Urban Cone is a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm, formed in 2010 by current members Emil Gustafsson, Rasmus Flyckt, Tim Formgren, and Jacob William Sjöberg and former member Magnus Folkö while the members, who all shared a passion for music were all still in high school.[1]
Urban Cone | |
|---|---|
 Urban Cone backstage in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2010–2018, 2021 |
| Labels | |
| Past members | Rasmus Flyckt Tim Formgren Emil Gustafsson Jacob William Sjöberg Magnus Folkö |
| Website | www |
The band's debut album, Our Youth was released in 2013 and was produced and recorded in Flyckt's living room. The follow-up second album was Polaroid Memories released in 2015. The band's third album, 10-18, was released in 2018. In 2021, the band announced they're coming back with their new song, Never Enough.[2][3]
Music career
editThe group first met success in late 2010 with their debut single, Urban Photograph, which received high praise and exposure on music blogs around the world and reached #2 on Hype Machine after the release of the band's Our Youth EP in December 2012.[4] The EP received positive feedback, with Earmilk writing that “the EP exemplifies what Urban Cone is at its finest, staying true to their roots and presenting honest, gritty dance/pop."[5]
After the release of Our Youth, Urban Cone tried its hand in the U.S. market in January 2013 by performing in New York City, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco.[6] On 8 May 2013 the group released their debut album, Our Youth,[7] which received more than nine million streams only a few months after its release.[8] The group has received praise from music blogs such as BrooklynVegan, Vice/Thump, Idolator and Stereogum.
In 2014, Urban Cone collaborated with Porter Robinson on his song "Lionhearted". Their next single, "Sadness Disease" was released on October 7 and described by Billboard as “uplifting at first, but the lyrics are an even deeper dive into sadness, loneliness and exhaustion”.[9] “We write music in an attempt to create sunshine. It’s a reactionary impulse to create light out of the darkness. If you listen to the lyrics, they’re quite dark. It’s serious music that’s made for dancing,” Flyckt said of the song.[9] Urban Cone released their second album, Polaroid Memories, on 29 April 2015.[10]
Urban Cone has collaborated with electronic dance music artists Porter Robinson and John Dahlbäck[11] and fellow Swedish musician Tove Lo.[12]
The group's third and final album, 10-18, was released by Interscope Records/Universal Sweden.[citation needed] The songs are influenced by hip-hop, while retaining effortless Swedish pop melodies. "With the first two albums, we didn’t tell people what the songs were about, because we wanted the audiences to have their own story for what they could be about, but ever since then, we’ve felt like it’s really important for us to tell people what we think in a different way," Gustafsson said about Urban Cone's new sound.[citation needed]
Urban Cone has cited Tame Impala and Arcade Fire as some of their biggest influences.[13]
Live performances
editUrban Cone has performed extensively throughout Sweden and Scandinavia[14] at festivals such as Roskilde, Peace & Love, Way Out West, Siesta!, Emmaboda, Reeperbahn, Dockville, Popaganda and Trastock. In January 2013, Urban Cone performed five shows in the U.S., with stops in New York, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. In April 2013, prior to the release of Our Youth, the group toured Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
In March 2015, Urban Cone performed their song "Come Back to Me" with Tove Lo at the SXSW Festival.[15] The group toured Europe with Tove Lo and the U.S. with The Griswolds during 2015.
In early 2017, Urban Cone toured the U.S. in cities such as Brooklyn, N.Y., San Francisco and Los Angeles with labelmates Nightly.
Discography
edit
Studio albums
edit| Year | Album | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [16] | ||
| 2013 | Our Youth | 20 |
| 2015 | Polaroid Memories | 26 |
| 2018 | 10-18 | – |
| 2021 | West Coast | – |
Extended plays
edit| Year | Album | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [16] | ||
| 2012 | Our Youth | – |
Singles
edit| Year | Album | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| SWE [16] | ||
| 2015 | "Come Back to Me" (featuring Tove Lo) |
– |
| 2017 | "Old School" | 45 |
| 2017 | "Pumping Up Clouds" | – |
| 2018 | "Sugar" (featuring Blenda) |
– |
| 2021 | "Never Enough" | – |
| 2021 | "Body Conversation" | – |
References
edit- ^ "Urban Cone Interview". Serial Optimist. 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ @UrbanCone (June 28, 2021). "Our new single Never Enough is out on Friday..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-11 – via Twitter.
- ^ @UrbanCone (June 16, 2021). "So we're releasing new music next Friday..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 16, 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-11 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Our Youth EP by Urban Cone on Apple Music". iTunes. January 2012. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Urban Cone - Our Youth EP [Premiere] - EARMILK". EARMILK. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Swedish band Urban Cone playing U.S. shows (dates, streams)". BrooklynVegan. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Our Youth by Urban Cone on Apple Music". iTunes. January 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Urban Cone - Herschel Supply Co". Herschel Supply Co. 2014-01-06. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ a b "Exclusive Premiere: Urban Cone's 'Sadness Disease'". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Polaroid Memories by Urban Cone on Apple Music". iTunes. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Embrace Me feat. Urban Cone feat. Lucas Nord (Dirty South Remix) by John Dahlback, Lucas Nord, Urban Cone, Dirty South on Beatport". www.beatport.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Urban Cone – "Come Back To Me" (Feat. Tove Lo)". Stereogum. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Urban Cone - Yen Mag". Yen Mag. 2015-08-19. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Urban Cone - Bandsintown | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ "Watch Tove Lo + Urban Cone Perform 'Come Back to Me' at SXSW". Diffuser.fm. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
- ^ a b c Hung, Steffen. "swedishcharts.com - Discography Urban Cone". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.