The Sounds

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The Sounds

The Sounds 2009 in Stuttgart
Background information
Origin Helsingborg, Scania, Sweden
Genres Indie rock,[1] new wave, Post-punk revival
Years active 1998–present
Labels Original Signal Recordings (US and Canada)
Warner Music Group (Europe)
Associated acts Krezip
Website www.the-sounds.com
Members Maja Ivarsson
Félix Rodríguez
Johan Bengtsson
Jesper Anderberg
Fredrik Blond

The Sounds are a Swedish indie rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons.

Their debut album, Living in America, was released in 2002, with the follow-up Dying to Say This to You on 21 March 2006. Their third album, Crossing the Rubicon, was released on 2 June 2009, and their fourth, Something to Die For, was released on 29 March 2011. Their latest album, Weekend, was released on October 29, 2013.

History

Maja Ivarsson performing.

Formation

The Sounds were formed in 1998 by classmates Félix Rodríguez, Maja Ivarsson, Johan Bengtsson and Fredrik Blond in Helsingborg, Sweden. The group met Jesper Anderberg, the youngest member, by chance at the Hultsfred Festival and was enlisted to play keyboards and guitar. The band's name was decided months later during a trip to London. Before becoming the lead singer of the band, Ivarsson had previously played electric guitar in other local bands.

Living in America

Their debut album, Living in America, was recorded in Stockholm and produced by Adel Dahdal and Jimmy Monell. It earned them several "Best Newcomer" awards, a Grammis, a No. 4 position in the Swedish album charts, and established the band not only in Sweden but also in the United States. The band has played over 500 gigs since the album's release including participating in the 2004 Warped Tour. In 2006 they played again at Warped Tour, this time on main stage, and have toured with bands such as Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Morningwood, Angels & Airwaves, +44, Mando Diao, Panic! at the Disco and most recently, No Doubt and Paramore during their last tour in 2009.

In the United States, the band has done several TV appearances and magazine articles and has reportedly built up a celebrity fan base that includes Dave Grohl, Pharrell, Quentin Tarantino, Thomas Johnson and Robin Botten, Bam Margera and his wife Missy Margera, David Desrosiers, Ben Khodadad and Britney Spears. The band has stated several times that it relies on word of mouth and concerts to promote its music.[2]

Dying to Say This to You

The second album, Dying to Say This to You, was recorded at Studio 880 in Oakland, California, and produced by Jeff Saltzman (producer of The Killers' Hot Fuss). They started the European leg of their tour in September and in October toured with Panic! At The Disco which included dates in London and several other major European cities. Following this tour, The Sounds made another run in the United States, starting with a MySpace secret show in Miami, Florida on Halloween and then stopping at 10 major cities from coast to coast with supporting act Shiny Toy Guns. Altogether, The Sounds played over 200 shows in 2006, over half of which were in the United States.

The Sounds performing in Montréal in 2006.

In early October 2007, The Sounds wrapped up their worldwide tour in Western Europe and Australia.

One of the band's songs, the synth-pop-tinged, "Hurt You", was used in a Geico television commercial that originally aired in September 2008.

Maja Ivarsson was named in Blender Magazine's "Hottest Women of ... Rock" list.[3]

Crossing the Rubicon

The Sounds released their third studio album Crossing the Rubicon, on June 2, 2009, via Original Signal Recordings (US and Canada) and Arnioki Records, their independent label. They collaborated with Mark Saunders as well as James Iha and Adam Schlesinger on the album.[4] They performed the song "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" on Last Call with Carson Daly on February 12, 2009, which was the first single from the album. The song was also included in CW's new show The Vampire Diaries in the "Haunted" episode.[5] The title of the third album was inspired by the Julius Caesar quote and refers to the band's separation from their previous record label and became independent. Their second single, "Beatbox", was featured on American Idol. "Dorchester Hotel" was released as a third single in Germany only.

As of February 2010, two official videos have been released off of Crossing the Rubicon. They are "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake" (directed by Michael Schmelling of A76 Productions) and "Beatbox" (directed by Manuel Concha of Concha Films).

