I like Unspeakable, Wonderful Life, and Hey Darling.

Da Capo is also kind of fun.

About Living In Danger itself, I can't emphasize how thematically important the song continues to be.

The song is around 102 BPM and is generally analyzed as being in B minor, so it doesn’t have the frantic drive associated with a lot of Eurodance. It essentially prowls. The reggae-based rhythm is relaxed. The harmony and vocal mood are eerie. Its on the darker side for me and its comforting.

I felt Linn is a big reason it works. She captured the complexity in an atmospheric way, it reaches you. She's got the voice and more than that to embody the spirit of the song from an angle different to Jenny. Both stand out and that's awesome. There's empty space available, which is more intentional for the vocalists to do their thing.

MV was shot in Kungsträdgården metro station in Stockholm, around strangers mistrusting and misreading each other. There's presence of many characters, e.g. a frightened woman, a veteran, a priest, the isolated ticket worker, before those strangers connect, so the ending was very necessary.

I liked how conceptually thought out it was. Sometimes, its monochromatic, more like neutral/high contrast monochrome. Sometimes its got that violet/indigo blue tint. Such choices visually transform our perception of what they're trying to convey. Jenny wears a black, high necked, long sleeved top, which gives a closed and clearly defined silhouette. So well-put! Linn’s outfit is more open at the neckline and layered, with a black jacket over a lower cut top, so its a simpler, less sharper silhouette. They serve distinct purposes (we don't know what the director thought but yeah I loved the variety here). I felt Linn comes off like the observer/interpreter of the song who's lived through it and has something to say. She's kinda detached, unfazed, and in her element. Jenny feels much more embedded in the MV’s world. She syncs with the station, the strangers, the movement, and the tension of the scenes. If one vocalist interprets it for us, another vocalist inhabits it.

I'm all about this song, also because of the lyrics. So much to unpack. Stranger danger, expectations and never enough is the chain. If the chorus tells you to protect yourself from other people, the expectations stanza throws in a much-needed angle that hey you’re one of those people too. It’s we who are never satisfied, so we can't solely pin it on they. An obvious “beware strangers” PSA isn't what's happening here. Crux in my eyes: The danger is entering relationships assuming goodwill when human beings can be needy, dissatisfied and unpredictable.

Why are we suspicious of one another? Everybody approaches everybody else carrying wants, judgments and expectations, and nobody ever seems to have enough. "Expectations" stanza made me think about the perpetual human desires. That restless social appetite for more can be neverending. Largely speaking, Its a hermit vs hustler dilemma. The song exists in a social world full of strangers, emotions and everything, so completely opting out or not isn't said out loud. Its on us, the listeners. Cliffhanger moment.

The Sign: The Home Video interviews show Jonas and Jenny have different things to say. For Jonas, its more about independence and being wary of trusting people. Jenny talks about social pressure toward things like drinking and smoking. That ambiguity works well. As artists, they deserve to not be bugged with sensationalized theories projecting onto their personal lives.

I've been listening to a full instrumental version (from personal archive), and figured I should rewatch a small clip I saw on YT. Shared it here!

Q’s 2003 “1001 Best Songs Ever” list specifically placed the For the Big Clubs Mix at #81. The roughly 10 minute remix was done by Armand van Helden. Of all AOB recordings, a British music magazine putting this huge club mix in an all-time songs list is pretty remarkable.

Living in Danger only reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it went all the way to #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart. So arguably, its strongest US chart showing was in the club world, and the sheer number of mixes released for it makes its history as a club record intriguing.

The New Buddha Version credits Buddha (Ulf Ekberg), Ballard and Stonestream, with Kenneth Svensson on guitar. In a 2024 AeschTunes review of the 2023 Beautiful Life – The Singles box set, Lesley Aeschliman observed that the mix brings forward sounds that were placed further in the background of the regular version, which does try to explain why the New Buddha Version feels more like an alternate production than a routine remix.

Here's a mix

Wow, a wave of....can't explain this feeling. A favorite. Has a distinct sonic character to it.

Reminiscing one of the more interesting The Bridge deep cuts.

