Albatraoz (pronounced "alba-trouse", see below) is a Swedish group of DJs, singers and producers of electro house from Borås, formed in 2012 originally by AronChupa, Little Sis Nora and the other members Nicklas Savolainen, Andreas Reinholdsson, Rasmus Sahlberg, and Måns Harvidsson.
History
In 2012, they formed the group as a hobby and rose to fame when their debut single "Albatraoz" was released in 2013. The title is a combination of words "albatross" and a wordplay on "trouse" music, which is a form of EDM popularized in the early 2010s by Swedish and Dutch DJs such as Swedish House Mafia and Tiesto.
The song reached thirty-six in Swedish Singles Chart and remained eighteen weeks on the chart.[1] It was certified platinum in Sweden.[2][3] Later that year, they signed a record deal with Sony Music. In January 2014, the song reached 8.5 million plays on Spotify and the group toured to promote the song.[4] In April 2014, they released their second single, "Arriba".
During a concert in February 2017 in Bohuslän, the group made headlines after the member Måns Harvidsson had pressed a female audience member's face towards his groin on stage. Harvidsson grabbed the victim by her hair and then presses her face against his genitals before he let her go. In an apology to the victim, Harvidsson later explained that the girls would never understand the feeling and he compared it with how actors enters a role in a film. He also said, according to the victim and her friend, "how should I know that she didn't want if I didn't try?".[5][6]
After the incident the record company Sony Music decided to terminate all cooperation between them and Albatraoz. Harvidsson was also fired from the band the same day, all members cut off contact with him and apologized for the former member's sexual assault.[7] Two years after the incident, in February 2019, Uddevalla District Court sentenced Harvidsson to 80 day-fines for sexual harassment. He was also to pay 5,000 SEK in damages to the victim, which was half of what she had petitioned for. Harvidsson, during his case, had denied the charges and argued that in the event the court would find him guilty, no punishment should be given on the ground that his musical career had already suffered greatly. The court did not find his reasoning valid.[8][9]
In 2019, Nicklas, Andreas and Rasmus left the group and in 2020 other members joined. They released the hit song "E (Ventex)" which peaked at number 10 on Spotify's "Sweden Top 50"'s chart. Later that year they also had success with the song "Se på mig (Crunk Rock)" which peaked at number 34 on the same list.
Members
Current
AronChupa – record producer, vocals (2012–present)
^Sennerteg, Niclas (6 February 2019). "Artist från Sjuhärad dömd för sexuellt ofredande" [Artist from Sjuhärad convicted of sexual assault]. Borås Tidning (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
^Lindström, Frida (6 February 2019). "Svensk artist dömd för sexuellt ofredande" [Swedish artist convicted of sexual assault]. Gaffa (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
