Vacuum

Vacuum
	;
	General information
Genre (s)	Electronica , pop , synth pop
founding	1996
Website	http://vacuum-people.com/
Founding members
Bass, computer	Alexander Bard (until 1999)
Guitars, keyboards, computers	Wollbeck is different
singing	Mattias Lindblom
Keyboards, synthesizers	Marina Schiptjenko (until 2003-04)
Current occupation
Guitars, keyboards, computers	Wollbeck is different
singing	Mattias Lindblom

Vacuum is a Swedish electronic pop group , which consists of Mattias Lindblom (born February 19, 1971 in Skanör-Falsterbo , Sweden) and Anders Wollbeck (born February 10, 1958 in Stockholm , Sweden ). The members also work together as a songwriting and producer team.

Band history

Creation of the "Vacuum" project

At the very beginning Alexander Bard (the inventor of the group Vacuum) and Anders Wollbeck wanted to name the future group Vacuum Cleaner - a group that should play "clean" music. But in the end they found the short form Vacuum most appropriate , as it indicated the "scientific" and "progressive" style of music.

The name "Vacuum" was first mentioned in 1994 on the cover of the album Glory Glamor and Gold by the Swedish pop group Army of Lovers . The songs from this album ( Lit De Parade , Shine Like a Star ) were produced by Vacuum, although the group did not exist at the time. It consisted of two members, Alexander Bard and Anders Wollbeck. They wrote songs for Army of Lovers. But later they stopped doing it and decided to create something new, aesthetic and scientific. There was one problem, however: they didn't have musicians for their project, musicians who could have singing and playing live. Since Bard and Wollbeck did not have time to search, the Army of Lovers group used the songs intended for Vacuum. The songs were recorded with guest vocalist Vasa from Big Money and became a hit both in Sweden and abroad. In the future, Vasa, alias Lars-Yngve Johansson, will contribute to Vacuum by thinking of writing songs à la Illuminati .

Completion of the band

The official founding date of the group Vacuum is autumn 1996. It was exactly at this time that Alexander Bard left his group Army of Lovers and started looking for the other band members. In a club at a party he met Mattias Lindblom. Bard was fascinated by its strong voice. He invited him to the recording studio, then he spurned him from his group Ceycamore Leaves, which was about to sign a contract with a label. After that, he met Marina Schiptjenko on a TV show . After talking to Schiptjenko, he found her a perfect fit for Vacuum, because she had played synthesizer in his band called Page for about 15 years. This found all the accompanying musicians who began to work with Anders Wollbeck.

1997: first album

In 1996, before the debut album was released, the first single I Breathe came out. Vacuum landed a hit in Europe, especially in Sweden. The accompanying video was voted "Best Video 1997". The well-known Swedish TV channels such as ZTV, TV4 and TV3 showed it in their music programs, and Vacuum was invited to interviews.

On February 14, 1997 Vacuums first album was released under the name The Plutonium Cathedral . An orchestral arrangement is used on it and Lindblom sings with his strong operatic voice. The style of music has elements of synth-pop and new wave . The group's popularity increased and there were many live concerts. They commissioned a designer from London for their optical concept, which from then on included black clothing, long black fingernails and make-up. On May 20, 1997, the second single from the album The Plutonium Cathedral was released, Pride in My Religion . Due to the success, the band went on their first European tour.

Vacuum on the Internet

Between 1997 and 1998 the first internet pages about Vacuum appeared. The first, often updated, website to post news about Vacuum was a mixed Army of Lovers / Vacuum page by David Haglund. In the middle of spring 1998 the Tralala Company published an official vacuum mailing list , which was later renamed "VacuumNet". The administrator was David Haglund. He then started the vacuum- Fanatics . Haglund played a major role in promoting the band on the Internet.

1998: second album

In 1998 the single Tonnes of Attraction followed and Vacuum promised the fans to release a new, second album. During this time Vacuum was very successful in Italy. There the song Tin Soldiers from the first album The Plutonium Cathedral was released on a CD sampler for the radio stations. In February Vacuum presented the new song Satyricon from the second album. A month later, a maxi single by Tonnes of Attraction was released, but the album's release was postponed. Vacuum's video for the song Tonnes of Attraction ran so often on MTV that the band was invited to the Swedish Electronic Music Awards (SEMA).