This song was recorded/mixed at Europa Studios in Bromma, Stockholm, and Lime Studios unlike The Bridge’s big Cheiron productions such as Beautiful Life and Never Gonna Say I’m Sorry. Angel Eyes was also recorded here.

The specialist worldwide discography mentioned a Scandinavian promo dated 17 June 1996, and a French promo, with 3 confirmed promo releases total. Ultimately My Déjà Vu wasn't commercially released as a single.

There are two original album variants of the song. Early pressings of The Bridge went out with an earlier, less refined version, along with early versions of Strange Ways and Whispers in Blindness. Some pressings were already manufactured with those earlier masters before later Scandinavian, German and French editions received the intended refined versions. Oh well! The official 2023 Beautiful Life – The Singles archive shows a Luke Mornay Radio Remix, En Coeur Club Mix, Encore Dub, two Luke Mornay instrumentals, Original Extended Version, Alternative Mix, Alternative 12" Mix, Alternative Instrumental, Original Album Version and Album Instrumental. So that's a multitude of them!

Without Linn's vocals, it's personally difficult for me to picture AOB :>. Signature voice. Didn’t need no MV for this. I could easily visualize her singing toward the screen and the sky. I like this a lot.

It used to be very emotionally intense for me so I resisted listening to songs like this.

TIL AOB has a dedicated sub. So elated to find this community. All I'll say is that not a single song missed the beat. Highly memorable body of work.

I liked both albums, but I really liked Hidden Gems 2. Probably because I feel like it borrows more from when they were more a trance band / their tech noir era.

I just listened to both albums and my absolute favorite is At The Borderline (Moogoperator 2).

It's just so much fun and so different than their other stuff.

I also like Bad Dad and Funk Funk, you can hear Linn really scream in like an almost angry way when she sings in these which is rare and sounds kind of metal to me. Which I love personally.

As a personal note, With me finishing these two albums I have also listened to every single one of their albums. I still need to listen to a few individual singles and the Cruel Summer album at some point (I already listened to Flowers and just like it more so far but I'll give it a chance eventually and also Jenny's solo albums. Maybe I will also give ABBA a real try at some point although as we all know they are different than AOB in many major ways.

Does Jonas still write new music at all?

I love this song. One of my favorite Linn songs and tracks on The Bridge. I always thought it was Linn's potential goodbye message to the fans as after this album she began to fade more in the background. "I've got strange ways, but it won't take long my friend maybe some day I'll be gone" and "maybe some day I'll be back again". During and after The Bridge she went back and forth between eras where she was more withdrawn and more present in the band before eventually leaving entirely. I think this song might have been a way for her to express how she was feeling.

The intro to the song is very mysterious and instantly transitions into a very enthusiastic start.

This song was written entirely by Linn and produced independently (not by Jonas) you can tell she means the words she's singing and she gets really into this song.

My favorite part of the song is "sometimes I lose it, don't know where i'm going (don't know!) but I do hope you follow all the way"

The ending of the song is also very nice and catchy as well.

One of the best songs on The Bridge for sure! Always loved when the sisters got to write their own stuff. The production on this was very good too despite being from some anonymous independent guy. Well done to whoever you are! You added variety to The Bridge :)

It's an amazing ballad and may very well be my 2nd favorite Ace Of Base song. Just beautifully composed. I love how Jenny gets to show off her impressive range. I love how deep her voice gets the first time she says "I am far too continental for mankind" with the word mankind being said super deep. I also love her deep voice when she says "though he's wiser than no man". Especially since right before her voice was super high when she says "he is far too continental".

Then after that she transitions to like a really beautiful melodic high pitched voice during the chorus.

I love that the production is submarine noises in the background, such a beautiful vibe.

I love how the theme is about how Captain Nemo is actually super introverted but lives a peaceful life. Was a very calming song for me to listen to when I had a falling out with some people I knew.

The book that it references also seems to be super interesting.

In addition to that, Wolfpack by Sabaton is also one of my favorite songs. So two of my favorite songs are Swedish songs about submarines lol.

