In January this year Nina Persson released ‘Dreaming of Houses’, the opening single from her first solo album ‘Animal Heart’. The full album was on sale a month later and has so far been well received by both critics and fans alike.
This year marks two decades since Persson first appeared on the music scene as the front woman of The Cardigans. Persson later went on to head A Camp, before a couple of years ago settling to commence her first solo project.
Animal Heart was principally written in Harlem where Persson lives with her husband Nathan Larson and her young child. Larson was a co-writer on the album, and Persson has described the experience of creating it together as different to anything she has worked on before.
In an interview with Under the Radar magazine Persson said,
‘Once we found the colors and the direction, it was easy. I used to be very thoughtful when I was writing. I would sit long nights, drinking tons of red wine; it was just hard and anxious. This time it all happened in daylight pretty much. It was just easier. I found a way to just go with my intuition and just decided that whatever I do fast is going to be good enough.’
Though still firmly rooted in pop, Animal Heart has a sound quite set apart from Persson’s work with both The Cardigans and A Camp. Taking inspiration from 80s dance music, the album is jam-packed with keyboard-led tracks complemented by a thick layer of synth. There is much in the album reminiscent of David Bowie, and like Bowie’s music, though this album plays around with different instruments, it is the strength of Persson’s voice that leads it and makes the music a success.
Despite stressing that she is keen to remain a performing artist and not merely a singer/songwriter, due to her new role as a mother, there is slim chance of Persson conducting a long haul tour in the near future. Instead Persson’s summer is peppered with festival dates across Europe. Just in June, Persson will be playing at NorthSide Festival in Denmark on the 14th, followed by KentFest in Stockholm the next day, Bråvalla Festival on the 26th and Glastonbury in the UK on the 28th. Fans lucky enough to secure tickets can hold back from brushing off their nineties Cardigans wear and instead have a look at this site for the best festival fashion this summer.
Child or no child, Persson’s sparkling days are not over yet. And here at Scandipop we are only some of many who are thankful for that.
