The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Last updated
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
The Soundtrack of Our Lives.jpg
Singer Ebbot Lundberg (right) in the crowd with two fans at the Meredith Music Festival, December 2006
Background information
Origin Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres Alternative rock, neo-psychedelia
Years active1995–2012, 2023–Present
LabelsTelegram Records (Europe)
Universal Music (USA)
In-Fidelity Recordings (Aus) Haldern Pop Recordings (Germany, Switzerland, Austria)
MembersFredrik Sandsten
Martin Hederos
Ebbot Lundberg
Mattias Bärjed
Åke Karl Kalle Gustafsson
Ian Person
Past membersBjörn Olsson
Website Official website
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives in 2004. TSOOOL-by-Boel-6725.jpg
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives in 2004.

The Soundtrack of Our Lives, often abbreviated T.S.O.O.L., are a Swedish rock band that formed in Gothenburg in 1995 and disbanded in 2012, before reuniting again in 2023. The band's style draws heavily from sixties and seventies rock and punk, such as Rolling Stones and Iggy and the Stooges. Psychedelic rock is another strong influence for the band, and psychedelic and mystical references are also prominent in the band's lyrics and aesthetics. The abbreviation 'OEOC', which is featured on all their albums, refers to the phrase "as above, so below" from Hermeticism. [1] [2]

Contents

Formation

The Soundtrack of Our Lives was originally formed by Torbjörn "Ebbot" Lundberg, Björn Olsson, Ian Person, Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm, Fredrik Sandsten and Martin Hederos. Several members, including vocalist Ebbot Lundberg, had previously played in the punk rock band Union Carbide Productions, while Jerneholm had previously released an album with Gothenburg grunge rockers Electric Eskimoes. Olsson, who as a guitarist had helped craft the band's sound, left T.S.O.O.L. after its first release, Welcome to the Infant Freebase, to pursue a solo career. He was replaced by Mattias Bärjed, who, like other members, has also engaged in solo and spinoff projects.

Band members

Apart from those mentioned instruments, they all played other instruments such as mellotron, dulcimer, cello, piano, sitar, cembalo and others.

Former band member:

Tours and releases

The band found critical success in the United States in 2002, with their third album Behind the Music , released the previous year in Sweden and the rest of Europe. It was nominated for the Best Alternative Album award at the 2003 Grammy Awards. They toured the US in 2002 with Oasis, in support of their album Behind the Music .

Their double album Communion was released in November 2008. After a tour of the US the band announced that they were working on their next record Throw It Into the Universe. In October 2010, the band announced it would be releasing their first 'best of' compilation entitled Golden Greats no. 1. According to a statement on their website: "The band has spent much of the summer of 2010 in Svenska Grammofonstudion [ sic ] where they remastered the original recordings and in part picked up nuances that somehow went missing. With the carefully restored and remastered versions we are invited to TSOOL classics in a way we never heard them before."

In early 2012, the band announced on their website that their latest album, Throw It to the Universe, was complete. The album was released on 18 April 2012.

Lead singer Ebbot Lundberg stated in an interview with Intro Magazine that Throw It to the Universe would be the band's final album, stating that he felt it completed the band's journey. The band performed its last show on 22 December 2012 in Stockholm. [3]

In 2023, the band reunited for a number of festival performances in Sweden, Norway, and Spain. A tour of Sweden took place in the spring of 2024, and more dates were added for summer and autumn.

Their track "Instant Repeater 99" is played during the closing credits of the 2002 film Spun .

Their track "Sister Surround" was included on the "jukebox" of EA Sports' MVP Baseball 2003 , while "Karmageddon" is featured on EA Sports' NHL 2005 and FIFA Football 2005 video games. [4] and in the movie Grand Theft Parsons . "Sister Surround" was also featured in an episode of Six Feet Under . Their track "Babel On" was featured in MLB 10: The Show .

Their track "Bigtime" featured as the theme of WrestleMania 21 and on the soundtrack of the PAL version of Gran Turismo 4 . Their track "Mother One Track Mind" was also featured on the Gran Turismo 4 soundtrack. T.S.O.O.L.'s songs "Sister Surround" and "Ten Years Ahead" both appear on the In Good Company soundtrack as well.

