Door aggro fails to stop Scandinavia party

A scuffle over revelers who tried to gatecrash the launch party for new Scandinavia album 'The Gods' nearly broke out between long-feuding band members Nadim Samman, 29, and Warrick Harniess, 32, last night.

Listen to 'The Gods' by Scandinavia here.

Despite a packed house at the Wilmington Arms, sources claim that the band very nearly didn't make it onto the stage. Samman was reported to have stormed out of the venue after Harniess refused to agree to a concession price for a large group of partygoers. 'It's typical of these two' a source close to the band said confidentially. 'They think the world revolves around each of them, and they very nearly ruined the whole night for everyone.'

The Wilmington Arms

The night started positively, with a smart reggae and 'good vibes' DJ set by Damian. South London rock band Stone Pony took the stage at 8:45 and played a slick set, with songs heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen and old Motown classics. But as Stone Pony's set was coming to a close, an argument broke out at the door. Samman and Harniess took the argument outside, and a heated exchange was overheard. 'I distinctly remember hearing Warrick say "they have to pay the full price" before he walked off. Nadim then said "he's such a prick" apologetically to one of the people in the group. I remember thinking "who the fuck do these guys think they are?"' says another anonymous source. As Harniess walked off, the girl to whom Samman was speaking asked 'does he really live in a teepee? What a dork'.

Drummer Tibor Beetles, however, dismissed the argument as 'irrelevant'. 'The party was a great success, thanks to everyone who helped make it a reality'. He singled event organiser Miriam out for particular praise, saying 'we couldn't have done it without her'. A partygoer summed it up: 'The £10 entry price was fair - bad ass Scandinavian food and shooters, a bad ass 'Scandinavia' branded totebag, and a free download for what promises to be an awesome second album. But this whole deal between Nadim and Warrick - they should seriously just get a fucking room'.

Bad ass shooters

Totes amazebags

Scandinavia finally took the stage at 10pm to the sultry sounds of Kim Carnes' 'Bette Davis Eyes', after an emotive introduction by A Mean Salmon. Playing a mix of songs from 'Good Living' and 'The Gods', Scandinavia performed for 45 minutes. Frontman Samman then did an impromptu a capella rap, before he was rejoined onstage by the other band members for a blistering encore. In an email exchange this morning, diplomatic bassist Thomas Parkinson, 31, stated: 'aggression has no place in this band. We are positively, and I stress positively, all about our Fandinavians having a great time, in a safe and loving environment. If anyone in the audience was hurt, either physically or figuratively, by Nadim's performance, I apologise sincerely on his behalf. I know he didn't mean it'.

Some audience members saw no reason for an apology. '[Samman] was as charismatic as ever' gushed Kristina, a self-described 'mega-fan'. 'While the rest of the band played it cool, Nads was out front with the audience, totally getting us even more psyched up than we were before they started playing. And he never once stopped singing'.

Listen to 'The Gods' by Scandinavia here.

Controversially, Scandinavia were joined onstage for their entire set by Tim Neville, the self-described musical mercenary whose presence during the recording sessions for the new album caused divisions within the Scandinavia camp just three months ago. However, wayward filmmaker Ted Byron Baybutt, who claimed to have documented on video the alleged band fallout during the recording sessions, was not spotted at the party. Baybutt's tapes have never surfaced.

Paparazzo 'Mark' claimed to have taken the 'photo of the night', capturing Neville looking spaced-out in sunglasses in the darkened bar, playing a troika of maracas. 'He's a drug casualty waiting to happen, and I reckon there's a tidy packet to be made from that story. You heard it here first'.

Keep an eye out for Mark's photos from the night, coming soon to www.scandinavia-goodliving.blogspot.co.uk.

New Scandinavia album

On Thursday we're decamping to a barn in Kent to record eleven new Scandinavia songs, almost a year to the day since we recorded 'Good Living'.

We've spent the past year travelling around the globe, listening to talented world musicians, trying to find some inspiration. Nadim went to Morocco for an art show. Tom went to Turkey and got a job. Tibor went to his native Hungary and bought some percussion. I went to Croatia and discovered my inner European.

Yep, we're going Ry Cooder with this one; whether it works or not is another thing altogether - indeed, it's all part of the fun.

Album launch - save the date!

We're putting on a show at the Wilmington Arms on Saturday 16 June. It'll be similar to last year - Scandinavian aperitifs and hors d'oeuvres, and a copy of the album via download. We'll post more details about that soon.

Artwork

That's the proposed front cover above. Nadim is working on a watercolour that might prove a last minute challenger. I'd like to get this cow picture in there somewhere. If you've seen any choice photos we could steal from instagram or pinterest, send them through.


Album title

The jury's still out on this one. We briefly considered Chandler Bing, but everyone we told about that recoiled in horror, so we've scrapped it (although we're hoping to write a tribute to our favourite Friend in the near future). 'The Gods' is the current frontrunner.



Songs

In no particular order the song titles are:

1. Croatian t-shirts
2. What can you give a girl who's got it all?
3. Trending
4. I don't do drugs (I just have fun)
5. Shed a few layers
6. San Pelligrino
7. San Pelligrino (reprise)
8. Bodies
9. Fractions
10. The Queen entranced by ancient prayer book
11. How we use our brand
12. Popular little street

Finally, Scandinavia is an enlightened democracy - what do you think of the artwork, album titles, song titles etc??