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Ace Of Base Info |
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Jenny Berggren |
 L-R: Ulf , Jenny , and Jonas Ace Of Base |
Wheel of Fortune |
Living In Danger,Live |
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The members of Ace of Base original line-up included three siblings: singer Jenny Berggren,
singer Linn Berggren, and keyboardist Jonas "Joker" Berggren,along with their close friend
Ulf "Budha" Ekberg. The Berggrens were born and raised in Gothenberg, Sweden.
Their father Goran was a doctor and their mother Birgitta is a schoolteacher.
Throughout their youth, the Berggren children were encouraged to study classical music.
Jenny and Linn both sang in their hometown church choir before forming Ace of Base.
Ekberg's interest in music also bloomed at an early age. He was born in Gothenburg,
but often traveled around with his tennis coach father, Mats Ekberg and his mother Monica.
Unlike many musicians who began playing piano, guitar, or some other instrument as a child,
Ekberg took a more modern route. At the age of 12, he began composing music on his
Commodore 20 computer-although, as he got older, he became involved in gangs and violence.
Then, he met Jonas Berggren, and his life turned around completely.
Ekberg played with a group that rehearsed in the same place as the Berggrens group.
One night in 1990, Ekbergs band opened for the Berggrens' group at a club in Gothenburg.
One of the members of the Berggrens band got stage fright just before they went on,
so Ekberg volunteered to step in. From there, they decided to form a band called Tech Noir.
The newly formed group aimed for a dark, aggressive style influenced by groups like
Front 242 and Ministry.
As Jenny and Linn became more involved in the group, the music took on a brighter, rhythmic sound.
As it developed, they used reggae influences with a dance pop foundation. "All of us love to
go out and dance and party," Ekberg explained to Jeff Johnson in DMA Magazine.
"That's why it's very natural for us to do dance music."
The group changed its name to Ace of Base and performed their first show in August of 1990.
Jonas Berggren described to Melissa W. Rawlins in Entertainment Weekly how they came up with
their name. "Our base is our studio, and an ace is like a master," said Jonas. "So we are
the aces of our studio. " As the group took their music to the streets of Gothenburg,
they aimed to create a sound that would crossover from dance clubs to the airwaves.
"Some things work on the dance floor and not on the radio and vice versa, " Jenny Berggren
told Kenny, "but this sound has appeal in both places."
The following year, Ace of Base recorded a demo, which included the songs "All That She Wants"
and "Wheel of Fortune." They sent it to ABBA's record label, Polar Records, in Stockholm, but
received a rejection. Undaunted, the group sent the demo to Mega Record in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The label signed them. Around the same time, producer Denniz PoP also became interested in
Ace of Base. He received their demo tape and it got stuck in his cars cassette player.
After having to listen to it every time he got in his car, he contacted them. He later produced
their international hit, "All That She Wants."
Soon, their first two singles, "Wheel of Fortune" and "All That She Wants," became number one
hits in Denmark. The latter went on to take over the top spot on the charts in Sweden, Norway,
and Finland. The success got the attention of Metronome Music in Hamburg, Germany, which
singed the band to a distribution deal for the rest of Europe and the Far East.
Not long afterwards, "All That She Wants" reached number one in Germany.
In 1993, the momentum of Ace of Bases hit single kept going. London Records in the U.K.
agreed to distribute the group, and the single hit number one there, too. In June of that
year, Ace of Base released their European debut, Happy Nation, which quickly soared to the
top of the charts throughout Europe and Scandinavia. By November, interest in Ace of Base
spread to the U.S. Arista Records signed the group, and "All That She Wants" reached platinum
sales and number two on the Billboard charts. As the groups notoriety spread throughout
the world, Ace of Base had to compete with other bands covering their material. Rumors
spread that groups like Age of Bass and Bass of Spades released singles in the U.S.
before the real group had a chance to introduce themselves.
In March of 1994, Ace of Base received the 1993 Echo Award for Most Successful International
Band in Frankfurt, Germany. The following month, Arista released The Sign in the U.S.
The album included all the songs on Happy Nation, along with a few additional tracks.
The title track topped Billboards Hot 100 singles chart almost immediately. The album grabbed
the top spot and was certified platinum in the U.S. before the end of 1994. Eclipsing the
sensation ABBA created two decades earlier, Ace of Base became the first Swedish group to
reach number one in the U.S.
The year continued to bring in more awards for Ace of Base, including the Worlds Best-Selling
Pop Newcomers of the Year and World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Recording Artists of the Year
at the sixth annual World Music Awards in Monte Carlo, and Top New Artist and Top Pop Single
at the Billboard Music Awards. Early in 1995, Ace of Base took home the American Music Awards
for Best Band, Duo or Group/Pop Rock category and Best New Artist. The Guinness Book of World
Records also named Ace of Bases The Sign as the best-selling debut album of all time.
"We were all very surprised at how fast and how far the group has come since this whole thing
began," Lasse Karlsson, Ace of Base's manager, told J.R. Reynolds in Billboard.
Despite all the awards, sales, and recognition, Ace of Base didn't slow down to enjoy the
accolades. They jumped right back into their studio and recorded another album. The Bridge
was released in December of 1995, along with the single "Beautiful Life." Jim Farber described
the album in his Entertainment Weekly review. "Ace of Base provides the musical equivalent
of a Mentos commercial: They're so deeply dorky, you have to love 'em.... But for sheer
candied pop, this is one pleasurable way to rot your teeth." The following month,
The Bridge was certified platinum for over a million copies sold. According to their record
company biography, all of the members contributed to the songwriting process, instead of
just Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg. "It's nice to have different tempos, different moods,"
said Jonas.
