JJ is a swedish duo based on Gothenburg - sacred land of the swedish balearic wave. They’re Joakim Benon on music production and Elin Kastlander on vocals.
JJ is that special kind of band that sounds unique and always surprises you (for better or worse). But the most important thing to say is that Nº2 is powerful enough to change your mood and put you into a contemplative-weed-induced-like state of mind (yeah the album’s cover).
Nº2 is the first “full length” album by the duo (before it they were like releasing tracks/singles).
The album starts with 2 tracks sounding very much like afro percussion, guitars and synths with Things Will Never Be the Same Again and From Africa to Málaga.
Then they go to a more hip hop beat dream pop approach with Ecstasy - one of their hits.
Next up Nº2 takes us to an up-and-down trip through folk, acoustic and afro nuances.
But this is not a half-assed album, these guys spread their jewels very well across the album.
My Hopes and Dreams and Masterplan shows how far JJ can go inside their own world and how much fun they have there.
JJ is more than music, as the cover suggests it’s a sensorial experience.
Studio is a swedish duo from Gothenburg - the swedish balearic capital - formed by Dan Lissvik and Rasmus Hägg.
With West Coast they push the balearic boundaries towards surf rock and dub.
The blend makes all sense and unlike other guitar-based swedish balearic acts, the music is well produced and played.
Studio could be labeled as pretentious because their songs’ length (2 tracks longer than 10 minutes). But when listening to it you’ll enjoy the ride: like the delay effect that they love so much the music evolves and convolutes without any hurry.
I won’t try to make it a secret: Air France is my shining star in the balearic world, my favorite one. They’re who firstly called my attention and made me search about what on earth is this so called balearic beat.
The swedish duo Air France is Joel and Henrik. They released a first EP in 2006 through Sincerely Yours - The Tough Alliance’s label.
Altough raw, On Trade Winds shaped the 2000’s balearic wave making it sound REALLY balearic.
At a first listen you may guess you’re listening to an 80s spanish movie soundtrack.
I can easily draw in my mind something like sipping champagne and doing weed on a yacht ride around Mallorca.
I love that relaxing yet sophisticated mood.
On Trade Winds is vague enough to be mistook as a soundtrack but is brilliant in its context and was a first amazing step for what Air France would make afterwards.
First things first.
The Tough Alliance is a swedish duo formed by Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund. They started the 2000’s balearic wave with the album The New School.
The album kicks off in great style with an atmospheric intro Tough II and the album homonimous track. I love its upbeat, synth strings, mood lifting lyrics and their unmistakable vocals. But when talking about The Tough Alliance those are innate features.
The New School keeps up with In The Kitchen, My Hood and the hit Koka-Kola Veins.
Then the balearic mood begins to flirt with fellow twee inspirations until the album reaches its end.
The New School was such a breath of fresh air that it inspired a lot of people, inside and outside Sweden. In addition to that, they formed a label, Sincerely Yours, to diffuse their own music and alikes.
I still remember when I first listened to No Way Down by Air France. That was something I wanted to listen to but didn’t know. The music was light yet danceable, mood-lifting yet relaxing. That was a beach feeling, but somehow sophisticated.
Despite enjoying the Buddha Bar collections for several years now, that was the first time in my life I was introduced to the word Balearic - which means ‘from the Balearic Islands’.
You know the Balearic Islands, right? (Mallorca, Ibiza, etc…)
So you probably know the Ibiza world-wide fame for ‘the best island to party’.
The Balearic music (Balearic beat) is not new. It comes from the 80’s electronic music played by DJs at the parties on the balearic island Ibiza.
At that time the balearic beat was very diverse and embraced from melodic italo disco to aggressive EBM. Those DJs claim that the balearic beat was not a musical style itself, but the way of mixing different styles on a set, according to the audience/DJ moods.
The name Balearic was given to a lot of music since then, but it was more commonly applied to chillout and downtempo, becoming a sub-term for both.
All this shapeless mood got a new wave in 2005 marked by the swedish duo The Tough Alliance, an album called The New School.
The album was well received and the duo formed their own label, Sincerely Yours, which would become the most influential on the new music called by an old name, Balearic.
