Draft:Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal

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Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal
Digital 21 and Stefan Olsdal during a concert in Moscow.
Digital 21 (on the left) and Stefan Olsdal (on the right) in 2019.
Background information
Also known asDigital 21 & Stefan Olsdal, Digital 21 and Stefan Olsdal
OriginEngland, Spain
Genresexperimental, techno, ambient, classical music
Years active2012-present
LabelsElectronic Bits Records, Kobalt Music Recordings, Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal
MembersDigital 21 (Miguel Lopez Mora), Stefan Olsdal
Websitedigital21andstefanolsdal.com

Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal is a joint musical project of the electro music veteran Miguel Lopez Mora (Digital 21) and Stefan Olsdal, cofounder of Placebo.[1] Musical style of the band combines electro, classical and experimental music.[2] The band was formed in 2012, and, until now, released two studio albums, Inside (2017) and Complex (in November 2021).[2] In 2020, they also created a second band togther, Made For Humans.

History[edit]

Their biginning (2012-2015)[edit]

According to Miguel’s official biography, the band was formed at the end of 2012.[2] Being 2 huge fans of classical, electro and rock music, the concept of their works is to join electro and classical music together. To achieve that, they incorporate in their songs a string quartet (and other more usual instruments).[3]

In 2015, the two artists started by releasing a first EP (with their first singles) of 4 tracks.[4] With this disk, they also introduced themself to the general public with War and Rebellion (track giving the name of this EP) and 2 remixes of these songs. During the same year, on 11th April, Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal made its first gig in Madrid.[5] Then, they continued with other concerts. One of them is a gig on 30th May in Malaga, as the support act of Placebo (something they’ll do again many times during their career).[6][7]

First album (2016-2018)[edit]

On 13th october 2017, two years later, Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal released their first album, Inside.[8] This one puts a light on Margret Rang (Vök), Helen Feng (Nova Heart), Cuushe and Julienne Dessagne (Fantastic Twins).[8] In fact, the novelty of this album, which will become a tradition on the next one, is collaborations with singers from different countries on half of the tracks. These collaborations with these feminine voices is one of the essential elements of their works. By doing this, the band wants to express more strenuously the feeling of songs.[9] In this first project, videoclips and covers of the album are created and directed by the band themselves. The videoclips also totally take part of the works of Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal. They are kind of compatible and indivisible.[10]

The album also includes a cover of a Moderat’s track - Rusty Nails. The band released this cover as a single in 2018, with a video clip.[11] In this track, the singer is Digital 21 himself. Another particularity of this song is that, on the record, Stefan Olsdal plays on a broken piano.[12] During the same year, in collaboration with DJ Timo Maas, a remix of the track Spaces was released.[13]

Also in 2018, Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal made a concert for Pride in Madrid.[9]

Second Album (2019-2022)[edit]

As soon as 2019, the band released new singles that will appear on their second disc.[14] This second album, Complex, was supposed to be released in 2020, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, its release date was postponed several times.[15]

Instead, in 2020, a new collaboration between Timo Maas and Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal was born. In fact, our band created a remix of the Timo Maas’ track Utopie.[16]

Meanwhile, during summer 2021, the singer and activist for the environment Inanna, living in the USA, asked Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal to compose a new song for her. The song Multiverse was born thanks to this collaboration, a praise of the beauty of our lives on Earth.[17]

On 28th October, among all these singles the two artists made, the band released, with a video clip, the song Over (GusGus cover).[18]

Complex was finally released on 19th November 2021.[19] The band went further in their composition by refining more their style and their identity.[18] Furthermore, for this second album, the band affirmed it’s more “vocal” than the previous one because we can hear more Stefan Olsdal and Digital 21 singing.[20] With this same idea, Complex also continues to put a light on singers from different countries. We find Carole Devine, Katrina Mogensen, Soleil and Alissa Janine Wollman.[18] Here too, almost all tracks were released as singles with their own video clip created by the band. Album cover was also created by Digital 21. The DJ also said that every single’s covers of Complex are pieces of the entire work on the album.

