This week we’ve been sent some new music by a brand new pop act that we can see ourselves, and a lot of other people, liking a hell of a lot in the future. Usually when unknown acts send us the fruits of their labour along with a request to write about it, they’re either not very good, don’t sound anything remotely like the type of music we normally write about, or aren’t even Scandinavian half of the time! These guys however, don’t tick any of those unfortunate boxes!
Rob & Nino are a Stockholm based Swedish male pop duo. Brothers, in fact. We always imagine that artists hate being compared to other artists, but when they’re new it’s a must, sorry! And we’re gonna compare them (or at least their sound anyway) to a cross between Jason Derulo and ReBound. Their music is a mixture of pop, electro, club, and r&b – plus, in their own words, ‘’and everything in between that gets our feet tapping and our hearts pumping‘’! Although what grabs us more than anything else, are the melodies – well crafted and very catchy. They’ve allowed us to upload clips of some of their songs to scandipop too, so you can listen below.
A song called ‘Rewind’ is looking likely to be the first single. It’s synth heavy r&b pop that sounds a lot like Jason Derulo’s ‘Whatcha Say’. Vocal riffs aplenty, wrapped around a great melody. Very radio friendly and a good choice to be the first single. It’s the song that got our attention first too, and we get the impression that it’s the one that sums them up best.
[audio:http://lowculture.co.uk/scandi/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Rob-Nino-REWIND-Snippet2.mp3|titles=Rob & Nino – REWIND Snippet2]Our absolute favourite though, is ‘Blood On My Hands’. Although we guess that it’s probably for the best that it isn’t their first single, as it’s their big ballad. It’s a moody and atmospheric update on the beat heavy ballad phenomenon that Ryan Tedder started a few years back. A subtle verse, and then a rolling bridge gives way to a massive chorus which features heartwrenching lyrics married to a soaring melody. It’s also got this brilliant middle eight where the beat drops out entirely and a dramatic theatre piano starts, building up to a mini explosion when the beat is brought back for the final chorus. It’s the type of song you listen to on repeat happily!
[audio:http://lowculture.co.uk/scandi/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/RobNino-BloodOnMyHands-Snippet.mp3|titles=Rob&Nino BloodOnMyHands Snippet]Finally, they sent us ‘V.I.P.’. This is the poppiest of the three, very ReBound. Lyrically, it’s typical clubland fodder, but the music is a step above the usual throwaway fare of these types of songs.
[audio:http://lowculture.co.uk/scandi/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Rob-Nino-V.I.P.-Snippet.mp3|titles=Rob & Nino – V.I.P. Snippet]Their songs are produced by iVAR, who has also produced some of our favourite tunes by the likes of Daniela, Nexx, Lena Alexandra, Bananarama (remember ‘Move In My Direction’?), and Rosie Ribbons (remember ‘Blink’?!). We don’t know who we’re more excited about in that line up quite frankly! And the whole album is being done by him apparently, so we’re expecting good things from the other songs to come too. Niclas Kings also had a hand in co-writing and producing the amazing ‘Blood On My Hands’.
As yet, they’re unsigned. But we’ll be keeping a close eye on them and will bring you any future updates as and when they happen. For now, here’s some footage of the gents in the studio recording ‘Rewind’;
