Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a
SwedishSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
artist, music producer and writer.
Background and education
Bard was born
Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard in
MedeviMedevi brunn, is Scandinavia's oldest spa, located on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern, in north-west Östergötland, Sweden.- History :The spa was founded in 1678 by count Gustaf Soop and the royal doctor Urban Hjärne...
,
Motala MunicipalityMotala Municipality is a municipality in Östergötland County in southeast Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Motala....
,
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. After he had completed his upper secondary education, Bard studied in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
,
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. While living in Amsterdam, he earned part of his living as a
sex workerA sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry. The term is usually used in reference to those in the sex industry that actually provide such sexual services, as opposed to management and staff of such industries...
. Bard returned to Sweden to study at the
Stockholm School of EconomicsThe Stockholm School of Economics or Handelshögskolan i Stockholm is one of Northern Europe's leading business schools. Its Masters in Management program is ranked no. 2 in Northern Europe and no. 13 in Europe by the Financial Times...
from 1984 to 1988. In addition to his studies in
EconomicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, he took a strong interest in
PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and
Social TheorySocial theories are theoretical frameworks which are used to study and interpret social phenomena within a particular school of thought. An essential tool used by social scientists, theories relate to historical debates over the most valid and reliable methodologies , as well as the primacy of...
with the explicit aim of becoming a writer and lecturer.
Lecturing and literary works
Bard has given public lectures since 1996, specializing on the social implications of
the interactive revolutionIn the fields of information science, communication, and industrial design, there is debate over the meaning of interactivity. In the "contingency view" of interactivity, there are three levels:...
, and is one of the leading speakers on the international Management science lecturing circuit. He has written three books with media theorist
Jan SöderqvistJan Söderqvist, born 1961, is an author, lecturer, writer and consultant, and among other things also working as a literary and film critic for the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet...
, the first called
Nätokraterna (first published in English in 2003 as
NetocracyNetocracy was a term invented by the editorial board of the American technology magazine Wired in the early 1990s. A portmanteau of internet and aristocracy, netocracy refers to a perceived global upper-class that bases its power on a technological advantage and networking skills, in comparison to...
: The New Power Elite & Life After Capitalism, later re-published simply as
The Netocrats, as well as in 15 further languages) a second book titled
Det globala imperiet (currently in translation to English as
The Global Empire) and a third book titled
Kroppsmaskinerna (originally published in 2009, currently in translation to English as
The Body Machines), in which he presents his philosophical vision for a
global societyGlobal society - all-human society, which exists on our planet from the beginnings of humanity in the form of many local societies and communities, national states etc., in another words - in the form of different groups of people....
following the interactive revolution.
Musical career
Bard began his musical career in 1982 with the single
Life in a Goldfish Bowl released under the name Baard, a synth-punk fusion project he had formed together with two female striptease dancers. He later had some minor success as Barbie, which saw Bard in drag singing dance-oriented pop.
After abandoning work on a second Barbie album, Bard formed
Army of LoversArmy of Lovers are a Swedish dance music group formed in 1987.The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen about the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.-History:The founding members,...
with two of Barbie's entourage,
Jean-Pierre BardaJean-Pierre Barda is a Swedish singer, actor, make up artist and hair dresser of Algerian descent. He is most notable for being one of the founding members of the pop group Army of Lovers.- Early life :...
and
La CamillaCamilla Henemark, also known as La Camilla, is a Swedish singer, actress, political spokesperson and former fashion model.-Biography:...
. Army Of Lovers had over 20 pan-European hits, the biggest being
Crucified"Crucified" is a 1991 song recorded by the Swedish band Army of Lovers. It is the first single from their second album Massive Luxury Overdose and the seventh single to be released by the band. It was released from May 1991 to February 1992 . A re-edition that features on Massive Luxury Overdose ...
,
Obsession, and
Sexual Revolution, while their presence in the US and the UK was limited to repeated club chart successes. They released five studio albums, made over 20 music videos, and became phenomenally successful across Eastern Europe, before Bard disbanded the group in 1996. Army Of Lovers have later earned a widespread iconic status in the gay culture, often referred to as a perfect example of the postmodern take on the ideals of
campCamp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
.
