Ulf Ekberg

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Ulf Ekberg
Ulf Ekberg.jpg
Ekberg in 2012
Background information
Birth nameUlf Gunnar Ekberg
Also known asBuddha
Born (1970-12-06) 6 December 1970 (age 53)
Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)Musician, singer, songwriter, businessman, television producer, film producer
Instrument(s)Keyboards, vocals
Years active1983–present

Ulf Gunnar Ekberg (born 6 December 1970), also known as Buddha, is a Swedish musician, best known as a founding member of the pop group Ace of Base, along with siblings Jonas Berggren, Linn Berggren and Jenny Berggren.

Contents

Life and career

Ace of Base released its debut album in 1992 and went on to attain major chart success throughout the 1990s. Ekberg played an integral part in the production of the Happy Nation album, co-writing nearly all of the album's tracks. Ekberg would continue to provide writing and production for the group's future works, notably the singles "Love in December" and "All for You."

Ekberg has produced several artists, TV productions, films and events and has sold over 50 million records worldwide.

In 2009, he started a new music production/publishing and management company together with Jonas Berggren based in LA, London and Stockholm.

After Ekberg experienced the tsunami in Phuket, Thailand, he founded the Surin Relief Fund to support affected children by providing facilities to educate children and care for orphaned children. [1]

On 27 March 1993, Expressen reported that Ekberg had once been a member of a band called Commit Suiside[ sic ]. [2] Commit Suiside was a band active in Gothenburg from 1984 to 1986, when Ulf was between the ages of 14 and 16, described as "a New Wave music band creating and performing electronic music on synthesizers without any political touch or agenda." [3] In 1998, songs that were claimed to have been recorded by Commit Suiside (with explicit racist lyrics) were released on the unauthorized album Uffe was a Nazi!. [4] However, the cited songs were not recorded by Commit Suiside. [5] Other media outlets reported that Ekberg had been a neo-Nazi in his youth, for which Ekberg has repeatedly expressed regret. [6] [7]

Ekberg has repented of and criticized this part of his life multiple times since its reporting. In the 1997 documentary Our Story, Ekberg said: "I told everyone I really regret what I've done. [...] I took the experience from it, I learned from it. But that life is not me. It's somebody else." In 2013, he said: "During the early 1990s I did dozens of interviews, all around the world, about the people I sometimes found myself surrounded by in the 1980s and how profoundly regretful I am now about associating with such individuals. Those interviews covered every aspect of my past, as I strove to be an open book to anyone who asked. [...] The teenage mistakes I did make in terms of my chosen ideas at the time were unfortunate and if I were to live through those days again I would have done things very differently! I'm truly deeply sorry for any hurt and disappointment this has caused for our fans, and I want to be very clear that Ace of Base never shared any of these opinions and strongly oppose all extremist opinions on both the right and left wing." [5]

Personal life

Ekberg in 2008 UlfEkberg.jpg
Ekberg in 2008

Ekberg dated the Swedish model/actress Emma Sjöberg from 1994 to 2000. Until summer 2010, Ekberg lived in London. [8] He currently lives in Stockholm with his girlfriend Johanna Aybar and their three children. [9]

Writing

Ekberg has written and produced the following songs:

With Jonas Berggren

With Jonas, Jenny, & Malin Berggren

With StoneStream & John Ballard

With John Ballard

With Jonas Berggen & Jonas Saeed

With Jonas Berggren, Ari Lehtonen and D. Massy

Vocals

Ekberg has contributed vocals to the following songs:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace of Base</span> Swedish pop group

Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group, formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linn Berggren</span> Swedish singer-songwriter

Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren is a Swedish singer-songwriter, best known as a former member of the pop music band Ace of Base. Having been interested and involved in music since her childhood, she formed the band in 1987, along with her sister Jenny, her brother Jonas and their friend Ulf Ekberg. Before forming Ace of Base, Malin sang in her church's choir. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonas Berggren</span> Musical artist

Jonas Petter Berggren is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter and record producer, also known as Joker. He started writing songs when he was seven, and continues to write for the Swedish band Ace of Base, which he is a founding member of, as well as other bands. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden.

<i>Happy Nation</i> 1992 studio album by Ace of Base

Happy Nation is the debut studio album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was initially released in Denmark on 2 November 1992 by Mega Records. During development of the record, the group was heavily influenced by a Jamaican reggae band residing in a nearby studio. For a release in North America, Japan and some Latin American countries, the album was retitled The Sign with a heavily revised track listing and three new tracks. To coincide with this, Happy Nation was reissued with the new tracks in other territories as Happy Nation . In 1995, Guinness Book of World Records named the LP the best-selling debut studio effort in music history, at more than 19 million copies sold worldwide. By 1998, Happy Nation/The Sign had sold approximately 21 million units including 9 million in the US alone. Happy Nation/The Sign is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Berggren</span> Musical artist

Jenny Cecilia Petrén,, professionally known as Jenny Berggren and Jenny from Ace of Base is a Swedish mezzo-soprano singer and former lead singer in the Swedish pop band Ace of Base. Since 1995, she has also been writing songs and performing solo. In 2010, she released her debut album My Story.

