Since storming the charts back in 2012 with hit single 'I Love It', featuring Charli XCX, Icona Pop have enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame, with their pop-tastic sound continuing to evolve all the while cementing their place at the centre of popular music today.
In time for summer and peak-party season, the duo have released their latest single, 'Next Mistake'.
When interviewing Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, who describe their latest offering as a party anthem that also reflects upon one of those nights out, it can be difficult to discern who is actually talking, with each of them interjecting each other and finishing the other's sentences.
“'Next Mistake' as a song has seen us take a lot of inspiration from the '90s, sound wise – we’ve done [that] for long time now. Though it's also about embracing your mistakes, about those nights that we all have where we go out and we might do something bad. Though in reality these moments should still be embraced, because they could in fact still lead to something fun.”
So the '90s, what about this era do you love so much?
We love so much about the '90s; we all know the fashion was crazy. Back then you had pop music and also grunge music, there was just so much that was good about the era.
If you were into dance music, it was a golden time for the genre. I don’t know if you experienced it in Australia, but in Europe dance music was huge in the '90s. We have so many memories from that time, so it’s very much about our own sense of nostalgia, and you know – everything comes 'round in circles, so right now in 2019 culture and fashion have both gone back to the '90s.
We keep wishing that we had kept all our clothes from the era, you know – those chokers everyone used to wear. And those platform shoes, remember those?
The inspiration you find from this era really defines your sound, but where else do you tend to find inspiration?
We get a lot of inspiration when we travel, because we get to visit lots of different countries and meet lots of different people.
Though the most inspiration we find, actually comes from our friends. When we used to live with a bunch of them, there’d be these moments we’d share at the end of the night out. Someone would come home and talk about how 'this guy or girl treated me like this, or that'; those kinds of conversation and real-life events hugely influence us, particularly with our latest single.
When it comes to other artists, we’re really inspired when someone is 100 per cent themselves and just own it, like Miley Cyrus or Billie Eilish. Watching them do their thing 100 per cent is just so inspiring to us.
Living the lifestyle of the rich and famous; is it really all glamour, or are there parts of your lifestyle that are maybe less of a thrill?
I guess when you become a pop star you can’t really choose otherwise.
These days, when we’re travelling and we’re tired, and just trying to catch up on sleep is always when, you know, a flight attendant or someone will come up to us, wanting to take a photograph or asking for an autograph. It’s those moments and also being away from friends and family, that’s is the downside for us.
We know that we are lucky too, because there are so many amazing musicians out there who aren’t able to live off their art, despite their talent. We absolutely love to perform and are lucky to able to do this almost every night.
What do you believe to be music's greatest power?
Music is super important to everyone on this planet, it is the language which everyone understands.
Now in 2019 with the world as it, it’s important to be mixing with people who may hold different views to our own, as much as it also super important that we hold own opinions. Even if you don’t think alike with the people your talking with, something in music allows for these kinds of discussions to emerge.
As musicians, it also allows us to stand on a stage, not just performing, to also be saying something and celebrating this as part of a community. In 2019, music is now, more important than ever.
'Next Mistake' is available now.