Following the demise of Army Of Lovers, Bard founded
VacuumVacuum is the name of a Swedish pop band. The members are Mattias Lindblom and Anders Wollbeck. They also work as song writers and producers under the same name. As songwriters and producers Wollbeck/Lindblom have worked with artists such as Tarja Turunen, Garou, Monrose, Keisha Buchanan, f and The...
, a symphonic
synthpopSynthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
project featuring Bard,
Marina SchiptjenkoAnna Marina Schiptjenko is the only female member of the Swedish electronic pop group Bodies Without Organs . Her mother is Swedish but her father was a Ukrainian refugee from the Soviet Union, thus her Ukrainian surname.She started her music career in the eighties, joining the synthpop band Page...
(formerly of synthpop group Page), and newcomer
Mattias LindblomMattias Lindblom is a Swedish singer, songwriter and music producer. He is the lead singer of electronica band Vacuum, and part of songwriting team Vacuum ....
. Their debut single
I Breathe was one of the fastest selling singles in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1997 and also topped the singles chart in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Further releases did not do as well, except in
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and Bard left after only two albums. He reformed
Army Of LoversArmy of Lovers are a Swedish dance music group formed in 1987.The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen about the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.-History:The founding members,...
briefly in 2000 for a handful of new tracks and a greatest hits collection, and later co-wrote and co-produced the first two
AlcazarAlcazar is a Swedish eurodance group which has established themselves as one of Sweden's most successful music groups with a string of hits since their debut single in 1999. Worldwide, Alcazar sold over 12 million records between 2001 and 2004...
albums.
In 2005, Bard launched a new music project called
BWOBWO is a Swedish electro pop group, formed in 2004. Prior to early 2006 they used the name Bodies Without Organs. In Sweden they have enjoyed considerable commercial success throughout their career, so far notching up 15 Top 40 singles, including a Number 1 with Temple of Love, and five Top 10...
(short for Bodies Without Organs), together with Marina Schiptjenko and new vocalist
Martin RolinskiMartin Andrzej Rolinski is a Swedish singer and the lead singer of the Swedish synthpop band Bodies Without Organs...
. Their debut album
Prototype generated seven top 20 hit singles in Scandinavia and across Eastern Europe and reached platinum status. A second album
Halcyon Days, was released in April, 2006, which shipped gold and generated four additional hit singles. 2007 saw the release of a third album,
Fabricator, followed by a 2008 compilation album and the 2009 release of a fourth studio album,
Big Science.
In April 2010, Bard announced that he was working with co-producer Henrik Wikström on a new project called
GravitonasGravitonas is a Swedish electronic rock band formed in 2009 and signed to Sofo Records and Universal Music in 2010. The band is fronted by vocalist Andreas Öhrn and record producer and songwriter Alexander Bard . Other collaborators in the project include keyboardist and producer Henrik Wikström...
, signed to Universal Music worldwide. The project, described as electro-rock, and fronted by Bard himself and vocalist Andreas Öhrn, released a first digital EP in May 2010 and had its first charts hits in Sweden and Russia in the autumn of 2010. Since they refuse to release physical records tied to traditional promotional media campaigns and instead strictly release their music through streaming and downloads and in EP rather than album format, Gravitonas have repeatedly been dubbed "The World's First
SpotifySpotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...
Band" by bloggers and the music press. Bard's public friendship with Spotify founder
Daniel EkDaniel Ek is a Swedish entrepreneur and a technologist who started the music streaming service Spotify.He founded his first company in 1997 at the age of 14...
may play some part in this narrative. Gravitonas entered the American
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts for the first time in early 2011 with their second release
Religious.
Besides the groups mentioned above, Alexander Bard has also worked as a songwriter and producer for several Swedish artists, in the 1980s mainly with
Ola HåkanssonOla Håkansson is a Swedish singer, composer and producer.Ola Håkansson was born in Stockholm. He was the singer of the band Ola and the Janglers and later Secret Service. In 1986 he recorded the duet "The Way You Are" with Agnetha Fältskog.He was part of the songwriting trio Norell Oson Bard...
and Tim Norell, in the early 1990s with
Anders WollbeckAnders Wilhelm Axel Wollbeck is a Swedish songwriter and producer. He plays the guitar and keyboard. He is part of the songwriting and production duo Vacuum together with Mattias Lindblom...
and Per Adebratt—especially on the early 1990s
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
—signed African cult act
Midi Maxi & EftiMidi, Maxi & Efti was a Swedish musical group with African influences from the early 1990s. Their two biggest hits were "Bad Bad Boys" and "Ragga Steady"....
