At right, Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, aka Icona Pop, speak with 乐播传媒 student leaders prior to their Campus Consciousness Tour concert on Nov. 1. Shown from left are Shana Wallace ’15, Taylor Blackburn ’15 and Rachel Chappell ’18. (Sarah Crosby/乐播传媒 College)

Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo know firsthand the importance of female empowerment.

As the DJ duo Icona Pop, they have experienced the double standards and differed expectations that have long affected women in the music industry. So when the pair known for the hit “I Love It” started their U.S. college tour this fall, they sought to connect with female leaders on campus.

Hjelt and Jawo created the 鈥淚cona Talk,鈥� a preconcert discussion with students in leadership roles at each of the 10 schools on the . The Swedish music stars hoped that through conversation, they and the student leaders would learn from and inspire each other.

The tour came to 乐播传媒, its final stop, on Nov. 1. Five students were selected to take part in the Icona Talk on the strength of short essays explaining their leadership roles and interests. Each woman was awarded $100 and the opportunity to bring two guests to the talk and the concert that followed.

At 8 p.m. on that Saturday, 16 乐播传媒 students sat in a circle in the lobby of Alumni Gym for the talk. Once Hjelt and Jawo arrived, each student leader briefly talked about her work.

乐播传媒 women with campus leadership roles, and their guests, met with the Swedish DJ duo Icona Pop on Nov. 1. (Sarah Crosby/乐播传媒 College)

Annakay Wright ’17 of Brooklyn, N.Y., described supporting first-year students as a junior adviser, as well as her contributions as a leader in the performance group Sankofa and as a mentor for students struggling with their sexuality.

Allen Kendunga 鈥�18 spoke about her passion for empowering women to express themselves. She compared her opportunity to have her voice heard at 乐播传媒 to her home, in Kigali, Rwanda. 鈥淲here I come from, you are not allowed to speak in public at all. So now that I have this opportunity to speak, and to express my ideas, I just want everyone to feel the same way.鈥�

For Claire Brown 鈥�17 of Rockville Centre, N.Y., the focus is the environment and law. As a 乐播传媒 EcoRep, Brown engages the campus in sustainability issues聽鈥� a second focus of the Campus Consciousness Tour聽鈥� and helps students understand their impact on the environment. Brown, who has undertaken an internship in a Lewiston courtroom, wants to become a lawyer.

Shana Wallace 鈥�15 of Pleasantville, N.Y., manages a large farmer鈥檚 market in her home state, experience that has taught her about environmental impact. On campus, as a co-coordinator with the Multifaith Chaplaincy, she has worked to create social change. She stressed the need for women to 鈥渢ake up their own space.鈥�

Taylor Blackburn 鈥�15 highlighted her experience on the debate team, traditionally a male-dominated activity. A nationally recognized debater, this resident of Sonoma, Calif., has worked to bring more women into debate, both as a leader on 乐播传媒’ Brooks Quimby Debate Council and in settings outside 乐播传媒. She wants to be a screenwriter and improve female representation in film.

The musicians offered encouragement and shared personal stories to validate the students’ efforts. 鈥淲e hear this, and it gives us so much inspiration,鈥� Jawo said.

She also spoke to the uncertainty that many students feel about pursuing their passions after college. 鈥淥nce you find your passion, just do it 100 percent. If it doesn鈥檛 work out, then you at least tried, and then you can change direction.鈥�

Icona Pop’s Caroline Hjelt, in black, and Aino Jawo react during the “Icona Talk” that preceded their Nov. 1 concert. (Sarah Crosby/乐播传媒 College)

Starting out as Icona Pop was a challenge, Hjelt added. 鈥淓veryone told us how the music industry worked. And we were like, Yeah, we know, we鈥檝e heard all the stories, we鈥檝e heard how it鈥檚 supposed to be.

