| Gravitonas | |
|---|---|
Alexander Bard, Andreas Öhrn |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm |
| Genres | Electronica, Swedish pop music |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | SoFo Records, Universal Music |
Gravitonas[1] is a Swedish electronic rock band[2] formed in 2009 and signed to Sofo Records (Sweden) and Universal Music (worldwide) in 2010. The band is fronted by vocalist Andreas Öhrn and record producer and songwriter Alexander Bard (of Army Of Lovers and BWO fame[3]). Other collaborators in the project include keyboardist and producer Henrik Wikström and guitar player Ben Smith. Gravitonas are among the front figures of the Scandinavian electronica scene, often linked to artists like Robyn, The Knife, Lykke Li, Röyksopp, The Sound of Arrows, and Miike Snow, with whom they have also performed[4] on several occasions.
Gravitonas' debut single Kites[5] was released in April 2010 and spent four consecutive months in the Top 10 of the Swedish Dance Chart. The release featured remixes by a number of Scandinavia's leading electronic acts such as Dada Life and SoundFactory. A second release, The Hypnosis EP,[6] was released digitally and internationally by Universal Music on August 18, 2010, featuring the band's second single Religious as its lead track.
Religious entered the Russian Hot 100 chart in November 2010[7] staying in the charts for over four months and receiving over 100,000 plays on Russian national radio, after which the track was successfully exported to the U.S. where it peaked at #28 in the Billboard Magazine Club Play Chart in April, 2011.[8] A third release, The Coliseum EP, was released digitally on November 3, 2010, featuring lead single and video You Break Me Up.
Lead vocalist Andreas Öhrn has since the launch of Gravitonas also taken up a successful career as a songwriter and producer for other artists, including a #1 hit single for Japanese boy band Hey! Say! JUMP.[9] Öhrn also wrote and produced the soundtrack for I Miss You, a movie by Swedish director Anders Grönros which was released in September 2011 and peaked at #2 in the Swedish Box Office Chart.
A collaboration track with Russian pop star Roma Kenga called Everybody Dance was released on May 25, 2011. This exclusive Swedish-Russian co-production was created through the joined forces of Universal Music Russia, Swedish record label SoFo Records, and Perpetuum Music.[10] Everybody Dance entered the Russian Airplay Top 30 in July 2011 and was playlisted on the A-List of Eastern Europe's biggest radio network Europa Plus. The single has since charted in a further six European countries and entered the Billboard Club Chart Top 50 in the U.S. on 21 November 2011.
A fifth Gravitonas single and video called Lucky Star was released globally as a digital EP on 15 September 2011. The track was premiered live on Crimea Music Festival, the biggest music festival in Eastern Europe, broadcast from Yalta, Crimea on 8 September 2011 [11] and has since become a Top 20 hit single in five countries, while awaiting a further international promotion push in early 2012.