Raymond & Maria

We have made a new album! "Jobs where they don't know our names" is produced by James Iha - former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist - in two different studios. Stratosphere Sound in New York and Ocean Sound in Norway.

We are a slightly shy group of people from, Stockholm Sweden. Unfortunately a dark and cold place at times. We try to cheer ourselves up by making up straightforward melodic pop songs. At first our setting consisted only of acoustic guitars, drums and Maria and Camilla's voices. We originally had a vision of some sort of camp-fire ABBA sound but with drums played like Clem Burke of Blondie. Then there has always been a lot of things we don't like (as well as things we like of course.) But the things you don't like tend to get in the way of the good stuff if you don't activly say no to them. So that was part of the mission. To encourage the world (as well as ourselves) to say no to all these useless things that people want you to do or buy or be.

We started out by spending a year in a basement trying to figure out our complicated borrowed recording-equipment. Then we made 30 copies of our first single "No one notices your brand new T-shirt" (in Swedish "Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja") and sent them to people we liked. Within two weeks it was number one in all the Swedish charts, we sold Platinum and won a Swedish Grammy and we were suddenly out on some kind of never ending Scandinavian tour. Surprising - and nice in many ways of course. But Sweden is big and cold (true - not a myth) - as is the rest of Scandinavia. We started to feel that a change of scenery wouldn't hurt.

Raymond&Maria and James Iha
This last year we've spent most of our time recording. James Iha - former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist - came across a demo with our new songs and offered to produce our new album. A great thing for us since he's one of our favorite guitar players. In December of last year, we recorded a couple of new songs in his studio Stratosphere in New York, and this spring he came over to our favorite Scandinavian studio - Ocean Sound on the island Giske, in Norway - to record more songs. Now - the album is finished and released in Korea and Japan. Recently we released a three song EP in the US and the songs are frequently spinning on the radio across the country. We've also played our first shows in New York.

(Written about Raymond&Maria.)
"....Raymond&Maria's songs and sound might be described as a mix between Simon&Garfunkel, The Smiths, early Dylan, ABBA and little bit of Blondie. A successful mix! They have topped the Swedish charts, sold platinum and won a Swedish Grammy. Their setting is basic and simple. Two girls singing, two acoustic guitars, bass and drums. But don't be fooled by their well crafted melodies and beautiful harmony singing. They are actually quite angry. Their poetic but subversive lyrics definitely gets to you. They are - you could say - political on an individual level. And their underlying message is maybe best conjured in their anthemic hit "No". Don't accept the world as it is presented to you. Say no! You have the right to. And you should. For your own sake and for the sake of the world."

MANAGEMENT:
ce@saturdayenterprise.com

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