The song "Second Life Replay" was featured during an episode of the fourth season of Californication and "What's Your Story" in season six. [5]

Discography

Studio albums

YearDetailsPeak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
SWE
[6]
FIN
[7]
UK
[8]
US
[9]
1996 Welcome to the Infant Freebase
  • Released: March 1996
  • Label: Telegram Records
7
1998 Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of Western Civilization
  • Released: April 1998
  • Label: Telegram Records
16
2001 Behind the Music
  • Released: February 2001
  • Label: Telegram Records
395
2004 Origin Vol. 1
  • Released: 18 October 2004
  • Label: Telegram Records
120136179
2008 Communion
  • Released: 26 November 2008
  • Label: Telegram Records
1
2012 Throw It to the Universe
  • Released: 18 April 2012
  • Label: Telegram Records
1

Compilation albums

YearDetailsPeak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)
SWE
[6]
FIN
[7]
UK
[8]
US
[9]
2005 A Present from the Past
  • Released: 7 December 2005
  • Label: Telegram Records
34
2010Golden Greats No. 1
  • Released: 24 November 2010
  • Label: Telegram Records
2014Rest in Piece 1994–2012
  • Released: 29 January 2014
  • Label: Parlophone S

EPs

YearDetails
1996Homo Habilis Blues
  • Released: 1996
  • Label: Telegram Records
  • Position: No. 23 ( SWE ) [12]
2000Gimme Five!
  • Released: 21 June 2000
  • Label: Telegram Records
  • Position: No. 58 (SWE) [12]
2010The Immaculate Convergence
  • Released: 2010
  • Label: Yep Roc
Live at Lime
  • Released: 2010
  • Label: Limewire
2012Shine On (There's Another Day After Tomorrow)
  • Released: December 2012
  • Label: EMI

Singles

YearTitleChart positionsAlbum
SWE
[12]
UK
[8] [13]
1996"Instant Repeater '99"Welcome to the Infant Freebase
1997"Blow My Cool"
1998"Mantra Slider"
"Black Star"Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of the Western Civilization
"Firmament Vacation (A Soundtrack of Our Lives)"96Welcome to the Infant Freebase
"Instant Repeater '99" (remix)156
1999"Avenger Hill Street Blues"Non-album single
2001"Still Aging"Behind the Music
"Nevermore"
"Sister Surround"6080
"21st Century Rip Off"114
2004"Bigtime"178Origin Vol. 1
"Believe I've Found"
2005"Heading for a Breakdown"70
2008"Thrill Me"Communion
2009"Ra 88"
"Flipside"
"Babel On" (radio edit)
"The Ego Delusion" (radio edit)
2010"Demophon"non-album download-only singles
"Earthmover"
"You Better Run"
2012"Try Again"
"What's Your Story?"Throw It to the Universe
"Throw It to the Universe" (radio edit)

Related Research Articles

<i>Californication</i> (album) 1999 studio album by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Californication is the seventh studio album by U.S. rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on June 8, 1999, on Warner Bros. Records. It was produced by Rick Rubin. Along with Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication is one of the band’s best-selling albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caesars (band)</span> Swedish rock band

Caesars were a Swedish indie rock band from Stockholm, formed in 1995. In their native country, the band was originally known as Caesars Palace, a name which was changed to avoid conflicting with the name of the Las Vegas hotel. In the rest of Scandinavia they are known as Twelve Caesars.

<i>Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of Western Civilization</i> 1998 studio album by The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of the Western Civilization is the second studio album by the Swedish band The Soundtrack of Our Lives. It was the band's last Europe only release.

<i>Welcome to the Infant Freebase</i> 1996 studio album by The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Welcome to the Infant Freebase is the debut album by the Swedish rock band The Soundtrack of Our Lives.

<i>Behind the Music</i> (album) 2001 studio album by The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Behind the Music is the third album by the Swedish rock band The Soundtrack of Our Lives. It was originally released in Europe in February 2001, and subsequently around the world over the next two years. The album was the band's breakthrough record outside of their native Sweden, and was nominated for the Best Alternative Album award at the 2003 Grammy Awards. Among their newly found fans was Noel Gallagher, who proclaimed Behind the Music to be "the best album to come out in the last six years" and invited The Soundtrack of Our Lives to join on Oasis's UK and European tour in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattias Hellberg</span> Swedish musician (born 1973)

Mattias Hellberg is a Swedish musician. Hellberg has worked with a variety of Swedish bands and artists in different genres, both as a permanent member and as guest or session member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebbot Lundberg</span> Musical artist

Torbjörn "Ebbot" Lundberg is a Swedish artist, songwriter and music producer who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. From 1995 to 2012, he was the lead singer of The Soundtrack of Our Lives‚ which he co-founded with Björn Olsson and Ian Person. Lundberg was one of the founding members of the rock band Union Carbide Productions that was active 1986–1993. He has also worked as a producer a large number of bands like The Loons, Nymphet Noodlers, Nicolai Dunger, Onkel Kånkel, and Zoobox. He has made appearances or collaborated with Jane Birkin, Turbonegro, Nina Persson, The Cardigans, Teddybears, Trummor & Orgel and Olle Ljungström. He has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Later... with Jools Holland and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolai Dunger</span> Musical artist

Claus Wilhelm Nicolai Dunger is a Swedish singer and acoustic songwriter from Piteå in Sweden. He has released twelve EPs and albums, singing primarily in English, and collaborated notably with Will Oldham, the Esbjörn Svensson jazz trio and Ebbot Lundberg. He also records under the alias A Taste of Ra as well as his birth name.

