Felix and Johanna out of Le Kid have set up on their own. They’ve formed a new pop duo, called themselves R.A.B.B.I.I. (explanation within the press release below), and last week unleashed the first fruits of their labour upon the worldwide web. It’s ‘Why Can’t I Be You’.
That press release then;
New Swedish duo R.A.B.B.I.I. (Revolutions Are Best Before Initial Inception) have released debut single “Why Can’t I Be You” August 13.
Felix (one half of R.A.B.B.I.I.) grew up in the town of Lund in an environment rooted in academia while Jo (the other half) was raised in working class Eskilstuna largely removed from society with two deaf parents. While Felix’s path led quite naturally to a career as a professional producer in Stockholm, Jo made a leap of faith at age 14 moving herself to Stockholm to attend prestigious music academy Rytmus (among other Swedish musicians Icona Pop, Erik Hassle, and Tove Lo) all in the face of the sad reality that her parents would never hear her sing — her deepest passion.
Melding sharp synths with sweeping melodies and lyricism that speaks the customarily unspeakable, R.A.B.B.I.I. defies current convoluted indie-pop norms with an unabashed, direct approach.
Despite vastly different social and musical foundations, one unifying thematic force emerges — a distinct vision rooted in emotion, intensity, and a desire for a realized unattainable ideality. Revolution is liberty. Revolution is strife. Revolution is bliss. Revolution is blood. Caught in a web of these opposing forces lies R.A.B.B.I.I.
Without a clear trajectory and a future entirely unknown, one thing is for certain — R.A.B.B.I.I. will not go unnoticed.
Not a single mention of them being Le Kidsters – what’s all that about then?!
Anyway. ‘Why Can’t I Be You’, while still electropop, is a world way away from what Felix and Johanna – sorry, Jo – got up to in Le Kid. The catchiest thing here is the synth riff that you’ll be hearing repeated throughout the song. The melodies are a bit more subdued and spaced out than what we’re used to hearing being delivered via Jo’s vocals. But those vocals, along with Felix Persson’s talent for writing and producing a song, have resulted in some of the best Scandinavian pop music to exist in the last decade. So yes – we’ll be keeping an eye on these lot for the foreseeable.
