As you might know we are lucky to be signed to British label 4AD, who has a roster full of artists that we admire, and who also runs the 4AD Sessions. They have now compiled a collection of the best 4AD Sessions recordings and released it as a free digital download and a very limited vinyl edition under the name: 4AD Sessions 2008-2011.

We have 10 copies of the limited vinyl edition which we will be giving away this week via our Twitter and Facebook pages, but also via this post and the comment field below.

To have the chance to win a copy of the vinyl edition just post a comment below and answer this question: Where was the Efterklang 4AD session recorded?

This contest ends on Thursday September 29th at lunchtime Danish time. We will draw lots between the correct answers. Please don’t forget to sign up with a functioning email address when you comment.

We will give away two copies via this site and then the remaining eight via our Twitter and Facebook pages.

Below you can see the track-list of this compilation and you can stream/download the digital version:

4AD Sessions 2008-2011
A1. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti ‘Menopause Man’
A2. Blonde Redhead ‘Here Sometimes’
A3. Twin Shadow ‘Forget’
A4. Gang Gang Dance ‘Chinese High’
A5. Deerhunter ‘Never Stops’

B1. tUnE-yArDs ‘Powa’
B2. Efterklang ‘I Was Playing Drums’
B3. Broken Records ‘Home’
B4. Stornoway ‘Here Comes The Blackout’
B5. Iron & Wine ‘Big Burned Hand’

This is I Was Playing Drums from Efterklang’s 4AD Session:

A little over a month ago we initiated a little artwork project together with fellow Dane and artist Trentemøller. The project was based around a remix swop – Trentemøller has remixed our song Raincoats and we have remixed his song Tide.

Back then, a month ago, we invited anyone to suggest the artwork for this joint release and to our joy a stream of submissions followed. There were so many good ones! You can see all of them on this designated Flickr page.

It was not easy picking a winner with so many great submissions, but it had to be done of course. Together with Trentemøller we have selected 13 artworks that all will be featured in the booklet for the digital version of this release. You can also watch some of our favorites in this post below.

The release is available on iTunes now. We hope you like the two remixes and the many fine artwork submissions.

Efterklang & Trentemøler – Raincoats vs Tide – on iTunes

Artwork by Felix Schellekens

Artwork by Frederik Johan Scheel

Artwork by Sophia Zagloul

You can also listen to the remixes right here:
Trentemøller – Tide (Efterklang Remix)

Efterklang – Raincoats (Trentemøller Remix)

This record is very special to us.

Not only is Daniel James aka Canon Blue our dear friend, he also enlisted Mads and Casper to help him produce this new album and Thomas to play drums on a lot of tracks.

Our close friends in Slaraffenland also guest this album (Mike on bass, Niklas on trombone, Bjørn on drums) and so does amiina who has recorded all the amazing string parts. Peter Broderick guests one song and classical singer Katinka Fogh Vindelev who sings on our ‘Magic Chairs’ album is also featured on the album. It all sort of feel like one big happy family gathering!

If you have been following the announcements about this release you probably also know that, besides future Efterklang releases, this is the very last release we do on our label Rumraket. It really feels like the perfect record to end with. You can read a statement about the close of Rumraket here.

Well enough talk. Take a listen to two songs from the album below and if you are tempted you can buy the album on iTunes or on CD (designed by Hvass&Hannibal) via our Rumraket Shop.

Honeysuckle (Milwaukee) by Canon Blue

Indian Summer (Des Moines) by Canon Blue

Via the Rumraket page you can read a lot more about this release and enjoy a string of great video blips.

Canon Blue 'Rumspringa' artwork by Hvass&Hannibal

So many nice submissions!
You can watch them all here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artworkcontest

The winners will be announced on August 30th. Same day the two remixes will be available for download.

More info in the post below

We have remixed fellow Dane Trentemøller’s song Tide and he has made a killer remix of our song Raincoats. Together with Filter Magazine we are now hosting an artwork contest. You have the chance to create the official artwork for the digital release of this remix swop. Please give it a go! You can listen to the remixes and read about the artwork contest rules right here.

Efterklang – Raincoats (Trentemøller Remix)

Trentemøller – Tide (Efterklang Remix)

Trentemøller and Efterklang will pick the winner and as we have remixed each others music the challenge is to remix the artwork worlds of Trentemøller and Efterklang into something new. We would like to stress however that remix is to be understood loosely. All contesters are encouraged to create exactly the artwork they feel like, but it would be fun if the submissions are inspired by the artwork worlds of Efterklang and Trentemøller.

