EDM Duo Rebecca & Fiona Name Their Most Influential Albums

Within a mere three year time period, Swedish DJ duo – Rebecca & Fiona – have released their 2011 debut LP, I Love You, Man! (certified gold in Sweden), collaborated with DJ veteran Kaskade on “Turn It Down,” won a 2012 Swedish Grammy for Best/Electronic Dance album, and landed a residency at Ibiza’s renowned SPACE club. It is evident that these alluring Swedes are much more than a pretty face in the dance music realm.

The duo will release their sophomore album, Beauty Is Pain, via Ultra Records on April 29th. Rebecca & Fiona enlisted the aid of several producers and co-writers such as Kurt Uenala, Adrian Lux, and Loops of Fury (who rarely collabs), along with others. Although they partnered with many fellow producers and artists on the latest album, the overall concept – stories of relationships, empowerment, and the thrills of youth – is authentically R&F. Rebecca says, “We collaborated with a lot of our friends and boyfriends, but it’s not gonna be any official feature because it’s so much ‘us.’ Even though we love working with people, it feels genuine, like, for this album to be all us; but we love working with people.”

In support of Beauty Is Pain, the ladies have embarked on an extensive tour that’s taken them from SXSW to Ultra Music Festival, and will conclude in their home country of Sweden at the end of May. R&F’s intro into the ins and outs of the music world began nearly at birth. Rebecca’s dad is a classically trained pianist while Fiona’s grew up with a synth pop producer father. Fiona interjects, “Our album is really inspired by our real fathers, not Young Fathers.” Yes, Fiona’s clarification was needed in my behalf since we just discussed the band (Young Fathers) prior to engaging in the next subject. “My father makes dance music.” Fiona adds. As a result of their rich musical upbringing, the duo thrives on being 100% hands-on creating music from the heart that also befits the club. Rebecca says, “We don’t want just anybody to make a full track for us, even though it would be easier for us. We love the process of making a track. We’re mixing all of the vocals ourselves. We’re really eager to do it because it’s developing. That’s the fun part of making music – the actual making.”

Much of the R&F sound stems from a blend of electro, disco boogie, retro ‘80s and ‘90s synth pop (Fiona refers to Ace of Base’s Happy Nation as the “album of my life”), and house. Every artist has a select group of albums in their arsenal of go-to tunes. Here, we get a glimpse of R&F’s mini list of the most influential albums of their lives.