A new single, Let the Mountain Come to Me , came out a few months later . Then the band set out on an Eastern European tour. In May 1998 Vacuum came to Moscow and Ukraine, where their songs were at the top of the charts. After the tour she returned to Sweden to complete the second album Seance at the Chaebol . The recording of the album took a long time because all songs were to be re-recorded. Instead of the bonus track Science of the Sacred , a new song called Icaros was recorded. The three new producers Denniz Pop, Max Martin and Jacob Schulze (the producers of Ace of Base , E-Type , and Backstreet Boys ) had a big influence on the album , who gave the material a pop sound. There was no more orchestral arrangement, the type of lyrics was retained.

During this time there were disagreements with Stockholm Records , Vacuums record label , so that the album Seance at the Chaebol was not released in Sweden despite all efforts. Only in a few countries (like Russia and Italy ) was the old version of this album released (without the bonus track Icaros and with a discarded mix). The album had the greatest success in Russia, so Seance at the Chaebol is often called the Russian Album . But the popularity in Eastern Europe had a downside for Vacuum, namely the problem of copyright infringement.

Eastern European pirated copies

When Vacuum went on tour in the Baltic countries, the band had no idea of the extent of copyright infringement in Eastern Europe . At first, the band members could not understand how they could be so popular in countries where sales of their (original) CDs were just 100 copies. In Russia, where around 8 million black copies had been circulated, the gap between the distribution of phonograms and tape revenues was the greatest. There - as in the Ukraine - Vacuum was at the top of the charts.

Alexander Bard's exit

In 1999, Alexander Bard left Vacuum. He was more interested in his new project Alcazar and the completion of his book, so that he no longer had time for Vacuum. However, Bard was replaced by two guest players. With this staff, the group visited Russia and Ukraine again. Bard's departure, however, caused a compositional standstill, because the partners Wollbeck / Lindblom were not yet attuned to each other. In 1999 there were only two new songs from Vacuum, Tears and My Melting Mood . In addition, the problems with Stockholm Records increased shortly after Alexander Bard left the company .

Loss of contract

In 1999 Stockholm Records canceled the contract with Vacuum. The reason for this was probably that the label saw no prospects for Vacuum. The band was actually only very well known in Eastern Europe and that of all things through pirated copies. The new promised “Swedish” version of Seance at the Chaebol ( Culture of Night ) was produced by various companies ( Epicenter , Cheiron , Sony ) and was finally only released in Russia. This album was a compilation of the old hits with two reworked and three brand new songs that had never officially been released before. Only My Melting Mood is a result of the collaboration between Anders Wollbeck and Mattias Lindblom.

Almost separation and a new beginning

Without a good promotion , the album Culture of Night would not have had much success. The band had no more financial means and no hope. Later the fans got an official message from Mattias Lindblom and Marina Schiptjenko on the VacuumNet page: “Dear friends! Heard from David, that you are talking about a split of VACUUM. Well, it's true in one sense! We have left Stockholm Records. Why? Well, it's a long, quite boring story, but in short we disagreed on everything. That's a good reason! We are currently working on different projects and we have are not focusing on VACUUM right now except the live shows. But we want you to know, that we have NOT split up and you will see more of us in the future. We also want to add, that if we had a record company, who believed in our ideas and music, we would have continued, but as things turned out we had not. We have enjoyed big-time success in Russia and Marina and I have loved every second of it and we hope to perform live soon again. We will keep in touch with David in everything, that we do, so he will keep on feeding you info.
Live gloriously,
Mattias & Marina + VACUUM crew ”

There were no other live performances from Vacuum, but there was a rumor about Lindblom's solo career. Nobody knew what would happen to the band, but a company that believed in Vacuum was found: The band was recorded by Subspace Communications . She already knew the label because Schiptjenko's former band Page is under contract with this label. After a while, Vacuum finally released a new single.

Since 2002

On May 6, 2002, the new single Starting (Where the Story Ended) was officially released after two years of radio silence. The band was now full of new ideas. The previously unsuccessful album Culture Of Night was revised and released on October 14, 2002 in the band's home country Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. Vacuum was then a guest in several live shows ( Stockholm Pride 2002, Malmo Gig ). But now Lindblom appeared without Schiptjenko. She had left the band and started the group Bodies Without Organs with Alexander Bard .

In 2004 the single Fools Like Me was released , which marked a stylistic change, especially with the lyrics. The old songs were mainly about science ( I Breathe , Nuclear India ), religion ( Pride in My Religion ), literature ( Ulysses ), but now Vacuum described more feelings, sensitivities, individual inner views. To underline this shift, the music clip for the second single They Do It was shot in the Beckomberga psychiatric institution in Stockholm with Lindblom as a suicidal patient. The complete fourth album Your Whole Life is Leading Up to This was released on September 20, 2004. From this, another single, The Void , was released on June 6, 2005 .

