Bob hund
Encyclopedia
bob hund is a seven-piece indie rock
band from Sweden
. Their music
, hard to classify, has been described as "what you might expect if you managed to merge Pere Ubu
and Pixies with a touch of Kraftwerk
".
bob hund have performed mostly in Scandinavia
as well as in Poland
and England
. Some of their performances include Roskilde
, Hultsfred
, Ruisrock
and Quart
music festival
s.
(vocals) after meeting in high school. After six formative months the bands line-up was finished, with Conny Nimmersjö and Johnny Essing on guitar, Mats Hellqvist on bass and Mats Andersson on drums. Legend has it that Essing joined rehearsals to pay off a 100 SEK debt to Hellqvist, and just kept coming back.
The band was signed to Silence Records
in 1993, and that same year released their debut EP, bob hund. The following year they released their first album, also called bob hund, and won Rock Band of the Year at the Swedish Grammy Awards, Grammisgalan. (They won another Grammis for Best Lyrics in 1996.)
In 1995, after extensive touring, the band went on hiatus as the members worked on new material, which would later make up the foundations for Omslag: Martin Kann (1996) - named after a friend of the band, who've done most of the bands graphics work over the years. The album broke the top 10, but singles I stället för musik, förvirring ("Instead of music, confusion") and Düsseldorf would both fail to break the singles top 10 - peaking at 13 and 28 respectively.
Though exclusively singing in Swedish, they started to gain attention outside of Sweden and Scandinavia. The band claimed in a press release that Graham Coxon
- who has voiced his admiration of the band in interviews - asked to play with them, but that the band declined the offer.
bob hund once again toured extensively, and was awarded Live Band of the Year by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet
. In December 1998 Jag rear ut min själ! Allt skall bort!!! ("I'm Selling Off My Soul! Everything Must Go!!!") was released followed by the live album bob hund sover aldrig ("bob hund Never Sleeps").
At the start of the new millennium, when equipment worth 115,000 SEK was stolen from their van. During this time, the band members had slowed down the activity of bob hund to concentrate on side projects - among others Bergman Rock
, a rock band consisting of all bob hund members, but where Öberg sang in English rather than Swedish. New bob hund material would not surface until single Ska du hänga med? Nä!! ("Are you tagging along? Nah!!") and album Stenåldern kan börja ("Let the Stone Age Begin") was released in early 2001. The album would be the bands first, and as of August 2010 only, to chart at number one.
2002 saw the release of Ingenting ("Nothing"), a compilation album containing old demos from 1992–1993, a limited vinyl pressing of 1000 copies only, single Den lilla planeten ("The Small Planet"). The two CD 10 år tillbaka och 100 år framåt ("10 Years Back and 100 Years Forward") was also released this year. The first disc being a singles compilation, and the second disc contained a live performance recorded in London 2001. During the performance Öberg can be heard explaining, in English, that he'll only speak Swedish to the crowd so they'll know they've paid for the real deal.
After the release of Det där nya som skulle vara så bra ("That New Thing That's Supposed To Be Really Good") the band went on an extended hiatus to concentrate on Bergman Rock and the dance side project Sci-Fi SKANE
. The band started touring as bob hund again in late 2006, but would not release any new material until 2008s single Tinnitus i hjärtat ("Tinnitus of the Heart") and album Folkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folk ("Folk music for folk who can't behave like folk").
On June 16, 2009, Christian Gabel officially joined as the seventh member of the band, filling in on drums.
In the following year the new lineup released the four-track EP "Stumfilm".
The group released their latest album on the 16th of March "Det överexponerade gömstället". As a form of commemoration of their 20th anniversary, a second album is expected to be released sometime in late 2011.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. Their music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, hard to classify, has been described as "what you might expect if you managed to merge Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu (band)
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite many long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant...
and Pixies with a touch of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
".
bob hund have performed mostly in Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
as well as in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Some of their performances include Roskilde
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
, Hultsfred
Hultsfred Festival
The Hultsfred Festival is an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It takes place at the lake Hulingen during three days in the June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, its attendance has increased from 7,500 visitors to approximately 32,000 people in...
