Advertisement

Introducing... Basshunter

Malin Nyberg
Malin Nyberg - [email protected]
Introducing... Basshunter

Introducing... is The Local's guide to the ins and outs of Swedish celebrity. This week Malin Nyberg sits too close to the telly and gets sucked into the wacky world of commercial dance artist Jonas Altberg, aka Basshunter.

Advertisement

Who is he and why is he famous?

Good question, many Swedes wondered the same thing in 2006 when an unknown dance artist was suddenly being played by Swedish DJs all across the country. Soon everyone had gone Basshunter crazy and his tune 'Boten Anna' became the hit of the year.

So was it just a one-hit-wonder?

Not at all. The 'hunter is incredibly popular in the UK these days, a point to which we'll return later. But success was initially limited on the home front, probably because the lyrics in his Swedish-language songs are all about cyberspace.

How utterly thrilling.

You said it. Back then, he recorded his songs on his computer and released them onto an unwitting the internet. It seems he really loved the web in general and decided to write songs about the cyber world. He is very much a product of his time. In fact, his second Swedish album was called LOL.

ROFL! WTF? What's the smiley for incurable geek?

Don't be like that. Anyway, his fortunes had a massive upswing when he released the English version of 'Boten Anna', 'Now you’re gone', in 2008. Suddenly he was an international artist singing about, you know, normal stuff. He become very successful in Britain, topping the UK charts for five weeks. Also, every tourist-packed bar in Europe played his song non stop. It was a great year for Mr Bass.

And for sales of earache remedies no doubt. So what's he up to these days?

A lot, if the the British papers are to be believed.

Questionable. But do continue.

Well, after releasing an album in English last year and touring the world, his popularity exploded, particularly in the UK where he recently moved into the Celebrity Big Brother house.

Ouch, a grim fate. How is he handling being stuck in a house with insufferable British celebrities?

Very well apparently. He is making tabloid headlines and the women like him. Sadly though, it seems he has just been dumped by his cute Kazakh housemate. But he is almost certain to find someone new.

I certainly hope so, the poor chap.

Hey, you can’t feel sorry for this guy. Just look at the woman who plays the girlfriend in his music videos and you'll understand why..!

What about her?

Well, Basshunter's music videos have had hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, a fact not entirely unconnected to the appearance therein of a glamour model and former porn star from Norway.

Oh, interesting. What’s her name? I might watch with the sound turned down.

Aylar Lie, but hey, we were talking about Basshunter here…

No, no, continue. Aylar Lie, you say?

No, I don't.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also