Icona Pop Look to Become Sweden's Next Breakout Act -- Free MP3 Download

Posted on Apr 1st 2011 3:45PM by Jett Wells
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High Rise

A year and a half ago, Aino Jawo had just been dumped by her boyfriend, so she went out to let off some steam, pop some bottles of wine and let the night sweep her away from her heartbreak. That night had much more in store for her though, as she met up with fellow musician Caroline Hejt. The next day, after Jawo got over a punishing hangover, the pair met up to make some tracks.

Both Stockholm-based artists with DJ backgrounds, Jawo and Hejt have been in the studio ever since, working on their debut album under the name Icona Pop. Excitement is already brewing over the duo after because of its buzzed-about single 'Manners,' which mixes addictive melodies with trademark Swedish electro power. Hailing from Sweden, it's no secret they're pop junkies and aren't afraid to admit loving '90s boy bands, but with an impending US tour and Robyn's producer Patrick Berger working on the album, the dynamic female duo has the ingredients for a serious breakout this summer. Spinner spoke with Hejt about the band's origins and plans for their first album.

Why are there so many good pop bands coming out of Sweden?

I don't know. People are very sensitive for good stuff. We have so many good producers and a very good music scene over here. Maybe it's something about the weather and the way we are.

Listen to Icona Pop's 'Manners'

Download 'Manners'
How do you fit into the Stockholm scene?

We fit it in well. We don't think so much -- we just do it because we have each other. We have fun together. We can reach out to the cool kids and make them dance, because the cool kids can be too cool. They're standing there and watching and they just say, "Yeah, you're very good." The audience here is very hard to get sometimes. It's harder here to get people to dance. Tough crowd, but it's lovely. I love the crowd here.

Are you suggesting people don't like to dance in Sweden?

No [laughs]. People are dancing and absolutely enjoying themselves, but it's in another way. It's not that they don't enjoy it -- they may listen to it when they get home. Sometimes people are standing and listening to the music, but if someone starts to dance and another one starts to dance, if you're lucky the whole crowd will be dancing. You have to really pull it off when you're new here. It's nice to work at it here and feel like you're succeeding in the end.

You guys get a lot of comparisons to the Ting Tings. Do you hear that a lot and what do you think?

Yeah, we've heard! I love them. They're cool. I never listen to them that much, but the things I've heard are very good.

How would you describe your personalities and how that reflects on your music?

You can tell in the music that me and Aino are so different from each other, and I think that's a good thing. We have two different life stories to tell, two different musical backgrounds. We're always looking for new adventures and kind of, we're both dreamers. Aino is very cool and chill and a little bit mysterious sometimes. Me, I have a very hard time sitting still. I'm always like, "yeah, yeah. Let's do this. Let's do this!" It's a good combination for her to say "Hey, chill. We have to breathe." And sometimes I'm telling her "get your ass up, we have to do this!"

What artists did you grow up listening to?

In the '90s, it was so great. I grew up listening to a lot of Prince, but that's because my mom listened to him a lot. I've been listening to so much pop and all the boy bands and everything. Right now, I've started to listen to a lot of old stuff like Talking Heads, Beatles. We mix a lot. We try to listen to a lot of different things. We are also DJs so we're constantly looking for new music and I think you need to find bands that you love to get inspiration to write new stuff.

Which boy bands did you listen to?

N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, Pet Shop Boys. Back then they were so cool.

What was the significance of making it onto the 'Kitsune 10' compilation?

We were so happy when they wanted to work with us because they have been working with so many cool artists. We were there hanging out with them, and it felt so good. It's a very small, cool label that releases compilations and they take artists that they like. But also they work with already signed artists like Two Door Cinema Club. When they found us, we only had one song on MySpace and 2,000 views or something. They were like, "whoa, what's this?"

How is the album going?

We're so excited, but it's really scary. [It's] the best feeling in the world to know you've been working so hard to get to this point. We've been in the studio for one year. When you're sitting here with all your songs laid out you can really see the journey that we've been through. It's been so fun because we have been able to work with people that really want to help us create our sound, from everything to the drums to the bass to how we're going to mix it. In the beginning we were doing everything.

Are there any tracks you're particularly excited about?

Yes. We have one song -- we don't even have a title on it -- but I love that song. It's a kick-ass song. I don't know why -- I just love it. It's about lover-friends, if that's possible. The lyrics are taken from this time we lived in a girl-collective. We were just living with a bunch of girls in an apartment together and having the best year ever. We're sitting there eating breakfast, someone was saying, "Hey, this boy, he was doing that lie." That's when we came up for everything.

When can fans expect the album?

It all depends. We just dropped the single, and we're going to perform it in Sweden, and it depends on how everything goes. We have a plan, but not written in stone. The goal is definitely this year.

Listen to Icona Pop's 'Still Don't Know'

Buy the 'Manners' 7-inch