By:
DJ Ron Slomowicz
@therealrons

“I Love It” is iconic pop.  From the first listen, it grabs you and makes you want to dance.  Three years later and it will still amp up any dancefloor.  The dynamic duo of Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt embrace swing music for their high energy new single “Emergency.”  The fresh hybrid of sounds will keep you Lindy hopping for months to come.  But don’t think of the Swedish duo as just being dance divas, their mellower songs “First Time” and “Just Another Night” will definitely tug on your heart strings.

RS: What is this “Emergency” we keep hearing about?

Caroline: It’s a crazy dance emergency wherever we go and we just wanted to share that with the world, it’s how we feel every day.

RS: When you wrote this song what was in your head?

Aino: We actually wrote the song in two hours, we were in party mode in the studio and we wanted to write down the things that we were feeling at the moment. It was one of the fastest songs that we have written.

RS: Is this on your new EP?

Caroline: Yes, we have been having so much fun in the studio and it’s been crazy.

Aino: We are very excited to show you the full length which is coming out early next year.

RS: The video is sick, it’s so animated. When you made the video how did you handle all that makeup on your face?

Caroline: To be honest we had the makeup on for two weeks, we scrubbed our faces and it wouldn’t go away.

Aino: We were sweating the whole time, we learned to dance lindy hop to that video and that make up stayed on. It’s probably still on and what I am wearing right now.

RS: Well you are beat and it looks sickening.

Aino: Thank you!

RS: I love the video for “All Night,” where did you find all the voguers?

Caroline: Thank you, it was one of the greatest video experiences that we have had. We got invited to dance with them and of course we knew who they were, it’s the House of Extravaganza. We were so honored and they invited us to be a part of their house so I am Caroline of the House of Extravaganza.

Aino: And I am Aino of the House of Extravaganza. They were such amazing divas and they taught us how to be real cool divas.

Caroline: We attended one of their balls and we were judges for one. It was such an honor, people were moving body parts that I didn’t even know I had.

RS: When y’all made the song “I Love It” did you have any idea that it would be so big?

Aino: We had a good feeling but three times platinum in the States is crazy, it was beyond our expectations.

Caroline: It’s insane that when you walk into the club or you turn on the TV you still hear that song. It has had such a long life and it keeps on playing. When we play it live it is like a little fire explosion and the whole crowd just goes crazy and sings and dances with us, we couldn’t be happier.

Aino: People ask us if we are tired of performing it and we never are. When we are out dancing in the club we get so excited when we hear our song!

RS: Y’all gig so much, at the end of the night which hurts more – your ears from the sound or eyes from all the cameras and flashes?

Caroline: Definitely our ears, we can just wear shades for all the flashes.

RS: Or the sickening heels?

Caroline: Yeah, actually that is the thing that hurts the most!

Aino: But it’s worth it!

RS: Definitely, you look sickening. If you could go back to when you were 18 years old which was just two years ago I guess, what advice would you give yourself?

Caroline: I would definitely tell myself not to be so harsh on myself. At that age you want to do so much and you don’t know anything and you just try to fit in and understand. I would say that things will be okay.

Aino: I would definitely tell myself that too but also listen to your gut. I think that is the only thing that works in the end.

Caroline: And that it’s okay to be a little weird.

Aino: Yeah definitely, weird is good.

Caroline: We wish that we were friends when we were kids because we would have been two total weirdos together.

RS: What would you like to say to all of your fans out there?

Aino: First of all to our dear Icons we can’t tell you how much it means to have all of the support over the years. They keep on tweeting us and emailing us all the time and we just love you so much!

Caroline: We love you and we wouldn’t be here without you so thank you for doing this with us.

Aino: We are constantly on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat and we always hang out on there. We don’t have any normal friends anymore except each other but we have our fans virtually so come and hang with us on the internet.

Interview conducted August 2015 at Promo Only Summer Sessions.