Su Andersson
Photographer: Nanni Johansson
bio
I left my former professional life as an architect to fully devote myself to music in 2019. Since then, I have released two albums, played on smaller stages around Sweden and also in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Norway.
My musical background
First guitar by twelve, House of the rising sound by camp fire, a lot of Cohen and Young, cover band during university, then member of a band in a play, that band lasted for fifteen years. Played two summers on the Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark! Totally musically silent between I was 40-50. Then I had four hours in a recording studio as a gift from some old friends. Together with the guitarist from my old band I recorded to songs and we’ve been playing together since then. We write and record songs of our own too. Made a trip to New York, stayed two weeks, took singing lessons, performed at Open Mics, wrote and recorded songs. Return there as often as I can. Now solo artist, that is I perform solo, or in cooperation with a poet or other artists, and there are also gigs together with a band!
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My lyrics
Some have mentioned the strong lyrics, and that they have an important part. Here's a few words about my writing process: I write small fragments all the time, sentences, separate words, things I hear, see, read, something that captures me, beautiful, ugly, exciting, sad, beautiful combinations of words. It ends up in note books, my smartphone – then I’ve to be careful and capture it all and try to see how I can use it. I look a lot and listen very much. I'm observant on what’s going on around me. It’s a very good thing to travel alone, then you’re (as in I’m) susceptible and just absorbs impressions. Then I see how things are associated, how I can depict an occurrence, or feeling, or experience from that.
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My influences
There are quite a lot of them. Of course Leonard Cohen and Neil Young. A lot of E-minor and three chord songs. Elton John was there early as well. Then came Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Annika Norlin, Anna Ternheim, Frida Hyvönen, Laura Gibson, Cat Power, Marissa Nadler, Band of Horses, Rosie Thomas…
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My strengths
I’ve got a huge bank filled with words, feelings and experience. I love words and languages, mostly I want to tell a story, but sometimes I just want the songs to be poetic. My strength is also my voice, that’s what people say anyway, and I work with it, to develop it – not to be another voice or that I will sing in another way or kind, but I develop MY voice, it’s a lot of fun. I’m a person that loves to meet new people and talk with them, beside my introvert side, where I enjoy just being alone.