, Ruisrock
Ruisrock
Ruisrock is a rock festival held annually on the island of Ruissalo in Turku, Finland.Ruisrock, founded in 1970, is the second oldest rock festival in Europe and the oldest in Finland. The festival has attracted world-famous artists throughout its lifetime except in the turn of the 2000s, due to...
and Quart
Quart Festival
The Quart Festival was an annual popular music festival that took place in Kristiansand, Norway in the beginning of July. It was the most visited music festival in Norway....
music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s.
History
bob hund was formed in 1991 by Jonas Jonasson (keyboards) and Thomas ÖbergThomas Öberg
Thomas Öberg is a Swedish musical personality best known as the singer in the acclaimed group bob hund. He was named, in 2000, as the country's best singer...
(vocals) after meeting in high school. After six formative months the bands line-up was finished, with Conny Nimmersjö and Johnny Essing on guitar, Mats Hellqvist on bass and Mats Andersson on drums. Legend has it that Essing joined rehearsals to pay off a 100 SEK debt to Hellqvist, and just kept coming back.
The band was signed to Silence Records
Silence Records
Silence , is a Swedish record company located outside Koppom, Värmland in Sweden.Silence was started in 1970 in Stockholm and released records by, amongst others: Bo Hansson, Philemon Arthur and the Dung, Samla Mammas Manna, and other progressive rock acts...
in 1993, and that same year released their debut EP, bob hund. The following year they released their first album, also called bob hund, and won Rock Band of the Year at the Swedish Grammy Awards, Grammisgalan. (They won another Grammis for Best Lyrics in 1996.)
In 1995, after extensive touring, the band went on hiatus as the members worked on new material, which would later make up the foundations for Omslag: Martin Kann (1996) - named after a friend of the band, who've done most of the bands graphics work over the years. The album broke the top 10, but singles I stället för musik, förvirring ("Instead of music, confusion") and Düsseldorf would both fail to break the singles top 10 - peaking at 13 and 28 respectively.
Though exclusively singing in Swedish, they started to gain attention outside of Sweden and Scandinavia. The band claimed in a press release that Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
- who has voiced his admiration of the band in interviews - asked to play with them, but that the band declined the offer.
bob hund once again toured extensively, and was awarded Live Band of the Year by Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
. In December 1998 Jag rear ut min själ! Allt skall bort!!! ("I'm Selling Off My Soul! Everything Must Go!!!") was released followed by the live album bob hund sover aldrig ("bob hund Never Sleeps").
At the start of the new millennium, when equipment worth 115,000 SEK was stolen from their van. During this time, the band members had slowed down the activity of bob hund to concentrate on side projects - among others Bergman Rock
Bergman Rock
Bergman Rock is the English language alter ego of the Swedish indie band bob hund. In this incarnation, the band has released three singles and two albums. The more recent album, Bonjour Baberiba Pt II, was released on May 4, 2005....
, a rock band consisting of all bob hund members, but where Öberg sang in English rather than Swedish. New bob hund material would not surface until single Ska du hänga med? Nä!! ("Are you tagging along? Nah!!") and album Stenåldern kan börja ("Let the Stone Age Begin") was released in early 2001. The album would be the bands first, and as of August 2010 only, to chart at number one.
2002 saw the release of Ingenting ("Nothing"), a compilation album containing old demos from 1992–1993, a limited vinyl pressing of 1000 copies only, single Den lilla planeten ("The Small Planet"). The two CD 10 år tillbaka och 100 år framåt ("10 Years Back and 100 Years Forward") was also released this year. The first disc being a singles compilation, and the second disc contained a live performance recorded in London 2001. During the performance Öberg can be heard explaining, in English, that he'll only speak Swedish to the crowd so they'll know they've paid for the real deal.
After the release of Det där nya som skulle vara så bra ("That New Thing That's Supposed To Be Really Good") the band went on an extended hiatus to concentrate on Bergman Rock and the dance side project Sci-Fi SKANE
Sci-Fi SKANE
Sci-Fi SKANE is a musical collaboration of Swedish musicians Thomas Öberg and Jonas Jonasson, members of Swedish rock groups bob hund and Bergman Rock.Sci-Fi SKANE was started in 2005, and the goal was stated as being to "create stupidity and dance"....
