Basshunter

Basshunter
Basshunter singing at a concert in Halmstad
Background information
Birth name	Jonas Erik Altberg
Born	22 December 1984 (1984-12-22) Halmstad, Sweden
Genres	Eurodance, Eurotrance, dance
Occupations	Singer, producer, DJ
Instruments	Vocals, sequencer (FL Studio, formerly known as FruityLoops)
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Warner Music Group, Hard2Beat, Ultra, Cordless Recordings
Website	basshunter.se

Jonas Erik Altberg (born 22 December 1984 in Halmstad, Sweden), better known by his stage name Basshunter, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer, and DJ. He is best known for his number one hits "Boten Anna", "Dota", "Now You're Gone" and "All I Ever Wanted". Basshunter has so far released a total of six albums, two of which have been released in the UK. Recently, his latest UK single, "Saturday", was released in July 2010, and he also competed in hit reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother in January 2010. His song "Sverige" was also used as Sjölunden's International Day song in 2008.

Basshunter is working on a fourth studio album to be released this year. His new song, 'Calling Time', was recently performed live in Magaluf and Club Cinema, Pompano Beach, Florida.

Biography

Jonas Altberg was born in Halmstad and lived with his parents and younger brother near Tylösand. He began producing music under the stage name "Basshunter" in 2002, using Fruity Loops, and released his first albums, The Old Shit (1999) and The Bassmachine (2004), through his own web site. After that he started working as a DJ. In April 2006, he signed with Warner Music, releasing his first single, "Boten Anna". In 2007, he released a re-recording entitled "Now You're Gone," featuring entirely re-written lyrics to appeal to a foreign market. The song charted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for five weeks.

Throughout 2007, Basshunter worked on a new album, Now You're Gone – The Album, which was released on July 13, 2008. Five singles were released from this album ("Now You're Gone," "All I Ever Wanted," "Angel in the Night," "I Miss You," and "Walk on Water"). A special edition of the album was released called Now You're Gone - The Album: Deluxe Edition on 5 April 2009. This featured all the content of the original album plus new remixes of "I Miss You" and "Angel in the Night" by Headhunter, along with a 7th Heaven remix of "Walk on Water," and a megamix of the first four singles. The single, "I Promised Myself", was released on 30 November 2009.

Basshunter was a contestant on the final series of Celebrity Big Brother (UK) and entered the house on 3 January 2010. He reached the final of the show and finished in fourth place.

Basshunter's third studio album, Bass Generation, was released on 28 September 2009, the lead single being "Every Morning."

Basshunter has been diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome.

Career

2006–2008: LOL <(^^,)>

Basshunter's debut album, LOL <(^^,)>, was released on 1 September 2006 through Warner Music. A Christmas/International edition was released on 22 December 2006, with the same Swedish songs from the original album, but with English translated names, in a slightly different track order, and with bonus tracks, including the never-before-released "Jingle Bells". The song "Sverige" has been omitted from the international edition.

2008–2009: Now You're Gone: The Album

Basshunter's second studio album, Now You're Gone – The Album, was released on 14 July 2008. The album features English remakes of older Basshunter hits, and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. As well, the album has sold an excess 300,000 copies in the U.K., making it certified Platinum. In New Zealand, the album peaked at number one in its fifth week, and was certified Gold after six weeks, selling over 7,500 copies. The album was then certified Platinum after 10 weeks, selling over 15,000 copies. The album spent a total of two weeks at number one.

The album produced several hit singles, including "Now You're Gone," "All I Ever Wanted," and "Angel in the Night." It has bonus tracks and there is a deluxe edition.

2009: Bass Generation

His third studio album, Bass Generation, was released on 28 September 2009. In early September 2009, before the album was released, the song "Numbers" was released to the public as a free download via Basshunter's official Bebo profile. The album release date was eventually moved up a week for unknown reasons to 28 September 2009, along with the single "Every Morning," which was released on 21 September 2009. To promote the album, the Basshunter Album Artwork Competition was set up on 10 August 2009 in which fans designed and uploaded their own cover art for the "Bass Generation" album to Basshunter's Bebo profile, with the winner being awarded their signed, framed artwork presented by Basshunter at the Bass Generation Tour. The winning entry was revealed on 11 September. Basshunter also set out on the Bass Generation Tour in October 2009 in support of the album. The ten-date U.K. tour was announced on 1 July 2009, with Fugative supporting Basshunter. Tickets went on sale 3 July 2009.

Celebrity Big Brother (2010)

On 3 January 2010, Basshunter entered the U.K. TV series Celebrity Big Brother as a housemate; he finished in fourth place in the Finalé on 29 January 2010.