The contest aims at painters, photographers, graphic designers and visual artists in the widest sense, both young and old and established and non-established artists.

Contest Submission Guidelines:
1) Listen to the two remixes

2) Please email your image to atsn@senmail.de. Your submitted file should be a jpeg at 1200 x 1200 pixel size and 72dpi resolution. Filesizes exceeding 1MB will be rejected. Submission deadline: 05th August 2011. Submissions will be posted here as they come in: Flickr

3) Efterklang and Trentemøller will pick the winner(s) and the winning artwork will become the official cover of the release. The 10 best pieces of artwork will also be featured and credited in the official iTunes release‘s digital booklet.

Further prizes include Efterklang‘s „An Island“-DVD, Trentemøller‘s „Into The Great Wide Yonder“ limited edition and merchandise from both bands.

Back in 2003 we (the members of Efterklang) established the record label Rumraket out of necessity as no labels back then were interested in releasing our music. Shortly after we signed a record deal with The Leaf Label (and recently 4AD) and Rumraket was no longer a necessity it was something we loved to do on the side. We kept the label and signed Grizzly Bear as our first non-Efterklang band in 2005.

Rumraket released Grizzly Bear’s debut album Horn of Plenty in most parts of Europe, and this was followed by records from the rather obscure Japanese artists Cacoy and Kama Aina. Hereafter Rumraket became the base for bands like Slaraffenland (dk), Taxi Taxi! (se), Erik Levander (se) and Canon Blue (us). During the last six years we have released more than 25 titles – among them smaller releases from Our Broken Garden (dk) and amiina (is).

All that will now come to an end. August 29^th Rumraket will release Rumspringa, the second album from American artist Canon Blue. Rumraket will not close entirely, but Rumspringa will be the last release on Rumraket, which isn’t an Efterklang release. We will continue to use the label as Efterklang’s base in Scandinavia and therefore this is only almost the end of Rumraket.

We are very proud of all the records we have released throughout the years and the many musicians and artists we have worked with are today some of our very best friends. We would can only thank them for so much wonderful music and memories.

We are closing Rumraket because we no longer have the resources and more importantly the time to run the label. When you are releasing records made by your best friends you want to do your absolute best, but with all our tours and other projects this is no longer possible for us.

The last (non Efterklang) release on Rumraket is as mentioned Canon Blue’s Rumspringa. We can’t think of a more appropriate record to end with. A tour de force if there ever was one, Rumspringa is a dynamic, lush and orchestral Magnum Opus. It has taken Daniel James aka Canon Blue more than two years completing this album and all his hard work has paid off.

Daniel James recorded the album in Copenhagen, Berlin and Reykjavik in close collaboration with Mads Brauer and Casper Clausen from Efterklang who helped produce the record. Mads also mixed the record which features guest appearances from members of Slaraffenland, Efterklang and amiina who recorded all the string parts in Iceland. Hvass&Hannibal will do the artwork for the record as they have with many others of the past Rumraket releases.

Rumspringa by Canon Blue will be released August 29^th. Outside of Scandinavia the record will be released on American label Temporary Residence.

We look forward to share some music and more details about Rumspringa real soon.

www.canonblue.com – www.rumraket.com

Canon Blue photo by Thomas Husmer

Cork Opera House has invited Efterklang + Daniel Bjarnason & Their Messing Orchestra to perform at The Reich Effect. A festival in Cork celebrating American composer Steve Reich.

This will be the very very last concert we do for a long time as we will begin working on a new album soon.

30.07 / CORK, IE / Efterklang + Daniel Bjarnason & Their Messing Orchestra
@ Savoy Theatre / part of Reich Effect Festival organized by Cork Opera House
Buy TICKETS

Efterklang+Daniel Bjarnason & Their Messing Orchestra is a special 17 piece band that debuted at the Cross Linx festival tour in February earlier this year.

It is the 7-piece Efterklang live band with Daniel James (of Canon Blue) on guitar, Heather Broderick on piano and Peter Broderick on vibes and steel drum.

