Movits!
Out Of My Head

Hailing from Luleå, Sweden—500 miles north of Stockholm, just south of the Arctic Circle, and at a latitude higher than that of Fairbanks, Alaska—brothers Johan and Anders Rensfeldt, along with friend Joakim Nilsson, were longtime fans and performers of hip hop music. But it wasn’t until a music festival after-party that they really discovered swing music. “It was a simultaneous revelation. We were out dancing in a backyard, when someone put on Benny Goodman’s ‘Sing, Sing, Sing’. The three of us were totally blown away!”

After that, their music took a new direction, combining hip-hop with sounds from the swing era. Inspired by the drums, horns, and style of big bands, they started working on the music that would become their debut album Äppelknyckarjazz (or ‘Apple Stealing Jazz,’ named after the apple-stealing trousers worn by Swedish street kids in the ‘30s and ‘40s).

Released in November 2008, the album received encouraging reviews in Sweden. But, no doubt, it came as a huge surprise to the band when they were contacted by the staff at “The Colbert Report.” “We really didn’t think we’d ever play outside of Scandinavia, being as we sing in Swedish,” Joakim says. “And definitely not in The States!”

Stephen Colbert came across the band’s video for “Fel Del Av Gården” on the online forum www.reddit.com and quickly became a fan. He invited Movits! to appear on “The Colbert Report” on July 27, 2009. Their album Äppelknyckarjazz was picked up by Comedy Central Records in North America and reached #2 on the iTunes hip hop chart and #18 overall.

Following their success in The States, Movits! embarked on a nationwide tour in January of 2010. They were accompanied by fellow Swedish rapper Zacke and a filming crew, documenting every step they took. As they toured The States in a small RV, they edited the footage into a video blog, and broadcast episodes whenever they located an internet connection. With sold out dates in over fifteen cities, the “First We Take Manhattan Tour” was a big success and marked the start of a busy year for Movits!

During the spring and summer of 2010 Movits! have been expanding their reach in Europe and beyond. The have toured England, including shows at the famous Glastonbury Festival, and played festivals in Hungary, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Macedonia and Shanghai, China. And in addition to several national television appearances in Sweden, they were invited to record a live in-studio segment for BBC Radio 1 at their legendary studios in London.

In late 2010 they hunkered down in a studio in northern Sweden, not far from the famous Ice Hotel, to record their second album, Out Of My Head.

The band will release the album worldwide in April 2011 on Slimstyle Records and embark on a six-week North American tour.

It’s safe to say Movits! are on their way up. And if things slow down, there’s always the Gallagher-card to play.


For further information please contact Mary Moyer, Asha Goodman or Carla Sacks at Sacks & Co., 212.741.1000.