JJ, styled as jj, is a Swedish band who has released music through the

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

-based independent label

Sincerely Yours Sincerely Yours may refer to: Film * ''Sincerely Yours'' (film), a 1955 American romantic music comedy featuring Liberace * '' Sincerely Yours...'', a 1985 Soviet comedy Music * Sincerely Yours (record label), a Swedish record label Albums * ...

and the

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

-based label

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...

. The band consists of Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander.

History

jj met in their hometown of

Vallentuna Vallentuna is the seat of Vallentuna Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden, with 33,219 inhabitants in 2018. Vallentuna's cultural landscape is well preserved, and human habitation in the area has been traced back as far as the Stone Age. Arche ...

, outside of

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, and began playing together at a local youth center. They released their debut jj n° 1 in early 2009 and a couple of months later they released their debut album ''

jj n° 2 JJ or jj may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * J. J. Evans, a character in the 1970s sitcom ''Good Times'' * Jennifer Jareau or JJ, a character in ''Criminal Minds'' * John Diggle Jr., a character in ''Arrow'' nicknamed ...

''. Both the debut single and the debut album received a ''Best New Music'' inclusion from

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

with ratings of 8 and 8.6 respectively. On December 24, 2008, it was announced that the American record label

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 works with both Sincerely Yours and Secretly Canadian, depending on the location, and hence didn't leave 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 Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

's "

Troublemaker Troublemaker, The Troublemaker, Trouble Maker, or Trouble Makers may refer to: Film * Troublemaker Studios, a Texan film production company founded by Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan * ''Trouble Makers'' (1917 film), a lost silent film dr ...

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer. He embarked on a musical career after meeting record producer Mick Schultz in 2008, and signed a recording contract wi ...

's "

Birthday Sex "Birthday Sex" is the debut single by American singer Jeremih. It served as the lead single for his self-titled debut studio album (2009). The song was written by Jeremih, Keith James, and Mick Schultz, the latter of whom also helmed its producti ...

" and the "

Theme Song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

" for the

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class nicknamed the Sweathogs. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the ser ...

TV-series. All of these were released for free on the internet, making it similar to a

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

. From March to April 2010, jj was on a nationwide tour in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

band

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), ...

. Following the US tour, jj went on a minor tour through

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

with dates in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

among others. jj's next release, following '' jj n° 3'', was a mixtape named '' Kills''. It was released as a free download on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

2010, at Sincerely Yours website. In late March 2011, jj collaborated with fellow Swedish artist Yves Saint Lorentz to make an official remix of Rebecca & Fiona's single "Bullets". The remix was named "The End of the World". jj's song "My Life" from '' jj n° 3'' was featured in an official trailer for

Battlefield 3 ''Battlefield 3'' is a 2011 first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the sixth main installment in the '' Battlefield'' series and a follow-up to '' Battlefield 2'' (2005). The game was released on Micr ...

that was released in April 2011. In summer 2011, jj collaborated with the American R&B singer

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...

and released the song "We Can't Stop" as part of the Adult Swim Singles Program 2011. Later in 2011, they were involved in another collaboration with American rapper Don Trip to make the song "Cheers (jj's Save Our Souls Remix)" for the magazine

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

. In September 2013 they collaborated with

Adrian Lux Prinz Adrian Johannes Hynne, better known as Adrian Lux (born 1 May 1986), is a Swedish disc jockey and music producer. His biggest chart success is " Teenage Crime". Adrian Lux released his debut album on the 3rd of April, 2012. The self-titled a ...

on the song "Wild Child". In May 2014, jj announced their third studio album entitled '' V'', as in ''jj n° 5''. At the same time they released the single "All White Everything" from the album. '' V'' was released on August 19, 2014. On August 12, 2015, jj released the EP "Death" consisting of five new songs.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2009) * '' jj n° 3'' (2010) * '' V'' (2014)

Mixtapes

* '' Kills'' (2010)

Singles and EPs

* " jj n° 1" (2009) * '' a jj 12"'' (2009) * "jj n° 4" (2012) * ''High Summer'' (2012) * ''Death'' (2015)

References

External links

Sincerely Yours

Secretly Canadian
* * * * {{Authority control Swedish electronic music groups Electronic music duos Musical groups from Stockholm County Secretly Canadian artists Vallentuna Municipality