Rebecca & Fiona inspiring others to follow in their DJ footsteps
In America, Rebecca & Fiona may not be as famous as Kaskade and Calvin Harris. But in their native Sweden, they are Grammy-winning stars of a documentary TV series.
I watched their self-titled 2010 TV documentary. It was realistic, unlike American “reality TV.” It followed the DJ duo in their poor days, trying to parlay early music hits into business success.
They were so poor, they slept in the same bed at times, but this was not portrayed in a sex-kitten way, as it would have been on American TV.
Their TV realism was rewarded with ratings.
“It got really popular in the way we were just being ourselves, and we presented a lot of new music,” Rebecca Scheja tells me.
Rebecca & Fiona (performing Sunday at Marquee Dayclub) ended up beating Avicii and Swedish House Mafia for a Swedish Grammy (the Grammis) in 2011.
But it was that self-titled TV series that inspired other aspiring DJ-producers back home.
“It started a new generation of young girls and guys wanting to make music and be DJs,” Scheja says.
Women, in particular, followed their lead, she says.
“In Sweden now, a lot of girls started to DJ, produce and make their own music,” Scheja says.
“It was only us doing it in Sweden pretty much. Now there’s a lot of girls doing it. We inspired a lot of people. And that’s awesome.”
Since then, Rebecca & Fiona have branched into international touring, performing regularly at Marquee nightclub in Vegas, and traveling the world.
Just to show you what a rags-to-riches story this is: There is a scene in the TV series where one of the women has her ATM card turned down at a corner market. Those days are over.
“We’re richer,” Scheja says happily. “And we make better music than we started.”
One of the great things about the TV series is you see how the two women are honest musicians.
They met. They became friends. They ran a nightclub. They decided to produce music together.
Along the way, Rebecca & Fiona had to listen to a few dumb people who wondered if they were really making their own music, as if a couple of beautiful women couldn’t create original popular songs.
But they do record their own music.
They have a sharp eye for visuals in music videos and social media. (They have one of the best-looking Instagram accounts at Instagram.com/rebeccafiona/.
Now their new single, “Union,” is out. And their plans are the same simple plans that got them this far.
“We’re gonna make a lot of new music and tour a lot in America.”
Doug Elfman’s column appears on Page 3A in the main section on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He also writes for Neon on Fridays. Email him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.
