It’s now just five days til This Must Be Pop Live! Time to get to know HandS, the Norwegian electro-pop duo who will be playing their first UK gig for us on Monday.
Can you describe HandS in five words for those who haven’t heard of you before?
Sofie: Dark, hopeful, fresh, delightful pop.
Hakon: Underground pop vs. Overground pop… We made it 10, sorry.
How do you think the UK and Norwegian pop scenes compare?
Sofie: They are very different and that’s what makes this exiting. The most notable difference is the lack of pop acts in Norway, and that the music scene there is mostly influenced by local indie bands with a very underground sound.
Hakon: It is way smaller than the commercial pop scene you find in the UK and other countries in Europe like Sweden next door. Modern produced pop is a little bit too absent in Norway. Sadly.
Who is your fave pop duo of all time?
EASY! IT HAS TO BE ROXETTE!!! And we heart this.
What would you like to have achieved by the end of 2012?
Sofie: Wow. Brilliant question! We want to have given the UK a new pop sound. We wanna experience crazy gigs, make people dance all over the UK and celebrate pop!
Hakon: We are more than excited to finally show the world what we have been working so hard on. We’ve just finished what will be the follow-up to Wake Up. It’s called Enough and it’s like a pumped up version of Britney’s Till The World Ends. We love Dr.Luke. He’s a genius! We know it’s gonna be tough and engaged fans are the biggest motivation in the world!
Sofie: Yeah, we wanna give the fans an album by the end of 2012 that they can pop around the clock. The fans are the most important thing for us as they can join us all the way, help us and share unique experiences with us.
What can we expect from your performance at This Must Be Pop Live next week?
Sofie: Hard pop rhythms, mixed in with anthemic melodies that give a shimmer of hope in the overall dark lyrics about unhappy love and the pain it can cause. It will be a merger of underground productions and commercial pop choruses, mostly up-tempo songs, written during really emotional moments during our time in London.
Hakon: We will give our very best to make the crowd dance and feel the love for the music with us.
Sounds great! Come and see HandS for yourself, alongside Bright Light Bright Light and Tinashé, at This Must Be Pop Live at Queen of Hoxton on Monday.