Lykke Li
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| Lykke Li | |
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 Lykke Li performing at the Nouveau Casino. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson |
| Born | 18 March 1986 Ystad, Skåne, Sweden |
| Genres | Indie pop, indie rock, dream pop, electronic, wonky pop[1] |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | EMI, Atlantic |
| Website | www.lykkeli.com |
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), better known by her stage name Lykke Li (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlʏˌkɛ ˈliː]), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos.[2] Her debut album, Youth Novels, was released in 2008.
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[edit] Early life
Lykke Zachrisson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother is a photographer, and her father is a musician.[3] The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years. The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India.[3][4] She moved to the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn in New York for three months when she was 19.[5][6][7] She returned when she was 21 to record her album.[8]
[edit] Career
[edit] Music career
Lykke had some success with the EP "Little Bit" in 2007. Stereogum named her an artist to watch in October 2007 and described her music as a mix of soul, electro and "powdered-sugar pop".[9]
Lykke's debut album, Youth Novels, was released on LL Recordings in the Nordic region on 30 January 2008 and received a wider European release in June 2008. The album was produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and Lasse Mårtén and was reportedly inspired by a previous relationship of three years.[citation needed] It was released in the United States on 19 August 2008. The album was released in the UK and Ireland in June 2008, promoted by a performances of "Little Bit" on Later... with Jools Holland on 25 May 2008.
She appeared on Swedish musician Kleerup's self titled album, contributing vocals to the track "Until We Bleed". She also worked with Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp on their 2009 album Junior, contributing vocals to "Miss It So Much" and "Were You Ever Wanted".
Lykke appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly on 18 February 2009. She covered "Knocked Up", originally recorded by Kings of Leon who had approached Lykke to cover a song of her choice, and "Gifted" in which she performs with Kanye West. Lykke performed at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 19 April, as well as the 2009 Lollapalooza festival on 8 August as part of the promotional tour for Youth Novels.
A remixed version of her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was featured in the 2009 horror film Sorority Row.
The song "Possibility" was written for the 2009 film The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Lykke had been asked to write a song to the film soundtrack but she was reluctant to commit to the project. It was after she had seen an early screening of the film that she decided she wanted to contribute to the soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on 16 October 2009.
Lykke's song "Melodies and Desires" was featured in the 2010 Australian film Griff the Invisible and an edited version of "Get Some" was featured in the Catwoman trailer for the video game, Batman: Arkham City.
She collborated with singer Kleerup on the song "Until We Bleed", which was featured on an episode of UK TV series Misfits.
Her second album Wounded Rhymes was released in 2011. The album was featured on several lists of 2011's best albums, including Q, Mojo, The Observer, The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Rolling Stone.[10]
On 30 April 2011, she performed on Later... with Jools Holland in the UK, playing "Get Some", "Sadness Is a Blessing" and "I Follow Rivers". Lykke played at the 2011 Latitude Festival, held between 14 and 18 July 2011 at Henham Park in Suffolk, England. She appeared with her band on US late night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in August 2011 and on The Late Show with David Letterman in November 2011.
