EQ Interview With Agnes - "When I go back to Sweden, people see me a little bit differently..."

 

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting rising international pop superstar Agnes as she was on the promotional trail for her new single "I Need You Now".  I must say, that girl is as beautiful as she is in-person as to how she appears on TV and I think for any gay man - like myself, it was even a little hard for me to concentrate during the interview.  I felt like I had a grade school crush after the interview even!  But aside from that, I really wanted to chat to Agnes about everything that's been going on in her world since her rise to fame with "Release Me" and how she's been coping with her huge rise to international fame.  We talked about her upcoming live appearances and comparisons to Leona Lewis to what she misses most about Sweden - enjoy!

EQ: Well hello Agnes - how are you today?
Agnes:  I am good, nice to meet you Raj!

Nice to meet you too!  So I must ask you - how does it feel to have such a huge international hit like "Release Me" under your belt?  Did you ever anticipate that it would be such a big hit single outside of Sweden? 
I feel really really blessed to be singing this song that many people like - everytime I hear the song on the radio I just feel so happy.  I don't think anyone can understand the feeling you feel inside when you hear your music on the radio - it's really rewarding!  To find your own thing - do your own thing and really believe in what your doing and to have good people around you is so important.  It's so funny because now when I go back to Sweden, people see me a little bit differently - I got two prizes from MTV.  And when I read about myself in the papers (I never do that) but I did this time, they said things like "the international star!" and things like that [Laughs].  It's so funny because I don't quite feel like how they describe me now - it's so funny, but I just really want to show people that I can do this and I want them to see that.

Do you mind that "Release Me" will probably be your trademark song now?  Are you used to the idea that you'll probably have to sing that song for the rest of your career?
You know, I don't mind at all that I will have to sing that song for the rest of my career - I really love the song and I hope to be singing it for many years - I hope [Laughs]!

You actually filmed two videos to "Release Me" one for the Europe and on in LA for the US Audiences - which one was more fun to film?
I loved filming the video in LA, but you know filming videos is never easy - lots of early mornings and lack of sleep, but when I saw the final video I was really proud of it and it's just so much fun so everything was worth it in the end! [laughs]

Tell me about your new single - "I Need You Now"...
Actually it's a little different than the original version you might have heard - more up-tempo.  The original version is more of a ballad, but my team thought for the UK it would be well-received if we made it more of an upbeat song and what you hear now is the song, but remixed and it gives the song a whole different dancey feel!

Did you enjoy filming that video with Indians and wind machines and cool space age cars in the desert....
You know, even though we filmed that video in the desert - it was so cold - I was freezing especially with the wind machines and that open flowing dress! [laughs]

The Winner Of The Kaci Battaglia "Crazy Possesive" Remix Contest is - Shugar Boy

 

Say hello to Shugar Boy!

We had about 20 remixes submitted for the EQ / Masterbeat Remix Competition for Kaci Battaglia's new single "Crazy Possesive" and Shugar Boy's remix was the winner, receiving the most votes from all the entries submitted - what he did with the song is just amazing!  You can hear his winning electro remix over on his MySpace page right now!

Shugar Boy is also an up-and-coming Canadian electro-pop musician and we even hear he's working on his own single as we speak - and from what we've heard of his remix capabilities, he surely might be one to watch in the future!

EQ and Masterbeat would like to thank everyone who entered the remix competition and took the time to lend their musical talent to Kaci's new single - there were some really creative and original entries and it was a pleasure to listen to all of them!

Again, make sure to give Shugar Boy some love over on his MySpace page and just for the fun of it, let's take a look at Kaci Battaglia's video to "Crazy Possesive" one more time...

EQ Interview With Mini Viva - "We want to show we are not one-trick ponies!"

 

There is no denying that Mini Viva have got a lot of pop sensibility going on.  I quite like the quirky element that they bring to pop music and "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" was the jam that had me utterly obsessed for about a week when it was released.  C'mon, you know you jammed out to it a few times too...

I was lucky enough to catch up with Frankee from Mini Viva (Britt was out sick for the day) for a little chat about where they came from, what's the meaning behind their new single "I Wish" and equally jammin "Bedroom Viber" and which version of the Sugababes she prefers. 

Hope you enjoy this little chat!

EQ: Well hello Frankee - how are you today?
Frankee:  I'm good - thanks!

First of all, congratulations on the success of your first single "I Left My Heart In Tokyo".  You must be over the moon that it did so well.  There was a point where you couldn't go out in London without hearing that song...
Awww thank you - Yeah we weren't expecting it to go to number 7 in the UK chart, so we're really happy that everyone believes in us and put us in the Top 10!

So tell me, how did you girls get discovered?  I'm quite curious...
Well I got discovered through MySpace actually - I got a flyer sent to me about putting a group together in Manchester.  Britt was at a breakdancing contest and saw a poster on a wall about putting together a new girl band and she went down and auditioned and then later we both went down to Xenomania headquarters and we met there.  As soon as we met, we just clicked really!  They thought that instead of putting us in a big girl band, it would be best to keep us as a duo.  That's how it happened!

We're you nervous about working with someone you didn't know beforehand?...
Not really!  Me and Britt, it was a natural connection if you know what I mean.  We are from the same background and similar towns up north.  A lot of the other girls were from stage school, so we couldn't really relate to that - they were very different than us.  So I wasn't one bit nervous at all and I don't think Britt was either...

