The first sound of Slagsmålsklubben (SMK) was made by mistake in November 2000 when the leadsinger of ”The Solbrillers” didn´t show up for rehearsals.
It came from a crappy no-good fake-guitar amplifier that Joni got for christmas through which he, Björn & Beebop, 17 years old at the time, had plugged a possibly even crappier toy synthesizer. When crap+crap in this case equaled genius the 3 boys experienced a simultaneus Heureka-experience.
Before sunset three songs were made in which everything, the drums, the bass and the melody came from that toy keyboard/christmas amp setup. The songs mixed that newly discovered plastic hardcore sound from Gehenna with sweet melodies from heaven.
One of those tracks (Hit Me Hard) was later released as the first single from SMKs debut album (Den Svenske Disco, 2003).
Within a year Hannes joins the group together with his great analouge machine park that he keeps in his parents basement. Now they´d got REAL synthesizers. (Though even today still yellow teethed sound technicians go ”Hey, Slagsmålsklubben, did you only bring your toys? Where´s the real instruments, Slagsmålsklubben?”)
Anyways, when SMK visits the emmaboda festival in 2002 Beebop gets his ass kicked in a boxing fight by a rapper from the dirty swedish south calling himself Frej. With blood where most of his teeth should be Beebop promises Frej that he can stay in SMKs rehearsal place for a couple of days and put some rap words on a tune or two if he likes.
Frej stays in that rehearsal room for 6 months which results not only in him becoming a member of the group but also in the 7” EP ”Slagsmålsklubben + Frej” and the full length debut album ”Den Svenske Disco”. The 7” invented the genre ”Blip-Hop” and managed to be played in booth pop and hip-hop shows on swedish radio.
To further upgrade their sound, moral and spirit standards the band brings Kim, the final of todays six members, into the band and moves to the dirtiest of the dirty swedish south; Malmö. A city so obviously filled with trouble even FOX news went all the way from the America to report about the violence. It was at least the closest you could get to living in Chicago in the 30s the year 2004 in sweden, which for SMK basicly meant they could get home delivery alcohol at any time of day from the mafia.
Close thing though that the malmö adventures ended before they even started when the SMKs VW bus loses one of its wheels on the highway heading south. A wall of sparks bursts up and they get to see the wheel rolling by them before the car stops beside the beautiful lake Vättern.
Anyways(2)…SMKs second album ”Sagan Om Konungens Årsinkomst” is released in 2004, great album, SMK gets more fans and gets to make overcrowded shows at all the biggest festivals in sweden where people faint, bleed and break their bones like it was the 60s.
So in pursuit to escape from the overwhelming chaos SMK packs the new VW bus with all synthesizers, most valuable things and favourite clothes. Ready to move!
Then somebody breaks into the car and steals Björn & Hannes clothes, a bunch of SMK t-shirts (later seen worn by the local bums) AND Jonis litlle christmas amplifier, the one it all started with.
- A NEW START! thinks the band and a couple of hours later they´re in Berlin, their new hometown to be, on stage, showing germany why they are the best electronic live act.
Berlin brings on a lot of mixed feelings to the group, some gets depressed some get happy, some falls in love and so on until fall 2006 when they pull themselves together and move to a cottage in the swedish forests for a couple of months and produce ”Boss For Leader” the third full length album.
It makes the big cities of Europé start to welcome SMK into their homes and radio stations. The island Ibiza invites them to play at a small hotel, the one where Wham shot their Club Tropicana video. SMK accepts the invitation, go there and pour expensive drinks into the pool water, just like George Michael.
In the summer of 2009 the band started experimenting with sending things, mostly sea fruits into space, from stage. With help from balloons and rockets they´ve sent a couple of crab fish, oysters and 60 swedish crowns right up the stratosphere.
Which makes me think about the future, it is soon here, exiting things will happen, next time in south america where SMK plan to go in early 2010, smoke some cigars, ride some donkeys, make more beautiful music.
