Miike Snow is an indie electro-pop trio that comprises writer/producers Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and
Andrew Wyatt that debuted in 2009 on the label
Downtown Records. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Karlsson and Winnberg are best known as the production duo
Bloodshy & Avant. As such, they worked with a range of international pop stars during the early 2000s, including
Britney Spears,
Madonna,
Kylie Minogue, and
Ms. Dynamite. Most notably, their production of
Spears' 2004 chart-topping smash hit "Toxic" won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2005. Based in New York City,
Wyatt is a writer/producer who formerly collaborated in the groups Black Beetle and
the A.M. with Joan Wasser and Michael Tighe, respectively. He's also an in-house producer for
Downtown Records (
Spank Rock,
Amanda Blank) and a member of the band
Fires of Rome, which made its full-length album debut with You Kingdom You (2009). Founded in 2007, Miike Snow brought the talents of the three together in one group, and the commercial debut single "Animal" was released on
Downtown Records in 2009. A batch of promotional MP3s was also released and proved popular in the music blogosphere. Among this initial batch of MP3s were the songs "Animal" and "Burial," along with remixes of these songs by
DJ Mehdi,
Crookers,
Benny Blanco, and
Treasure Fingers; plus, there was a Miike Snow remix of the
Vampire Weekend song "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance." The trio's full-length album debut was released later in the year on
Downtown Records and the group departed for a North American tour. In 2012, they founded the indie label
Ingrid with
Lykke Li,
Dungen, and
Peter Bjorn and John, before releasing their second full-length Happy to You. The group followed up with the record III in March 2016. The album was led by the singles "Heart Is Full" and "Genghis Khan." ~ Jason Birchmeier