The Lonely Boys is a fiction book by Swedish author Mats Olsson about a young rhythm 'n' pop band from southern Sweden in 1965.

Union Carbide Productions was a Swedish rock band formed by Ebbot Lundberg (vocals), Patrik Caganis, Björn Olsson, Per Helm and Henrik Rylander in 1986.

Anders Carl Lindström, or Boba Fett, as he is often called, is a Swedish rock musician most known for being the organist and pianist of the Swedish rock band The Hellacopters and co-founder and guitarist of The Diamond Dogs.

<i>Communion</i> (The Soundtrack of Our Lives album) 2008 studio album by The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Communion is the fifth studio album by the Swedish band The Soundtrack of Our Lives.

Adiam, previously known by her full name Adiam Dymott, is an Eritrean-Swedish singer. Her debut album, Adiam Dymott, was released on 18 March 2009 on Swedish indie label Razzia Records. It included the singles "Miss You" and "Pizza".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnus Carlson</span> Swedish musician

Magnus Carlson is a Swedish singer, composer, songwriter, DJ, and record collector. After playing in various cover bands in the nineties he formed the indie group, Weeping Willows. Their 1997 debut album was an instant success and the band soon became a national household name. In 2003 Magnus launched what would become a very successful solo career. One that now has established him as one of the biggest male artists in Sweden today. He has released a total of 16 albums in the last twenty years, several of them gold and platinum records and he's collaborated with more artists than even he can remember. From duets with songstress Anna Ternheim to house tracks with members of Swedish House Mafia; from performing Velvet Underground-covers with Nina Persson of The Cardigans and Ebbot Lundberg of The Soundtrack of Our Lives to selling out concert halls performing an acclaimed Royal Symphony Orchestral tribute to the late David Bowie onto playing horns with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johan Forsman</span> Swedish musician, singer, record producer

Johan Forsman or Johan Forsman Löwenström is a Swedish musician, singer, record producer, songwriter, music arranger and engineer based in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was a member krautrock band Hübrizine in the late eighties and psychedelic rock band The Bad Karma and The Simpkins in the early nineties. Forsman has worked with musical acts such as the Soundtrack of our lives, Caesars, Weeping Willows, Håkan Hellström, Karin Dreijers early band Honey is Cool, Jens Lekman, Thåström, among others. Johan Forsman is still active as a record producer/engineer and is currently a member of Tapefly.

<i>Origin Vol. 1</i> 2004 studio album by The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Origin Vol. 1 is an album by the Swedish band The Soundtrack of Our Lives. It was released in Europe in October 2004, and in the US in March 2005. Actor and singer Jane Birkin appears on the track "Midnight Children".

<i>Throw It to the Universe</i> 2012 studio album by The Soundtrack of Our Lives

Throw It to the Universe is the sixth and final studio album by the Swedish band The Soundtrack of Our Lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoreline memorial</span>

The Shoreline memorial is a monument located in Slottsskogen, a large park in central Gothenburg, Sweden. The installation commemorates the location of the final reunion of the band Broder Daniel in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mattias Bärjed</span> Musical artist

Tore Mattias Bärjed is a Swedish musician, songwriter and music composer. Between 1997–2012 he was a guitarist for The Soundtrack of Our Lives, co-writing many of their songs, such as "Sister Surround", "Bigtime" and "Second Life Replay". Since around 2007 Bärjed has been active as a film music composer, and in 2015 he received the Guldbaggen award for his soundtrack to the film Gentlemen.

References

  1. "The Soundtrack Of Our Lives' Ebbot Lundberg Can't Control Himself: Giordano Bruno (A Past Master)". Magnet . 25 April 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  2. Ray, Austin L. (10 March 2009). "Soundtrack of Our Lives explain Communion cover art". Paste . Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. "The Soundtrack of Our Lives called it quits, played final show in Stockholm (setlist, video); guitarist forms new band". Brooklynvegan.com. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  4. "NHL 2005: The Music". IGN . 2004-09-30. Archived from the original on 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  5. "Californication: Music From the Showtime Series: Season 6". Showtime. 2013-01-30. Archived from the original on 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  6. 1 2 "Swedish album positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  7. 1 2 "Finnish album positions". finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  8. 1 2 3 "UK Chartlog: DJ S – The System Of Life". zobbel.de. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  9. 1 2 "Origin Vol. 1 US position". Billboard . Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  10. 1 2 "IFPI Sweden: 2004 certificates" (PDF). ifpi.se. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2012. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  11. "IFPI Sweden: 2005 certificates" (PDF). ifpi.se. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2011. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  12. 1 2 3 "Swedish single positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
  13. "Soundtrack of Our Lives - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 27, 2019.