Jonas Erik Altberg (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈjûːnasˈêːrɪkˈâltbærj]; born 22 December 1984), known professionally asBasshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ. As indicated by his stage name, Basshunter is known for bass-heavyEurodance music.
Born and raised in Halmstad he moved to Malmö in 2006. As a young teen, Basshunter sang in a choir his mother ran. He started producing music at the age of 17, and later he started performing in local venues in his early career. In 2006, he self-released "Boten Anna" for free download a few months before he signed with labelsExtensive Music andWarner Music Sweden and began commercial releases. His 2007 song "Now You're Gone" featuring Bazzheadz is based on Bazzheadz's "Now You're Gone" which uses the melody of "Boten Anna" with entirely different lyrics.
Jonas Erik Altberg was born on 22 December 1984 inHalmstad[2] to Gunhild Elisabet (died 2016),[3] a teacher and school principal[4] as well as union representative for theSwedish Teachers' Union[5] and Karl Göran Altberg,[6] who worked for a construction company.[7] He has a younger brother, Joakim;[8] the family lived nearTylösand.[7] His mother was fromHovmantorp.[9] In his mid-teens he started singing in a choir his mother ran.[10] He also sang for two years in a rock band, where he became acquainted withexperimental music.[11] He attendedKattegattgymnasiet secondary school with a technical specialization,[7] but moved after two years toSturegymnasiet, a secondary school in Halmstad with a music specialization.[7][12] He finished secondary school in 2005,[12] after which he attended college, but did not complete his education.[4]
Altberg began producing music at the age of 17 after six months of using the software programFruityLoops (FL Studio).[13] He chose the stage name "Basshunter" in a reference to his musical style, and described the name as commercial and powerful.[12] His father was tired of hearing the constant pounding when Basshunter was producing music inside the bedroom, so he built him a clubhouse.[14]
In 2004, Basshunter was chosen in an online poll and performed live for the first time at arave party in Älmhult.[12] Alex Music released Basshunter's first studio album,The Bassmachine, on 25 August 2004.[15] In 2005, a remastered version of this album with improved sound quality was released.[16] In 2006, Basshunter re-releasedThe Bassmachine asThe Bass Machine and also released his first compilation albumThe Old Shit through his own website.[17] Basshunter's interest in music deepened as time went by.[18] He recorded aYouTube video, entitledBasshunter Tutorial, showing his recording process in FL Studio. The track from the video was covered over 200 times.[19]
Basshunter published his music mainly through theInternet for free download on platforms such as chat channels and gaming websites.[20] He was registered on online communities like Efterfest,LunarStorm,[19] Nattstad, Porrigt,Playahead,[12]Skunk andTrance.nu.[12] For several years he was a DJ in Swedish clubs.[21]
In March 2006, Basshunter published his song "Boten Anna" online[22] and within twenty-four hours, it had been downloaded 37,000 times.[20] Basshunter's single "Welcome to Rainbow" was released on 1 April 2006; it included the track "Boten Anna".[23] With this success, Basshunter received several proposals from managers and music labels.[10] Swedish DJ and party organizer Joakim Jarny contacted Basshunter viaIRC and Jarny was soon overwhelmed by hundreds of requests from club owners in Sweden, Norway and Denmark who wanted Basshunter to perform at their clubs. Jarny contacted his friend Henrik Uhlmann atExtensive Music[12] and in April 2006, Basshunter signed with Extensive Music[18] andWarner Music Sweden.[21] On 9 May 2006, "Boten Anna" was officially released as a single.[24] By 8 June 2006, the song had been downloaded over one million times.[20] In that year, he moved toMalmö, where the headquarters of Extensive Music are located.[7]
"Boten Anna" peaked at number one on theSwedish singles chart[24] and reached number 13 on the Swedish Best of All Time list,[25] and was certified platinum.[26] It also reached number one on theDanish singles chart, staying there for 14 weeks,[27] and was certified triple platinum[28] for selling 61,000 copies.[29] It was also certified gold in Austria.[30] "Boten Anna" was covered twice by Dutch duoGebroeders Ko, whose "Boten Anna"bootleg[31] charted at number three in theNetherlands, right after Basshunter's version.[32] The next cover called "Sinterklaas boot (Boten Anna)" reached number two.[33] An official German-language version was released in 2007.[24]
