1200-1700 on January 14th 2012 at Bridgens Hus, Uppsala

“Hembrygd öl i belgisk stil, belgiska tilltugg och överraskningar. Bjud på dina hembrygder eller prova andras. Tävla i folkets val och låt ditt öl bedömas av duktiga domare.”- SHBF

I have been given the honor to be one of the beer judges at the sixth incarnation of Belgoträffen held annually by SHBF (Swedish Home Brewing Association). This is my third assignment as beer judge in the last four months, but someone has to get it done so why not me.

Link to Belgoträffen
Link to SHBF

Brew Wharf vs Danko – A Belgian Saison

“Intressant att läsa om de fat som lämnades varmt och som jäste ner till 1003.”- Rick Lindqvist

You can read a three page article on brewing my own beer at Brew Wharf in London as well as a half page article on Belgian christmas beer that I wrote for the fourth issue of 2011 of the Maltesen beer magazine. The magazine is in Swedish and distributed in hard copy and prescription only although members of Svenska Ölfrämjandet can download the magazine in PDF-format.

Link to Maltesen
Direct link to issue 2011-4 and the article in PDF-format
Link to PDF archive of the magazine

Look at the stars and you’ll see that it’s real

“Starchild started as a happy hardcore act on Fluid Records in 1994 together with Antiloop, Earthbound and others.”- Discogs.com

In the mid 90s I had somewhat of an underground hit with a Happy Hardcore Rave track called Starchild. Some people still consider it an anthem within the genre, and it was rotating on national Swedish radio for over a year. It was the fastest song on rotation that year, at a whopping 173 BPM. The EP Starship One was released a few years later, and Starchild II became number one in the charts at the Vitaminic music site. Blue Sky Day is a remix by Starchild for a Canadian rave club and was never released in public until now.

There is a misconception that Dune made Starchild, this is incorrect and caused by a German fan site mistakingly naming the Starchild mp3 as a Dune track.

Starchild and Starship One including all the remixes as well as bonus tracks and previously unreleased material can now be purchased on iTunes. Enjoy!

Link to Starchild at iTunes

Ich bin Der Danko, und ich bin schön

“Der Danko ist echt geil.”- Örg, Frankfurt

Several years ago I did a peculiar project where I got drunk on cheap beer (!), wrote lyrics until I found myself laugh out loud and then I hit record and captured three takes of vocals and that was that. Throughout the years these songs were very popular and topping the charts on some Internet radio stations as well as being played on a regular basis in clubs around Europe. The song Plasticpop has been remixed over 25 times by other musicians and DJs.

Der Danko, Plasticpop and Mein Apparat (64) are now available for sale on iTunes. Enjoy!

Link to Der Danko at iTunes

“Spontan öl är ingen plötsligt öl” at SMÖF Beer Festival in Söderbärke, Dalarna

“Med över 1800 olika Belgiska öl provade och en sex veckor lång cykeltur runt Belgien till bryggerier och Trappistkloster under bältet är det ingen underdrift att kalla Tomas Danko för belgofil. Som skribent i Svenska Ölfrämjandets tidning Maltesen, hembryggare samt hållande av många ölprovningar genom åren på Belgiska ölbarer hävdar han närvaro lokalt i Sverige. I detta seminarie berättar Danko brett och vitt om spontanjäst öl, så kallad lambic. Denna nästintill utdöda men högt uppskattade metod att brygga öl beskrivs här och dess anrika historia samt allmänt förekommande varianter på lambic tas också upp.”- SMÖF

The good people of SMÖF have asked me to hold two seminars on the topic of lambic (i.e. spontaneously fermented beer from Pajottenland in Belgium) on Saturday 29th of October at 1400 and 1700. I will also be part of the jury of beer judges for the festival beer competition.

Link to Seminar Information
Link to Festival Programme
Link to SMÖF Söderbärke Beer Festival

29 sept – 1 okt & 6 – 8 okt 2011 at Nackastrandsmässan, Stockholm

“This is one of the most important beer festivals in the world, and is only rivalled by the likes of the London Beer Festival and Oktoberfest in Munich.”- A Sweden Attraction

I have been given the honor to be one of the beer judges at the biggest beer festival in Sweden, and one of the three biggest in the world. This is a highly prestigious competition with a high level of integrity and International profile, and it’s celebrating it’s twentieth anniversary this year. It is a tough task but someone has to do it.

Link to Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival
Link to Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival on Facebook

September 24th at Alviks Medborgarhus 1000 – 1800

“Med ett förflutet i 8-bitarsvärlden på åttiotalet samt tjugotre års erfarenhet i spelbranschen […] fortsätter Danko skapa ljud till datorspel på DICE i Stockholm med titlar såsom Mirror’s Edge, Medal of Honor, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 och Battlefield 3.”- Retrogathering

I have been asked to hold a brief speech about my background and career as well as sharing various anecdotes from my more recent projects. There will also be a section where the panel, including myself, will answer questions from the audience.

The actual discussion panel will be held at the adjacent Nockebysalen 1330 – 1500.

Link to Retrogathering discussion panel information
Link to Retrogathering

Brew Wharf vs Danko – a real ale made by yours truly

“A hazy gold coloured beer with a big white head and lasting thick lace. Funky lemony yeasty notes in the nose. Superb tart hoppy funky lemon notes in the mouth. A bit of gooseberry. The acidity in the mouth works perfectly. A very good interesting beer.” – Mark Edwards

I created the recipe and brewed 820 liter of this beer at the brewpub Brew Wharf in London earlier this year. It is now available at the pub throughout July 2011. The pump clip pictured to the left was also designed by myself, and is probably the first C64-style beer label ever made.

The beer itself is a modern take on the Belgian saison style using new world aroma hops, 6.4% ABV.

Link to Brew Wharf vs Danko entry at ratebeer
Link to the brewpub Brew Wharf in London
Link to CSDB

GameSpy Award – Best Audio of E3 2011

“It may not be real war, but it sure sounds like it.” – GameSpy.com

The audio team at DICE won the GameSpy award for best sound at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo with Battlefield 3. I am credited as VO Producer in the game.

In addition, our game collected a staggering 80 nominations and won an amazing 40 of them.

Link to GameSpy E3 Awards
Link to GameSpy article The Interrogation Room: Battlefield 3

2011 BAFTA – Use Of Audio

“Playing this game with a good pair of headphones (or a proper hi-fi, if you’ve got one) makes you realise how little attention a lot of developers pay to the way their games sound. There are a few notable exceptions, of course, but DICE in particular have made an effort to really nail it with their last few releases, and Bad Company 2 is their best-sounding game yet.” – Sean Bell, Dark Zero Videogame Magazine

The audio team at DICE won the award for use of audio at the 2011 British Academy of Film & Television Awards with Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I was credited in the game, working on some of the VO mainly for Multi Player but also for the Single Player campaign.

The statue is very heavy to hold, also physically speaking. Our Audio Director Extraordinaire, Stefan Strandberg, is pictured to the right of the BAFTA statue.

Link to BAFTA
Link to winning award film clip at YouTube
Link to backstage interview with my colleagues Stefan Strandberg and Olof Strömqvist