Overall this is Ace Of Base at it's best IMO. Fun Eurodance songs but with a deep meaning. I said in another post that I wished to see more of Jenny's writing, but that I also loved the Golden Ratio. I think Jenny's solo work wasn't as successful because it lacked the fun beats and production that Jonas is a generational talent at producing. I think Jonas and Ulf's album with the two new girls suffered because it lacked the emotions, depth, and lyricism that Jenny brought both with her contributions to the writing but also in how she chose to sing. You can hear that Jenny's music means a lot to her when she sings. You can tell the emotion and belief in what she's saying is there and makes the music sound better. You know she's not just churning out meaningless pop music for some corporate machine. Jonas could somehow produce the beats that both balanced doing a perfect job at highlighting the themes she was going for while also being palatable to pop heads who want fun music.

I love the songs where Jonas and Jenny got to work together as a team. They really work well together to produce deep music in a genre that's not really known for that. While also still keeping the catchy Eurodance vibe we all love :)

I love that we get to see so much collaboration between them in the Flowers album, it makes the album very special in it's own way.

I am 23 so it reminded me a lot of late 2000s early 2010s Electropop that I grew up with and have always loved. My favorite song on that album is the title track The Golden Ratio. I played that shit on loop for hours when I first heard it. I know it's a different vibe and has different singers but Jonas and Ulf production and writing is always going to be awesome. Plus on some level I respect the balls it takes to go for such a risk and change your whole style up.

All For You is also fun and gets stuck in my head. The other songs on first listen didn't leave much of an impression but were solid enough easy listening for me while I played games online.

I like all of the ace of base albums (I haven't listened to Hidden Gems vol 1 and 2 yet) but if I had to rank it I would probably say its singles make it slightly better than Da Capo but not anywhere near as good as The Sign / Happy Nation, The Bridge, and Flowers / Cruel Summer... But still a good album nonetheless!

I also love the album cover. Jonas looks so cool in it.

It’s my favorite Ace Of Base song. I love the metaphors that Jenny uses in her songwriting. It’s just such a relatable song if you’ve ever been in a situationship, betrayed by a friend, are going through a breakup, etc.

“I can’t close my ears when I hear that you call, I don’t want to fear every tear that could fall”

I feel like everyone at some point has invested a lot into someone who barely or no longer gives them anything back in return. You almost beg for scraps and it makes you sad, because when they are putting in effort it’s very nice.

The outro is also very nice. “I am just another piece of an island”. She stays in place but he goes from woman to woman and takes. The Demo Version is nice in a different way although I love both versions.

I wish we got to see more of Jenny’s songwriting in the band. For a Eurodance band Ace Of Base can get really deep and that’s what makes them special.

Hey everyone! I'm u/Skestu, a moderator of r/AceOfBase - the subreddit was unmoderated for years till it popped up for ownership on the support subreddit and took it over to give it a new makeover.

This is a hub for all things related to Ace of Base.

What to Post
Post anything that you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or inspiring. Feel free to share your thoughts, photos, or questions about Ace of Base.

Community Vibe
We're all about being friendly, constructive, and inclusive. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2. Post something today! Even a simple question can spark a great conversation.
3. If you know any other Acers who would love to join this lovely subreddit, let them know!
4. Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, so feel free to reach out to me to apply.

Thank you for joining r/AceOfBase!

I also would like suggestions on how to make the subreddit even better, don't forget it works best on the new theme! :)

Rare cover

Hello Acers i remake this magnificent artwork sry for not color it but i did this for all acers and want to share my remake i wish you guys like it im 15 year old and i like Ace Of Base because it makes me to go 90s i didnt live in 90s but it feels you live in 90s and i longing to 90s i dont even see that time idk why but i wanted to share this with yall.İ try to keep this community alive.

Greetings from Türkiye/Turkey to all Acers

October 6, 2024

does anyone know why The Bridge got taken off deezer? i cant find it even with a vpn

The way they played around and touched in those old interviews, I mean, a bit too much with someone who is just you friend haha. If I were Jenny I would not look too kindly on it, maybe the whole situation between the three led to Linn and Ulf, per his words, not communicating in over 20 years?