Itchycoo is a Swedish pop duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band consists of Mia Bergström and Tobias Gustavsson and was formed in 2002 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The band released one album with [1]Virgin Records Germany before leaving the label in 2004 and signing with [2]Sony Music Germany.Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Song Writing 3 References 4 External links
[edit] Biography
The duo met whilst showcasing their own separate bands in a club bar called [3] "The Itchycoo Bar", from where they took their band name. At the same time both Mia and Tobias were studying at the same college – The School of Performing Arts. Having formed in 2002 they co-wrote two demo tracks with Gothenburg based music producer - [4] Hakan Glante. Then with the two tracks, "Love Train" and "Always Forever", they travelled to Cannes, France to attend the yearly music business expo [5]"MIDEM".
Unaware of the high entry cost they resorted to handing out their demo's to passing music executives on the street. On their last night and with just a handful of demo packages left, the duo sneaked their way into the Swedish Radio Industry party at a prestigious hotel on the Croisette. It was there they met a British music manager based in Germany, who listening to their music, on the spot offered to represent them. Their self-titled debut album Itchycoo was recorded in late 2002 and early 2003 partly in Los Angeles with producer Guy Roche. The remainder of the album was recorded and produced in Stockholm with Peter Kvint, Douglas Carr and Epicentre.
In 2003 the band moved to Cologne, Germany at the label's request to support promotion and release activities. Subsequently their debut album "Itchycoo" (2003/4)[1] which was released on Virgin Records Germany, gave them a solid fan base in their newly adopted home country where they won the prestigious 2003 Radio SWR3 New Pop Festival[2][3] and were nominated for a German Music Industry "Echo Award" in 2004. The band is perhaps best known for their 2004 European radio hit single "Killer Bee".
In 2004, Itchycoo reached the semi-finals of the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest (Melodifestivalen) and continued their European tour supporting Pink in Germany. In summer 2005 Itchycoo switched labels and signed a new album deal with SonyBMG. A year of writing and recording in Philadelphia, New York and Berlin led to the second album from the Swedish duo titled Do You Believe but owing to a conflict with the label the album was subsequently never released and remains on hold. [edit] Song Writing
Not content to sit back and wait for their label problems to subside, Mia and Tobias began writing and producing songs for other artists. Most notably in 2006 with Japanese Pop/Rock Star "Miz", who's rock edged single "Bittersweet" was written by Tobias and Mia and released in Japan on 25 Jan of that year. Miz's album released on 22 February 2006 contained two songs including the ubiquitous "Bittersweet" and equally rocky "Yesterday".
After Miz, the Swedish pair spent time in New York co-writing with several writers including Toby Gad. During this session they wrote a track which later appeared on the 2007 album "Luna Llena" from Mexican artist Mariana Ochoa. The track titled "Amor Total" was originally an English language track titled "So Damn Happy"[4] but was converted into a Spanish language track for Mariana.
Still writing for other artists, Tobias Gustavsson and Mia Bergström contributed to the 2007 No Angels album in Germany titled Destiny. The track "Been Here Before" was recorded and produced by Tobias in Cologne and Berlin. The album released on 13 April 2007 peaked at #4 in the German album charts. In June 2007 Tobias went back into the studio in Berlin to co-produce the No Angels on their next single Teardrops.
As 2007 came to a close, Mia was performing in a theatre musical and it was down to Tobias to continue writing and producing which he did in his native Sweden. This time contributing on the new Martin Stenmarck album "Nio sanningar och en lögn" (Nine Truths & One Lie). The album certified Gold in its first week of release in December 2007.
Tobias' latest release is Alice Svensson's debut single, "Lady Luck", which he co-wrote with Michel Zitron and Peter Kvint.