Basshunter's second studio albumLOL was released on 28 August 2006.[34] He worked on the album for three and a half weeks, during whichAli Payami helped him with three songs.[7] Basshunter described it as a connection ofvocal music withhard dance andhard trance music; Basshunter's use of vocals is a significant departure from his earlier works.[35] An American version ofLOL was released on 1 January 2008, with the same Swedish songs as the original album but with lyrics and some titles translated into English. The new release also included new tracks, including "Now You're Gone", "Russia Privjet", "The Beat", "Jingle Bells", "Beer in the Bar" and "DotA (Club Mix)".[36] A special version of this album was released in 2008, and includes the German version of "Boten Anna" and three music videos.[37]LOL peaked at number five in Sweden,[38] number four on theFinnish chart[39] and number three on theDanish albums chart,[40] and was certified double platinum in Denmark.[41]
The second single fromLOL, "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA", was released on 13 September of the same year.[42] The single peaked at number two in Finland,[43] number six in Sweden,[42] and number seven inNorway[44] and Denmark.[45] It was certified gold in Denmark.[28] His song "Hallå där" charted at number 51 on Swedish singles chart.[46] The album's third single, a remake of the Christmas song "Jingle Bells", was released on 13 November[47] and peaked at number nine in Norway,[48] and number 13 in Sweden.[49] The single also made it onto the Dutch[50] and United Kingdom charts.[51] The single "Vifta med händerna", which features the duo Patrik & Lillen, peaked on the Finnish charts at number seven[52] and on the Sweden charts at number 25.[53] On 5 November 2007, a new version of the "Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA" was released under the title "DotA"; it charted onGermany's singles chart.[54] This is different from the 2008 version fromNow You're Gone – The Album.[55]
On 29 December 2007,[56] an English-language version of "Boten Anna" entitled "Now You're Gone" was released.[18] A year earlier, in 2006, DJMental Theo (under the alias Bazzheadz) had created a bootleg English version called "Now You're Gone" using the melody of "Boten Anna" with entirely different lyrics.[57] Initially, Basshunter tried to translate "Boten Anna" into English[12] but found it difficult to keep the "hock" and the story[58] so he recorded his own version of "Now You're Gone" with DJ Mental Theo's lyrics.[7] It was the initial release forHard2Beat Records label (later Dance Nation).[59] The single charted at number one in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number one for five weeks.[51] It was the first Swedish song to reach number one in the United Kingdom since "Dancing Queen" byABBA.[12] "Now You're Gone" sold in excess of 667,000 copies in the United Kingdom[60] and was certified platinum there.[61] It also charted on the UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade list.[62] "Now You're Gone" also stayed at the top for five weeks inIreland, made it to number two on theSwedish chart,[63] and number three inNew Zealand, where the single was certified platinum.[64][65] On theFrench singles chart, "Now You're Gone" peaked at number six.[66] "Now You're Gone" also charted at number four on theEuropean Hot 100 Singles chart.[67]
The next single "Please Don't Go", a cover of theKC and the Sunshine Band 1979 song,[68] was released on 19 May 2008[69] and reached number six on the Swedish singles chart.[70] The third single "All I Ever Wanted" was released on 29 June 2008[71] and peaked at number 2 in the United Kingdom,[51] where it sold about 400,000 copies[72] and was certified gold.[73] It reached number one on the Irish singles chart.[74] The single "All I Ever Wanted" was certified gold in New Zealand[64] and charted at number 10 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.[67]
Basshunter worked onNow You're Gone – The Album for two-and-a-half weeks[75] before releasing it on 14 July 2008.[76] The album entered theUK Albums Chart at number one[77] sold 376,017 copies in the United Kingdom,[78] and was certified platinum there.[79] It also topped the album chart inNew Zealand and was certified platinum there.[64]Now You're Gone – The Album charted at number two inIreland[74] and reached number six on theEuropean Top 100 Albums chart.[80] The song "Angel in the Night" was released as a single on 8 September 2008;[81] it charted at number 10 in Ireland[74] and number 14 in the United Kingdom.[51] It also charted in Sweden.[82] In 2008 Basshunter became the 11th-best-selling singles songwriter in the United Kingdom according to eight months of data compiled byOfficial Charts Company.[83]
