Welcome to Umeå!

One might not see any resemblance between Michigan and Sweden. Demographics and history vary, but influenced by Motown and Jay Dee, 19-year old producer Academics is ready to pinpoint his northern city on the musical map like Detroit did. His futuristic, analog sound is best described as a vintage piece of clothing with the tag still attached.

Starting February 2009, the cold peak of arctic Scandinavia, The Journal Vol. II is distributed digitally and free. Architecting the musical landscape, with ingredients of soul and funk as well as electronic melodies and jazzy loops, Academics is joined by a wide range of artists. With contributions from Västerbottens calm outskirts to hectic Brooklyn, these 15 track creates a versatile and lasting listening experience.

Academics recently became a part of Umeå based label and crew Random Bastards. He now supplies the majority of the up and coming rap duo Trainspotters beats, including the new single Still The Kids. Add that he'll be bringing his Korg synthesizer to tour with the group as a part of this year's live show, and 2009 is looking pretty promising for Alex. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.