Denniz PoP

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Denniz PoP's real name was Dag Krister Volle. He was born in 1963 in Tullinge, near Stockholm, the son of Norwegian immigrants. He took his stage name from the comic strip Dennis the Menace, with pop added. In the 1980s he became a DJ and began making remixes and records of his own. In 1986, with others, he founded SweMix, a collective of DJs that made remixes. In 1988 he released Gimme Some Mo' (Bass on Me) under his own name.

Music and breakthrough

His first success as a producer was Hello Afrika by Dr. Alban, from 1990. The two knew each other from playing in clubs. In 1992, with the investor Tom Talomaa, he opened Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, and a year later he brought in Max Martin. From Cheiron he wrote and produced for Ace of Base, Leila K, E-Type, Robyn, the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and Britney Spears. At first that was Eurodance, later glossy teen pop: tightly produced, with clear melodies and choruses that stick immediately.

Influence

In 1997 he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and in August 1998 he died, aged 35. Britney Spears dedicated an award to him. Cheiron became the beginning of a wave of Swedish producers and songwriters who shaped global pop in the 1990s and after, with Max Martin the best known. Since 2013 the Denniz Pop Awards have existed for Scandinavian creators.

Listening

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 12: The Hit Factory^NL Reader

Mentioned in other articles

• ...Baby One More Time SongDenniz PoP, his mentor at Cheiron, did not live to see its success: he died in August 1998.

See also

• ...Baby One More Time