Kalistan

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Foreign Minister Frazier Returns with Major Economic Victory
Plans for new Steel Consortium end Steel Competition, establish Cooperation with Yingdala
Kaliburg, Ananto
December 20, 4910


A Confident Lila Ann Frazier proposes New Comprehensive Steel Treaty to National Assembly

Lila Ann Frazier has kept a low profile for nearly a decade. Most will be unaware that the Foreign Minister has been working closely with the Yingdalan Government during much of this time to hammer out a treaty that aims at resolving outstanding difficulties around steel production in Western Seleya. But upon returning home from her most recent trip to Kalistan's primary rival over the last decade, with draft Treaty in hand, Frazier now demonstrates the value of shrewdness and fortitude. The Treaty, recently concluded between high level officials of both Yingdala and The Republic of Kalistan sets up what is perhaps Terra's first international Steel Cartel, aiming at ensuring cooperation between the two main steel producers, and ending a decade-long undeclared economic war.

"We are very happy with the terms of this Treaty," said Frazier. "The Anantonese Steel Consortium, will ensure that nearly 400 million tonnes of steel produced between our two countries, will draw the highest price possible from buyers. There are also generous terms to allow additional nations the opportunity to buy in to the Treaty, and enjoy the benefits of cooperation with two of the largest Steel Producers in Terra."

The final push came as demand for steel internationally began to soften. "We figured now was the time," said Frazier, "Steel and aluminum are both strategically important to the Republic, and I also suppose, Indrala, and as demand begins to slacken, we need to stop focusing on the past and start looking to the future. Cooperation allows both countries to continue to produce, to supply the international demand as it waxes and wanes, while also, more importantly than serving the demands of our customers, protecting our own domestic markets and our own supplies. The Steel War was difficult for the Indralan economy as a whole, and great for the Kalistani economy. These last 10 years have been boom times around Sulari. And now, it is time that we let up on the pressure on Indrala and work out our differences, for everyone's benefit, but most importantly, for Kalistan's and Indrala's benefit."

The new Cartel represents a solidly nationalist tack for the Government of Kalistan, which had not been made explicit in the past. Whether this signals an internal shift in Socialist Party Politics is unknown. It is possible that external factors are responsible for the efforts to ratify the treaty at this point; Perhaps Kalistan, as some liberal economists in the Republic have argued, has maximized the damage it could do through dumping, and was now beginning to realize its own vulnerability. There have also been rumors of deferred maintenance in the infrastructure, which has worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for nearly ten years to keep up with its export commitments, and has not had the opportunity to slow down and ensure that the things needed to maintain such a continuous effort are repaired when they break down.

The FM confirmed this last hypothesis, at least to a degree, while discussing the treaty. "We had a near catastrophe last week at the old Sulari Works, when one of the ladles full of several tons of molten metal became dislodged from the hanger it was moving on, and crashed to the floor below. Luckily, safety protocols were in place and no workers were hurt in the incident, but the mill had to operate at half capacity until the ladle could be removed and replaced, and all that steel lost. If the Republic does not slow its production schedule to some degree, more accidents like this will happen, and in the future we will not be so lucky that we only lose a ladle and 23,000 pounds of molten steel."

The Treaty is expected to easily clear the National Assembly in the coming months, and then the two founding nations will begin building an institutional bureaucracy to begin administering it immediately thereafter.

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Alt-Folk Plugs in
Buttressed by sales of Stepanov record, VDR moves to sign new Artists
Port Swedes, Vrassa
July 6, 4911


Alt-Folk turned Grunge Rockers The Wolf Hound poised to break out in Port Swedes

As the continued echoes of Joanie Yeardly and her Alt Folk music movement reverberate across the Republic, an unexpected revival has risen in response. Port Swedes has had a thriving underground Alternative scene for many years, but the music has been seen as too removed from the currents of Kalistani mainstream to produce many bands which have gone beyond the more temperate and rainy climes of the northern port.

But several local bands are beginning to gain traction due mainly to their fundamentalist attitude toward Alternative Rock, and their definite nods to the older sounds of grunge which have been long forgotten in the Republic, but which are the roots of much of the Rock music which is played in the Republic today. And it ironically finds its own roots in the Alt Folk movement which is currently in fashion within the Republic.