And then we have the brilliant Icelandic composer Daniel Bjarnason on Rhodes and then you add a saxophone quartet, a brass quartet and a classic percussionist. This all turns into Efterklang + Daniel Bjarnason & Their Messing Orchestra. We will be playing Efterklang songs with arrangements for the Messing Orchestra by Daniel Bjarnason.

We are honored to be invited to play this concert and the whole festival program looks amazing to us. More info here about the festival.

Here are some videos recorded back in February:

You should also take a look at Dennis Stempher’s website. He followed us for 4 days and took so many nice photos like the one below.

A lot of you has asked us when An Island our collaborative film with Vincent Moon would be released on DVD and/or digitally. The answer is now!

Via the website for the film you can now either pay what your want for the Download package or you can pre-order the deluxe DVD package (incl. the Download Package).

THE DVD PACKAGE with BONUS LIVE EP + DOWNLOAD PACKAGE:
Via www.anisland.cc It is now possible to pre-order the DVD Deluxe Package of An Island. It is a limited and numbered edition of 5000 custom-made, eco-friendly, letterpress printed deluxe covers with a DVD disc full of extra material. The DVD package even comes with a new live EP; Efterklang – Live at Roskilde Festival 2010. This EP will only be made available as part of this DVD package – via a download code that will arrive with the DVD.

We expect to be able to ship the DVD packages at the latest in September. If you choose to pre-order you instantly get access to the Digital Download Package of An Island.

THE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD PACKAGE – PAY WHAT YOU WANT
Also via www.anisland.cc It is now possible to download An Island as a high quality .mov file and you choose the price. Besides the film the download package also holds the audio from the film as a 320kbps MP3 file.

VISIT WWW.ANISLAND.CC TO DOWNLOAD AN ISLAND AND/OR PRE-ORDER THE DVD PACKAGE.

Below the film poster we have copied in all the sweet details about the DVD release.

We would also like to inform you that An Island is scheduled for several official screenings over the next months. You can take a look at the Screenings program at anisland.cc/home/attend-a-screening.

SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE DETAIL ORIENTATED:

Digital Download Package:
An Island (48 minutes, English subtitles) in high resolution quality (1.7 GB mov file) + the audio from the film as a 320kbps mp3 file.

Deluxe DVD + Bonus EP + Digital Download Package:
DVD specifications: The DVD is region free and made to play on every DVD player on the market.

On the DVD you will find the following:
- An Island (48 minutes – English, Spanish and Japanese subtitles)
- two maybe three deleted performances that did not make it to the final cut of An Island
- the 33 minute long Vincent Moon film TemporaryCopenhagen featuring: Murder, Slaraffenland, Efterklang, Choir of Young Believers, Chimes & Bells + more
- one or maybe two older Efterklang Take-Away Show(s) by Vincent Moon.

The DVD packaging is designed by Hvass&Hannibal in close collaboration with Stumptown Printers:
- handmade production on Heidelberg Letterpress machines from the 1950s
- limited Edition of 5000 numbered copies.
- printed with vegetable based inks on heavyweight recycled paperboard
- 5 deluxe photo cards on recycled paperboard
- extensive booklet on recycled paper

BONUS EP specifications:
Efterklang – Live at Roskilde Festival 2010 is exclusively available as part of this An Island package. The live EP holds 5 songs performed by Efterklang in a unique 11-piece formation made especially for this Roskilde Festival concert, which was recorded by Danish National Radio (DR). The bonus EP will be available as a 320kbps MP3 via a download code delivered together with the An Island DVD.

Sharlene Chiu (of MTV Canada fame) recently came to Copenhagen to do a portrait of the city in her Sharlene vs. series. This short video shows you the bit where she visits Efterklang (represented by Thomas and Rasmus).

Rasmus shows Sharlene around his (and Nan Na Hvass’s) apartment and they talk about An Island their recent film collaboration with Vincent Moon.

We’re very happy to announce that we’ll premiere a brand new small film/story/music project called The Figment Notebook, made in collaboration with our long time friend and film maker Karim Ghahwagi.

The Figment Notebook is made for, and part of the program Audible Approaches for a better place, including a lot of great artists, and will premiere in Berlin at HKW (Das Haus der Kulturen der Welt) tomorrow (Thursday) evening, May 12th, 19:30, followed by a cd release in the fall.

Hope to see you there!

Audible Approaches for a better place
Ticket information