Immanu El - Hibernation (2016)

The last few years have been very special for Swedish dream pop pioneers Immanu El. Since the latest album release almost five years ago, the band have been touring around the world and battling a lawsuit against the state at the same time - a somewhat Kafka-esque experience that ended up with two trials and a verdict proving the band innocent almost two years later. Immanu El re-grouped in a cellar of an old regiment building, started to write new music and got Swedish Grammy nominated producer Johan Eckeborn (Jonathan Johansson - Lebensraum) on board to work with the band. When spring arrived, the boys booked a studio at the top of a hill near Florence in Tuscany, Italy, and spent two weeks recording what now has become the band's fourth album; Hibernation. Putting more time and focus into the production than ever before, Immanu El and Johan Eckeborn have managed to create something unique, developing the sound of the band and making the songs more compelling and exciting than ever. Introducing synthesizers and a rhythmic drive to melodies, this album has brought a new level of grandeur and simplicity to the music. Immanu El started as a musical experiment in Jönköping, Sweden 2004 by then 16-year-old Claes Strängberg, soon joined by his twin brother Per and friends David Lillberg and Jonatan Josefsson. The band has gained a reputation as one of the most promising bands from Scandinavia and have performed over 300 shows in 30 countries since the debut album was released 2008. During the last years of touring Immanu El performed at festivals such as SXSW in Austin, Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, Filter's Culture Collide Festival in Los Angeles, CMJ Music Marathon in New York, Canadian Music Week in Toronto and Strawberry Festival in Beijing and Shanghai.The album's lead track features a video by Emmy nominated American filmmaker Jeff Penilla. "Swedish post-rock romanticism or hauntingly whispering hover-pop" Rolling Stone, US. "Specialising in the epic, horizon-seeking guitar scapes pursued by Sigur Ros, new single 'Under Your Wings I'll Hide' is nine minutes of undulating gorgeousness. It moves, it calms, it swells, it breaks. This is precious metal boiled down and remoulded into moving, uplifting pop music." When the Gramophone Rings