"From Joanie Yeardly, to Lion Pack, and now to groups associated with The Wolf Hound, we see musicians looking to revive older styles of music and add new spins on them," said Producer Barb Wilson. "We saw it before too, with RF revival that led to the explosion of talent in the KME scene, and the Ska revivalists in Suldanor. The same goes for the new Grunge Revival scene which has attracted attention out of Port Swedes."

The first band to really break out of of the scene, The Wolf Hound, began its career as a folk band with acoustic guitars and down tempo rhythms. But in an effort to stand out, Wolf Hound began plugging in their guitars to amplifiers and using more and more pedals to distort and warp the sound, "Well, I think it was mostly the drugs," said The Wolf Hound's lead singer David Drescher. "I mean... yeah, smoking pot and playing songs about running through mountain fields with your hippie girlfriend is alright, I guess. But that only goes so far... Plus, I think narcotics require louder music."

It was a short time before The Wolf Hound moved out of the Alt Folk scene and began performing Grunge with a folky bend to it. "We still kinda stayed close to our roots, I suppose," said Drescher, "But I mean there was just something about the tuning of the guitars and the sounds you could get out of the amps which fit the kind of tone we were looking for, the kind of mood of our lyrics... I mean in Port Swedes, it rains like half the year and for half that time, its cold rain too... the music ought to reflect that, you know?"

The music also fit more in with the Port Swedes music scene, which has always been very scrappy and independent minded to fit the character of the town. "We're even a lot different here than up in Vrassa Proper," said Drescher. "They're a bit more rustic up there, they're a different kind of people." Port Swedes gets more influence from Ananto. "The folky stuff feels a little out of place in Swedeport."

This did not stop VDR from sending a representative to one of their shows last year to feel the group out. "They said 'We heard you guys on the internet', and this guy in this big old cowboy hat came down and talked with us after our show in this one club, I think it was the Forrest Bar or something... anyway, he was like 'I think we can do something for you buys,' and he wrote a number on a piece of paper, and John [the bassist] was like 'uh, is this a phone number or something?' and he was like 'No, its an advance.' We all cracked up and laughed at him telling him 'Man, get the f--k out of here with that sh--."

The rep left that night, but returned the next night gave the band a business card, told them to get an agent and give him a call. Within three weeks, The Wolf Hound was signed and went to Vrassa City to record their first record, a self titled LP. "It was a little weird, going up there," said Drescher. "Like every thing has wood siding, or looks like its all made out of wood... It was wild... its the first time any of us have ever been up to Vrassa, because who goes there? But the Label and studio was in this big log cabin looking thing... inside it looked modern, I guess... But like it was all carved out of blocks of wood and sh--" When the band met with the talent manager who would be working with them on production, distribution and promotion, he told them that the Stepanov record had brought a lot of attention to the Labels other releases, and they were in the market for new talent.

"We fit in there like f--kin..." Drescher trailed off... "... well, kind of like that thing where you put on underwear and then realize that they aren't yours, but you aren't sure where they even came from? See you can tell because they really squeeze your nads... but anyway, that's what it felt like. Like we didn't belong there." The recording process was smooth, however, and the LP was laid down in five days, "That's what happens when you bring your own music to the studio with you instead of saying "I'm gonna make a record and like then write the songs for it... We had been playing these songs and tweeking them for like 4 years... It was easy to go through and be like 'Should we do that version that we played at John's party or the one where it goes da da dada...? And everyone would just automatically know...."

The LP, which contains 12 songs, is Self Titled, and has already begun receiving airplay on Radio 1. "They were like 'What is this?' when we sent it to them. We were like 'It's uh Grunge Folk... I guess you might call it' you know, making some stupid sh-- up for them. and they were like 'You mean Alt-Folk?' No... It's grunge, dude... just listen to it. And the guy still called it folk metal. Like what the hell?"

