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Biography:
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jj are a band that release music through the Gothenburg-based independent label Sincerely Yours, which was founded by the Swedish pop group The Tough Alliance. The band consists of Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander.
jj released their debut single “jj n° 1” in early 2009 and a couple of months later they released their debut album jj n° 2.
On December 24, 2009 it was announced that the American record label Secretly Canadian had signed jj to their roster. At the same time, the release date for jj’s second full length album was slated. The album, named jj n° 3, was released in the United States and Sweden on March 9, 2010. jj will work with both Sincerely Yours and Secretly Canadian, depending on the location, and has therefore not left Sincerely Yours for Secretly Canadian.
Aside from their official releases, jj has also done several covers and new takes on contemporary songs. For example, they’ve recorded covers of Akon’s “Troublemaker”, Jeremih’s “Birthday Sex” and the “Theme Song” for the Welcome Back, Kotter tv-series. All of these were released for free on the internet, making it similar to a mixtape.
From March to April 2010, jj was on a nationwide tour in the United States with the British band The xx. Following the US tour, jj went on a minor tour through Europe with dates in Italy, France and Belgium among others.
jj’s next album, following jj n° 3, will be a mixtape named Kills. The first single from Kills, entitled “Let Them” was released October 12, for free at Sincerely Yours website. The single sampled Akon’s Right Now (Na Na Na). The single also featured a B-side, entitled “I’m The One/Money On My Mind” which sampled “Intro” by The xx.
jj emerged on the Gothenburg based record label Sincerely Yours in 2009, with a particularly gratifying take on the musical preoccupations common to much of the label’s roster.
Their take on neo-Balearic indie pop filters Air France’s tropical haze, the Tough Alliance’s penchant for slyly irreverent appropriation, and the Honeydrips’ fragile twee pop melodicism into a beguilingly lush, gently electronic style reminiscent of prime Saint Etienne with a smoother, beachier sheen. jj also share their label mates’ propensity for mystery, favoring an artfully enigmatic presentation that has engendered near-complete Internet silence concerning the group’s identity and back-story, but the female vocalist (Elin Kastlander) provides a distinguishing sonic hallmark in the form of her warm, lusciously smooth alto.
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