Instruments Guitars (3), Bass, Drums, Keyboard, Marracas & Tambourine.

Albums The Curse Of Singapore Sling (debut album US release on 17th June 2003)

Press Reviews "Iceland may be the land of volcanoes, wondrous vistas, and BJORK, but Henrik Bjornsson and his bandmates in SINGAPORE SLING have taken their musical inspirations from horizons as far a field as DICK DALE, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, and JESUS & MARY CHAIN. Powered by a triple-guitar assault that easily lives up to its droning, metallic potential, the SLING's ominous sonic assault can just as quickly morph into subtler shades of grey. "Feedback-drenched" does not usually connote a sense of adventurous variety, but that's just the trick Bjornsson and company turn here time and again. Loosing the LYNCH/TARANTINO-ready opening salvo of "OVERDRIVER" they periodically return to its-'50s-bad-boy-meets-surf-guitar-in-hell on "LISTEN" and the highway-ready instrumental "ROADKILL". Elsewhere they tip their hat to TRANSFORMER-era LOU REED on the sunny "SUMMER GARDEN" and turn THE STANDELLS' garage classic "DIRTY WATER" into marauding fuzz-fest. And while their influences may be readily deconstructed, the resulting haze of sonic somnambulism on this promising debut is shrouded in considerably more mystery." Jerry McCulley [source:Amazon.com] _________________________________________________________________________________________"The Curse Of Singapore Sling:4.5/5 Reykjavik's SINGAPORE SLING has a lot going for it on its debut full-length, THE CURSE OF THE SINGAPORE SLING. Sling chief HENRIK BJORNSSON's songs are marvelously gritty, often glowering tales that recall the shadowy post-punk of SUICIDE, while at the same time suggesting latter-day outfits like BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. While Bjornsson deadpans on the mike, Bjarni Johannsson's drums flicker and pop in and out of the frame and the greasy, distorted riffs from no less than three guitars pool on a dirty tile floor. None of the ten songs "rock," per se; rather, they hover in a gauzy threshold, like the static between two FM radio stations. "OVERDRIVER" and "NUTHIN' AIN'T BAD" are noise pop deconstructions of 1950s teen rebellion rock & roll, while "NO SOUL MAN"'s languid, reverb-drenched guitars duet with sultry, slightly menacing female backing vocals. A shaft of light pierces the song's heavy curtains when its plaintive chorus drifts in. But the sun must have gone behind a cloud, because The Curse Of is back to its stoned and dreary self with the instrumental "ROADKILL". In the album's second half, Bjornsson's guitar combines with those of Helgi Petursson and Einar Kristiansson for a black-and-white neo-psychedelic trip. The lyrics are few and the mood is heavy; it's easy to imagine standing next to the lone figure depicted on the album's cover, staring down the two-lane blacktop in search of danger, drugs, or both. The album closes with a spectacular, fuzzed-out ride through THE STANDELLS' classic "DIRTY WATER". "That's where you'll find me", Bjornsson drones. "Along with lovers, buggers, and thieves". Easily the best line in the song, this. Bjornsson knows it; he repeats the couplet four times, drawing out the payoff line. Finally, he mumbles it offhandedly. "AH, BUT THEY'RE COOL PEOPLE". It's unclear whether SINGAPORE SLING's elongated time frame is due to the bandmembers' craving for mind-altering substances, or a need to pass the time in a country where sheep outnumber people. Either way, it makes for great late-night road trip listening, as the darkness plays tricks with your sleep-addled eyes. Johnny Loftus [source:AMG AllMusicGuide.com]

Additional Info US national tour from June 28th (New York City,NY) to July 23rd (San Diego,CA)

Location Reykjavik, Island - Iceland

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