. The band started touring as bob hund again in late 2006, but would not release any new material until 2008s single Tinnitus i hjärtat ("Tinnitus of the Heart") and album Folkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folk ("Folk music for folk who can't behave like folk").
On June 16, 2009, Christian Gabel officially joined as the seventh member of the band, filling in on drums.
In the following year the new lineup released the four-track EP "Stumfilm".
The group released their latest album on the 16th of March "Det överexponerade gömstället". As a form of commemoration of their 20th anniversary, a second album is expected to be released sometime in late 2011.
Studio releases
- bob hund (1)Bob hund (1993 album)bob hund is the debut release by bob hund. Produced and mixed by Eggstone and bob hund. Sound improvements by Peter In De Beton, Cutting Room. Graphic design and concept by Martin Kann...
, 1993 (EP) - bob hund (2)Bob hund (1994 album)bob hund is the Swedish band bob hund's first full length music album and second self-titled release.-Track listing:# "Allseende ögat" – 1:40 ...
, 1994 (Album) - Omslag: Martin KannOmslag: Martin KannOmslag: Martin Kann is the Swedish band bob hund's second full length music album. The album actually has no title, but since the words "Omslag: Martin Kann" can be read on the cover, this has become its informal name...
(Cover Art: Martin Kann), 1996 (Album) - Jag rear ut min själ! Allt skall bort!!!Jag rear ut min själ! Allt skall bort!!!Jag rear ut min själ! Allt skall bort!!! is an album by bob hund, released in 1998. The album peaked at 17 in the Swedish charts.-Track listing:#"bob hunds 115:e dröm" – 6:08 ...
(I'm Selling Off My Soul! Everything Must Go!!!), 1998 (Album) - Stenåldern kan börjaStenåldern kan börjaStenåldern kan börja is an album by bob hund, released in 2001. This was the bands first album to chart at number one in Sweden.-Track listing:#"1002" – 0:55...
(The Stone Age May Begin), 2001 (Album) - Det där nya som skulle vara så bra (That New Thing That's Supposed To Be Really Good), 2003 (EP) - Limited to 500 copies on vinyl
- Folkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folkFolkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folkFolkmusik för folk som inte kan bete sig som folk is an album by bob hund, released in 2009. The album peaked at 7 in the Swedish charts.-Track listing:...
(Folk music for folk who can't behave like folk), 2009 (Album) - StumfilmStumfilmStumfilm is an EP by bob hund, released in 2010. The first and only single was "Festen Är Över" for which a music video directed by Jens Klevje & Fabian Svensson was created.-Track listing:All songs written by bob hund:...
(Silent Film), 2010 (EP) - Det överexponerade gömställetDet överexponerade gömställetDet överexponerade gömstället is the ninth album by the Swedish indie rock band bob hund. It was released on the 16th of march, 2011...
(The overexposed hideout), 2011 (Album)
Compilations
- IngentingIngenting (bob hund album)Ingenting is an album by bob hund released in 2002. It contains demos recorded in 1992–93. Originally the album was limited to 1003 copies on vinyl but was later made available as free digital downloads on the band's website.-Tracklist:...
(Nothing), 2002 - Demos from 1992/1993, limited to 1003 copies on vinyl, and made available as free digital downloads on the band's web site - 10 år bakåt & 100 år framåt10 år bakåt & 100 år framåt-Disc Two:...
(10 Years Back & 100 Years Forward), 2002 - A collection of single and EP tracks, where the second disc contains a live recording from London, 2001.
Awards
- 19941994 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
– Swedish Grammy "Best Live Band" - 19961996 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
– Swedish Grammy "Best Lyrics" - 19991999 in music-Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....
– Guldägget (The Golden Egg) for "Best Packaging" on Jag rear ut min själ! Allt skall bort!!!
External links
- bobhund.se – Official website
- bob hund in English – English translations of song lyrics