Komeda is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

pop/

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band from

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Ume� ...

. They were initially called Cosma Komeda, named in honour of composer

Vladimir Cosma Vladimir Cosma (born 13 April 1940) is a Romanian composer, conductor and violinist. He was born into a family of musicians. His father, Teodor Cosma, was a pianist and conductor, his mother a writer-composer, his uncle, Edgar Cosma, composer and ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musician and composer

Krzysztof Komeda Krzysztof Trzciński (27 April 1931 – 23 April 1969), known professionally as Krzysztof Komeda, was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s f ...

.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 825 The band started in the mid-1980s as a post-punk band influenced by bands such as Can,

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

, and

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

, and by film soundtracks. Their first public appearance was in 1991 as a

pit band A pit orchestra is a type of orchestra that accompanies performers in musicals, operas, ballets, and other shows involving music. The terms was also used for orchestras accompanying silent movies when more than a piano was used. In performances ...

for a

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

festival in their home town of

. Forming as a quartet of schoolfriends, Komeda consisted of vocalist Lena Karlsson, guitarist (Lars) Henrik Andersson (Ray Wonder) (in 1994 replaced by Mattias Norlander from the ban
Blithe
, bassist Marcus Holmberg and Holmberg's brother Jonas on drums. They increased in popularity, especially in the US, following tours with

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

and

Ben Folds Five Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The gro ...

and regular MTV appearances. Reluctant to move permanently to the US to pursue further success, and grieving from the loss of their parents, the band went into hiatus following 1998's What Makes It Go? although they continued to make music for theatre during this time. During 2001 the band was reduced to a trio with the departure of Norlander as he left to work as a software engineer in Stockholm. In 2002, Marcus Holmberg joined guitarists Frans Perris and Magnus Kollberg to form the band The Most. In 2010 Jonas Holmberg launched his new project Gilles & Felix, an experimental audio/visual performance. Marcus Holmberg now lives in Stockholm and works on various music projects, including playing bass in the band
Woodlands
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Dewed
. Komeda provided the score music for the animated film '' Pettson och Findus – Kattonauten'' (2000). They have also recorded under the name Projektor 7, adding music to silent movies. In 2006, "Check It Out", a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

from the ''Kokomemedada'' album, was used in commercials for

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

. Simultaneously, the song "Out from the Rain" from the same album was used in a commercial for '' Kirby: Canvas Curse'' on the

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

Discography

Albums/EPs

* ''

Pop På Svenska ''Pop På Svenska'' is the debut album by Swedish band Komeda. It was originally released in 1993 in Sweden on the North of No South label. Lars Henrik Andersson (Ray Wonder, Hank, LHA) was a band member in this release. Most of the songs are sung ...

'' (1993, Sweden only) * ''

Plan 714 till Komeda ''Plan 714 till Komeda'' is an EP by Swedish band Komeda. It was originally released in 1995 in Sweden on the North of No South label. As was their debut album two years prior, the songs are sung in the band's native language. This was the fi ...

'' (1995, Sweden only) * ''

The Genius of Komeda ''The Genius of Komeda'' is the second full-length studio album by Swedish band Komeda. Released in 1996, this was the first Komeda release sung in English. Licensed from Swedish record label North of No South to Minty Fresh, this was Komeda's ...

'' (1996) * '' What Makes it Go?'' (1998) * ''

Pop På Svenska & Plan 714 till Komeda ''Pop På Svenska & Plan 714 till Komeda'' is the re-issue of the first two releases by Swedish band Komeda. Both were originally released by the Swedish record label North of No South — the album '' Pop På Svenska'' in 1993 and the EP '' P ...

'' (2001) * '' Kokomemedada'' (2003)

Singles

*"Rocket Plane (Music on the Moon)" (1996) *"Boogie Woogie/Rock 'n' Roll" (1996) *"Travels in Stereo" (1998) *"It's Alright, Baby" (1998) *"A Simple Formality" (Dot Remixes) (1998) *"Check it Out" (1999)

Multi-artist compilations

*''North of No South'' (1992) **Track 01: "Magnifying Glass" **Track 16: "Mellow Song" *''North of No South 2'' (1997) **Track 07: "More is More" **Track 12: "Rocket Plane" *''Aaaaaah...nonscd 75'' (1998) **Track 01: "A Simple Formality" **Track 22: "Boogie Woogie/Rock N' Roll" *''Hitta Mitten'' (1998) **Track 04: "Our Connection" *''Atomium 3003'' (2000) **Track 06: "A Simple Formality" *''

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

: Heroes and Villains'' (2000) **Track 07: "B.L.O.S.S.O.M." *'' Our Little Corner of the World: Music from Gilmore Girls'' (2002) **Track 18: "It's Alright, Baby"

References

Swedish rock music groups Swedish pop rock music groups Swedish indie rock groups Minty Fresh artists Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in Sweden {{Sweden-band-stub