But the first Single "My Kinda Love" ended the week as the 10th most requested song for the week following the record's release, and the first pressing of the record has already sold out. "Yeah we didn't see a cent of that..." said Drescher. "We're in the recoup phase, so I am gonna put my share of the advance under my mattress, and see if our record breaks even. Johnny has already bought himself a brand new Moco, idiot..."

You can listen to the Single "My Kinda Love" here or by clicking the video below

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Grungish Alt Folk hybrid gets a new Title
Music press calls emerging genre "Grit"
Port Swedes, Vrassa
October 9, 4911


Port Swedes Metal turned grunge folk band Allison, earlier this year

Hailing from the northern port city of Port Swedes, a new sound is starting to make in roads against the more traditional Alternative Rock sounds and the new upstart Alt-Folk genres which have dominated the air waves in Kalistan for years now. This sound is a distinctly harder edged sound than the Alt Folk of Joanie Yeardly, Jorgenson, Eavari Tidal, or even the folk inspired electronica of a band like Western Sky, and it is also generally a departure from the all hard rock sounds of bands like Salgo or Brown Paper Bag. It looks back to a more fundamental style of music and yet represents more than a thousand years of development since grunge first developed in the Republic and more than 200 years since Grunge was widely heard on radios in the Republic/

Music critics are calling this new hybrid genre of music "grit" because it seems to be a mixture of grunge subject matter (and drug use), with Folk instrumentation and Alternative song writing forms. "We started referring to it as 'grit' because a lot of the reviews we were getting from our readers pointed out how just dirty and raw it sounded," said Georgia Hernandez, New Music Editor for Kalistani Rawk Monthly. "People said it sounded sandblasted, or that it was stark and bare... like the grit that sometimes gets between your teeth when you are walking around near bonfire and you kind of bite down on it and it makes a really just harsh and nasty sound inside your head, that only you can hear, but that everyone known what it sounds like. I think that's really it... biting a grain of sand with your back teeth, that is more or less the sound of this weird hybrid form that it blowing up right now in Port Swedes."


"Black Fly" by Allison, an exemplar of the Grit subgenre

The first real Grit single to gain wider notice outside of the northern Port City, more famous for its deluges than for anything else, was released earlier this year by The Wolf Hound. The song "My Kinda Love" opened the flood gates for Port Swedes area musicians to get notices. Following quickly in The Wolf Hound's footsteps along the tenuously blazed trail was the band Allison, who began as a metal band, but three years ago moved more into alignment with bands like The Wolf Hound, and have now recorded their fourth album, but their first for Vrassa District Records called simply "Black Fly". The seven track maxi-EP 9 inch contains what could be possibly the defining sound of the emerging genre of Grit: amplified acoustic leads, electrified bass, heavy wall of sound drums, and maniacal vocals. There are a lot of tender moments on the record, such as the sweet goodbye song "I Ain't Never Coming Home" or the metal shredding over a string accompaniment in "Leviathan and Vespa", and there are a good many REALLY loud moments on the record, such as the bridge to "Travel South". A lot of the music contains orchestration, which is as much a demonstration of Allison's maturity as a band as it is the backing of the record label which seems to be coming into its own.

As we hear more and more music from Port Swedes, it seems that radio listeners and established acts alike are taking notice. When asked about the advancements being made in the genre she helped to spawn, Joanie Yeardly, of Vrassa City laughed and said "Those folks down there do it differently, don't they?" And then she added, "Lots of smack in that town, is all I'll say..." Teenagers seem to be getting behind the new Grittier sound from Port Swedes though. "There is like many different sides to life," said one Kaliburg youth. "I think its nice to sing about loving someone and everything, but also, I mean, sometimes relationships break up, and I think it would be better to kind of get your frustrations out by listening to music like The Wolf Hound, who seems to have lost people too, than to have to listen to how great life is all the time, you know?"

Whether Grit itself will be able to stand the test of time is unknown. So far, Port Swedes bands have not yet played shows outside of Vrassa, for the most part. "Kids only have the Swedes stuff through the radio and the internet," said Hernadez. "In the capital, we hear a lot about how wild their shows are, well, more like how loud their shows are, and you'd be surprised just how much noise acoustic guitars can make, but few have actually made the journey to go see these bands, and they aren't coming here, as of yet. So all we have is the stuff their label puts out. So far anyway. I imagine within a year, all of that will change."