Two other, but not from the album, singles were Six Billion Voices (2006) and Walk on the Sun (2007). Both songs and other bonus tracks have been integrated into the 2007 version of the album Your Whole Life is Leading Up to This in Germany.

In April 2008 Vacuum began to publish some songs that she had recorded a few years earlier with the German pianist Michael Zlanabitnig in Austria. So far, however, the songs can only be heard on the Internet. A more up-to-date piece ( Where Angels Belong ), which suggested a further collaboration with Zlanabitnig, was published on Myspace in April 2009 - a hint from the Wollbeck / Lindblom team that the Vacuum project will continue to be important in the future.

Discography

Albums

1997: The Plutonium Cathedral (Stockholm Records)
1998: Seance at the Chaebol (Stockholm Records)
2000: Culture of Night (Universal Music Russia)
2002: Culture of Night (SubSpace Communications)
2004: Your Whole Life is Leading Up to This (SubSpace Communications)
2007: Your Whole Life is Leading Up to This (SubSpace Communications / ZYX Germany)

Singles

1996: I Breathe
1997: Science of the Sacred
1997: Pride in My Religion
1998: Tonnes of Attraction
1998: Let the Mountain Come to Me
2000: Icaros
2002: Starting Where the Story Ended
2004: Fools Like Me
2004: They Do It
2005: The Void
2006: Six Billion Voices
2007: Walk on the Sun (download only)
2008: Know by Now / My Friend Misery (download only)
2009: Where Angels Belong (only on myspace.com)
2009: The Ocean (only on illuminatiarts.com)
2011: Black Angels (2011)

Video clips

1997: I Breathe
1997: Science of the Sacred
1998: Pride in My Religion
1998: Tonnes of Attraction
1998: Let the Mountain Come to Me
1999: Icaros
2002: Starting (Where the Story Ended)
2004: Fools Like Me
2004: They Do It

Work as a songwriting / producer team

Vacuum also works as the songwriting / producing team. Mattias Lindblom is a writer with Sony / ATV and Anders Wollbeck with Universal Music Publishing . You have been writing songs for the following artists and groups since 2000:

2000: Jerry Williams - Can't Slow Down (Album): 2nd Lonely Night (Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2002: Georgina - Georgina (album): 10. Lustro (Wollbeck / Lindblom / DeGiorgio; Polish text by Zuzi W)

2003: Sofia Barbosa - Contrastes (album): 04. Há dias assim (Wollbeck / Lindblom / DeGiorgio; text by G. Daniel)

2003: Play - Replay (Album): 10. Two Blocks Down (Anna-Lena Margaretha Hogdahl, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2003: Monica Silverstrand - Monica Silverstrand (Album): 02. Shoo Shoo (Brian Hobbs, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2003: Shebang - So Come On (album): 4th Cover Girl (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Nina Woodford; additional vocals by Nina Woodford, Mattias Lindblom)

2003: Julie - Home (Album): 4th Completely Fallen (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Woodbridge), 5th Home (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Berthelsen), 9th Running Backwards Over The Hills (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Berthe)

2003: Alcazar - Alcazarized (album): 2nd Celebrate The Night (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Andreas Lundstedt), 9th Chemistry (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Aleena), 10th Love Life (Neil Tennant, Chris Lowe; produced by Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom; mix by Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom; keyboards, programming and guitars by Anders Wollbeck)

2004: Rouge - Blá Blá Blá (album): 9. Como Na Primeira Vez (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Aleena)

2004: Julie - Julie (album): 8. Also Scared

2004: Baschi - Gib mer ä Chance (Maxi-CD): 1. Gib mer ä Chance (radio edit) (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Högdahl / Camenzind / Bürgin),

2. Give me a chance (instrumental version) (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Högdahl / Camenzind / Bürgin)

2004: Baschi - Baschi (album): 3. Give me a chance (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Högdahl / Camenzind / Bürgin)

2004: Florence Joy - Consequence of Love (Maxi-CD): 1. Consequence of Love (Aleena, Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom), 2. Consequence of Love (instrumental) (Aleena, Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom), 3. Consequence of Love (extended version) (Aleena, Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom)

2004: Florence Joy - Hope (Album): 1. Consequence of Love (Aleena, Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom)

2005: Rainie Yang - Ai Mai (My Intuition) (Album) / Original: 楊丞琳 - 曖昧 (Album): 1. 乖不乖 (Guai Bu Guai) (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Olivia Nervo, Miriam Nervo )

