Avalon (Swedish group)
| Avalon | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | Dancehall, pop |
| Years active | 2004-2008 |
| Website | Official site |
| Members |
Djo Moupondo (DJ Djo) Mohombi Moupondo |
Avalon or Group Avalon was a band consisting of Djo Moupondo (aka as DJ Djo) and his brother Mohombi Moupondo with Congolese ancestry. A multilingual band, they performed songs in Swedish, French, English and Lingala.[1] Mohombi has gone on to create a successful international solo career signing with RedOne.
Career
Djo and Mohombi born to a Congolese father and a Swedish mother were raised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1999, the family escaped the war-torn country for Stockholm, Sweden in 1999. The parents regularly exposed them to varied musical influences. Djo became a well-known DJ in local clubs and Mohombi studied at Rytmus Music High School in Stockholm and eventually obtaining his bachelor's degree in music and song from Stockholm’s Royal College of Music, the Stockholm conservatory.
They played music together for many years touring African and European countries, including forming the group Avalon, combining the dancehall and hip hop of the time with the distinctive African beats on which they were raised. From 2004 to 2008 the group sold over half a million records. It won the Best Diaspora Europe/Caribbean Group award at the All African Kora Awards, an African equivalent of Grammy awards.
In 2005, the group participated in Melodifestivalen, the race to the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Linköping, Sweden with the bilingual English / French song with a Lingala language intro called "Big Up"[2] coming sixth. 2005 the Group Avalon up in the Show sthlm, an annual music festival held at Lava Kulturhuset.
June 2, 2007, they participated in Hoodsfredsfestivalen in Kista. In 2009, Avalon Group launched the album Afro-Viking mainly on the African music market on 21 December 2007. Avalon Group has collaborated with artists / songwriters such as Bob Sinclar, Million Stylez, Mohamed Lamine in Rai n B Fever, Silver Room, Alexander Papadimas and many others.
In 2009, Mohombi went solo and was RedOne's first signing to 2101 Records/Universal and Cherrytree.[3] He became most famous for his solo dancehall single "Bumpy Ride".
Discography
Albums
- Afro-Viking (2007)
Singles
- "Rotation"
- "Fukama" featuring Million Stylez
- "Big Up" (2005)
Awards
- In 2002, the Kora awards for Diaspora Europe-Caribbean Best Group[4]