Brainpool (band)

Last updated
Brainpool
Origin Sweden
Genres Pop, Rock
Years active1993–present
Members David Birde
Christoffer Lundquist
Jens Jansson
Past members Jan "Janne" Kask

Brainpool is a pop music group from Lund, Sweden. The band was most popular in the mid-1990s, mostly in the Swedish indie-pop scene together with other bands like Eggstone or Beagle.

Contents

History

This Swedish band was formed in Lund, Scania, and the original members were vocalist Jan "Janne" Kask, guitarist David Birde, bassist Christoffer Lundquist, and drummer Jens Jansson. The band signed to Per Gessle's music publishing company Jimmy Fun Music and released three albums: Soda (1994; Swedish Grammy as New Band), Painkiller (1995) and Stay Free (1996). They took part as support act during the European Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour by Roxette in 1994.

Janne Kask left the band in 1997 to pursue a solo career. For a while the other band members were looking for a new lead singer, but soon gave up. "It didn't take long for us to realize that it would be impossible to let another person join", David Birde explained in an interview to The Daily Roxette. "It would have to be the three of us, or split up. At first we thought about changing our name, but that turned out to be difficult - Sony Music had already paid for the recording of You Are Here and they wanted us to keep the name. We had to choose between ditching the recordings and lose our record deal or go on calling ourselves Brainpool. We cowardly chose the latter."

The band not only decided to stay together after Kask left, but they decided to change their style and their music. "We realized our audience was getting younger. We were 26, we were smelly and unshaven and drunk. There were 11- and 12-year-old fans who wanted a hug, we just thought it was so wrong, that's when we realized we had to do something else," says David. It was time for their music to reach the level of maturity that they were at.

You Are Here was released in 1999. After this release, the band worked for 4 years on a rock opera which was finally released in 2004 with the name Junk and with the topic of anti-consumerism. The premiere was in Malmö on August 19, 2004 where the band was backed up by Malmö Symphony Orchestra. The album was published by the band's own publishing company Junk Musik which releases singles only on the Internet.

In 2005, Brainpool released the compilation We Aimed To Please. The album only contains songs from 1992 to 1997 when Janne Kask was still in the band. There are no songs from You Are Here or Junk.

In May 2007 Brainpool's Junk: A Rock Opera premiered at a small venue in Los Angeles to mixed fan reviews. [1] It sold out 36 shows, and, in the beginning of 2009, was performed as a staged reading off-Broadway in New York City.

Members

Discography

Albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Per Gessle</span> Swedish musician and songwriter

Per Håkan Gessle is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was disbanded after her death in 2019. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and topped the charts in the US four times, most notably with "It Must Have Been Love" which was featured in the film Pretty Woman. Prior to the formation of Roxette, he had a successful career in his native Sweden as the frontman for Gyllene Tider. The band released three number-one albums during the early 1980s but disbanded shortly after their fourth album, The Heartland Café (1984).

<i>The World According to Gessle</i> 1997 studio album by Per Gessle

The World According to Gessle is the third solo album by Swedish pop singer Per Gessle, released on 2 May 1997. It was his first solo album in English. The title is a paraphrase of "The World According to Garp" - the novel by John Irving. The album topped the Swedish Album Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christoffer Lundquist</span> Swedish musician and producer (born 1970)

Carl Christoffer Lundquist is a Swedish musician and producer. He was once in the band Brainpool, where he started as a bass player and backing vocalist, but moved to play both the bass and the guitar. Brainpool won a Swedish Grammy in 1994. He has also produced albums by Roxette, Per Gessle and Gyllene Tider and played bass and backing vocals in Roxette and participated in Gessle's solo projects.

<i>Son of a Plumber</i> 2005 studio album by Per Gessle

Son of a Plumber is the fifth solo album by Swedish singer-songwriter Per Gessle, released on 23 November 2005 by Capitol in conjunction with Gessle's own label Elevator Entertainment. The record was originally issued pseudonymously as Son of a Plumber, although a 2021 reissue includes Gessle's name on the album cover, and it now appears as part of his solo discography on music download and streaming services. The album was recorded at Christoffer Lundquist's Aerosol Grey Machine studio in Scania, and was produced by Gessle, Lundquist and Clarence Öfwerman. It features vocals from Swedish vocalist Helena Josefsson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Josefsson</span> Swedish singer and songwriter (born 1978)

Helena Marianne Josefsson is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist in the band Sandy Mouche and has collaborated with Per Gessle, Roxette, Arash Labaf, The Ark and various other Swedish musical projects as a backing vocalist. Josefsson toured with Roxette during 2011 on their Neverending World Tour and also toured with Gessle, most notably during his 2018 Per Gessle's Roxette tour around Europe, where she was lead singer in a number of songs. In 2015 she recorded a jazz-covers album Happiness with Swedish trio Kontur, as well as cooperating with Roxette's bass guitarist Magnus Börjesson in a "jazz electronique" project. In addition to Happiness she has released three other solo albums, Dynamo (2007), Kyss Mej and Beauty Love Anything (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Wish (Roxette song)</span> 2006 single by the pop duo Roxette

"One Wish" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 9 October 2006 as the lead single from the duo's fourth greatest hits compilation album, A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs! It was recorded in June 2006, and was one of the first songs recorded by the duo since vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis in 2002. Longtime collaborator Jonas Åkerlund directed the song's music video. The single performed well in several territories, particularly in Scandinavia. It ended 2006 as one of the twenty best-selling singles in Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Real Sugar</span> 2001 single by Roxette

"Real Sugar" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 18 June 2001 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Room Service. The single was not released in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reveal (Roxette song)</span> 2007 single by Roxette

"Reveal" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 January 2007 as the final single from the duo's fourth greatest hits compilation album, A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs! (2006). Gessle was reportedly unhappy with the original album version of the track, so a slightly remixed single version was created, incorporating a re-recorded middle 8. Two other remixes were also created: one by Swedish house duo The Attic, and another by record producer Kleerup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pratar med min müsli (hur det än verkar)</span> 2007 single by Per Gessle

"Pratar med min müsli " is a pop song written by Swedish singer and composer Per Gessle. It is the third single released from the album En händig man. It was originally intended as a promo-only single to be out on the beginning of October 2007. It was delayed and finally released alongside "Shopping With Mother" as a double A-side single. It wasn't as successful as previous singles from the album, spending only 2 weeks in the Swedish Singles Chart, eventually peaking at #47.