<i>Cruel Summer</i> (Ace of Base album) 1998 studio album (reissue) by Ace of Base

Cruel Summer is a 1998 album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as the band's third album in North America on 14 July 1998 and in Japan on 25 August 1998 by Arista Records. Flowers was the group's third album worldwide, but Arista Records decided to release a different version of the album in North America, Japan, and Latin America, retitled Cruel Summer. This version of the album featured the new track "Everytime It Rains" and many new versions of songs that were first featured on Flowers. As executive producer, Clive Davis enlisted collaborators including production team Cutfather & Joe and songwriter Billy Steinberg. While primarily a pop album, Cruel Summer explores the genres of euro disco, Motown, and dance.

<i>Da Capo</i> (Ace of Base album) 2002 studio album by Ace of Base

Da Capo is the fourth studio album released by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was released in 2002 in Europe and Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Always Have, Always Will (Ace of Base song)</span> 1998 single by Ace of Base

"Always Have Always Will" is a 1998 song by Swedish pop band Ace of Base. Heavily inspired by the Motown sound of the mid-1960s, the intro samples the intros from the Supremes track "Where Did Our Love Go" and the Four Tops track "I Can't Help Myself ". It was co-written by Jonas Berggren with Mike Chapman. The song was originally titled "Killer on the Rampage" and contained different lyrics. When the song was pitched as a potential song for the upcoming Flowers/Cruel Summer album, Arista records liked the melody; however, requested that the lyrics be rewritten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All That She Wants</span> 1992 single by Ace of Base

"All That She Wants" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in Scandinavia in August 1992 by Mega Records as the second single from the group's first studio album, Happy Nation (1992), and in the following year, it was released as the first single from the 1993 album The Sign in North America. Produced by Denniz Pop with group members Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg, the drum beat was inspired by the Kayo song "Another Mother". Berggren and Ekberg also wrote the lyrics.

"Don't Turn Around" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Diane Warren. It was originally recorded by American singer Tina Turner and released as the B-side to her 1986 hit single "Typical Male". It has since been included on Turner's compilation album The Collected Recordings: Sixties to Nineties (1994), as well as featuring in the Tina musical since 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheel of Fortune (Ace of Base song)</span> 1992 single by Ace of Base

"Wheel of Fortune" is a song by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as their first single from the debut album, Happy Nation (1992). The song was first serviced to Danish radio in early 1992, through Mega Records, but failed to pick up much support. When re-promoted for a third time and released in stores on 29 June 1992, it entered the official Danish singles chart at number six, before later peaking at number two. It wasn't released elsewhere in Europe until 1993, following the success of their second single, "All That She Wants".

<i>Tillbaks till världen</i> 1999 studio album by Mauro Scocco

Tillbaks till världen is the seventh studio album by Swedish pop music artist Mauro Scocco. It was released in 1999 through Scocco's own record label Diesel Music, three years after its predecessor Godmorgon Sverige. Reportedly, Scocco spent two years writing 34 songs for this album and chose the best twelve. The album peaked at number three on the Swedish Albums Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy Nation (song)</span> 1992 single by Ace of Base

"Happy Nation" is a song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base from their debut album with the same name (1992). It was first released in Scandinavia in December 1992 by Mega Records and later released twice in the UK. The first appearance was in October 1993, when it peaked at number 42, it re-entered the chart twelve months later at number 40. "Happy Nation" reached number-one on the singles charts of Denmark, Finland, France and Israel in 1993 and 1994. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley. In 2008, the song was remade by Ace of Base for a remix kit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waiting for Magic</span> 1993 single by Ace of Base

"Waiting for Magic" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group Ace of Base from their debut album, Happy Nation (1992). It was released in Scandinavia in April 1993 as the fourth single from the album. The song reached number one in Israel, and the top-10 in both Denmark and Finland. The original version of the song appears only on the original release of Happy Nation. On the album's re-release and The Sign (1993), it was replaced with its remix. No music video was produced for "Waiting for Magic", but it was promoted through a number of live performances, including one at the Miss Universe Denmark pageant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Living in Danger</span> 1994 single by Ace of Base

"Living in Danger" is a song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in October 1994 by Arista and Mega as the seventh and final single from the group's debut album, Happy Nation and fourth single from their American debut release, The Sign (1993). Written by bandmembers Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg, the single peaked at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in December 1994. On the US Cash Box Top 100, it peaked at number ten. The single later reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1995. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley and filmed in Stockholm, Sweden. Ace of Base performed the song on the first ever MTV Europe Music Awards in Berlin, Germany in 1994. Q Magazine included "Living in Danger" in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003.

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References

  1. Surinrelieffund.com Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Just Don't Mention You-Know-Who : Ace of Base is a Swedish pop vocal group with two men and two women--but don't ask them about ABBA. - Los Angeles Times".
  3. "Ace of Base's Ulf Ekberg Speaks Out About Alleged Past Nazi Ties". 25 April 2013.
  4. Jörgen Holmstedt (17 June 1998). "Jag är på väg ut ur mörkret". Aftonbladet (in Swedish).
  5. 1 2 "Ace of Base Responds To Nazi Allegations". HuffPost. 24 April 2013.
  6. wil gerken, nathan hendler, doug floyd, john banks. "Music: How Swede It Is (The Boston Phoenix 05-08-00)". weeklywire.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Larsson, Stieg (2001). Sverigedemokraterna: den nationella rörelsen. Ordfront. p. 111. ISBN   91-7324-877-0.
  8. "Ekberg: Hon kom aldrig till studion". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 2 November 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  9. "Ekberg: Hon kom aldrig till studion". www.aftonbladet.se (in Swedish). 2 November 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2022.