Nina Persson(I)

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 Roméo + Juliette (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'.