The Sounds was the special guest on the No Doubt Summer Tour 2009, starting in May 2009 in outdoor amphitheaters and arenas across the U.S. and Canada. The Sounds also played a series of headline shows around the U.S. and Canada in late April and early May prior to joining the No Doubt tour. These headlining shows featured Chicago synth-rockers Hey Champ, who created a remix of "Beatbox".

On September 12, 2009, The Sounds embarked on a world tour to promote the new album. Foxy Shazam and Semi Precious Weapons joined them as support in the United States and Matt and Kim supported them in Europe.

Something to Die For

The band's next album was titled Something to Die For, and released on March 29, 2011.[6][7] Lead singer Maja Ivarsson also appeared on pop punk band All Time Low's new album Dirty Work as a guest vocalist on the track "Guts".[8]

The first single from their new album, "Better Off Dead", was released on February 1, 2011. The track was promoted on their website with a competition, in which anyone could download the sheet music for the song, and submit their own version, to be voted on by fans (the winner's version will be included as the B-Side on their upcoming 7"). Everyone who downloaded the sheet music also received the track for free 5 days early.[9] The band released their second single, "Something To Die For", on February 22, 2011 and the single was featured on the Scream 4 soundtrack along with "Yeah Yeah Yeah". The band released the official music video for their third single, "Dance With The Devil", on May 19, 2011. A music video for the fourth single, "Yeah Yeah Yeah", was released on February 16, 2012.

Weekend

On his official Twitter, keyboard player Jesper Anderberg announced that The Sounds were in the studio working on their yet-to-be-named fifth studio album, which should be released around summer of 2013. The Sounds also posted pictures of their in-studio work on Twitter and on their official website, stating that they "are locked up in a studio in Sweden putting the final touches on our 5th studio album". They also said that the album "is a great reflection of our last 10 years of touring, playing live and making music together!". They will release new music in the spring, and start touring summer of 2013. On April 24, they announced via Twitter that they have completed recording the new album.

On May 16, 2013, on their official Twitter, The Sounds posted a preview of their new single "Shake Shake Shake". "Shake Shake Shake" is the first single off of the currently untitled album. "Shake Shake Shake" was subsequently released on May 23, 2013.

In June 2013, it was revealed that The Sounds will embark on a European headline tour in November 2013.

On September 23, 2013, title track "Weekend" was released as a free download on the Nylon website.

On September 29, 2013 the band debuted a new song titled "Hurt the Ones I Love" from album "Weekend" live.

Members

Discography

For a more comprehensive list, see The Sounds discography.

Studio albums:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Sounds - Clash Music Artist Profile". Clash. Retrieved March 10, 2011. 
  2. ↑ The Sounds Interview
  3. ↑
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ "The Vampire Diaries | Mystic Grill Music Page: Presented by AT&T". Cwtv.com. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  6. ↑ "New Album Is Something To Die For". The Sounds. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  7. ↑ "Something To Die For « « NEMzy Networks NEMzy Networks". Nemzy.com. 2011-02-06. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  8. ↑ "Alex Gaskarth Talks Current Tour, Touring Plans, New Album & More!‏". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 
  9. ↑ "The Sounds Contest "Better Off Dead"". Sideonedummy.com. Retrieved 2011-06-09. 

External links

The Sounds
  • Jesper Anderberg
  • Johan Bengtsson
  • Maja Ivarsson
  • Fredrik Nilsson
  • Felix Rodriquez
Albums
EPs
Singles
  • "Fire" / "Hit Me!"
  • "Living in America"
  • "Seven Days a Week"
  • "Dance with Me"
  • "Rock & Roll"
  • "Song with a Mission"
  • "Painted by Numbers"
  • "Tony the Beat"
  • "No One Sleeps When I'm Awake"
  • "Beatbox"
  • "Dorchester Hotel"
  • "Better Off Dead"
  • "Something to Die For"
  • "Dance with the Devil"
  • "Yeah Yeah Yeah"
  • "Shake Shake Shake"
Related articles
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