Safri Duo

Safri Duo
Back: Uffe Savery. Front: Morten Friis, Clark Anderson.
Background information
Origin	Copenhagen, Denmark
Genres	Electronica
Years active	1990–present
Associated acts	Clark Anderson, Michael McDonald, Aqua
Website	safriduo.dk
Members	Uffe Savery Morten Friis

Safri Duo is a Danish electronic percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery (born April 5, 1966) and Morten Friis (born August 21, 1968). Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000. The result was the popular "Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)", that became one of the most popular songs in Europe in 2001. The single and subsequent album, Episode II each sold one million units worldwide, making Safri Duo the most internationally successful Danish act since Aqua.

History

Early years

Uffe Savery and Morten Friis met in 1977 while attending the Tivoli Garden Boys' Guard, and later, during their time at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, formed an experimental duo, called Safri Duo, whose name originated from the first letters of their respective surnames. Several albums were recorded and released through Chandos Records, on which the duo performed pieces by both famous classical (a.o. Bach, Mendelssohn, Ravel, whose works were arranged by Savery and Friis for two marimbas, or for marimba and vibraphone) and contemporary composers (a.o. Reich, Nørgård, Ter Veldhuis). Their performances of, especially, Ter Veldhuis' Goldrush, Ravel's Alborada del gracioso and Anders Koppel's Toccata for vibraphone and marimba are often labelled as small milestones by fellow percussionists, as well as other musicians or people related to the world of classical music.

Mainstream success

Earlier in 2000, a track named "The Bongo Song" started appearing on club's playlists. Produced by Michael Parsberg, it soon got airtime on MTV Europe. The mix between tribal drums over trance proved to be a success, and it ended the year as one of the best selling singles in Europe in 2000 as well as featuring prominently in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. This resulted in Safri Duo guesting along with Danish pop group Aqua during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 held in Copenhagen. "The Bongo Song" was featured prominently during the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester, England. The album, named Episode II, hit the market on 4 June 2001, nine tracks long, all featured the same percussion-electronica combination, except "Adagio" that kept the former classic line of the duo. A reissue added a second remix-only CD and the single "Sweet Freedom" recorded with Michael McDonald was released on 30 September 2002 (also "Everything" appeared in this CD Single as a B-Side). Two more tracks from Episode II were released as singles, "Samb-Adagio" and "Baya Baya". The Bongo Song became the anthem of the world famous Coco Bongo super club in Cancun, where it is the party opening song every night.

3.0

In 2003 the new album 3.0 was released. It featured Clark Anderson as vocalist on several of the tracks, including "All the People in the World", "Agogo Mosse" and "Laarbasses". The single "Rise" became a huge success and later they released a new version called "Rise (Leave Me Alone)" which featured Clark Anderson on vocals. In 2004 they released a remix album of 3.0 called 3.5 - International Version. It included the new version of "Rise" and several other tracks with Clark Anderson as vocalist and remixes of the already known tracks.They also played in the concert of Jean Michel Jarre (AERO Concert) on his famous track Rendez vous 4.

Origins

Safri Duo's latest album Origins was released on 17 November 2008.^[1]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications
		DEN [2]	AUT [3]	BEL (FL) [4]	FIN [5]	GER [6]	NLD [7]	NOR [8]	POR [9]	SWE [10]	SWI [11]
Turn Up the Volume	Released: 1990 Label: Klavin Music Formats: CD, LP, cassette	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Works for Percussion	Released: 1994 Label: Chandos Formats: CD, LP, cassette	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Percussion Transcriptions	Released: 2 February 1995 Label: Chandos Formats: CD, LP, cassette	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Lutoslawski, Bartók, Helweg	Released: 1995 Label: Chandos Formats: CD, LP, cassette	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Goldrush	Released: 18 June 1996 Label: Chandos Formats: CD, LP, cassette	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Bach to the Future	Released: 19 May 1998 Label: Chandos Formats: CD, LP, cassette	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Episode II	Released: 28 May 2001 Label: Universal Records Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download	1	21	13	7	2	16	9	14	49	2	IFPI DEN: 3× Platinum[12] BVMI: Gold[13] IFPI SWI: Platinum[14]
3.0	Released: 29 September 2003 Label: Universal Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	73	IFPI DEN: Platinum[15]
3.5	Released: 20 September 2004 Label: Universal Formats: CD, digital download	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	IFPI DEN: Gold[16]
Origins	Released: 17 November 2008 Label: Universal Formats: CD, digital download	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

• Greatest Hits (2010)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		DEN [2]	AUT [3]	BEL (FL) [4]	FIN [5]	GER [17]	NLD [7]	NOR [8]	SWE [10]	SWI [11]	UK [18]
"Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)"	2000	1	7	2	5	2	3	4	8	1	6	IFPI DEN: 6× Platinum[19] BEA: Platinum[20] BVMI: Platinum[13] NVPI: Platinum[19] IFPI NOR: Gold[21] IFPI SWE: Gold[22] IFPI SWI: Platinum[14]	Episode II
"Samb-Adagio"	2001	9	35	10	15	14	23	—	24	28	—
"Baya Baya"		—	—	56	—	74	66	—	—	52	—
"Sweet Freedom" (featuring Michael McDonald)	2002	—	50	50	—	29	23	—	—	52	54
"Fallin' High"	2003	1	—	—	—	65	91	—	—	44	—		3.0 and 3.5
"All the People in the World" (featuring Clark Anderson)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	19	—	—
"Rise (Leave Me Alone)" (featuring Clark Anderson)	2004	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Knock on Wood" (featuring Clark Anderson)		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Twilight"	2008	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Origins
"Helele" (with Velile)	2010	—	8	—	—	2	—	—	—	1	—	BVMI: Platinum[13] IFPI SWI: Platinum[14]	Greatest Hits
"Mad World" (with Michael Parsberg, featuring Isam B)		4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	IFPI DEN: Gold[23]	Non-album singles
"Dimitto (Let Go)" (with Kato, featuring Bjørnskov)	2013	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

References

1. It's a Trap! - Scandinavian Music Journal
2. "Discography Safri Duo". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
3. "Discographie Safri Duo". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
4. "Discografie Safri Duo". ultratop.be (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
5. "Discography Safri Duo". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
6. "Chartverfolgung / Safri Duo / Longplay". musicline.de (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
7. "Discografie Safri Duo". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
8. "Discography Safri Duo". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
9. "Discography Safri Duo". portuguesecharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
10. "Discography Safri Duo". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
11. "Discography Safri Duo". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
12. "Album Top-40: Uge 15 – 2002" (in Danish). Tracklisten. IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
13. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank: Safri Duo" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
14. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Safri Duo)". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
15. "Album Top-40: Uge 50 – 2003" (in Danish). Tracklisten. IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
16. "Album Top-40: Uge 52 – 2004" (in Danish). Tracklisten. IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
17. "Chartverfolgung / Safri Duo / Single". musicline.de (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
18. "Safri Duo" (select "Singles" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
19. "Origins". Safri Duo. Universal Music. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
20. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2001". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
21. "Trofeer". IFPI Norway. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
22. "ÅR 2001" (PDF) (in Swedish). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
23. http://www.ifpi.dk/?q=certificeringer&page=1

External links

• Official website