The album's fifth single "I Miss You" is a dance cover of aWestlife song and was released on 14 December 2008.[84] The single appeared on the United Kingdom,[51] Swedish,[85] andGerman charts.[86] On 5 April 2009, the single "Walk on Water" was released,[87] as was a deluxe edition of the album that includes all of the original album together with remixes of singles; "I Can Walk on Water" was replaced with the single version and renamed "Walk on Water".[88]
Basshunter at the beginning of his show at Gibson Guitar Studio,London, 24 September 2009
On 25 September 2009, Basshunter's fourth studio albumBass Generation, was released.[89] The Double Album Version includes remixes of some of his singles, and the tracks "Without Stars" and the Swedish version of "Camilla".[90] In early September 2009, prior to the album's release, the track "Numbers" was released as a free download via Basshunter's officialBebo account.[91]Bass Generation reached number two inNew Zealand,[92] and number 16 in theUnited Kingdom[77] andIrish album charts.[74] It sold more than 60,000 copies[72] and was certified silver in the United Kingdom.[93]
The single "Saturday" was released on 5 July 2010;[99] it reached number 14 on theNew Zealand chart[100] and was certified gold there.[64] It also charted in the United Kingdom[51] and Ireland.[74] On 20 April 2011, the next Basshunter single "Fest i hela huset",[101] which was recorded during his time in the SwedishBig Brother series, was released.[102] The single charted at number five on the Swedish singles chart.[103] His following single "Northern Light" was released on 14 May 2012[104] and the next single "Dream on the Dancefloor" was released on 18 November that year.[105]
On 13 May 2013, Basshunter's fifth albumCalling Time was released.[110] In the version released in Ireland[111] and in the United Kingdom, the track "Saturday" was replaced with "Open Your Eyes".[112] Basshunter recorded more than 30 tracks forCalling Time and selected the final fifteen; he said he "tried to grow as an artist" with an album that has "classic Basshunter sounds" and previously unreleased music.[113] The album charted at number 25 on the USDance/Electronic Albums chart.[114] On 20 June 2013, the single "Crash & Burn" was released;[115] it charted on theRussian airplay chart.[116] The last single from the album was "Calling Time", which was released on 27 September.[117]
On 26 July 2013 Basshunter announced he was retiring from singing to focus on DJing, producing, and songwriting. He met new artists and invited them to sing on his songs. He made the decision after four exhaustive performances in four days.[118] On 20 November 2013, the single "Elinor" was released.[119] In 2014, Basshunter announced a new album was in work.[120] In 2016, Basshunter returned to recording; he said he would not release a new studio album but would focus on recording singles in accordance with prevailing trends in music industry.[108] Almost after five years since his last single,[121] on 19 October 2018, the single "Masterpiece" was released; it did not appear on major national charts.[122] Since then, he has released five more singles: "Home" (2019),[123] "Angels Ain't Listening" (2020)[124] and "Life Speaks to Me" (2021); a tribute toAvicii.[125] His 2022 "End the Lies" is a collaboration with Italian duoAlien Cut.[126] In 2023 he collaborated withVictor Leksell on "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)".[127] It peaked at number four on theSwedish singles chart.[128]
