Mono mind

The idea of ​​creating such a project came from Per Gessle and Christopher Lundqvist in 2014. ^[4] However, Gessle wrote the first song specifically for the new band in 2013, “In Control”. Then the working title of the project was “Honesty Jam”, because the musician wanted to realize only those musical moods that his intuition and instincts told him (“honesty”, honesty), as well as to mix cooperation with other people and co-authors to these ideas (“ jam ”, compression).

The band's first single, Sugar Rush, was released on September 9, 2016 via BMG Rights Management GmbH . The producers of the recording were Per Gessle and Roxette producer Christopher Lundqvist , the two of them being the only musicians who performed the song; vocals - Gessle and Helena Yousefsson . ^[five]

The band’s second single is called “Save Me A Place”, just like one of Fleetwood Mac ’s songs (from the album “ Tusk ”, 1979), whose fan is Per Gessle. The single was released on July 14, 2017 ^[6] and was rotated on the SiriusXM satellite radio station, where Gessle regularly broadcasts. In the official BMI catalog, the songwriters are French DJ David Guetta , Mono Mind and Giorgio Tuinfort, and the copyright holder is Universal Songs of Polygram International Inc. ^[7] The official YouTube channel of the SiriusXM radio station released a graphic video with the lyrics for the second single of the group, and the song is called “Save Me A Place (Bridge & Mountain Remix)” - in none of the services for purchasing digital music products the original version of the song does not appear. ^[eight]

On June 29, 2018, the digital single LaLaLove was released. In addition to the title track, a remix of the French DJ and producer was released. Both songs are available in the Spotify digital service and digital online stores. On August 7, 2018, the official video clip for this single was uploaded on the official channel of the SiriusXM satellite radio station on YouTube hosting. The video revealed the identity of one of the team members - Helena Yousefsson. ^[9] The single kicked off the 39th position on the Billboard Dance / Mix Show Airplay on the US chart. At the same time, 91% of the song’s airtime in the USA is on the SiriusXM BPM satellite radio station, and the rest of the time on the Chicago WCPY-FM station. In addition, the group collaborated with DJ Kue and Stash Konig: the mini-album “LaLaLove (Remixes)” was released on November 9, 2018. ^[ten]

Two days before the band’s first studio album, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published an article confirming that Per Gessle and the musicians with whom he has worked for many years are members of Mono Mind. In an interview with the newspaper Gessle said that the idea, when no one can understand who actually performs the songs of Mono Mind, seemed to him "extremely funny." He also told how the idea of ​​the group was born: “I had an idea for a concept that was different from pop music that I was used to. I wanted to do something that I did not do before. I wanted to start with a classic pop song, but then something happened that I had never done before, including serious “laboratory” experiments with my voice. ” ^[eleven]

January 12, 2019 (the day of the 60th anniversary of Per Gessle) was released the debut album of the group “ Mind Control ”, which includes 16 tracks. The album is released on CD, LP, and is also available for purchase in digital form. A double LP album recorded 2 more additional songs. The album was released on the label Elevator Entertainment AB, which had previously released numerous solo albums by Gessle, as well as the latest albums Roxette and Gyllene Tider . On the day the album was released, the Swedish television channel TV4 interviewed Per Gessle over the phone, because that day the musician was in Florida, USA, where he was promoting the new album and at the same time celebrated his anniversary. ^[12]

The author of the album cover and singles design is a Swedish graphic artist and artist who has collaborated with Gessle repeatedly - Pär Wickholm ( Swede. Pär Wickholm ). ^[13]

Since the release of the first single of the group in September 2016 and until the release of the first studio album in January 2019, the official composition of the group has not been disclosed. Instead, group members used aliases: Dr. Robot, Cooky Carter, Rain Davis, and Bright Jones. On the covers of digital singles were painted characters associated with these pseudonyms. They represented the group on social networks on the Internet.