In 2022, Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal also released a remix of the song This Is What You Wanted by Placebo. They also made a concert at Sonorama in Spain the same year.[21]

Parralel project : Made For Humans (2020-present)[edit]

During the existence of the band, many instrumental compositions were written. Stefan and Miguel decided to create in 2020 a separate project called Made For Humans.[18] This band has the same concept as their first project together, a mix of electro music with classical music. However, this time, Made For Humans only makes instrumental music, sweeter and more quiet. Their wish was to create songs having their own identity to permit people who listen to them to get away. According to them, “music allows us to travel”.[20] It’s the essence of the band.

For the moment, Made For Humans released only one album in 2020, Made For Humans, including 10 instrumental compositions, all of them released as singles. They also released a little EP of 2 songs, Open Forest EP.

This year, Made For Humans finally released their second album on 17th November 2023, Made For Humans II.[22] With this album, the band published 3 singles, Xistence, Us… and Ikigai.[23] When the first disc deals with nature, the second one is a reflection about life and our existence . In addition to the topic, Made For Humans II also received a richer orchestration than the first album.[24]

Members[edit]

Digital 21[edit]

Digital 21, aka Miguel Lopez Mora - singing, synthesizer, electric guitar, theremin[19][8]

Digital 21, aka Miguel Lopez Mora, is the electronic music pioneer in Spain by mixing electronic music and instruments linked to classical music.[2]

Digital 21 at San Isidro with Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal in 2018[25]

In activity since 1988, he first worked alone on “videoart live acts” and on his albums (The Sound Station in 2000 and Nuclear in 2007)[26][2].[27]

In 2011, he worked with the spanish punk artist Ana Curra on a project called “Digital 21 VS Ana Curra”.[2][28][26]

In 2012, he formed with Stefan Olsdal a band called Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal. Together, they created 2 albums of electronic music accompanied with a string quartet.[2][19]

Finally, still with Stefan Olsdal, in 2020, they created Made For Humans, a instrumental band.[19][1]

Stefan Olsdal[edit]

Main article: Stefan Olsdal

Stefan Olsdal - sing, bass guitar, synthesizer[19][8]

Stefan Olsdal at Frequency Festival (2017) with Placebo

Stefan Olsdal is the co-founder of the iconic english rock / post punk band Placebo, formed in 1994 with Brian Molko. They played together for more than 25 years.[29]

Trained musician, Stefan Olsdal is swedish and spent his adolescence in Luxembourg in the same highschool as Brian Molko. He is also a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass guitar, piano, drum,...) and, contrary to Placebo’s leader, studied music in London.

In 2005, Stefan Olsdal and David Amen created Hotel Persona.[30] In 2008, after having been joined by Javier Solo, they released their first albums In The Clouds and En Las Nubes.  

In 2012, with Digital 21, he created Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal.[2]

Still with Digital 21, he created the instrumental band Made For Human in 2020.[19][1]

On stage[edit]

On stage, in general, Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal is accompanied by its string quartet with a drummer and a singer[8]. So they are 8[19]. However, they often change their formation, giving them more freedom[15].

Discography[edit]

Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal[edit]

studio albums :[edit]

  • Inside (2017)
  • Complex (2021)

EP :[edit]

  • Rebellion EP (2015)

singles :[edit]

  • 2015: War,
  • 2016: Spaces (String Quartet version)
  • 2017: Who Are All Of You?, Spaces
  • 2018:​ Rusty Nails, Spaces (remixes), Toi Et Moi, Symmetry, Spaces (Timo Maas & James Teej remix)
  • 2019: High In The Sky
  • 2020:​ High In The sky (Dave Clarke Remix),​ High In The Sky (James Teej Remix), Away
  • 2021: The New Thing, The Trip, Bright, Sunlight, Over (GusGus cover), High In The Sky (Timo Maas Remix Remix), The Fire, Rebellion, Together

Made For Humans[edit]

EP :[edit]

  • Open Forest EP (2020)

Singles :[edit]

  • 2020: Open Forest, Liquid Moon, Sister Blue, You Star, Algebra of being, Macrocosm, Hope, Laws of nature, Undersea
  • 2023: Xistence, Us..., Ikigai

Album :[edit]

