The Connecting Dots between hearts and minds

Let’s start our article today by playing a little game of connect the dots. What do we get when we connect Swedish artists like Tove Lo, ABBA, Roxette and The Cardigans? If you answered songwriting excellence, you’re so damn right!

And the good news is that we have just won another dots: the duo The Connecting Dots, which has just released an album as diverse as it is rich in compositions that start from dream-pop, pass through synth-pop, and follow their path through new sounds that only the duo has the merit of finding. Although originality always speaks louder in their work, the influence of bands such as Depeche Mode and artists such as David Bowie and Kate Bush on their compositions is undeniable.

The songwriting is part of our everyday life, melodies and lyrical ideas come out of nowhere when you least expect it.

Helena, The Connecting Dots

Formed in Stockholm by friends Helena Sundström (vocals) and Johan Borg (guitars), the band has a peculiar identity, not only in terms of sound, but also in the way they present themselves. While Johan does the Jack White style, Helena is closer to gothic. A duality that makes the result of “Treasures in the Valley” even more interesting (and probably one of the 22 finests if we consider the buzz). “The Connecting Dots is a friendly project based on our mutual open-mindedness to different kinds of musical influences. It started out as a dream-pop electronica project, but it could lead just anywhere“, says Helena.

Spoiler: I know exactly where the record leads, and it’s straight into the hearts and minds of the real music lovers out there.

2 5 Things about The Connecting Dots

Helena and Johan: Gothic meets rock and roll

RC- Hi there, Helena and Johan! How is it going? Have you been doing any new music there in Stockholm?

TCD – It’s going great, we are always up to new music! At least in our heads. Unfortunately the vinyl factories are quite busy these days…

RC- Lately, we haven’t seen many bands that are a duo at their core. And you are from Sweden, traditionally a country that has given us “numerous” pop bands like ABBA and The Cardigans. Tell us about the dynamics of The Connecting Dots (by the way, are you siblings, lovers, only friends?)

TCD – The Connecting Dots is a friendly project based on our mutual open-mindedness to different kinds of musical influences. It started out as a dream-pop electronica project, but it could lead just anywhere.

RC – Particularly, I think your sound is very rich in layers, which leads me to newer bands, like Metric and The Xx, as well as names from the 80s, Kate Bush and even Bowie. I would like to know if these influences mentioned are really your influences and, above all, what the band’s songwriting process is like.

TCD – Thank you! Some great names there, and yes, David Bowie and Kate Bush are certainly among our favorites. The songwriting is part of our everyday life, melodies and lyrical ideas come out of nowhere when you least expect it. You have to be attentive and capture it while it’s there in front of you, or it will vanish just as easily.

RC – How would you define in one sentence the concept of the album “Treasures in the Valley”. To me, it sounds like songs to cry on the dance floor….:)…. And why the name “Treasures in the Valley” for an album as diverse as yours?

TCD – In one sentence… That’s tough! As you say, this album has a lot of diversity to it and is definitely not as cohesive as the previous one. The title ”Treasures In The Valley” was taken from the lyrics of one of the songs, ”Suburban Blue”, which was the missing piece and the very last thing to be written for the album. The lyrical themes are about the fragility of life, about finding your way trying to navigate in a world going mad, about cherishing what is important and meaningful.

RC – I would like you to tell me about the band’s project for the end of 2022-2023. Presence at festivals, maybe an appearance in Brazil? Speaking of Brazil, tell us what you like (or hate) about our culture, music, etc…

TCD – We would love to come to Brazil and hope to make it one day! By the way, we heard that Rock in Rio is back in business…? The musical legacy of Brazil is really diverse, of course, from pioneers like Jobim to Sepultura and everything in between. And the underground feminist band Dominatrix! We believe there is a great alternative scene, that we would love to dig further into. And also, we have to mention the samba trains which are very cool! We don’t have a masterplan for the future, but we will probably spend the rest of the year in Stockholm working on new songs.