Stefan Olsdal
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| Stefan Olsdal | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | March 31, 1974 |
| Genre(s) | Indie rock, alternative rock |
| Instrument(s) | Bass guitar, guitar, piano, xylophone |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Label(s) | EMI, Virgin Records (current), Hut Records, Caroline Records |
| Associated acts | Placebo, Hotel Persona |
| Website | www.placeboworld.co.uk www.myspace.com/hotelpersona |
Stefan Olsdal (born Stefan Alexander Bo Olsdal) is the bass guitarist of the alternative rock band Placebo and is part of the electronic dance/DJ and remix act Hotel Persona. He was born on 31 March 1974 in Göteborg, Sweden.
He moved to Luxembourg when he was young and went to the American International School of Luxembourg along with fellow band member Brian Molko. Olsdal began playing music in his school's orchestra in 1987. He completed his high school education in Sweden and moved to London with his parents, where he attended the Musicians Institute. He is openly gay.
Olsdal met Molko by chance outside South Kensington tube station. The two of them formed Ashtray Heart with a friend of Molko's, Steve Hewitt, who couldn't be in the band later when they formed Placebo because he was already signed to another record company. After that, Olsdal invited old schoolmate Robert Schultzberg to join as Placebo's drummer (Hewitt would later replace him as the full-time drummer).
Some of his stated influences are Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, ABBA, Iron Maiden, The Cure, and David Bowie.
[edit] Hotel Persona
Hotel Persona began when Olsdal and David Amen started providing dance tunes to friends' house parties; Javier Solo was recruited to sing Spanish vocals, and Olsdal sang the English versions. As the music was coming together, Olsdal and Amen did deejay work under the Hotel Persona name in such locations as Milan, Paris, London, Barcelona and Rio. They have also remixed songs by various bands, including Queens of the Stone Age, Placebo and She Wants Revenge.
Their debut album In the Clouds was recorded and mixed in London, Madrid and New York over two years and features a wide array of additional vocals from various artists including Brian Molko, Samantha Fox, Miguel Bosé and Alaska of Fangoria.
[edit] Equipment
Olsdal uses a variety of instruments, including a Gibson Thunderbird, Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Bass VI, Gibson Les Paul Custom, and a Gretsch Anniversary. In live versions of "Teenage Angst","Centerfolds" and most acoustic performances he uses a Technics keyboard. During the Meds era, he also used an Epiphone Flying V Bass for "Nancy Boy", although this guitar was smashed by Olsdal at the end of their 2006 Reading Festival set. His amplification is a mixture of Ampeg (for basses) and Marshall (for guitars) amplifiers. He also plays xylophone on the acoustic performances of some songs from Meds ("Pierrot The Clown","Post Blue"). In Hotel Persona live shows he mostly uses a Fender Telecaster, which has also been used in live performances of "Slave To The Wage".
Olsdal contributes backing vocals sparingly in Placebo's live performances and recordings as well as lead and backup vocals on most Hotel Persona tracks.
[edit] External links
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