Universal Poplab was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

band founded in January 2002 by vocalist Christer Lundberg and producer Paul Lachenardière. The band's two members have very different backgrounds: Christer is an old-school

fan, influenced by acts like

Soft Cell Soft Cell are an English synth-pop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball (electronic musician), David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit versio ...

and Yazoo, Paul is a classically trained musician with roots in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

. Each member’s creativity has taken various forms over the years. Christer also hosts his own daytime radio show five days a week on Swedish radio and has produced TV documentaries. Paul creates music and releases records in such varied genres as trance and nu-jazz.

History

In 2003 Universal Poplab made their live debut at the Scandinavian Alternative Music Awards (SAMA), followed by a number of summer gigs. The SubSpace Encounter in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

and the support show for

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

stars

Melotron Melotron is a futurepop and synthpop band from Germany. In 1995 Andy Krueger, Edgar Slatnow and Kay Hildebrandt left their former band, The Vermin, to form Melotron. The band found success with their first single, "Dein Meister," in 1998. Their ...

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 ...

. In 2004 their debut album ''Universal Poplab'' is released by independent record label SubSpace Communications. On the album, one can find a wide spectre of music, from gentle love songs as ”Dice Roller” and ”Any More Than This” weaved between electrifying tracks as “I Can’t Help Myself” (with Paul as the lead vocalist) and “Days Astray” to floor fillers as ”Extasy” and the first single, the melancholic yet bouncy “Casanova Fall”. The record also includes a cover version of

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

’s ”

We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Morrissey from his third studio album, ''Your Arsenal'' (1992). It was released as the lead single from the album on 27 April 1992 by His Master's Voice. ...

” featuring the backing vocals of one of Sweden's most famous pop stars,

Håkan Hellström Håkan Georg Hellström (; born 2 April 1974) is a Swedish musician. He made his breakthrough in Sweden in 2000 with the song "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg" and the album with the same name. He has released eleven studio albums to date w ...

. Lundberg and Hellström have known each other since they were 16, and the song is dealing with the dark side of having famous friends. Universal Poplab’s single release, "New Baby Boom" (featuring Nina Natri from Homy and ex-Fidget), gained a good grip on Swedish radio playlists. Following three singles from "Uprising" – Universal Poplab released "Fame and Hate" onto the web with a viral video. The follow-up single "On the Run" is available as a free download from their official website, where the official video can also be viewed.

Members

*Christer Lundberg *Paul Lachenardière *Hans Olsson-Brookes

Discography

Albums

* '' Universal Poplab'' (2004) * ''

Uprising Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

'' (2006) * ''

Seeds In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds are the ...

'' (2008)

Singles

* "Casanova Fall" (2003) * "New Baby Boom" (2004) * "Dice Roller" (2004) * "I Could Say I'm Sorry" (2006) * "Heart Apart" (2006) * "Fire" (2007) * "Fame and Hate" (2008) * "On the Run" (2008) * "Summer Struck" (2008)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Swedish musical groups