You can listen to Allison's record "Black Fly" here or watch below

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Foreign Minister to lead Culinary Delegation to Aloria
Accepts Invitation to visit International Food Festival
Kaliburg, Ananto
October 12, 4911


Foreign Minister Frazier describes Kalistani strategy to introduce foreign cuisine to Food culture of Republic

The food culture can be improved, says Foreign Minister Lila Ann Frazier of Kalistan's fairly simple and whole attitude toward sustenance. "We have lots of spices and herbs in our diet, and a lot of variety in the kinds of foods we eat," said Foreign Minister Frazier, "But Kalistanis tend to be more discerning about the strain of ganja they are smoking, or the crystalline structure of the LSD they are dropping than with the aesthetic of the food they eat. Maybe we can help change this a little."

To this end, the Foreign Minister has accepted the invitation of the Alorian Government to attend their International Food Festival in Slidar Urbem, Aloria. "We are also taking along chefs and Culinary professionals, and a whole lot of teachers with us," said Frazier. "Our goal is to sample foods from all over the world and see which ones we can recreate here in the Republic. And then I would like our chefs to begin rolling out these items, with these international spice palates and try to introduce some foreign flavors into our fairly standard diet."

The entire party accompanying the FM will number close to 100. "Of course we are just getting some ideas," she said. "I have a feeling that there is good food in foreign nations, but our people just haven't had the opportunity to try any, because we aren't exactly very interested in bringing foreign cooks here to Kalistan." The goal she said would be for different chefs to taste the same offerings from different countries and discuss then what they thought was in them. They will then return to the Republic and over the course of a month, attempt to recreate some of the dishes. "The thing about cooking is that there is no secret ingredients," said the Foreign Minister. "Its more about proportion. But cooks world over use similar techniques, so its not like we are starting from scratch." She also believes that vendors at the festival will be willing to share their recipes, and in exchange, Kalistanis will tell all about the many uses that our Republic makes of the relatively simple fare that feeds the Nation.

"I am looking forward to trying some hot pepper, personally," said the Minister. "I hear one little taste of some of these peppers can clear your sinuses, make you start to cry or spin your head around. I am there for that experience."

Time will tell if the culinary expedition proves to be a success, but at any rate, this is an opportunity for the best and the brightest cooks in the Republic to expand their horizons.

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Grit jumps from Port Swedes into Suldanor
Joanie Yeardly Responds with burner Alt Folk "The Bard"
Port Swedes, Vrassa
April 2, 4912


Petroshrine Guides, from Yoshimi, become first Grit Band with National Reach

As more and more of the Grit bands of the Port Swedes scene gain national stature, the music subgenre has officially jumped, both in geography and in Labels. The careful mix of alt-Folk, Alternative and Grunge has arrived officially in Suldanor, in the form of the grit band from Yoshimi, Petroshrine Guides who have recorded their first album on ARC in Suldanor, rather than on the main Grit Label VDR.

Lead singer Sam Wyler said of his decision to record on ARC: "Well, they have a much better artist compensation situation at ARC, and plus, if we are gonna get this sound nationwide, we need to go with the established label. The VDR is a Vrassa thing, and they do things their own way there in Vrassa. But ARC is here in Sulari, just four hours away from our homes, and so, all signs point to ARC." Signing with the main Alternative Label in the Republic was apparently an excellent decision as Petroshrine Guides went national almost immediately after releasing their new album.

Petroshrine Guides perform "MegaVacant" on M7: For many Kalistanis, this is their first exposure to Grit music

Because of the connections to ARC, the band was already appeared on a one hour showcase where they played their first single from their new record "Coarse". The song, called "MegaVacant," which has received massive airplay on both M7 and Radio 1, has already prompted at least some bands from the Port Swedes scene to call Petroshrine Guides "sellouts." "I mean, its great for them and all," said Swedes club mainstay Sonicplanter lead singer Kris Conrad, "But you know, I mean, they've been playing for what, a year? And they sign with the Machine and now they're the ones people think of when they think of our thing. It's pretty wild how it all plays out..."