2010-present: Upcoming fourth album

On 14 May 2010, it was announced that the first single from Basshunter's forthcoming fourth studio album, titled "Saturday," would have a worldwide premier live on BBC Radio 1 with Scott Mills that same night. The track was co-written by Thomas Troelsen, Engelina, and Cutfather, and produced by Troelsen and Cutfather. The melody of the song is based on Reel 2 Real's "I Like to Move It." Basshunter performed "Saturday" on 4 July 2010 as part of T4 on the Beach, as well as performing it on Big Brother's Little Brother on 3 July 2010. His forthcoming fourth album will be released this year.

In April 2011 Basshunter entered the Swedish Big Brother house to produce a song along with the remaining housemates. Additionally, a new song entitled "Calling Time", was recently performed live in Magaluf.

Also June 2011 BassHunter exclusive to Den Glade Viking club in Sunny Beach as he performs 'Dream On The Dancefloor' for the first time.

His new album is due to be released later this year or early 2012 but no official word has been given. He previously stated his album would be finished in February 2011 and released in May 2011, though this statement wasn't verified by his record label.

The two new tracks "Calling Time" and "Dream On The Dancefloor" are expected to be released as singles and one was confirmed by Jonas on his Twitter (twitter.com/Basshunt) to be released later this year or early next year, followed by the album. 2011 album tracklist: "Calling Time", "Dream On The Dancefloor", "Far Away" (Cover of Erik Vee), "Party In The House" (English reworking of "Fest i hela huset").

Music videos

Several music videos were made for Basshunter's singles, the first being "Boten Anna" (2006), followed by "Dota" in the same year. A new music video of the latter was also made. The music videos for the singles of the "Now You're Gone" and "Bass Generation" albums differ in that they are all linked in a soap opera style love story. The girl in the videos, nicknamed 'Basshunter girl', is played by Iranian-Norwegian model Aylar Lie. Basshunter's latest single "saturday" is the second UK single to discontinue the story theme, and features Basshunter in a club dancing with girls.

31 December 2007: "Now You're Gone" — A young couple, Aylar and Lucas, split up only to get back together on the dance floor of a club where Basshunter is performing.

29 June 2008: "All I Ever Wanted" — Aylar & Lucas go on holiday with friends, however Aylar has suspicions that Lucas is cheating on her. At the end of the video she storms out of the club Aylar is on beach Lucas texts her "She was my mates sister".

29 September 2008: "Angel in the Night" — While working in a cafe, Aylar texts Lucas telling him she knows he's been cheating on her and that their relationship is over. After which she meets Basshunter, who invites her to a street race he's taking part in. Basshunter wins the race and performs 'Angel in the Night' on stage. Falling for Basshunter, Aylar takes his hand and the pair kiss on stage.

15 December 2008: "I Miss You" — Basshunter, Aylar and friends enjoy the perfect Christmas, with hot tubs, presents, and snow, in a luxury cabin. This music video was also used for Basshunter's cover of Jingle Bells.

21 September 2009: "Every Morning" — On a vacation with friends, Basshunter plans to ask Aylar to marry him, however his friends sabotage his attempts. Basshunter then tries again to ask Aylar by taking out a ring at a beach party, however the couple are playfully dragged away from each other by their friends. Aylar then goes swimming in the sea and goes missing.

30 November 2009: "I Promised Myself" — Basshunter receives the news Aylar has been found, and that she is in the hospital. On the way there, Basshunter reminisces about the time himself and Aylar have spent together, (this includes flashbacks to previous music videos). Basshunter tries to get to the hospital as fast as possible but when he arrives, he sees that Lucas, Aylar's previous boyfriend, is with her.

Arrest

On 15 December 2010, Altberg was charged by police over an alleged sexual assault on two female fans at a gig at a nightclub in Fife, Scotland. He was released on bail and returned to Sweden. His manager has insisted at the time that the allegations were "totally untrue". Attending a hearing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on 12 January 2011, Altberg denied two charges of sexual assault against two women. It was alleged that he grabbed the first by the hair, and pushed her head towards his groin, while the second he pushed towards his groin, and then bent over. He was further accused of pulling up the second woman's skirt. On 14 June he was found not guilty at Kircaldy Sheriff Court with the sheriff describing the two accusers as "neither credible or reliable" and their testimony as "riddled with inconsistencies and improbabilities".

Discography

Main article: Basshunter discography

• LOL <(^^,)> (2006)
• Now You're Gone – The Album (2008)
• Bass Generation (2009)
• TBA (2012)

Hunt For Bass

On 14 September 2010, Basshunter announced on his website that he would be running a contest. First prize was a record deal with Extensive Music Sweden. The contest had no official contract but instead, contestants emailed a song they wrote to Extensive Music who would then choose the best song. The artist of the song chosen would then receive a record deal. The Winner was Ali Nadem with his song Electro Champion which has over half a million views on YouTube.

External links

• Official website
• Artist Site at Ultra Records