Caroline of Icona Pop talks vulnerability and pursuing music with her best friend

MANILA, Philippines – Icona Pop has been around for over a decade, and it’s pretty safe to say that they’ve raised an entire generation of listeners all around the world.

The duo served as the gateway of millions of young millennials and Gen Zs’ affinity for house and synth-pop music — never mind if it’s a teenage girl listening to “All Night” in her bedroom, or a group of women in their twenties dancing to “I Love It” on a night out.

Icona Pop’s impact is pretty much indubitable, and it doesn’t look like they’re stopping any time soon.

In fact, just a year after the release of their sophomore full-length album, Club Romantech, the Swedish duo returned with a new single, “Body Type.”

Caroline of Icona Pop tells Rappler all about this new drop, what else she and Aino have been working on lately, and how the duo has withstood the test of time all these years.

The making of ‘Body Type’

Icona Pop enlisted the help of bass house producer and DJ, Badger, to create the upbeat “Body Type.” Caroline and Aino are fans of Badger’s work, but had only been admiring his creations from afar up to that point. So, you can already imagine the anxiety the duo felt while waiting for Badger to respond after they sent the song over to him.

“When we sent the track, we were like, ‘I really hope that he’s going to like it.’ When you follow each other on Instagram and you follow what the person does, but you don’t really know them, we didn’t really know what it was going to be like working together. But it’s just been so natural, easy, and fun. It almost felt like we already knew each other,” Caroline told Rappler.

Caroline added that this was a dream collaboration for Icona Pop, so it’s only fitting that they mark their return with this song. The Swedish duo had been on tour for the past year, which meant that they had each spent extended periods of time away from their special people — and “Body Type” is an ode to that feeling of longing.

“We’ve been spending so much time on the road throughout the years, and when you’ve been working really hard and you have someone you really like, all you want to do is get home to that person. And you’re like, ‘Are you thinking about me? Because I’m thinking about you,'” Caroline explained, citing time differences as a big hurdle.

And when Caroline and Aino finally got the chance to sit down and write music, they knew they wanted to release “Body Type” straight away.

“We felt like, ‘You know what? We should just release it. We should get it out now. Sometimes, you get that feeling that this song should just be released out into the world. We shouldn’t wait,” Caroline said.

On writing good music and loving what they do

But “Body Type” isn’t the only thing the two best friends and music partners have been brewing up. They have another album on the way, and interestingly, Caroline likens the process of it to creating a world you want to live in for a long time.

“[The lyrics] feel very personal in a good way. We want to be personal with our fans, but it’s almost scary sometimes when you’ve been through some stuff and you release it, because it’s like someone reading your diary,” Caroline shared about how the album is coming along.

For anybody — regardless of whether or not you’re a musician — expressing vulnerability is a difficult thing to get comfortable with. You know that people are going to be able to perceive you and the deepest of your emotions, so it can understandably become a daunting affair to navigate. But for Caroline, that’s exactly what she and Aino think it takes to write good music.

“I think it’s hard to write really good music, for me, at least, and for Aino, if we don’t open up. Because then it kind of becomes a little bit flat. So, even though you might be like, ‘Oh I don’t want to [open up], it’s almost like you have to, to that good place where it makes you feel,” Caroline said.

If a song of theirs lacks that key ingredient, Caroline admits that it’s not something she and Aino can be proud of. More importantly, it’s not something their fans will be able to connect with on a deeper level. And this is something Icona Pop has been doing for 13 years and counting.

The secrets to their longevity? Doing it all with your best friend, and staying curious no matter what.

“In the beginning, it was just me and Aino against the world. No one knew of us, we didn’t have that many songs, and we were not used to traveling the world. Suddenly, we were just out there pinching ourselves, like, ‘Is this really happening?'” Caroline said, looking back at when Icona Pop was just starting out.

Caroline also told Rappler about the luxury of pursuing her dreams with her best friend, Aino. The two friends have been there for each other through all the ups and downs of their time as a music duo — and even as new mothers.

“That would be so boring to do alone…. It’s been really cool to do that together as friends and I think we have this weird, almost naive, feeling that we started yesterday, even though I know we’ve been a band for a long time. We’re almost like sisters. We always have [moments where] we’re like, ‘Oh, we’re gonna make an album, What’s it gonna be about?’ That curiosity, I feel like it’s so important to keep that,” Caroline said.

Just as Icona Pop has been there for their listeners — from their first introduction to synth-pop and house music to becoming casual listeners of the duo — they’ve also been there for each other through it all, and it’s clear that they wouldn’t have it any other way. – Rappler.com