It’s an inescapable and oftentimes reassuring fact that the most interesting music is made away from the glare of the mainstream. The snappily monikered Revl9n are further proof that it’s in the corners where the real soul rebels hang out.

Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, Revl9n are a two girl, one boy three-piece, whose music is as difficult to quantify, as it is joyous to listen to. Is it dark and edgy electro-pop? The new wave of post-indie dance? Deviant disco? Disco punk pop? In truth, the pleasingly unpredictable melange of sounds that Maria Eilersen, Åsa Cerderqvist and Nandor Hegedüs concoct are all these things and more.

What can be said with utmost certainty however is that Revl9n are of their time. Combining a belligerent, at times almost confrontational, rock’n’roll aesthetic with an arms aloft collectivist zeal, their boisterous music is at once arty; sexual; liberating; muscular and mysterious. Their self-titled album is an act of sonic sedition that will work as a clarion call for like-minded souls for months to come.
Åsa explains: “For me it’s a primal scream. Not the band, but the energy: it’s about getting it out there. A lot of the time it’s hard to explain what it is that we do, because we’re just doing it.”

So who are these sonic soul savers? Well, the germ for Revl9n first sprouted in the late 90s when Maria, Åsa and Nandor were in a four-piece band with another guy who played drums. Initially this outfit was a more traditional arrangement, but when this other member left, they began to use a computer as a drum machine. The trio never looked back “We began programming,” recalls Åsa. “It was a natural progression, in that the music changed but our use of it was the same. We retained the same spirit.” This spirit was born of a DiY mindset. “Nandor used to be in the band Brick who made a real noise here in Sweden but we were playing in a band for the first time. We’re not really musicians,” explains Maria. We learnt by our mistakes.” And while it’s taken them the best part of half a decade to get to this point, the wait has been worth it.

Revl9n released three highly limited communiqués in Sweden on much sort after seven inch vinyl. Including ‘Walking Machine’ which backed by mixes from Simian Mobile Disco and French maestro SebastiAn of the Ed Banger Records crew was hammered by the cream of the UK’s alternative DJs. Each of these records, now nee on impossible to find, marked an important step forward for the band - as these two girls and a guy messed around with twisted machines, cross pollinated with dramatic pop melodies and pounding visceral and lyrical assaults.

High on drama, faded glamour and cosmopolitan chic their album is a call to arms. On the suitably titled first track, ‘United’, they ask ‘What side of this are you on?’. The message is simple: You’re either with us, or against us. From there the pace is thrilling and unrelenting. ‘Someone Like You’ sounds like Sonic Youth jamming with LCD Soundsystem, while the wonky ‘Walking Machine’ is a pure carnival of sound. ‘Fantastic’ speaks of twisted sexual subversion. “We’ve very comfortable with our sound,” boasts Maria. “Almost immediately that we started playing we knew we had something but we couldn’t quite define it. As the years went by, it crystallised and became clear that this was us. Even now we’re still developing.” And what of their evocative name? Funnily enough it’s not as radical as one might expect. “We liked the words,” Åsa explains. “I think we liked the idea of using words and a number. We used to be called Revlon 9 (which is still the correct pronunciation) and over time it evolved.” “It’s weird though,” suggests Maria, “it does suit the music. There is no deeper sense, but there is some correlation with the music.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the Revl9n starts here.