In response to Petroshine Guides' success seemingly out of the blue, members of several area Port Swedes bands have gotten together to form a sort of Grit Super Group, called Sonic Shrine of the Hound. SSH spent last winter recording their self titled record, which has been released on VDR. "This is the real sound of Port Swedes," said Conrad of the Record. Ironically due to the success of "MegaVacant", the lead single "Going Hungry" from Sonic Shrine of the Hound has begun receiving national airplay as well, and audiences have taken to the dynamics of the song, boosting it into the top 40 within the last week, which is the highest charting to date for a Grit Band.

Sonic Shrine of the Hound's tribute to Stepanov

"Yeah, it was f--kin... me, um Ted Sorenson and Matt Gill from Surf Wax, and um Jeff and Peter and Morris, from Wolf Hound, and we all just got together and thought, 'Well, if those dudes can f--kin get on M7, so can we, you know..." The song, which talks about redistribution via theft, is an excellent example of the jangly juxtaposition of amplified acoustic guitar, thick muddy bass, thumping big drums, and grating raw vocals.

Another stand out on the record is the Band's tribute to the late Jennifer Stepanov, which is the subject of "Heaven", which is built around an episode when Stepanov stayed with Conrad and Dave Drescher from Wolf Hound for three days while she was in Port Swedes shortly before she died. "Yeah, she stayed with us... We went to one of her last shows, just to check her out, and she was really struggling to stay clean and like asked if anyone had a place she could crash, and all these a--holes were cheering at her like it was some sort of joke or something, and like me and Dave [Drescher] who was my roommate at the time went up to her after the show, and was like 'Yo, we can keep you safe...'

"She kinda laughed at us," continued Conrad, "and told us that we clearly didn't know her very well, and Dave was like, 'Yeah, but I know every junkie in this town. And while you're here, if you hang with us, we'll make sure you make it home.' And because she stayed with us, we were kinda like her bodyguards for a few days, you know running interference and sh--... She made it to every show, and she was genuinely kind, you know? And then she left us and went home to Kaliburg, and, well... So we wrote this song after she died and were like 'Which ever of us gets famous first records it.' And that was Drescher, but he said SSH could do it. So we did."

As Grit is poised to dominate the music scene in Kalistan, Joanie Yeardly herself, the grand dame of the Alt-Folk movement which spawned Grit in the first place released a new Single, which was immediately well received on Music 1. The new single, "The Bard" is released ahead of her new Album for VDR, also called "The Bard", which will be out in May, and almost feels like an answer to Grit. "Well, you didn't f--kin think I was gonna let those smackheads down there in Swedes have all the gottdamn fun, did you?" she said grinning widely as she announced the Single's release.

Yeardly has been circumspect about the Grit movement in Alternative. "Well, I mean... I can't say that it sucks, because clearly its just a different take on the same sh-- I sing about, and the family relationship is obvious, we're like f--kin brothers you know? I'll defend my brothers, and nobody better not talk any sh-- about them. But man... I think we've have enough of the smack in music for a while, and like all of those dudes are at least pretty close all of it... So, Whether I like it is probably less important than whether it dies a natural death. Its pretty f--king self destructive, if you want my opinion. I just don't want what happened to Jennie to happen again, this time to my brothers..."

Joanie Yeardly's new track "The Bard", recorded live in Vrassa City for her new album to be released in May

Then, almost editing herself, Yeardly backtracked, "Whatever, it's their thing. More power to them."

When asked about Yeardly's appraisal of the Port Swedes scene, Conrad shrugged. "Whatever. We'd love her to come sing in Swedeport, and be on a record with us. She's pretty awesome, and we honor her and everything, but she's right... this is our thing, and she's our sister, but she ain't our mother."

