From the LA underground to the Medieval Park

Confirmations are pouring in at the Øya office these days, and another three American bands have now been added to our bill. Isis, No Age, and Health represent – each in their respective way – the exciting underground scenes of Los Angeles. In August they’re coming to Øya to spread good vibes throughout the Medieval Park.

Stay tuned and ready for more artist releases in the near future. Expect a couple of hot names later this week, acts that will add to the scope of the bill and also please a lot of fans. Øya 2008 will definitely be a festival you don’t want to miss!

ISIS (US)
NO AGE (US)
HEALTH (US)

ISIS (US)
The Medieval Park has room for more than just easy-going pop, as we’ve seen on countless occasions. In August, Isis will prove that also intellectual, complex, psychedelic, dark, melodious, progressive, and spiritual rock also is a part of the ultimate festival experience. The boys in Isis moved from Boston to Los Angeles, where they later would become the spearheads of the American post-metal scene. Isis marked the start of a movement that has given us i.a. Pelican from Chicago and Cult of Luna from Sweden.
The band’s albums have been labeled ‘experimental rock’ and ‘doom’. They alternate between the aggressive and the tender. Among their inspirational sources you’ll find strong names such as Melvins, Tool, and Earth. One reviewer claimed that their latest album, ’ The Absence of Truth’ (2006), sounded like a hybrid between Black Sabbath and My Bloody Valentine. If you like one or both, Isis is a band you should go and see at Øya this summer.

NO AGE (US)
The SubPop-signed LA duo No Age consists of Randy Randall and Dean Spunt, who played together in hardcore act Wives. They’ve taken the energy and the attitude of punk rock and mixed it into their own distinct brand of noisy pop music. Their debut album, ‘Weirdo Rippers’, came out on FatCat Records last year, and was hailed as one of the strongest releases of the year by both PitchFork and Drowned in Sound. It contains eleven short tracks that have previously shown up on a handful of EPs the band has released on various labels and that are probably pretty damn hard to get a hold of. The follow-up will be out in May, on the evergreen label SubPop. No Age refer to classic punk bands like Ramones, Bad Brains, and Hüsker Dü as their inspirational sources. They go apeshit on guitars, drums, and mike stands to a backdrop of feedback and noise. The indie heroes of Deerhunter have called No Age their new favorite band – and you might soon do the same. The duo has an obvious link to LA’s young art scene and is clearly marked by the DIY attitude of classic punk. These days, No Age are on tour with Liars; in August you can see them in the Medieval Park.

HEALTH (US)
Health is a new noise rock quartet from Los Angeles who released their self-entitled debut album last year. They’ve been described as a rendezvous between savage synth, monotonous vocals, and insane drumming. OhMyRockness pointed to Animal Collective and Boredoms in an attempt to describe this madness. After having spent the first few months of their existence mainly on talking, they eventually got out on the road and onto the stage – where they’ve spent a lot of time since, as they’ve found that live on stage is where they truly belong. A couple of guys from the Øya booking department were floored by Health’s liberating noise acrobatics during an event in New York this fall, and they came home full of praise and with a burning desire to get this band to Oslo.
The album was recorded in the band’s favorite joint back in their hometown, the age limit-less club The Smell. It contains 28 fun-packed minutes that a large number of DJs already have remixed and fiddled with in order to present Health to many a dancing, sweaty crowd. The guys in Health are good friends of i.a. No Age and Crystal Castles from Canada. If you’d like a pretaste, you can see Health (w/Daniel Meyer Grønvold) at our Øya Open night at Spasibar in Oslo on May 21. If you miss that, you’ll get a second chance during the Øya Festival this summer.