Now I have to ask, I've always wondered this, is "I Left My Heart In Tokyo" autobiographical at all?  Did one of you actually leave your heart down by the river with some lucky Japanese boy?
[Laughs] - We get asked this question all the time!  It is about that - we haven't experienced that though because the song was wrote for us.  I just think the inspiration for it came from the backing track - at Xenomania, they produce the track first and they'll then write the melody of the track.  But the lyrics are exactly what the song is about!

EQ Interview With Space Cowboy - "I don't think its cool to cheat or anything like that..."

 

Space Cowboy really knows how to make fun dance/pop music and I've been a fan ever since his first album "Digital Rock" hit the interweb.  "My Egyptian Lover" with Nadia Oh is such a classic track too that never ever gets old.  I first got a glimpse of the rising star when he was the iconic DJ behind the decks on those early Lady Gaga club appearances in London and even back then, you could tell he had a bit of star quality about him.  

Since then, Gaga has blown up and Space Cowboy hasn't stopped with his mission of bringing digital dance/pop music to the masses and his new album, the cleverly titled "Digital Rock Star" proves just that.  With collaborations from the likes of The Paradiso Girls, LMFAO, Vistoso Bosses, Cinema Bizarre and Nadia Oh being featured on the new album - you'll definitely be in dance rock heaven upon it's first listen...guaranteed.

I caught up with Space Cowboy in the midst of his current US Tour with LMFAO to ask him a few questions I've had brewing.  In this interview with Space Cowboy - the purveyor of digital pop talks about working with RedOne, the filming of the "Just Dance" music video with Lady Gaga, his thoughts on glam rock making a comeback and why all the boyfriends of the world hate him...enjoy!

EQ: Well hello Space Cowboy - how are you today sir?  Where are you answering our questions from?
Space Cowboy: Hello! Well were in Seattle right now, on the Party Rock tour bus!


How very rock and roll!  Now tell me, you're originally from Paris and then moved to the UK and now you're rocking it in America.  Which do you prefer the American or the European life?
Both are good, very different, I love America as I grew up listening to predominently American Hip Hop essentially. 


So you must be excited releasing your new album "Digital Rock Star".  Is it a continuation of your 2006 album "Digital Rock" or is it a new sound and concept you're going for this time?
Its very much a new album, but the concept of it remains the same - to make digitally based music, without necessarily real instuments, like laptop rock.  Pop music with the spirit of rock and Red One produced most of the album, which is pretty amazing!


What was it like working with RedOne?  He really is the in-demand producer right now isn't he! 
He's such a lovey guy and suuuper hard-working producer - his sound is huge and that he even worked with me is just a dream for me!  Working with Red One, can you believe it?!


I must ask you, how did you end up hooking up with Cinema Bizarre?  I love them, I randomly bought a CD of theirs in Munich once and haven't heard much about them in the UK until you released your collaboration with them on "I Came 2 Party".
We met on the Lady Gaga Fame Ball Tour, they are excellent guys and invited me to perform in Germany with them for a BIG TV show - it was fun!


Do you think glam rock is making a bit of comeback now with artists like Cinema Bizarre and Adam Lambert being on the forefront of that movement?
Well, I think glamour is the basis of Rock and Hip Hop, or at least the types I like!  I like gangster movies and hair bands.  I like flambouyance and Cinema Bizarre and Adam Lambert are very much glam rock!  I Love it!


You're first single off "Digital Rock Star" was the brilliant "Falling Down" with The Paradiso Girls.  What was it like to work with Chelsea on the vocals?
Fantastic, her vocals pop like wow!  Amazing performer and great friend!  The Paradiso Girls are so much fun and im a BIG big fan!


EQ Interview With Erik Hassle - "I never thought that my hair could be something that was interesting! "

Erik Hassle's "Pieces" is one of the finest pop accomplishments of 2009 and will finally be unveiled to the UK and USA in early February.  Already a hit in Sweden with his debut single "Hurtful", Erik hopes to grow his fan base with the universal appeal of his gorgeous pop music.  Having recently finished a tour with Little Boots and Ellie Goulding, the soul pop quirkster is quickly gaining fans by the legions all the while being hotly tipped from influential tastemakers and UK newspapers like The Guardian.

I caught up with Erik Hassle to talk about his music, the experience of filming his music video to "Don't Bring Flowers" in Los Angeles and about life as a Swedish musician living in London.  And of course we had to talk about his hair too - enjoy!

EQ: Hello Erik how are you today?
Erik Hassle: I'm alright! I'm good. We've been on tour now for two week and the last show we all managed to get the flu!

Oh goodness!
Yeah, but I think I'm going to be ok...

So you just finished a few shows with Little Boots and Ellie Goulding - how did those shows go over?
It's been great - it's been very fun and I just like being on the road. It takes like three days and then you get into the tour mode and you never want to go back!

So let's talk about your song "Hurtful" - I wanted to find out if that song was autobiographical at all?
Yeah it was! The lyrics are quite easy to relate to for everyone I guess. For anyone whose ever been hurt and in love - they can relate to it. It's a knock on your shoulder by your conscious when you're starting to think things over and regret how you maybe handled some stuff. It's definitely autobiographical.