[Aquinas]

RNP Claims Committee given more time, packed off to examine Kalistan

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Kalistani Foreign Minister Disputes Ridiculous Claims of Malivia
Begins drafting articles of Sanction against Malivia
Kaliburg, Ananto
May 31, 4913


Kalistani Foreign Minister refers to Malivians as "dangerous lunatics"; hints at deep sanctions against Malivia

Like most Artanian Nations, it appears that Malivia now harbors visions of Empire. This holds true for their recent investigation of whether imperial claims should be fabricated in regard to a number of countries, including the Republic of Kalistan. The Foreign Minister addressed this troubling development in the National Assembly today, and said such provocation demands a response.

"We cannot countenance the hallucinations of these dangerous lunatics," said Foreign Minister Lila Ann Frazier, who spoke candidly before the National Assembly, "who dream of controlling an empire. Even though their nonsense is pure bluster, which should not be taken seriously, nonetheless, when a snake shows you its teeth, you understand it for exactly what it is: A snake. Therefore, as of this morning, we have withdrawn diplomatic personnel, and declared the four Malivians who are supposedly intending to travel to Kalistan 'Persona non grata': If they step foot upon the soil of Kalistan, they will be arrested for espionage and tried in Kalistani Courts." In addition, the Foreign Minister said she is in consultation with the Premier and the President of the Republic to pass a package of sanctions on Malivian assets and investments in the Republic. "As the Malivians themselves said, since Kalistan is not in the World Congress, it is doubtful to us that anyone will care."

Internationalists within the National Assembly were beside themselves following the hardline statement made by the Foreign Minister. "Comrade Minister," said Socialist Deputy Catherine Hughes, of Eshar. "Supposedly the Foreign Minister of Malivia, in their own news report said that he has communicated with you directly that Malivia has no territorial claims on Kalistan, nor do they intend to pursue any." FM Frazier answered to a stunned National Assembly, "I can assure you, Comrades, I have received no such communication. Therefore, I must assume that such a denial is mere propaganda of a foreign power with imperialistic designs on this Republic based on some bogus and entirely fabricated foreign claim."

In the archives of the Republic, there does exist examples of Ananti culture practiced, even at the National Level in the Imperial Republic of Kalistan. Foreign Minister Frazier shrugged that off. "Under no circumstances, if you read the history books did those episodes in our history have anything to do with Malivia, or their culture, or their empire. I will cite them for you: It was a period lasting from 3884-3887 where an ethnic Party was able to gain control of the Republic due to a power vacuum and strove to elect members of their own community here in the Republic. And no mention is made of that group before, or after that period in Kalistani National Politics, so a correct reading of history would suggest that this group were usurpers who removed the history of their coup from our archives. And when the Socialist Party swept back into power, in 3892 the old majority which attempted to establish minority rule here in the Republic was utterly gone. But at any rate, the word Malivia, nor Malivian, nor any of this exists in our National Archive, so the claims that the Malivians make now are as baffling as they are bellicose."

The Foreign Minister reiterated the Republic's determination to oppose any effort on the part of Malivia to claim even an iota of sovereignty over the Republic, and is prepared to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that Malivia is not able to press any sort of claim over the Republic of Kalistan.

[Liukupukki]

Mark Small re-elected as President of the Republic, held an inauguration speech in the Kaliburg National Stadium
He has published the agenda for the government
Kaliburg National Stadium, Ananto
April 29, 4913

In the 4913 election, President of the Republic Mark Small was re-elected, and he held a speech in the Kaliburg National Stadium. He talked about the Malivian claims, as well as the importance of rural development.

Mark Small:
Greeting citizens, you have once again elected me to represent Kalistan, and I thank you all for that! I must say, that today we are facing some issues, as many of you may know. But I am here, I am looking forward to being more of an active president, and take more part in foreign affairs, and take part in drafting the government agenda. Well, I am here, I am doing it now, and in the future. My term as the President of the Republic begins with these words, and all of you are here to listen to that, and it means a lot to me. However, I'm not here to talk about the good times here. This is my inauguration speech, my plan here is to reveal the government agenda, our plans, as well as my first act. Firstly, I will be going over a short summary of the government policy for the Mark Small administration: We have come to an agreement with the cabinet, that we will be helping development of rural areas, and small towns alike, as well as establishing more stable public transport to and from these areas. Our second policy for this administration would be to incentivize local businesses, instead of large transnational corporations. There was also talks of unionization of these transnational corporations, but many of them are already a part of a union, and we have not come to a full agreement on the policy on that, but we will keep you informed.

