News
Testbild! are presently working on the following projects:
1. a nameless album with Louis Philippe.
2. an upcoming album with a bird theme. maybe on vinyl this time...?
3. music to forthcoming films of Pontus Lundkvist and Henrik Möller.
4. an album about Belka & Strelka (the two Russian space dogs that actually came back alive in 1960).
------------------------------------------------------------
Friendly Noise released our newest album Aquatint in February 2009 (see below).
The Lolita Wagner Case is once again delayed. We have no news for the moment.
------------------------------------------------------------
This page will be updated regularly. Thank You for Your interest!
28 June 2007: Friendly Noise just released two new Testbild! songs on their mp3 label. These songs are exclusive, and will not be released in any other form.
Listen here!
14 May 2007: The new Testbild! album will be called "Une Teinte Intense", and will be released by Friendly Noise i the beginning of September this year. It's yet another thematical album, this time about Isabelle Eberhardt, one of the true heroes of this world.
02 February 2007: A brand new Testbild! interview here (Swedish).
10 January 2007: Check out our friend Viktor Sjöberg's live remix of a previously unreleased Testbild! tune, Göteborg, November 2006!
09 November 2006: Now, how about this fine review!
Testbild!
Imagine A House
Friendly Noise
Beginning with a gentle hum of an organ, followed by the relaxed picking of an acoustic guitar, we slowly emerge into the world of Testbild!. You may ask, “Well what is the world of Testbild!?” It’s quite simple really; nary a cloud in the sky, we, the listeners, sit by a Swedish lake watching the gulls dip in and out of the water, a weeping willow moves briskly with the wind, the music of Virginia Astley emanates through the air. The four members of Testbild! float by on a handmade raft, the current taking them downstream towards a windmill cabin surrounded by fog. Although the music of Testbild! is at once smooth and relaxing, there is a noticeable mystique, an air of intrigue, that pulls the listener in further. One only needs to view the short film accompanying the CD to get some idea of what Testbild! believe their world to be: strangely poignant moments played out by a party of grotesques.
Sunny melodies are tempered by obtuse and often surreal lyrics, as in “Inside Raindrops”: “Inside raindrops/ lilac crystals/ subatomic salt/ floating inside raindrops”—which reminds me of what some poets refer to as “automatic writing”, where the writer is compelled to place words down in front of one another without trying to make sense of any of it. Testbild! has more in common with surrealist artists of the past than any present-day movements, and yet their music is somehow out of time, existing in a discordant world on its own, distant yet reachable. Coupled with familiar sounding instruments and field recordings that remind you that the music is still definitely rooted in our world, there are intangible electronic doodling reminiscent of Broadcast, where otherworldly themes creep in to keep you disoriented. On “A Lullaby In Vain”, there persists a dark foreboding presence carrying you along with the “lullaby”, keeping you warm yet not entirely at ease. And this is why I find this record so special for the autumn season; there are tranquil moments and comfortable colors, but lurking around the corner is the beginning of winter, ready to spring up at any moment.
The epic album closer, “Where Did This Begin?”, which also serves as the soundtrack to the short film of the same name, encompasses a few different beginnings that never really end. We drift into the song without any direction, trying to anticipate where we’ll be heading to next, and just at that moment, everything kicks in and shakes us out of our trance. This, in effect, is what Testbild! sets out to do; create a house of mirrors for us to walk around in and place faint corridors of light that catch our eye and lead us further into the labyrinth.
-Michael Vitrano
11/01/06
(From Delusions of Adequacy)
20 October 2006: Saturday, th 4th of November 2006:
Live performances by
Testbild! Vs. Viktor Sjöberg
Differnet
Most Valuable Players
DJ set by Testbild!
Where: Underjorden, Brahegatan 11, Göteborg, Sweden
When: 8.00 pm
Entrance: 60 scr
19 October 2006: Now you can visit Testbild! at Myspace
There's not much to look at for the moment, but we'll get to that!
04 October 2006: A fine review by the one and only George Parsons (Dream Magazine):
Testbild! Imagine a House (Friendly Noise, www.friendlynoise.se /
www.testbild.org) I received and listened to this album the same day I
heard that Syd Barrett died. I think you have to be careful what you
expose yourself to during such times; I first listened to one record on
a very bad day, and though I liked recording, I’ve never listened to it
again, because it vividly brings back the feeling of that time. This is
a very different sort of experience; not that it’s made Syd’s passing
any less sad, it’s just a lovely sort of cosmic counterbalancing. The
previous album by this Swedish band The Inexplicable Feeling of
September, was one of the brightest psychedelic pop moments of 2005; if
anything, this is an even better album. Barrett may be a influence
here, but Brian Wilson’s impact is profound; there are multi-layered
harmonies, and plenty of Pet Sounds-like sonic side trips, but where
folks like High Llamas may freely quote Wilson’s sounds, Testbild! uses
them to tell their own stories. Not that it’s all constructed from the
same elements; there are pieces here that could have come from Boards
of Canada, or Fennesz, or perhaps Piano Magic on some sort of
medication. Lots of songs, and other pieces that meander amiably as a
mix of overheard atmospherics, and mild-mannered open minded
experimentalism. Connecting their earlier ambient sensibilities with
the more overtly poppy aspects of ‘Inexplicable’, to bring forth this
intoxicatingly beautiful sixteen track (hour long) listening
experience. Exquisitely packaged in a triple gatefold sleeve, this
looks as good as it sounds. Also includes a rather creepy and charming
14 minute film by P. Lundkvist featuring ghoulish and grotesque
puppetry and a fine Testbild! soundtrack. So far, this is my favorite
album of 2006.
George Parsons
Dream Magazine #7
14 July 2006: Some feedback and reviews of Imagine a House (Swedish and English).
14 July 2006: Why not buy a Sjtjekn t-shirt?