“But that鈥檚 the biggest challenge: to not accept it. That鈥檚 what you all are doing now. You鈥檙e not accepting it.鈥�

For Wallace, the encounter had the intended effect. “It’s incredibly important to see prominent artists supporting and empowering young women,” she said later.

“Society as a whole and many industries are not encouraging of young women, and misogyny is internalized to the point where even women are taught to discourage the efforts of other women. So this kind of powerful representation matters.”

Wallace added, “Caroline and Aino were accessible, kind and encouraging, and I loved speaking with them.”

Icona Pop shown backstage at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg in 2013: Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo. (Fredrik Etoall)

As part of a environmental consciousness-raising tour produced by a Portland firm, the Swedish pop duo known for the smash hit “I Love It” is bound for a 乐播传媒 performance at 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, in the Gray Athletic Building, 130 Central Ave.

Icona Pop headlines the musical portion of the 14th annual Campus Consciousness Tour. Opening for Icona Pop are the big-beat electropop quartet Five Knives and the Canadian singer-songwriter Lowell. Doors open for the concert at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 ($15 for members of the 乐播传媒 community) and are available at batestickets.com.

The Campus Consciousness Tour also features afternoon programming at 乐播传媒 around the themes of sustainability and empowering female leadership. Co-sponsoring the event are the Chase Hall Committee and the 乐播传媒 College Student Government. For more information, please call 207-786-6305.

Formed in 2009, Icona Pop — aka Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt — has ridden an infectious blend of electro house, pop and indie rock to the top of the charts. The duo may be best-known for 2012’s “I Love It,” an angsty, must-dance-to juggernaut that broke into the public conscious via Lena Dunham’s HBO series “Girls.”

The song peaked at No. 3 in Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 ranking, and by the end of 2013 had sold more than 2 million copies. Icona Pop performed “I Love It” on “Good Morning America,” “Today” and “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” The song has also turned up on “Glee” and “Dancing With the Stars.”

Half concert tour, half green campaign, Campus Consciousness aims to inspire students in an electric atmosphere while making a positive impact on each community the tour visits. In addition to educating and mobilizing students, the tour is organized to have a minimal environmental footprint.

The CCT is a project of the Portland-based Reverb, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to engaging musicians and their fans to take action toward a more sustainable future. Reverb has worked on more than 150 major tours — e.g., Dave Matthews Band, Maroon 5 and Jack Johnson — and created CCT specifically to reach students where they live.

Reverb was founded in 2004 by environmentalist Lauren Sullivan and her musician husband, Adam Gardner of Guster. Reverb provides comprehensive, custom greening programs for music tours while conducting grassroots outreach and education.

Hailing from Nashville, punk rockers Five Knives are the perfect intersection of good old rock ‘n鈥� roll and electronic music. Known for festival appearances and supporting slots with Smashing Pumpkins and Die Antwoord, the foursome released its highly anticipated EP 鈥淭he Rising鈥� in 2013 (Red Bull Records).

Elizabeth Lowell Boland, aka Lowell, comes across like dynamite: ferocious and unrelenting. She seeks to empower not only herself but also her listeners, dealing with topics as sexual abuse, rape, abortion and women’s and LGBTQ rights. Yet her brand of pop conveys the urgency of her message via melodies that are accessible and fun.

More About Icona Pop
Icona Pop was officially born in a manner you’d hope two smart Swedish girls would unite: at a dance party under the midnight sun, bonding over heartbreak and breakbeats. Jawo and Hjelt now famously describe the resulting bonding experience as something like “love at first sight.”

Collaborating with such high-caliber producers as Patrick Berger, The Knocks, and Elof Loelv, Jawo and Hjelt have forged a distinctively dramatic sound — at once bright and dark, combining bittersweet lyrics with irresistible rhythms.

Their “Nights Like This” EP was ranked as one of 2011’s most promising debuts by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and other essential tastemakers, while New York and London club kids instantly paid close attention. And then came “I Love It.”