On Friday, the single "Butterfly feelings" will be released from the upcoming album "Ritual". "Dance to this" and a single that shares the same name as the album are already out. The album is described as "honest" and "fragile".
A lot has happened in both their lives; they have had to find themselves again, but also give each other space.
"It feels like this album represents a lot for us in really taking back control, doing things the way we want and finding ourselves again," says Caroline Hjelt.
Stress as a kick
Icona Pop broke through internationally in 2012 with the hit "I love it". The duo formed the day after they met at a party in 2009. Since then, they have basically been together, including living together in Los Angeles until they moved home to Stockholm during the pandemic and had children close to each other.
After that, Aino Jawo continued at a high pace - until she couldn't go any further.
"Stress was almost like a kick for me. But now I really got to the point where my body just said, 'You haven't listened to what I said; now I'm going to show you.' I learned to accept that I'm not immortal."
The fact that she had to take a step back for the first time affected the project, says Jawo.
"We've really been in sync the whole time, we've been through the same kind of things, even our first children were in the same phase. This was probably the first time we had to give each other some space to go through things ourselves, but also be there for each other," says Caroline Hjelt, who herself went through a separation.
Letting in the listener
That they would succeed in completing the album was not a given, but today they look at the result with pride, Hjelt continues.
"There was never a discussion about either of us wanting to quit. I think it was more like, 'How are we going to do this?' and 'Will the other one be able to handle it?'"
The "clubby" and "dancey" nature of Icona Pop is still there, but Aino Jawo describes it as the first time they've really let the listeners in.
"We usually make songs that you can dance to and hide the message in some fun pop melodies. On this album we also made some songs very 'ah, this hurts'."
The duo consists of Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt. They received a record deal as Icona Pop in 2009.
They released the EP "Nights like this" in 2011. The debut album "Icona Pop", which included the breakthrough hit "I love it", was released in 2012. The follow-up "This is... Icona Pop" was released in 2013.
The album "Club romantech" was released in 2023.
Current: The album "Ritual" will be released on August 14. The singles "Ritual" (feat. Daya) and "Dance to this" are out. "Butterfly feelings" will be released on Friday.
23/10 Pustervik, Gothenburg
24/10 The Dairy, Lund
30/10 Vulkan Arena, Oslo
6/11 Arbis, Norrköping
7/11 Berns, Stockholm
13/11 Pumpehuset, Copenhagen
