Icona Pop Next Mistake Interview

Icona Pop Deliver Summer Smash with Next Mistake

Swedish chart-topping, multi-platinum-selling duo Icona Pop are back with another surefire dance-floor banger and soundtrack to your summer. "Next Mistake"

Icona Pop sky-rocketed onto the music scene back in 2012 with their debut hit "I Love It" which was a smash hit around the globe and peaked at #3 on the ARIA chart and achieved 6 x platinum sales (over 420k certified sales) in Australia.

"Next Mistake" marks a welcomed return for the girls, they have consistently filled the gap in music when it comes to upbeat, carefree, quality dance-pop and have recently inked a deal with dance music giants Ultra Records (in partnership with Record Company TEN), the track is produced by Hudson Mohawke, Nanno Veen and YARO.

"Next Mistake is about all those bad choices you made that was worth it, about all those mistakes in your life that make you human." Icona Pop reveal.

Question: What inspired the track, Next Mistake? Interview with Icona Pop

Icona Pop: We´ve always been super inspired by the 90´s so we decided to make a song that we would love to dance to if it came on. The song is about how you sometimes have to embrace your mistakes and know that you're gonna make some. They might lead to something fun!


Question: Can you share one of the 'mistakes' you've made?

Icona Pop: Oh dear if you only knew (laughs). Some things are not meant to be shared but there is definitely been a lot of mistakes involving love... a lot of times mistakes can lead to a new path that you would have never taken otherwise. For example how we met!


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Icona Pop: Right now it is We Got That Cool and Next Mistake. It is so refreshing to play something new and see how people react to it, and the coolest thing is to see when people already know the lyrics.

Question: When will you visit us in Australia, next?

Icona Pop: Tomorrow please, we absolutely LOVE Australia. Last time we were there we had one of the best times ever, the people are so kind, the food is great and you sure know how to party like Swedish people do.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Icona Pop: We prefer performing live; it's so amazing to connect with our fans all over the world. That's what we live for.


Question: What is the story behind the band name?

Aino: It was actually Caroline's Mum who came up with it, so thank you Lena. We were nameless for quite some time and nothing felt right. Then she went to a dinner back in Stockholm with her Italian friends who asked if we were going to be the next "Pop Icons", which in Italian is "Icona Pop". We were like hell yeah, that's the name!


Question: How did the band come together?

Aino: We met at Caroline's place, she had a party and I just went through a really hard brake up. We had a mutual friend that forced me to join her to have some fun. I would've never guessed that night would change my life. Caroline and I started talking and we decided to write some music together, so the day after we met up at her place. Nervous as hell with a bottle of wine and a computer we suddenly had a song and right in that spot we were like "hey we should start a band". That's almost eleven years ago, now. Life is so crazy!


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Icona Pop: It's mainly a way for us to express our feelings. We write about self-experienced things. When the lyrics, melodies and beats flow perfectly together it moves you in a way that we can't explain. Also, it's an amazing feeling when you realise that you're music can be therapy for others and help people in their daily life. We've heard so many great stories from our fans.

Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Aino: I have this amazing app where you can listen to music from all different countries and decide what year you want to hear music from. I´ve been listening a lot of 70´s West Africa tunes lately. It's so cool and the melodies are sick! I also listen to a lot of old house music but it always depends on what mood I'm in. If I'm super stressed I usually listen to forest sounds or rain drops. I know it's weird but if you travel a lot and don't get to go out in the nature you have to create your own.

Caroline: I listen to a wide mix of music for example POP, house, hip-hop and desert blues. It depends on what I want to feel. If I'm on a hike and need to clear my head I listen a lot to melody-driven music that goes on forever without vocals. The best thing I know is when my friends send me playlists that they made. It's such a luxury to be fed with new music like that. I love pop and usually goes back to some 90s pop for inspiration.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Icona Pop: We both grew up watching MTV and knew early on that we wanted to do music. We went to the same music school in Stockholm but we didn't really know each other back then and it took many years until we started our band. During those years we tried different things, Aino had another band and Caroline was in different projects but nothing felt completely right. When we met each other something happened and we just knew that we had to go for it. In the beginning we were super inspired by the French electro scene, Prince, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Chemical Brothers and so on. The music industry is very tough and we are so happy that we have each other in both fun and hard times.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Icona Pop: Stromae, he is such a brilliant artist and it could be a super cool combo. We are huge fans.


Interview by Brooke Hunter
Photo: Yoye Lapogian