JJ | |
---|---|
Origin | Vallentuna, , Sweden |
Genres | Indie pop, dream pop, Balearic beat, hip hop |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels |
Sincerely Yours Secretly Canadian |
Members | Joakim Benon Elin Kastlander |
JJ, styled as jj, is a band who releases music through the Gothenburg-based independent label Sincerely Yours, which was founded by the Swedish pop group The Tough Alliance. The band consists of Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander.
jj released their debut taken"jj n° 1" in early 2009 and a couple of months later they released their debut album jj n° 2. Both the debut single and the debut album received a Best New Music inclusion from Pitchfork Media with ratings of 8 and 8.6 respectively.
On December 24, 2009 it was announced that the American record label Secretly Canadian had signed jj to their roster. At the same time, the release date for jj's second full length album was slated. The album, named jj n° 3, was released in the United States and Sweden on March 9, 2010. jj works with both Sincerely Yours and Secretly Canadian, depending on the location, and hence didn't leave Sincerely Yours for Secretly Canadian.
Aside from their official releases, jj has also done several covers and new takes on contemporary songs. For example, they've recorded covers of Akon's "Troublemaker", Jeremih's "Birthday Sex" and the "Theme Song" for the Welcome Back, Kotter TV-series. All of these were released for free on the internet, making it similar to a mixtape.
From March to April 2010, jj was on a nationwide tour in the United States with the British band The xx. Following the US tour, jj went on a minor tour through Europe with dates in Italy, France and Belgium among others.