Helena Josefsson & Kontur - Happiness (2015)

Tracklist

01. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
02. Det vi saknar nu (I världen) [feat. Tingsek]
03. Happiness
04. Sunday Morning
05. Ordinary World
06. Sunny Afternoon
07. Time After Time
08. Close to Me
09. Ride
10. Little Sparrow
11. Det vi saknar nu (I världen) [Epilog]



Soft and gentle, with a girlish expression on the outside, but with a flaming fire and a surprisingly firm heart on the inside, she began her journey through adult life. She wore her compositions and experiences from nature as a warm coat to protect and soothe her. From the difficulties that surrounded her. And the stage or the forest were the safest places to be. There she could be who she wanted to be. No one could tell her what was right or wrong there. She learned how to perform on a stage, she practiced song writing. Using two cassette players, she could harmonize and record loads of vocals on top of each other.

As the years passed, so did her first bands. In high school she tried metal inspired music and 90s indie bands. Guided by bands like The Cranberries and Skunk Anansie, The Cardigans, Blur, Lenny Kravitz and K´s Choice. One year was spent at a school of jazz where she got many artistcal friends. She skipped the second year of the education, to write her own music, more in the world of pop. Working to make a living in factories, homes for elderly, stores, telemarketing, or dressed up as a dinosaur giving out food samples.

But before that, Helena was born in Kalmar, Sweden in 1978. Then moved to Malmö where her parents let her try dancing and singing in a choir. She loved it. Taking piano lessons wasn´t as much fun- Helena liked making her own little songs better. Her parents divorced, and Helena moved to an apartment where they had cable TV- and MTV. This is where she discovered Michael Jackson, early Madonna and “Gimme Gimme Gimme”. She saw “Close to me” (The Cure) and fell in love for the first time- the singer, Robert Smith was so beautiful with his tangled hair and red lipstick. And his looks has surely some impact on Helena´s style today. Other main influences during Helena´s childhood was Marie Fredriksson and Cyndi Lauper.

As a ten year-old, Helena moved with her mother, her boyfriend and her two oldest sisters to the countryside, to a farm near a village called Björnstorp. On the school bus the kids would play music to each other on cassettes. A boy named Johan Duncanson played Roxette album “Joyride”. And it sounded really special. Later, Helena and Johan had a band together. He lived just over the field. They would borrow a portable studio from a guy living nearby. The percussion was empty rolls of toilet paper filled with unboiled rice. His father would come and give them ice cream with toffee sauce now and then. When Helena was going to record her vocals, the other kids had to leave the room. This behaviour continued long after, she needed to turn the lights out while recording so no one could see her, or during a video shoot, she took her contact lenses out, so she wouldn´t notice people were watching. With mr Duncanson she started a band called “Plastic Soul”. They recorded a full length album that was never released but it contained some beautiful songs.

The funny part of the story is that that boy turned into a successful member of “Radio Dept”, touring the world. And Helena, on her behalf, was discovered by mr Per Gessle of Roxette! (Roxettte is one of the most successful groups of Sweden, still)

Now all that is history. Helena has released three albums with her band Sandy Mouche and two solo albums. Her first jazz album is being released this year. She didn´t have to work as a dinosaur any more, since her voice was discovered by many artists. She toured Sweden and Europe with Per Gessle of Roxette, which culminated in a world tour with Roxette in 2011. She has featured singles by Swedish-Iranian artist Arash, where Helena´s voice has been heard by more than 50 million people on Youtube.

Now, as a proud mother of two, she keeps discovering her own musical world and what her voice can express. These days she´s not afraid. She´s just grateful to be here now.

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