Nina Persson(I)
- Music Department
- Actress
- Composer
Wonderfully talented vocalist and lyricist, primarily with Swedish band
'The Cardigans'. Persson was born on September 6th 1974 in Orebro,
Sweden. Always interested in music (she plays harmonica, some guitar,
piano and drums), she joined The Cardigans in 1992. The band had formed
in Jonkoping, Sweden after guitarist Peter Svensson met the extremely
tall Magnus Sveningsson playing in a hardcore group. The two were heavy metal fans
but had tired of this and decided to form a pop band. They knew Persson
from Art College and the line-up was completed by keyboard player
Lars-Olaf Johansson and drummer Bengt Lagerberg.
Signed to the Stockholm label, `The Cardigans' debut album `Emmerdale'
(1994) (named in tribute to the British television show Emmerdale Farm (1972)
showcased Persson's sweet voice and Svensson's winning way with a tune.
Much attention was focused on Persson's undoubted attractiveness, some
interviews airbrushed the other band members out entirely. Persson
found this sort of exposure discomfiting, being promoted as a pin-up
was undermining to her real musical ambitions. The next album, `Life',
with several re-recordings of 'Emmerdale' songs, was a satirical
riposte to the first album and saw the band more in a more avant-garde
direction with arrangements and artwork. It broke `The Cardigans' into
new markets -they were especially popular in Japan - and sold one and a
half million copies worldwide.
With `First Band on the Moon', released in 1996, the band developed
into a more complex, darker animal, the songs were about heartbreak,
infidelity and despair. The album also contained Persson's first solo
writing credit, the plaintive `heartbreaker'. After being featured in
Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet (1996), the song `Lovefool' rocketed the band to international
stardom. However it was unrepresentative of the album and though it
helped it go gold in America many critics branded them saccharine
soft-pop on the basis of 'Lovefool'. Annoyed by this inaccurate
description, the band reappeared in 1998 as a souped-up rock beast with
'Gran Turismo'. The video for `Favourite Game' featured a tattooed
Persson in a Thelma & Louise (1991) esque role as a criminal on the run. It was the
band's most consistent album to date, with several tracks written by
Persson individually. It spawned the European hit singles `My Favourite
Game' and `Erase/Rewind' and sold 2.5 million copies worldwide, however
it failed to make a dent in the American market.
After touring and promoting the album, the band decided to take a
hiatus. In 1997 Persson had formed the experimental indie act `A Camp'
with Swedish musician Niclas Frisk. `Cardigans' business occupied
Persson for the next couple of years, however in 2000 they reconvened.
Long a fan of alternative singer / songwriter Mark Linkous of
`Sparklehorse', she got him in for production duties and her boyfriend
`Shudder to Think' guitarist Nathan Larson. Their catchy, melodic lead-off
single `I Can Buy You' was released in September 2001. The self-titled
album, 'A Camp' (2001), was a wonderful piece of work, showcasing both
Persson's lyrical and vocal talent as well as her own musical
affinities. She brought this musical influence and lyrical confidence
to the next `Cardigans' album, `Long Gone Before Daylight'. The album
chronicles Persson's disillusionment, disappointment and her ultimately
finding love with Nathan Larson (who she married on June 16th 2001).
Under-promoted and not commercially successful, it is `The Cardigans'
most accomplished album.
Persson has just finished work on 'The Cardigans' 6th album 'Super
Extra Gravity'.
'The Cardigans'. Persson was born on September 6th 1974 in Orebro,
Sweden. Always interested in music (she plays harmonica, some guitar,
piano and drums), she joined The Cardigans in 1992. The band had formed
in Jonkoping, Sweden after guitarist Peter Svensson met the extremely
tall Magnus Sveningsson playing in a hardcore group. The two were heavy metal fans
but had tired of this and decided to form a pop band. They knew Persson
from Art College and the line-up was completed by keyboard player
Lars-Olaf Johansson and drummer Bengt Lagerberg.
Signed to the Stockholm label, `The Cardigans' debut album `Emmerdale'
(1994) (named in tribute to the British television show Emmerdale Farm (1972)
showcased Persson's sweet voice and Svensson's winning way with a tune.
Much attention was focused on Persson's undoubted attractiveness, some
interviews airbrushed the other band members out entirely. Persson
found this sort of exposure discomfiting, being promoted as a pin-up
was undermining to her real musical ambitions. The next album, `Life',
with several re-recordings of 'Emmerdale' songs, was a satirical
riposte to the first album and saw the band more in a more avant-garde
direction with arrangements and artwork. It broke `The Cardigans' into
new markets -they were especially popular in Japan - and sold one and a
half million copies worldwide.
With `First Band on the Moon', released in 1996, the band developed
into a more complex, darker animal, the songs were about heartbreak,
infidelity and despair. The album also contained Persson's first solo
writing credit, the plaintive `heartbreaker'. After being featured in
Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet (1996), the song `Lovefool' rocketed the band to international
stardom. However it was unrepresentative of the album and though it
helped it go gold in America many critics branded them saccharine
soft-pop on the basis of 'Lovefool'. Annoyed by this inaccurate
description, the band reappeared in 1998 as a souped-up rock beast with
'Gran Turismo'. The video for `Favourite Game' featured a tattooed
Persson in a Thelma & Louise (1991) esque role as a criminal on the run. It was the
band's most consistent album to date, with several tracks written by
Persson individually. It spawned the European hit singles `My Favourite
Game' and `Erase/Rewind' and sold 2.5 million copies worldwide, however
it failed to make a dent in the American market.
After touring and promoting the album, the band decided to take a
hiatus. In 1997 Persson had formed the experimental indie act `A Camp'
with Swedish musician Niclas Frisk. `Cardigans' business occupied
Persson for the next couple of years, however in 2000 they reconvened.
Long a fan of alternative singer / songwriter Mark Linkous of
`Sparklehorse', she got him in for production duties and her boyfriend
`Shudder to Think' guitarist Nathan Larson. Their catchy, melodic lead-off
single `I Can Buy You' was released in September 2001. The self-titled
album, 'A Camp' (2001), was a wonderful piece of work, showcasing both
Persson's lyrical and vocal talent as well as her own musical
affinities. She brought this musical influence and lyrical confidence
to the next `Cardigans' album, `Long Gone Before Daylight'. The album
chronicles Persson's disillusionment, disappointment and her ultimately
finding love with Nathan Larson (who she married on June 16th 2001).
Under-promoted and not commercially successful, it is `The Cardigans'
most accomplished album.
Persson has just finished work on 'The Cardigans' 6th album 'Super
Extra Gravity'.