Last night I arrived to the club Sommar! (meaning Summer!) just in time to see most of Lo-Fi-Fnk’s gig. It feels weird to think that their debut album Boylife arrived five years ago. I was 15 or 16 at the time, digging the whole blooming music blog scene and its affination to electro. Swedish electropop duos were the hottest thing around with The Knife’s album Deep Cuts slicing deep into the hearts of the blogosphere. But most of all, it was the youthful boyish duos that dominated the scene. The Tough Alliance were the tough ones, swingin’ bats onstage to get their bromantic rebelhood message across. The Similou were sort of a one hit wonder with the more-80′s-than-the-80′s All This Love. It would still be a while until Pacific! re-established my love with this sort of male bonding over the creation of summery electronic pop.
But Lo-Fi-Fnk managed to forge a sound of their own. Very straightforward, angular, simplistic and indeed a bit lo-fi they left the funk behind to focus on maximum pop efficiency. It would still be another two years before another Swedish band would release an album that showcased completely other influences but a quite similar sound of analog-sounding, lo-fi electronica. If Lo-Fi-Fnk’s Boylife was the pre-party of celebrating urban adolescence then Thieves Like Us’ Play Music was the moodier, darker and more mature after party.
Wake Up was and still is my favourite Lo-Fi-Fnk track. The simple, stomping beat of the verses gives way for a triumphant, house-y synth-fest that sounds either like surfing on acid in space or an alternative theme for Nyan Cat. Wake Up helps me wake up from the now and remember my stumbling but altogether wonderful teenage years.
Listen to Wake Up on Spotify!
And watch the music video below! Please do note August Hellsing’s charming body language and cute hand gestures. Yes, he still do them live too.