<i>Party Crasher</i> 2008 studio album by Per Gessle

Party Crasher is the third English solo album by Swedish pop-rock singer and composer Per Gessle. This is his second worldwide-released English solo album under his own name after The World According to Gessle in 1997. Originally scheduled for release on 3 December in Sweden, it was actually released a week earlier on 26 November. The album reached #2 in the Swedish album charts, curiously becoming the first Gessle involved studio album that did not reach #1 in Sweden since Roxette´s Pearls of Passion, in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silly Really</span> 2008 single by Per Gessle

"Silly Really" is a pop song by Swedish singer and composer Per Gessle from his album Party Crasher. It was released as the lead single from the album on October 29, 2008. The song premiered at the Swedish radio-show MorronZoo, in the morning of October 24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Like It Like That (Per Gessle song)</span> 2006 single by Per Gessle

"I Like It Like That" is a song by Swedish musician Per Gessle, released on 24 May 2006 as the third single from his 2005 album Son of a Plumber. The track was written by Gessle and was originally composed for inclusion on Roxette's 2003 greatest hits compilation The Pop Hits. The duo never recorded the song, however, as Roxette vocalist Marie Fredriksson had been diagnosed with a brain tumour before their version could be recorded. The single contained a B-side titled "Plumber in Progress #2", a compilation of song fragments from the Son of a Plumber album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Mr. DJ (Won't You Play Another Love Song)</span> 2006 single by Per Gessle

"Hey Mr. DJ " is a song by Swedish musician Per Gessle, released on 1 February 2006 as the second single from his 2005 album Son of a Plumber. A duet with Swedish musician Helena Josefsson, who contributed vocals to several tracks on the album, numerous publications praised her vocals and described it as the best track on the record. The song written by Gessle and produced by him alongside Clarence Öfwerman and Christoffer Lundquist. The single was a hit in Sweden, peaking at number 23 and spending over three months on the Swedish Singles Chart. It also entered the Dutch Single Top 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C'mon/Jo-Anna Says</span> 2005 single by Per Gessle

"C'mon"/"Jo-Anna Says" is a double A-side single released by Swedish musician Per Gessle as the first single from his Son of a Plumber album. Issued on 4 November 2005, the single was a top five hit on the Swedish Singles Chart, and was one of the best-selling singles of the year in the country. "C'mon" is a glam rock song, while music journalists compared "Jo-Anna Says" to the psychedelic pop work of The Beatles. The artwork for the cover was shot by Anton Corbijn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Party Crasher Tour 2009</span> 2009 concert tour by Per Gessle

Party Crasher Tour 2009 is a club European tour by Per Gessle in support of his studio solo album Party Crasher. The tour was held in Europe from 16 April, till 10 May 2009. Along with the songs from the aforementioned CD, Gessle and his band played tracks by Roxette and from Gessle's solo albums like The World According to Gessle, Son of a Plumber, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)</span> 2011 single by Roxette

"She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 January 2011 as the lead single from their eighth studio album, Charm School. An uptempo rock and electropop song, the track received a mixed response from both fans and critics. Despite this, it went on to become a substantial hit for the duo throughout mainland Europe. It was their most successful single since 1992's "How Do You Do!" in territories such as Austria and Germany, and also peaked within the top thirty of numerous airplay charts: including Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart. This made Roxette the only duo who have appeared on that chart during each of the last four consecutive decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Way Out (Roxette song)</span> 2011 single by Roxette

"Way Out" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 June 2011 as the third and final commercial single from their eighth studio album, Charm School. The single was released solely in Germany and Austria, with their record label there opting to release another uptempo single, following the success of "She's Got Nothing On ". Elsewhere, a Bassflow remix of "Speak to Me" was released as the album's final commercial single. The song received generally positive reviews, and its music video was directed by Mikael Sandberg and Magnus Öhrlund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It Just Happens</span> 2016 single by Roxette

"It Just Happens" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 8 April 2016 as the lead single from their tenth studio album, Good Karma. An electropop track, it was their first release under a new deal signed with Warner Music Group. The music video was directed by Tobias Leo Nordquist. Although the song was not as successful as the duo's previous lead singles on commercial charts, it performed well on numerous airplay charts; the track has been broadcast almost 15,000 times on radio in Russia.

PG Roxette is a Swedish pop rock group, established by Per Gessle in 2021.

<i>Pop-Up Dynamo!</i> Album by PG Roxette

Pop-Up Dynamo! is the debut studio album by Swedish pop band PG Roxette, released on 19 October 2022 by Elevator Entertainment and Parlophone. The band was formed by Roxette songwriter Per Gessle following the death of vocalist Marie Fredriksson in 2019. The album was recorded alongside several long-time Roxette contributors, including keyboardist and producer Clarence Öfwerman, bassist Magnus Börjeson, guitarists Jonas Isacsson and Christoffer Lundquist, and vocalists Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg. The record also features vocals from Swedish singer Léon.

References

  1. "Reviews of Junk: A Rock Opera in Los Angeles, CA | Goldstar". Goldstar. Retrieved 2017-04-13.