I took time to ask the ladies some questions as a band, not as individuals, and found myself loving them even more than before. So, without further ado, I give you Icona Pop;

1. How was Icona Pop born?

We met one neon lit night in the heart of Stockholm. Love at first sight. We started talking, it turned into dancing, and we realized quite quickly that we spoke the same language. We felt a huge need to try writing something together and we had no time to lose. The next day we sat down with a bottle of wine and wrote our very first song. The sky was black and it was raining outside and it felt like sitting there with an old friend that you've known your whole life. Icona Pop was born and we moved in together. That was a beginning of a time when we didn't need any sleep. We couldn't stop writing. That was the most intense and creative period in our lives so far.

2. Sweden is famous for it’s music exports and the talent that seems to flourish there. Is there something in the water?

Haha, Sweden's got the best tasting water in the whole world so maybe there is something magic about it.  We also have very long cold winters when you just dig deeper into your work and beautiful summers to collect new inspiration. Sweden overall is very sensitive when it comes to good music and art. It’s a very small country and if you are good at what you do, people will know. We have so many good musicians and producers and when it comes to pop; Sweden is very ahead.

3. What are your inspirations? What environments does your creativity thrive in?

We don't have a certain place or a situation where we have to be able to write. We are two dreamers that constantly need to put ourselves in situations where we feel alive. It’s always "touching the sky-good" or very f***ing bad… we are never grey, always black or white. When we write we have to follow our feelings and have a very hard time planning stuff. Sometimes we want to be out in the forest and listening to the silence and other times we feel more alive on the dance floor.  

 4. How does it feel for your song ‘Manners’ to receive so much attention? What do you think of the remixes and the reworks that other artists have produced?

Wow, it feels amazing! When someone from across the world mentions our music in his or her blogs or comments us on facebook that means the world to us. That means they understand our music and us. We are so excited to release our album and show them even more of us. When we write we always create our own little "Icona Pop world" and know we are ready to let the rest of the world in. So far we love the remixes that we've heard and we wanna hear even more. It feels weird when you get a remix by someone cool that you've been listening to a lot.

5. Are you currently working on any projects?

We have a lot of projects going on all the time.  We always sleep with a pen and paper next to the bed so that we don't forget anything during the night. At the moment we spend a lot of time finishing our album. We know exactly what we want and soon we will be there. We are also planning our own festival at our country house. We are gonna invite some very good upcoming artists and friends, build a scene with hay bales around to sit on. The guests can sleep in some of the houses or in tents. We are really looking forward to Ainos famous vegetarian Gambian BBQ… To f**king die for.

6. Icona pop? What is the reason behind the name 

Actually there is no cool story. Caroline's mum came up with it. Thank you mum!

See what did I tell you? And if that wasn't good enough here is an exclusive teaser for "Manners" which can also be found on Styloko.com

Stay tuned for more to come from Icona Pop and their amazing sound and make sure you are here for the premier of Manners on Monday 4th July.

Check out a review of Double A-Side single Top Rated below:

For more on the band; 

www.iconapop.com  

www.facebook.com/iconapop 

Text by Ben Taylor 

Photography - Hedvig Jenning  

Video - Johannes Ring