Icona Pop’s throbbing, dance-friendly beats make anything sound like fun.
Take the lyrics to their song, “I Love It”: “I crashed my car into the bridge! I don’t care! I love it!” Those aren’t exactly the most cheerful lyrics for a summer hit single, but the song — which sounds like a pissed-off ABBA — was a smash hit in Europe while you were rocking “Call Me Maybe” in the States. But thanks to an opening gig with Marina and the Diamonds and a few high-profile gigs at CMJ last month, America may finally be ready for Icona Pop.
The duo are working on their debut right now.
“It is a great mix. You can follow our journey over these three years,” says Aino Jawo. “There’s a difference between our first songs and the ones we have written now.”
Caroline Hjelt adds: “It’s our little baby. Now it’s time for the rest of the world to get to know us.”
With their single giving them more exposure, the duo are starting to feel the first flickers of the world getting to know them.
“It’s amazing when someone comes up to you and says that they like what we are doing,” says Hjelt.
Hjelt, 24, and Jawo, 25, met at a party in London, and they now live in Stockholm. When they met three years ago, they clicked instantly — and it wasn’t long before they started making music.
“Aino was freshly dumped and I was frustrated about my music when we met, so it was a perfect time to start something new,” says Hjelt. “It only took a week or so to write a new song, and after four weeks we had our first gig.”
Hjelt says the pair’s sound has a lot to do with their friendship: “We have lived together since we met and sleep in the same bed. … We have an amazing respect for each other and have a damn good time together. We tell each other that we are lucky to have one another.”
What’s in the name
How did you come up with the name Icona Pop?
Jawo: “Caro’s mum’s Italian friend suddenly said that; it means “pop icon” in Italian!
If you go
Marina and the Diamonds with Icona Pop
Dec. 8, House of Blues
15 Lansdowne St., Boston
$23-$35, 800-745-3000