After the release of The Bridge, Ace of Base set out once again on a worldwide tour, including
South America and the Far East. Both albums were also released in China, adding another first
to their list�the first Scandinavian artist to release recordings in China. The group also
received their second award for World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Artist/Group of the year
at the 1996 World's Music Awards.
By 1997, Happy Nation and The Sign had sold a cumulative 23 million copies worldwide, while
The Bridge had sold five million. Finally, the group decided to take some time to enjoy their
accomplishments. They began working on their next album with producer Charles Fisher late
in 1997.
Back in Sweden the band returned to the studio to write for the bands third album "Flowers"
/"Cruel Summer"). The first single was Life Is A Flower, which was an immediate success.
It got an award for the most played song on European radio in 1998. The lyric was changed
in America, where the song was called Whenever You're Near Me. The Bananarama cover
Cruel Summer became the title track of the American album, the single reaching the American
top ten. Other hits included Travel To Romantis and Always Have, Always Will.
Notable is the fact that three of the singles from Flowers reached top ten in England,
where the band have performed on the famous show Top Of the Pops an astonishing 18 times!
In the autumn of 1999 the greatest hits album Singles Of The 90's was released, including all
the bands worldwide hits and some new songs. Every time It Rains had only been included on
the Cruel Summer album and was previously unreleased in Europe.
In the early autumn of 2002, the band returns with a new album, Da Capo -
their first with all-new material since Flowers/Cruel Summer (1998). The new album combines
the groups classic pop sound with new, more thoughtful dimensions.
"Ever since our last original album was released, we've had our minds set on making this album.
People may have thought that we have split up, but those things rather apply to the rest of
the music business", Jenny smiles, referring to the last few years acquisitions and mergers
among the major labels. Something that without a doubt has slowed down the process of finishing
the album.
In order to find the right balance of styles, quite a few producers have been enlisted:
Swedes Jonas Von Der Burg, Harry Sommerdahl at Pile Studios and Pontus Soderqvist, Martin Hedstrom,
and Nick Nice at LaCarr have produced as well as co-written with Jonas Berggren.
Other producers include German producers Axel Breitung and Thorsten Brotzmann.
During the four years it took to finalize this album, the band wrote more then 150 songs,
of which the 11 strongest songs plus the cover song "Wonderful Life" was chosen to become
the final album listing. Jonas has written a few songs himself and a few with the band.
"It was a great way to rediscover each other as people and writers after a long break from
writing together" says Jenny Berggren.
The album showcases the bands variety within the accessible pop format. The strength of the bands
song writing shows in the first single, "Beautiful Morning", a slice of pure, classic
Ace Of Base pop. "Ordinary Day" is a classy, harmonious tune with a laid back quality that
Jonas' wife helped him re-discover when he played her some older songs. The album titled
"Da Capo" is a fun up-tempo tune and remains Jonas and Ulfs personal favourite.
The album contained twelve original tracks and it was first planned to be released during
the summer of 2000. But because of record company problems, the album was delayed until
September of 2002.Its success was very limited.
The album was never released in North America, South America, UK and Australia though Ulf
said in an interview that they would release the album in USA and the songs would be more
acoustic. The album is named for the musical term da capo, meaning "back to the beginning".
It was intended to be a return to the bands earliest sound.
The departure of former lead singer Linn Berggren was revealed in 2007 after years of
declining participation in the group. She reportedly left the band to dedicate more time
for studies and family.
As of 2008, Ace of Base are recording a new album, stating on their official website:
"we are now back in the studio again, with more inspiration than ever".The bands manager
Lasse Karlsson suggested that a new album would be released in Spring 2008, and could be
accompanied by a world tour. In April 2007, their official MySpace page was launched,
and promised updates on the progress of their new album.
On August 14, 2007, Lasse Karlsson announced that the band would be playing their first
full-length concert since 1996 in Bangalore, India, on November 24, 2007. This was later
cancelled, but several other concerts were scheduled and Jenny, Jonas and Ulf performed
in Yekaterinburg, Russia on November 15, and St. Petersburg on November 17. The group
also performed in Denmark, Estonia, and Lithuania, as a warm-up to a planned world tour
in 2008. The setlist includes various songs from their past albums and reworked versions
of old hits such as "Wheel Of Fortune", "Living In Danger" and "Don't Turn Around".
On November 28, 2007, Ulf Ekberg confirmed in an interview that Malin Berggren had left
the band and she would not be featured on band's new album. The group had already been
performing mostly without Linn as a trio for a solid decade before her departure. Linns
image has been removed from all promotional material on the band's official web-site.
Band-mate Jenny confirmed Linns departure in the Danish press: "She hasn't been part
of Ace of Base for several years," she stated in Se & Hor magazine.
On December 14, 2007 Jonas Berggren announced in a meeting with fans after a concert in
Lithuania that they are currently working with very famous American producers, but he
couldn't reveal yet who they are. This could lead to the bands first album released
in America since Greatest Hits, a compilation that went on sale in 2000.
In the meantime, a European website has been carefully following every step of the bands
European tour, upcoming events and news for the next year. They have been in close contact
with the manager behind the Global Remix Project, which refers to the re-working and current
remixing of the groups biggest hits. The plan is to release a Remix Album in 5 different
editions worldwide; each edition will be released in different territories according to
whom has remixed the tracks (for example, the Asian edition will contain remixes only
by Asian DJs, etc). This is quite unusual for the band in comparison with previous
releases.
Other plans mention that a first single is to be released in February or March 2008,
followed by a second single in May. Besides the Remix Album, a fifth studio album of original
material is expected around September 2008.
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Greatest Hits
[ 2008 ]