As for foreign policy, we have plans to increase trade and diplomacy with potential allies, and likeminded thinkers. I have plans for visiting one of these countries soon, and hopefully improving our relations and getting something done. Unfortunately, our foreign policy has to include some horrible stuff in it also, Malivia, and their claim on Kalistan has been circling around for a while now. We will respond to these ridiculous claims, and we will be ceasing all trade with them until they denounce their illegal claims on Kalistan. Malivia is not an empire! And it will not be one! They are only bringing themselves more and more enemies, and if they ever want to act on these claims, they have a full on angry mod at their doorstep. I do not think Malivia is to be scared of, but we will not stand by while our land and soil gets claimed by foreigners, all trade with Malivia will be halted from this point forward, until they decide to give up their claims. Thank you.

Mark Small at his inauguration speech

The inauguration speech of Mark Small was applauded by the Kalistani crowd, and people have been quoting him the whole evening on Tweeter. The government agenda seems to have gained a lot of support from the people of Kalistan, especially the population from rural areas of the republic.

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Kalistani Premier endorses Agenda of President of the Republic
"We need an Active Presidency now more than ever," says Premier
Kaliburg, Ananto
April 21, 4913


Premier of the Republic Jackson calls for cooperation with President

In a response to the President of the Republic's Innaguration speech, Premier of the Republic George Jackson declared his Party's support for the agenda laid out.

"We have the votes to pass this agenda easily, and not hold the President up from pressing matters of state," said The Premier. "It looks like we have endorsed a Comrade of the Worker and the Everyday Man and Woman in Kalistan in President Small, and on this trajectory, there is much that we can do working together. Now it the time for President Small to fully step into his role as the Face of our Republic on the international stage. We need an Active Presidency now more than ever, with the bellicosity of Malivia looming on our horizon. And I believe Comrade President Small to be the correct man for that job."

The Premier signaled prioritization on increasing public transportation links to Rural parts of the Republic, especially Vrassa and Neveras. "We have long had uneven development in our Republic, and I believe the first step can be infrastructure projects that will further tie our frontier districts together with our more developed areas. This will bring jobs and commerce to these areas, and it will also encourage development in new sectors which can't find a lot of room in places like Sulari or around the capital." The Premier also signaled interest in a jobs bill which would target specifically these rural areas. "We find a lot of people out in rural Vrassa or almost all of Neveras either involved in Extraction industry or in services for local people. We would like to change this, offering incentives for private sector companies to offer good, high paying jobs to the people of these areas, and expanding some of our operations into places visited by infrastructure improvement, to put more of these people to work in jobs that will allow them to live higher standards of living, have the opportunity to build wealth, and to also help supply goods for the Republic." The Premier also strongly endorsed the development of Kalistani industry over transnational trade, and is looking at the degree of unionization in the various Joint Stock firms that Kalistani investors have with foreign Businesses. "Given that these firms are all majority share Kalistani, by law, I believe that they all comply with Kalistani labor law already, but this is a matter for investigation, so a definitive answer can be provided. In short, we just don't know at the time, but are perfectly willing and able to find out."

On the foreign policy front, The Premier was similarly in agreement. "We have taken steps already to pull diplomatic personnel out of Maliva and recall all of our citizens from that country. At the time of the recall there were more than 400 Kalistanis living and working in or visiting Malivia. All have been contacted, and all but 14, who are associated with a Brethrenist group in Malivia, have chosen to depart the country. In addition, we endorse the cessation of all trade with Malivia, and will ask our friends across Seleya to do the same. I have also asked the Defense Ministry to step up patrols in and around the Ananto Strait, as a precautionary measure. The ball is in Malivia's court now. We hope they will repudiate such dangerous rhetoric and make an effort to restore what was otherwise, on balance a positive relationship with the Republic."