  • Made For Humans (2020)
  • Made For Humans II (2023)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "La Regadera 22.01.2022". TeleMadrid.es (in Spanish). 23 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Miguel Lopez Mora is the musician and video artist that is hidden behind the DIGITAL 21 pseudonym". Resident Advisor.
  3. ^ Iraeta, Marta (10 June 2016). "Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal estrenan "Spaces" en Radio 3". RTVE (in Spanish).
  4. ^ Diaries, Inferno Sound (14 January 2016). "Digital 21 & Stefan Olsdal – Rebellion (Digital EP – Emigrant Limited)". side-line.com.
  5. ^ "ACTIVIDADES, DIGITAL 21 + STEFAN OLSDAL". Espacio Fundación Telefónica (in Spanish). 27 March 2015.
  6. ^ Montilla, Cristóbal G. (14 May 2015). "Los malagueños Fila India y Digital 21 serán los teloneros de Placebo". El Mondo (in Spanish).
  7. ^ Martínez, Javier (31 May 2015). "Amor sin estridencias entre Placebo y Málaga". El Mondo (in Spanish).
  8. ^ a b c d e Méndez, Diego Rubio (11 April 2023). "Digital 21: «Beth Gibbons y Thom Yorke podrían cantar una nana y que fuera la mejor canción del mundo»". bandalismo.net (in Spanish).
  9. ^ a b Mediator (19 December 2018). "Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal on their 2nd album and live performances | Moscow 2018 (Eng, subtitled)". Youtube.
  10. ^ "Estrenamos el nuevo vídeo de Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal (Placebo)". mondosonoro.com (in Spanish). 10 September 2017.
  11. ^ "Digital 21 + Stefan Olsdal estrenan el Radio 3 el vídeo de "Rusty Nails"". RTVE (in Spanish). 16 March 2018.
  12. ^ Cheadle, Luke (10 October 2019). "Premiere: Hear a Moderat Cover From D I G I T A L 2 1 + S T E F A N O L S D A L". XLR8R.com.
  13. ^ "PLACEBO'S STEFAN OLSDAL & DIGITAL 21 ANNOUNCE BERGHAIN (BERLIN) + LONDON DATE + TIMO MAAS REMIX!". Circuit Sweet. 25 February 2018.
  14. ^ "Estreno: "The New Thing" de Digital 21 y Stefan Olsdal (Placebo)". mondosonoro.com (in Spanish). 30 September 2021.
  15. ^ a b Julián, Raúl (15 December 2021). ""Queremos crear un mundo que sintamos como nuestro"". mondosonoro.com (in Spanish).
  16. ^ ""Utopie", el remix de Digital 21 & Stefan Olsdal". RTVE (in Spanish). 23 June 2020.
  17. ^ Christine (30 July 2021). "Digital 21 and Stefan Olsdal feat. Inanna's "Multiverse" unites us all". c-heads.com.
  18. ^ a b c d Zuloaga, Leire (16 November 2021). "#Entrevista Digital 21 y Stefan Olsdal". DJmag.es (in Spanish).
  19. ^ a b c d e f g CMM (18 December 2021). "Al Habla: Digital 21 & Stefan Olsdal | 808 Radio". Youtube.
  20. ^ a b Julián, Raúl (28 October 2020). ""El ser humano debería valorar todo lo que tiene. Y también cuidarlo más"". mondosonoro.com (in Spanish).
  21. ^ SM (10 August 2022). "Sonorama 2022: entradas, cartel, horarios, camping, autobuses y recarga de pulsera". El Mondo.
  22. ^ Stickler, Jon (13 September 2023). "Digital 21 And Placebo's Stefan Olsdal To Release New Album As Made For Humans". stereoboard.com.
  23. ^ Puig, Xavi (13 September 2023). "Xavi Puig | Música en redes". RTVE (in Spanish).
  24. ^ "Maricas malas | Made for Humans". RTVE.es (in Spanish). 20 November 2023.
  25. ^ "SAN ISIDRO 2018 - PROGRAMA DE FIESTAS". dodmagazine.es (in Spanish). 2 May 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Digital 21". Discogs.
  27. ^ "Rock & Radio Video: Entrevista Digital 21". Youtube (in Spanish). 3 November 2009.
  28. ^ "Digital 21 y Ana Curra - Respirando". RTVE (in Spanish). 12 January 2009.
  29. ^ O'Neill, Eamon (14 March 2016). "Placebo Announce 20th Anniversary Tour". eonmusic.co.uk.
  30. ^ "Biographie de Hotel Persona". La Coccinelle (in French).

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