Icona Pop have burst onto the scene as of late, and the duo don't show signs of going anywhere fast.
We got the chance to chat to Aino Jawo of the group, and she told us exactly what 'I Love It' means, what music has meant to her and what we can expect from Icona Pop when they return to the UK for live shows next year.
Have you always wanted a career in the music industry?
Yes - always. It's been a dream since I was very small.
What are some of your earliest memories of music?
I mean it's been a part of my life since I was a small child and my family's also been into music so I don't really remember exactly when, but I would say that yeah - it's been a part of my life.
What obstacles have you had to overcome to get to where you are today?
Oh it's been a lot of ups and downs - I think it's also a part of the path that you make. I mean - you work with people that maybe don't quite understand your artistical way of expressing yourself, but then you just choose to not work with them I guess. Then you find your own cool crew!
'I Love It' became a massive hit globally, including going number one in the UK - how did that feel?
Crazy, because we were musicians for quite a long time, and Icona Pop has been around for almost four and a half years, so for me it was more - like I remember the feeling was so, it was so weird (laughs), but of course it was fantastic, like 'wow, finally it happened!'.
Is the song just a bit of fun or is there more to it?
I mean - it is quite an angry song. It is like coming out of a heartbreak and there comes the day where you start to feel a bit stronger and your sadness turns into anger, so it is quite an angry song, but also very - it makes everyone want to scream out loud (laughs).
Your most recent album saw positive reviews - can you tell us about the creative process you go through when you create music?
We've been doing this album for such a long time. I'm very happy that we got so long because I think you can clearly hear the path we've taken - you can clearly hear the adventure we've done when it comes to music and it's not only - there's like so many different - we got inspiration from so many different music genres as well, and also we've been writing it all over the world. It's been done in Sweden, in the UK, Australia - we've been just basically having a microphone with us on tour, and then we've been writing while we've been on tour, and then we went to L.A. for about two weeks and recorded most of the things.
So, it's been a little different way of writing than a lot of artists have done.
Where do you draw inspiration from as an artist?
It's from a lot of different things - usually it's self-experience stuff, but also when you're hanging with people that maybe are going through some rough times - you can also write. It's kind of like a diary - it's our pop diary, and some things you may just make up if there's not enough drama in your life!
You're performing some dates in the UK next year, what can fans expect from those shows?
Yeah! A lot of energy, we will steal them into our Icona Pop world and then I think we'll spread a lot of love. We always say that we have a concert together with the audience, so I hope that our Rebels are ready to rave a bit!
Are there any other projects that you're currently involved in you can share some details about with us?
We have a couple of projects but unfortunately we can't tell you because we can't really jinx it yet! There's some fun stuff coming out next year - hopefully! You never know. This is definitely just the beginning!
Icona Pop's new album 'This Is...' is out now on Atlantic Records / Record Company TEN.
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