It’s not every day that a Danish debut album goes gold in Britain, a country particularly adept at mass-producing its own pop talent. But Alphabeat’s catchy pop has obviously struck a chord with British audiences.

The Danish sextet are riding high in the UK with their debut album selling over 100.000 copies in the wake of the huge hit singles ‘Fascination’ and ‘10.000 Nights’. In addition to their knack for coming up with catchy hooks, Alphabeat’s success is also based on hard work in the rehearsal room.

After one of the group’s many concerts in England, Alex Hoban – one of the arbiters of taste on the influential music paper NME – even dared to suggest that Alphabeat were the best Scandinavian band since ABBA! Since then, 100.000 albums and some half a million singles have passed over UK counters.

Diligent pop preferences
The Brits are still astounded that Alphabeat aren’t a manufactured pop act, but a real band that has worked hard in the rehearsal room for years. “We are forever finding out that Brits are amazed that it’s possible to play pop music the way we do and at the same time be a “proper” band with years of experience,” explains guitarist Anders Bønløkke, the main architect behind the band’s songs.

It’s around him that the rest of Alphabeat – Rasmus Nagel (keyboards), Anders Reinholdt (bass), Troels Hansen (drums) and vocal duo Anders SG and Stine Bramsen – stack up the songs’ colorful building blocks.

The band originate from Silkeborg, where, as in so many other provincial centers, you have to create your own opportunities. In Alphabeat’s case, it was pop music – specifically, Pop with a capital P. “To start with, we were entirely devoid of ambition and direction,” says singer Anders SG. “Football was just as high a priority for several of us.”

Right from the start, the range of personalities and ambitions in Alphabeat helped to define them as musicians, which the band think is one of the reasons why they became such a strong live act.

Alternative content

Ironic distance
To begin with, irony was a key element in the Alphabeat philosophy. “There were a lot of rock and metal bands in the association that ran our local rehearsal rooms, and every time there was a concert or band evening they dominated the poster. We reckoned that if we played pure pop we’d stick out like a sore thumb,” Bønløkke elaborates.

The band still feel like outsiders in a way, because pop is often shrouded in and associated with negative values such as superficiality and commercialism. In the beginning, Alphabeat would appear to treat their music like pastiche, so they were able to pursue their passion for pop in a more “acceptable” manner. Or at least that’s how they see it with the benefit of hindsight.

“Today, the music isn’t wrapped up in noncommittal distance, it’s closer to us. We take it more seriously. The music is still easily understandable and transient, which is part of the nature of pop music,” claims Bønløkke, who acknowledges that Alphabeat’s music is directed more at the feet and body than the brain and intellect.

London calling
In autumn 2007, Alphabeat moved to London in order to pursue their dreams of musical conquest. EMI spotted the sextet and were captivated by their catchy songwriting – but they weren’t the only ones. Their giant competitors Warner and Universal also fancied Alphabeat’s contagious pop, and a bidding war broke out.

Iain Watt (Mika, etc.) was drafted in as the band’s international manager, and Alphabeat found themselves in the hands of experts who have launched superstars such as Blur, Coldplay, Radiohead, Gorillaz, Daft Punk, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams.

“We started to notice the enthusiasm over there when ‘Fascination’ hit the airwaves in January 2008,” says Bønløkke. “We were on tour the next month and found that people actually turned out specifically to hear us play, not just the band we were supporting.”

British interest soon translated into sales figures, and ‘Fascination’ slowly but surely crept up the UK charts, spending months in the Top 20 and reaching as high as no. 7. At one point, ‘Fascination’, ‘10,000 Nights’ and ‘Boyfriend’ were all in the UK Top 40 at the same time.

“The whole thing is obviously extremely surreal, but for us it’s no overnight success,” says Bønløkke. “We’ve worked our butts off for years, and targeted the UK in particular since winter 2007.”

Anders SG takes over: “People are very open and devoted if they like what they hear, and that goes for any genre. It doesn’t feel anywhere near as “forbidden” to play pop in the UK as it does in Denmark, which of course is an advantage for the likes of us!”

Alternative content

Brought to you in collaboration with:
Boom Boom Magazine – The Sounds & Visions of Denmark