—and more recently mainly with
Anders HanssonAnders Hansson, born in 1976, is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party. He has been a member of the Riksdag since 2006.- External links :*...
and Henrik Wikström. He was a co-founder of
Stockholm RecordsStockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group.The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record company by its Swedish founders Ola Håkansson and Alexander Bard in partnership with the original distributor and investor Polygram in London.Håkansson and...
and runs several internet and music-related businesses. In August 2011, Bard joined the jury of the Swedish version of the
Idol TV showIdol is a Swedish reality-competition talent show airing on TV4. It debuted in August 2004, and it has since become one of the most popular shows on Swedish television...
, sharing the stage with
Celine DionCéline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's record producer
Anders BaggeSven Anders Bagge is a Swedish composer, lyricist, musician and record producer and partner with Peer Åström. The two songwriters / producers are known as Bagge & Peer...
, quickly being referred to as
The Scandinavian Simon Cowell due to his famously and characteristically harsh and straight-forward commenting of the contestants.
Religious and political views
Bard began to study
ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
in 1983, and was inducted to the faith in
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
in 1997 where he had his
navjoteThe Navjote ceremony is the ritual through which an individual is inducted into the Zoroastrian religion and begins to wear the Sedreh and Kushti. The term navjote is used primarily by the Zoroastrians of India , while sedreh pushi is used primarily by the Zoroastrians of Iran...
performed by a priest (mobed) named Kamran Jamshidi. His close friend
Trita ParsiTrita Parsi is the current president and founder of the National Iranian American Council, and author of the 2007 book, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States.-Biography:...
, who afterwards went on to become the founder and President of the
National Iranian American CouncilThe National Iranian American Council is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization "dedicated to advancing the interests of the Iranian-American community." Trita Parsi is the organization's current president and founder.-Formation:...
, was inducted in the same ceremony.
On several occasions, Bard has caused much controversy by appearing on Swedish national TV and radio, and writing articles, promoting the use of narcotic substances and a liberalisation of the stringent Swedish drug laws. He has also been a political activist for the rights of prostitutes and sexual minorities. A self-proclaimed bisexual libertine, Bard lived in a much-publicized relationship in the 1990s with Swedish anthropologist and writer
Petra ÖstergrenAnna Cecilia Petra Östergren is a Swedish feminist writer, debater, social commentator and an instructor in self defense. She has an MA in Social Anthropology , and is a doctoral student at Lund University...
. Bard has also been a member of both the Swedish
Liberal People's PartyThe Liberal People's Party is a political party in Sweden. The party advocates social liberalism and is part of the governing centre-right coalition The Alliance, which achieved a majority in the general election of 17 September 2006...
and its youth wing, the Liberal Youth of Sweden. He returned to politics in June, 2008 as one of the founders of the cyberliberal network
LiberatiLiberati is a political network founded in Sweden in July 2008. The network was formed in reaction to the controversial passing in June 2008 by the Swedish Parliament, of the so-called FRA Law, a law allowing the National Defence Radio Establishment , the national signals intelligence agency, to...
, initially organised as a support group for Swedish Member of Parliament
Camilla LindbergCamilla Lindberg was a Swedish Liberal People's Party politician .She was not re-elected in the 2010 election.She was a member of the Riksdag from the district of Dalarna County since 2006...
, a close friend of Bard's. Liberati disbanded after the 2010 election, as they saw it as a defeat for liberalism. At the same time Bard left the People's Party only to join the competing Center Party in September 2011 where he co-founded the party's online branch,
Cybercentern, with Swedish parliamentarian
Fredrick FederleyBengt Fredrick Federley is a Swedish Centre Party politician, member of the Parliament of Sweden since 2006.- Youth and education :...
.
External links