THE ASTEROIDS GALAXY TOUR with VACATIONER at the Hoxton (60 Bathurst), Monday (February 6), 8:30 pm, $16.50. RT, SS, TW. See listing.
Mette Lindberg doesn’t own a television and therefore can’t gauge how ubiquitous she’s become.
She’s the eye-catching singer for Danish cosmic soul six-piece the Asteroids Galaxy Tour, which you might know better as the retro/future big band in that heavily played Heineken commercial.
In the stylish clip, a suave spy type makes a James Bond entrance before joining the band onstage to jam on some flute. The party erupts, and you’re left with AGT’s infectious tune The Golden Age stuck in your head – and perhaps a sudden thirst for a cold one.
“It’s not in Denmark and I don’t have a television, so I’m always surprised when people know it,” says Lindberg from the Canary Islands, where the band is playing a private gig.
“I don’t think people recognize us, because [the ad] is very fast and classy and glossy. I don’t have people saying, ‘You’re the girl from the Heineken commercial.'”
Lindberg and co-founding member Lars Iversen have successfully played the licensing game during the band’s four-year existence. Horn-heavy single Around The Bend was used in an iPod spot, and The Sun Ain’t Shining No More is the theme music for Canadian spy-spoof series Insecurity, though the benefits of the latter are questionable.
The band hopes to capitalize on the beer ad momentum with Out Of Frequency (BMG), due out this week. Their first album since their 2009 debut, Fruit, it follows up on their fixation with retro quirk and big beat soul.
“We reference a lot of music from the 60s and 70s, and a lot of different genres,” she says. “We like spy movies, gangster movies and blaxploitation soundtracks. We like to play around with colours. Our music is romantic and has a psychedelic big band feel.”
The big band sound is what landed the AGT their first gig in Copenhagen, opening for Amy Winehouse.
“Amy had a great voice and was a crazy rock ‘n’ roll character. She fascinated me, and I’m so sad she’s not here any more. She was one of a kind.”
music@nowtoronto.com