After the release of the video for the song “LaLaLove” in the summer of 2018, it became obvious that Cooky Carter was the pseudonym of Helena Yousefsson, as the singer correctly guessed under the mask. ^{[14] [13]}

Two days before the release of Mind Control ’s first official studio album, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published an article that officially announced that Per Gessle and the musicians with whom he has been working for many years are behind the Mono Mind project. ^[eleven]

In Q&A commercials published on YouTube (Questions and Answers), Gessle said that he was impressed by "pop art in pop music" and he wanted to come up with characters in this style. The Archies and The Beatles used the same idea in A Hard Day's Night . Therefore, he came up with these characters, who became the face of the group. ^[2] In addition, Gessle recalls other characters who had a greater influence on the development of pop music and culture in general: The Ramones , David Bowie , Mark Bolan , Alice Cooper . ^[four]

The official pseudonyms of the team members:

• Dr. Robot ( Per Gessle )
• Cooky Carter ( Helena Yousefsson )
• Rain Davis ( Clarence Everman )
• Bright Jones ( Christopher Lundquist )

In an interview with the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Gessle recalled that he borrowed the names of Mono Mind characters from the history of pop music: Bright Jones comes from Brian Jones from the Rolling Stones , Rain Davies from Ray Davis from The Kinks , and Dr. Robot by Doctor Robert , The Beatles . Only Cooky Carter is an exception, her name was invented by Gessle himself. ^[13]

Collaboration

The whole idea of ​​the Mono Mind project, according to Per Gessle, is collaboration and musical experiments with other musicians. ^{[2] [15]} Gessle is trying to "find new angels to create music." ^[sixteen]

Talking about the group, Per Gessle said that an important element in the work of the team is cooperation with different musicians. The first of these can be considered French DJ David Guett, who according to Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of the co-authors of the single “Save Me a Place”. On February 27, 2014, Per Gessle posted on Roxette's official Facebook page a photograph of him, producer Roxette Christopher Lundquist and David Guetta at a recording studio in Stockholm . ^[17] There were no comments from the musicians after that, and the single released in the summer of 2017 was signed by Mono Mind and at that time no one knew who was actually behind this project. However, some media outlets confirm the Getta’s participation in the project. ^[13]

When recording the album “Mind Control”, Gessle collaborated with friends from the Netherlands and France, as well as with Andreas Broberger ( Swede. Andreas Broberger ). ^[2]

Studio Albums

• Mind Control (January 12, 2019) - CD, 2-LP, Digital Distribution

EP

• “Save Me a Place (The Remixes)” (October 2017) - Digital Distribution
  1. Bridge & mountain remix
  2. Tropkillaz remix
  3. Sylvain armand remix
  4. Hugel remix
  5. Lounge remix

• “I Found My Soul At Marvingate” (May 25, 2018) - Digital Distribution
  1. Sofa Tunes Remix
  2. Viceroy chill remix
  3. Viceroy Walking on Water Chill Remix

• LaLaLove (The Remixes) (November 9, 2018) - digital distribution
  1. LaLaLove 3:24
  2. LaLaLove Hugel Remix 3:15
  3. LaLaLove DJ Kue Remix 4:19
  4. LaLaLove Stash Konig Remix 4:11
  5. LaLaLove LaLaL'amour 3:24

Singles

• Sugar Rush (September 9, 2016)
• Save Me A Place (July 14, 2017)
• “I Found My Soul At Marvingate (Sofa Tunes Remix)” (January 12, 2018)
• LaLaLove (June 29, 2018)
  1. LaLaLove (3:24)
  2. LaLaLove (Hugel Remix)

The single “Save Me A Place” climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard U.S. chart on November 11, 2017, after spending a total of several weeks on the chart itself. ^[18] Having hit the chart, the single started at 39 positions.

The single "Save Me A Place (Bridge & Mountain Remix)" took first place in three American charts: Dance Radio, iTunes Electronic and Amazon Electronic Charts. ^[nineteen]

The single "Save Me A Place" for 6 weeks took first place in the "MediaBase Dance Chart" (USA) in the summer of 2017. ^[2]

“I Found My Soul at Marvingate” culminated at 15th on the Billboard U.S. Chart on April 21, 2018.

"LaLaLove" started on the Billboard chart "Dance / Mix Show Airplay" at 39 positions. ^[20]

The group reached number 1 on the iTunes Electronica and Amazon Electronica charts. ^[21]

Gordon Murray, a columnist for the American music magazine Billboard , writes about the release of the second single by the Swedish band, calling it a “mysterious act” and quoting what the band writes about itself: “a music laboratory where everything is possible.” ^[22]

After it became known who was behind the project, the largest Swedish newspapers published articles dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Per Gessle and at the same time mentioned the release of the album “ Mind Control ”. So, the Expressen newspaper called the project "international success." ^[23]

• 2018 - NRJ DJ Awards - “Best Band or Duet of the Year” - Mono Mind - expected
• 2018 - NRJ DJ Awards - “Club Hit of the Year” (together with French DJ Hugel) - “Save Me a Place (Hugel Remix)” song - expected ^[24]

• Official site