Basshunter defined his music asEurodance.[129][b] He says it is cheerful, full of energy and very melodic, stating it does not sound like other types of music, and that producers and artists display their own identities in their works. He is passionate aboutbasslines and uses them in his music.[131] Basshunter likes to create songs inminor scales.[19] He has at least five unknown pseudonyms under which he produces music in secret.[12] He always takes his laptop on concert tours so he can spontaneously record ideas and return to them when he is back in his main studio.[113] Basshunter composes music and writes lyrics himself, though sometimes his agent helps with the lyrics to find the right English words.[132] He likes to write lyrics that audiences can identify with.[133] In 2018 Basshunter said that the music industry changed in previous years and it is harder now more than ever to stand out from other artists because it is easier to produce music. He added that it is more important than ever to adapt and an artist has to create something that people haven't heard before and described it as aholy grail.[134] In 2020 Basshunter described himself as quite an emotional producer after a few years break from producing music.[135]
The first computer Basshunter used was theAtari ST.[155] After achieving commercial success, he boughtsoftware to produce his music.[58] Around 95% of his music is created with software,[136] including digital audio workstations such asFL Studio,Logic Pro,[4]Logic Studio,[156]Pro Tools,Cubase,[157] andVirtual Studio Technology plugins.[58] He also plays guitar.[35] He said stores buy an album for about 100Swedish krona, of which he gets paid 12–13 percent. He said people think he listens to techno in his headphones all the time but he rarely listen to the music he produces, which gives him a wider perspective.[12]
Basshunter considers his fan base to be very important for his career[21] and knows many of his non-Scandinavian fans actually prefer his songs to be inSwedish.[136] Writing in English may be an advantage for reaching international audiences[131] but he has also said he likes the challenge of writing songs in English.[58]
In 2008[206] and 2010, Basshunter appeared at the charity event Cash for Kids.[207] He also appeared at the charity eventMusikhjälpen in 2008.[208] In February 2012,Norton Hill School's Quantock House organized a 20-hour charity sleep-over with Basshunter's song "Now You're Gone" playing non-stop, collecting more than £2,000 in the event to raise funds for the charities Time is Precious andCancer Research UK.[209] The event was repeated in 2015 with the same results.[210]
Basshunter finished second place in a SwedishStarCraft tournament.[155] He playedCounter-Strike at semi-professional level and his clan won two tournaments in Sweden.[219] He appeared during the Danmarks Bedste Gamer in 2008[220] and duringThe Gathering in 2019.[221] After achieving commercial success, he could not publish songs as free downloads and started producingvlogs[58] for YouTube.[155] He initially planned to release a continuation ofLOL album titled eitherROFL orKTHXBYE for free but was unable to after signing with a record label.[12] In 2011, Basshunter appeared in the filmPlaying with Arnold, in which he invites people to play the video gameMortal Online.[222] Basshunter appeared inArash's music video for "Melody".[223] In 2021, he appeared in a promotional video, titledBasshunter Dota Revival for theNetflix seriesDota: Dragon's Blood, performing "DotA" whilst playingDota 2.[224] In 2023, he said he no longer playsDotA due to reaction time at his age.[225]
On 10 December 2010, Scotland'sFife Constabulary charged Basshunter over a sexual assault allegation made by two female fans during a party at a nightclub inKirkcaldy. He was released on bail. His manager said the allegations were "totally untrue".[226] Basshunter pleaded not guilty to two charges of sexual assault against the two women at a hearing at the town's court on 12 January 2011.[227] On 14 June 2011, he was found not guilty, with the sheriff describing his accusers as "neither credible nor reliable" and their testimony as "riddled with inconsistencies and improbabilities".[228]
During their time together on the British reality television showCelebrity Big Brother in 2010, Basshunter and Kazakhstani-born Russian model Ekaterina Ivanova began an intimate relationship.[229] He began dating Tina Makhia Khayatsadeh in 2014, and they were married on 19 January 2017 at the Dubai Polo & Equestrian Club in the presence of his brother Joakim, his manager Henrik Uhlmann, Iranian-Swedish singerArash, Polish singerMargaret, Swedish diplomatJan Thesleff,Warner Music Sweden chief executive officer Jonas Siljemark.[8] The couple divorced after a year.[107] He has stated he did not enjoy life as a married man and described the need to numb his emotions with work and alcohol.[230]
Basshunter hasTourette syndrome[231] and has described himself as a spontaneous person,[232] though he has also said he has a sensitive side.[233]
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