Swedish synthpop duo Cold Connection released a cover of a song by the legendary synth band Page. But it’s not just an ordinary cover. They’ve replaced the song’s original Swedish lyrics with English.
The song, originally released in 2020 as “Aska,” is called “Ashes” in English. Cold Connection has done a remarkable job translating the lyrics to English while retaining the song’s original melody. Not as easy as it sounds. You can listen to the original here.
The video for “Ashes” features a depressed looking woman in a tiny, bleak apartment. She puts on a Cold Connection record and dances at home alone to beat the blues. I think we can all relate. The woman is portrayed by dancer and performance artist Maria Saber, and the video was directed by photographer and videographer Mickael Tannus.
Cold Connection explains how this cover song came about:
We were approached by [Page cofounder] Eddie Bengtsson after a soundcheck at Charles Dickens Bar & Scen in Helsingborg about one year ago, and he asked us if we would be interested in doing a cover of one of their songs to be featured on their forthcoming new album.
Page is one of Sweden’s biggest pioneers in electronic music and a great hero of ours, so without any hesitation, we of course accepted the challenge and immediately started listening to all songs. It didn’t took long before we decided which one we wanted to cover.
“Ashes” will appear as a bonus track on the CD version of Page’s new album, En Ny Våg, which translates to “a new wave” in English. It’s due out on September 29. You can find the title track from En Ny Våg on Spotify.
Page released their first single “Dansande Man” way back in 1983 and is often credited with introducing synthpop music to Sweden (according to Wikipedia at least). They’ve made an enormous impact on the synthpop scene, influencing bands like Elegant Machinery and S.P.O.C.K.
This is not the first time Cold Connection has covered one of their heroes. In 2021, they covered the Canadian band Rational Youth’s 1982 song “Close To Nature.” Last year, they covered Depeche Mode’s “My Secret Garden,” which initially appeared on the 6122 compilation in memory of Andrew Fletcher.
In August, Cold Connection released a song called “Bright,” their first original new music since their monumental debut album, Seconds of Solitude, came out in 2021. More new music is on the way. They’re working on an EP that should be out this year.
You can find Cold Connection’s music on Bandcamp and Spotify.