2005: Alcazar - Start The Fire (Maxi-CD): 3. Nothing But The Video On (Wollbeck / Lindblom / Ågren)

2005: Salome - ... moji (album): 7. Adrenalin (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Nina Woodford, Connie Stadler)

2005: Nouveau Riche - Oh Lord (Maxi-CD): 1. Oh Lord (radio version) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 2. Oh Lord (extended radio version) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck ), 3. Oh Lord (Heaven Dance Version) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 4. Oh Lord (Soft Version) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2005: Rachel Stevens - Negotiate With Love (Maxi-CD): Negotiate With Love (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Olivia Nervo, Miriam Nervo ; produced by Wollbeck / Lindblom; guitars, keyboards and programming by Anders Wollbeck)

2005: Rachel Stevens - Come And Get It (album): 5. Negotiate With Love (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Olivia Nervo, Miriam Nervo ; produced by Wollbeck / Lindblom; guitars, keyboards and programming by Anders Wollbeck)

2006: Laura - Naked On The Inside (album): 6. Forgiven

2006: Nikki Clan - Nikki Clan (album): 10. Cómo me dejas así

2006: Natalia - Nada es lo que crees (album): 10. A tí

2006: Fey - Faltan Lunas (album): 9. Yo Decido

2006: Nouveau Riche - Hardcore Life (Maxi-CD): 1. Hardcore Life (radio version) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 2. Hardcore Life (Stonebridge) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 3. Hardcore Life (Stonebridge Deluxe) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 4. Hardcore Life (Erik Janson In Paris) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2006: Daniel Lindström - Nån slags verklighet (Maxi-CD): 1. Nån slags verklighet (Daniel Lindström, Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Michael Garvin, Fredrik Berger)

2006: Daniel Lindström - Nån slags verklighet (album): 5. Nån slags verklighet (Daniel Lindström, Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Michael Garvin, Fredrik Berger)

2007: JULIE - Asasara (album): 5th Not That Song , November 6th December , 7th I Rise Above

2007: Nouveau Riche - Angels (Maxi-CD): 1. Angels (radio edit) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 2. Angels (Soundfactory heavenly club mix) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 3. Angels (Hellbound dub mix) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 4. Angels (Soundfactory radio edit) (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2007: Nouveau Riche - Pink Trash (album): 1st Wounds of Love (Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck), 2nd Angels , 3rd Alone Again , 4th Hardcore Life , 8th It's My Party , 9th Oh Lord (Ulrich Bermsjo, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2007: Girls' Generation - Into the New World (Single) / Original: 소녀 시대 - 다시 만난 세계 (Album): 2. Beginning (composed by Anna-Lena Margaretha Hogdahl, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck)

2007: Monrose - Strictly Physical (album): 5. What You Don't Know (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Billy Mann)

2007: Cinema Bizarre - Final Attraction (album): 04. Get off (Michelle Leonard, Kiko Masbaum, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck; produced by Wollbeck / Lindblom; mix by Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom), 12. Heavensent (Michelle Leonard, Kiko Masbaum, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck; produced by Wollbeck / Lindblom; mix by Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom)

2007: Tarja - I Walk Alone (Maxi-CD): I Walk Alone (single version) (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl), I Walk Alone (artist version) (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl), I Walk Alone (The Tweaker remix) (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl), I Walk Alone (The Darkroom mix) (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl), I Walk Alone (In Extremo remix) (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl)

2007: Tarja - My Winter Storm (Album): 01. Ite, Missa Est (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl), 02. I Walk Alone (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Harry Sommerdahl), 08. Die Alive (Anders Wollbeck, Hanne Sorvaag, Mattias Lindblom, Tarja Turunen), 09.Boy And The Ghost (Jessika Lundstrom, Anine Stang, Alexander Jonsson, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck, Tarja Turunen), 13th Our Great Divide (Anders Wollbeck, Hanne Sorvaag, Mattias Lindblom, Tarja Turunen), 17. Minor Heaven (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom)

2007: Monrose - What You Don't Know (Maxi-CD): 1. What You Don't Know (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Billy Mann), 2. What You Don't Know - candlelight mix (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Billy Mann), 4. What You Don't Know - instrumental (Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom, Billy Mann)

2007: Cinema Bizarre - Escape to the Stars (Maxi-CD): 2. The Other People (Kiko Masbaum, Mattias Lindblom, Anders Wollbeck; mix by Anders Wollbeck, Mattias Lindblom)