After being one of Sweden’s most famous rock voices for over twodecades as the frontman of the successful bands Takida and Stiftelsen, Robert Pettersson is now taking a new and unexpected step. He is launching his solo career and revealing that his first solo album, Deabolo Hypomania, is on the way.

In close collaboration with long-time producer and Takida colleague Chris Rehn, Pettersson has created a sound that explores a more pop and electronic soundscape with clear influences from the 80s.

Since 1999, Robert Pettersson has been synonymous with the band Takida, which with songs like “Curly Sue”, “Master” and “You Learn” has achieved multi-platinum status and a devoted audience both in Sweden and internationally. In 2012, he showed a new side of his songwriting with the band Stiftelsen, whose Swedish-language and often personal lyrics, as in the hit song “Vart jag än går”, quickly made them one of the country’s most beloved bands.

Now it’s time for the next chapter. Together with Chris Rehn, who is not only the keyboardist and guitarist in Takida but also a well-established producer, Robert Pettersson has been secretly working for some time to define a completely new sound of his own. The result is a musical journey back to the synth-heavy and melody-driven pop landscape of the 80s, filtered through Pettersson’s characteristic and powerful voice.

The new music is described as an exciting contrast to the often heavy and melancholic rock of Takida and the more down-to-earth rock pop of Stiftelsen. Fans can expect catchy choruses, atmospheric synth landscapes and an energy that will show a new side of one of the country’s most established artists.