In addition to Øya, Pavement will also be stopping by big and highly recognized festivals such as Primavera, Roskilde, All Tomorrow’s Parties and Sasquatch in 2010. They’ve already sold out loads of concert halls around the world in record time, so there’s no doubt that many want to catch next year’s big comeback. Both the band itself and its faithful fans are now surprised by just how big and sought-after the band has become during its period of absence. In London only they’ve sold a total of 20,000 tickets (four nights at Brixton Academy) in the blink of an eye. There’s no reason to delay your purchase of a ticket to Øya and the band’s concert in Oslo. After ten years of silence, we’re finally going to get to hear American lo-fi rock and pop the way it is supposed to sound.

As if this wasn’t enough, we also have in place two of the most wicked American acts our booking crew saw during CMJ in New York this fall: Cymbals Eat Guitars from Staten Island, New York, and Surfer Blood from Florida. Much is expected from these two bands in 2010. If you want to be among the first to see them, come and check them out at Øya!

PAVEMENT (US)
A short while back we found out that the American lo-fi heroes Pavement will be going on tour again this coming spring. We jumped to it and asked them if they would consider paying the Øya Festival a visit in August, and by God, they said yes! As part of a few select European festival gigs they will be coming to Øya next summer.

Pavement are one of the most influential bands from the 90s, and they are a major reason why the more alternative segment of rock has developed the way it has over the past twenty years. Their point of departure was the style of bands like Velvet Underground and The Fall, and from there they developed their own sound. With albums like Slanted and Enchanted (1992), Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994) and Brighten the Corners (1997), they achieved the status as one of the major contributors to rough-edged guitar pop and indie culture. Even though the band musically displayed a certain development towards a cleaner and neater sound, they always were the perfect slacker rock band, next to acts like Dinosaur Jr, Guided by Voices, Sebadoh and Yo La Tengo. They never had a big commercial breakthrough in their home country, but they did significantly better in Great Britain. They also gradually gained a solid fan base in Oslo, among them Øya’s very own booking manager Claes Olsen. He remembers well an night toward the end of the 90s when had a visit from Pavement at his former club So What. Pavement had just played a gig at Rockefeller, and spent the remainder of the evening in the intimate basement of So What taking part in a jam session that included Knut Schreiner (Turbonegro), Sean O’Hagan (High Llamas) and a selection of songs by the legendary German kraut rockers Can.

Throughout a decade, Pavement managed to inspire an infinite number of underground acts. Since the break-up in 1999, singer Stephen Malkmus has pursued a solo career, while bass player Mark Ibold has recently joined Sonic Youth. The others have kept a lower profile, but the world of rock never ceased to wonder whether they would ever join forces again. Excellent re-issues of their albums has also contributed to keeping the public interest alive. At first, they stated that they would only do one single show together, but their desire to play old tidbits like “Summer Babe”, Stereo", “Cut Your Hair”, “Carrot Rope” and “Shady Lane” has apparently and luckily increased. People, get ready for one of the most important acts in American indie rock over the past twenty years!
MYSPACE
PAVEMENT/MATADOR RECORDS

CYMBALS EAT GUITARS (US)
Perhaps only a few people are familiar with this New York act now, but we believe that will change before the summer. A few months ago the band received the stamp “Best new music” on their self-financed album Why There Are Mountains. These young boys from Staten Island are inspired by cult bands and legends like Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr. Through their songs, Cymbals Eat Guitars display an unafraid and ambitious attitude. In the US they already have a hot name, and they’ve had the honor of touring with Flaming Lips. Charles Bissel from The Wrens will probably be right in his prediction that “Cymbals Eat Guitars/Joseph Ferocious will end up indie famous within the year.” At Øya you will get a chance to become acquainted with this quartet. You should all look forward to rough-edged guitars and sassy tunes in the hot sunshine.
MYSPACE

SURFER BLOOD (US)
Surfer Blood from sunny West Palm Beach, Florida, can hardly be described as a pure surf rock act – or, as they state on their MySpace page: “None of us surf.” However, they’ve undoubtedly listened to their fair share of Beach Boys, just as they’ve listened to a wide selection of 90s lo-fi pop. Their debut album, Astro Coast, which will be out in January, is a real candy bag of pop and rock tidbits, so far undiscovered by the general public. Maybe this will be THE summer album for you in 2010. Several pre-tastes are available on the internet, and we recommend you check them out.
Lately, they’ve been on the road with Japandroids, Monotonix and Jay Reatard, among others. We discovered this young band during CMJ in New York this fall. Not only were they among the very best acts there, they were also one of the most eager, plating 12 gigs during the course of only a few days. If you fall as hard for the addictive song “Swim (to Reach the End)” as we’ve done here at the Øya office, then that song alone will be worth the price of the festival pass.
MYSPACE