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Review by François Couture:
If you are on an eclectic music diet — if you need to listen to a little bit of everything in order to stay in shape — then The Castle Massacre will feel to you like a multi-vitamin. The Norwegian quintet Ping jump around from style to style, reinventing themselves for each of the album's 15 tracks, yet finding a way to carry forward a strong group identity. Pranksters, mavericks, or geniuses? A bit of all three, it seems. There is a healthy dose of humor in this album, from silly lyrics (made sillier by an approximate use of the English language) to silly melodies, but there are also some very strong grooves, efficient songwriting, and surprises by the ton. The music switches around from electro-pop to heavy prog rock, '70s funk, and Zappa-esque twists. Playing the name game, the best approximation would be "the bastard son of Parliament and Black Sabbath, delivered by Frank Zappa," but that will mean something only if you listen to the whole album — and it still doesn't account for the electronica influence in the hilarious opener "Bow to the Beagle," or "Inside a Rock"'s back vocal line stolen from KC & the Sunshine Band, among numerous other oddities. Truth is, nobody can possibly explain to you how wacky The Castle Massacre is. However, rest assured that this is not a hodgepodge album, a collection of mismatched snippets. These guys know what they are doing and they do it marvelously well. This is one of the more exhilarating, entertaining albums of 2006.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dpfpxqrdldje
- http://www.allmusic.com
Discography
Discotheque of Darkness(2009)
The Castle Massacre (2006)
Ping/NLO - EP (2004)
It’s a Picnic (2000)
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Soundtrack and TV:
* “Typisk Norsk” (2006)
More info about the show at www.nrk.no (The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation)
“Berner og Bella” (2005)
A short film by Gaute Hesthagen.
Berner & Bella - Waltz
Berner & Bella - Sad
Berner & Bella - Circus (version 2)
Berner & Bella - The Fall
Berner & Bella - In the Woods
Hoff TV/cinema commercial (2007)
Netcom TV/cinema commercial (2005) - The norwegian telecom company Netcom is using Pings “Baby Beadle Boy” in a cinema/TV commercial. The original song can be found on It’s a Picnic.
“Tell Me Not To Worry” (2004) - Mattis and Jørgen made the soundtrack for this short animation made by Maria Trovatten and Karin Jacobsen. The film was produced by Tordenfilm and recieved several international awards.
“Love Game” (2003) - A short movie directed by Gaute Hesthagen and produced by KLAPP MEDIA & KILOWATT.
“…and is that it?” (2001) - Music video made by Gaute Hesthagen for “…and is that it?”, a song from It’s a Picnic. (Camworker)
“Nils og Ronny” (2001) (Nrk) -Ping can be heard on the norwegian TV-show “Nils & Ronny TV-Cocktail”. Nominated for “Gullruten”. Nils & Ronny.
Photos
Bio
PS: Lots of mp3's, videoclips and more on:
http://www.thepingpage.com
Ping was founded in Bergen, winter 1999 by Mattis Janitz and Jørgen Greiner. The music was at that time made on their Amiga 1200 and a 4-track recorder in a tiny bedroom. The band now operates in Oslo, has risen to the healthy amount of five members and spend merry days in their more up-to-date studio.
The process of arranging and recording is unorthodox, where humour and spontaneity is highly appreciated; creative use of various instruments and vocal arrangements flow through a number of genres. The credo is not to hesitate, immediateness leads to perfection, nothing is perfect.
Their debut album «It’s a picnic» was released in 2000.
2004 saw Ping test their talent with No Life Orchestra. The result was a split-Ep released on Luftwaffel Records, and a major roadtrip including metropoles Oslo and Trondheim.
Late 2005 German label QDK-Media/Normal Records released «The Castle Massacre», which is currently available throughout Europe, USA & Japan.
August 2009 Ping released their forth album “Discotheque of Darkness” on Luftwaffel Records. The album is available on CD, gatefold vinyl and as digital download.
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