The Premier finished his comments by expressing faith and confidence in the work that the President is doing to pilot the ship of State. "We are in the capable hands of a reasonable and dedicated President. That in and of itself deserves the support of the Socialist Party, and President of the Republic Small has got it." The Premier then said he will be working on some initiatives with the President's Party to begin enacting this agenda.

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Sonic Planter's second record neverknown hits Number one on Radio 1
Grit's Highest Charting Entry abandons acoustics for solid Grunge Rock Blast
Kaliburg Ananto
October 7, 4913


Sonic Planter's neverknown on VDR hits Number 1 in the Republic

The Port Swedes Grit sound has finally reached the top of the Charts in Kalistan, beating out several alt-folk and traditional alternative entries to become the top selling and top requested album in the entire country. The album is also one of the biggest departures from the alt-folk roots of Grit, and the most grunge oriented Grit record to date.

Kris Conrad, lead singer of Sonic Planter, who is a critical darling in the Kalistani music press, and is also well thought of by his fans, was characteristicly understated by his band's topping of the charts in Kalistan. "Yeah, well..." was his response, as he took a massive drag on a cigarette. He had nothing else to say about it, before he was called away by band mates for a soundcheck, three minutes later.

The album spends more time plugged in than it does acoustic, demonstrating the Grit scene's growing frustration with association with the alt-folk movement that fed into it initially. In a separate interview, Conrad was more talkative. "I mean, yeah, but people keep talking about this Port Swedes sound... they call it Grit... I mean... that's pretty uninventive, don't you think? And like every band in Swedeport sounds the same? And we all sound like we took lessons at Joanie's knee? I think we've matured and I think we have grown, and we have always been loud as F--K... so... You know, Its like Yeshua, folks... give us our due..."

Loud is a good word for the biggest record in the country, which is Sonic Planter's second album for VDR. "We made the bass extra thick, like gravy," said Sonic Planter bassist Benjamin Colberg, "And Matty (Gill, drummer for Sonic Planter) did ALL kinds of strange time sequences... almost like Math Rock. And don't even get me started on the Wizard (Ken Mayall, also known as the "Wizard of Swedeport") the tracks he laid down are drills into the brain" Without much in the way of acoustic guitars or melodies or orchestration which is fairly standard on Grit records to date, the album threatens to not even fall into the category of Grit. "it is probably the most grungy stuff we've done to date," said Colberg. The closest song to the actual Grit style is the final song of the album, "Surprise Her" while the song "foureighths" takes the acoustic format of Grit and turns it on its head, introducing a hint of Vascanian aesthetic into Kalistani music with the use of sitars and acoustic guitars which are subsequently turned into a trippy psychedelic sonic environment.

Most of the songs are about dystopic, with darker themes than were heard on their first album. Songs like "Drown Me" and "Blackest of Black" are relentless driving songs about anomistic despair, bordering on fatalistic Annihilation. "The Day I Died Twice" is a song about Conrad's brief career as a drug user, and "Surf's Up" is about people who have different expectations of him and his band than they have of themselves. "A lot of this stuff is about stuff that we have spent years dealing with," said Colberg. "The whole band, I mean, it really sucks living in this sh--ty town where it rains all the time, and sometimes you feel starved just for a ray of sunlight, but like we survive somehow anyway."

Perhaps the most powerful song in this host of very personal, very loud music is the song "Murder of Crows". Though it has not been attributed as such, some people believe that this song was also about how the death of Jennifer Stepanov deeply affected Conrad. "I think he was a little bit in love with her," said Colberg. "We tease him about it and he gets kind of defensive, but I would say this song is more of a love song to her ghost than anything and when she died, he fell into a very deep depression. But to cope with that, he turned to music, and got this band together, so in this sense, it was something that turned out alright for him. It could have gone much worse."

With such a massive record at the top of the charts, Grit and bands that are associate with that will only continue to be released in the Republic for the time being, and talent scouts for various record labels are now fairly permanently camped out in Port Swedes, attending all the shows, and listening to all the bands. Grit records have now been released by both VDR and ARC, and there is a suggestion that KMI may be getting ready to jump into the game as well. But for now, the spotlight belongs almost completely to Sonic Planter.

Listen to neverknown here,