[edit] Model career
In September 2010, she was announced as the official face of the Levi's Curve ID Collection, alongside Pixie Geldof and Miss Nine.[11] In January 2012, she signed up to the books of the Viva Model Management agency.[12]
[edit] Discography
- Albums
- Youth Novels (2008)
- Wounded Rhymes (2011)
- Singles
- "I'm Good, I'm Gone" (2007)
- "Little Bit" (2007)
- "Breaking It Up" (2008)
- "Tonight" (2009)
- "Get Some" (2010)
- "I Follow Rivers" (2011)
- "Sadness Is a Blessing" (2011)
- B-sides
- "I Don't Mind (Jump on It)" included on the Swedish and UK two-track single of "I'm Good, I'm Gone"
- "After Laughter" split single with El Perro del Mar for Record Store Day 18 April 2009
- "Until We Bleed" – Kleerup featuring Lykke Li included on the Swedish two-track single of "Tonight"
- "Paris Blue" included on the "Get Some" single
- Guest appearances
- "Until We Bleed" – Kleerup featuring Lykke Li (Kleerup, 2008)
- "Gifted" – N.A.S.A. featuring Kanye West, Santogold and Lykke Li (The Spirit of Apollo, 2009)
- "Little Bit" – Drake and Lykke Li (So Far Gone, 2009)
- "Miss It So Much" – Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li (Junior, 2009)
- "Were You Ever Wanted" – Röyksopp featuring Lykke Li (Junior, 2009) [Japanese bonus track]
- "Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) – Kings of Leon ("Use Somebody", 2008)
- "Starchasers" (as a sample of "Little Bit") – Charles Hamilton (It's Charles Hamilton, 2008)
- "Leaving You Behind" – Amanda Blank featuring Lykke Li (I Love You, 2009)
- "A New Name To Go By" - Deportees (Island & Shores, 2011)
- "Black Thin Box" - Miike Snow (Downtown Records, 2012)
- Covers
- "After Laughter Comes Tears" – originally recorded by Wendy Rene
- "Can I Kick It?" – originally recorded by A Tribe Called Quest (regular live cover/performed with Q-Tip at MTVu Awards)
- "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" – originally recorded by Vampire Weekend (regular live cover)
- "Hustlin'" – originally recorded by Rick Ross
- "Knocked Up" – originally recorded by and featuring Kings of Leon
- "A Milli" – originally recorded by Lil Wayne
- "Velvet" – originally recorded by The Big Pink
- "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" – originally recorded by The Shirelles
- Music videos
| Year | Song | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Breaking It Up" | Sarah Chatfield |
| "Little Bit" | Mattias Montero | |
| "I'm Good, I'm Gone" | ||
| 2010 | "Possibility" | Marcus Palmqvist and Frode Fjerdingstad |
| "Get Some" [13] |
Johan Söderberg | |
| 2011 | "I Follow Rivers" [14] |
Tarik Saleh |
| "Sadness Is a Blessing" [15] |
[edit] Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Lykke Li | 2009 Meteor Music Award for Best International Female | Nominated |
| Studio8's Female Voice of February 2009 | Won |
[edit] Remixes
Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was remixed by Fred Falke and featured in Hed Kandi's Lounge 2009[16] "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was also covered by British group Friendly Fires in 2009.[17] Her song "Little Bit" was remixed by Drake, as well as a bootleg remix by AutoErotique. Her song "Little Bit" was sampled and remixed by Charles Hamilton. Her song "Love until We Bleed" was remixed by QuESt. Her song "Dance, Dance, Dance" was remixed by Buraka Som Sistema.[18] Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" was also remixed by 3OH!3 as a collaboration.[19][20] Most recently however her song "I Follow Rivers" was remixed by rapper Tyler, The Creator. A remix of her track "I Follow Rivers" by The Magician has been a huge club success in Europe, taking the track to number 1 in Romania and number 7 in Greece.
[edit] References
- ^ http://thefantastichope.blogspot.com/2008/05/wonky-pop-lets-be-careful.html
- ^ (2008) Album notes for Youth Novels by Lykke Li [CD liner notes]. LL Recordings (520279).
- ^ a b Cripps, Charlotte (2008-06-23). "Lykke Li: The Swedish pop sensation shows wisdom beyond her years". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/lykke-li-the-swedish-pop-sensation-shows-wisdom-beyond-her-years-852260.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ Parkin, Chris (2008-01-28). "Lykke Li: interview". Time Out (London). http://www.timeout.com/london/music/features/4149/Lykke_Li-interview.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ Gale, Ezra (2009-05-27). "Lykke Li on Nearly Getting Mugged in Bushwick". The Village Voice. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/05/it_would_be_eas.php. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ Paphides, Pete (2008-05-16). "Swede unsoured: Lykke Li Zachrison on pursuit of the breakthrough". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939298.ece. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ Toms, Katie (2008-06-01). "Meet the Swede sensation". The Guardian (London). http://music.guardian.co.uk/pop/story/0,,2283217,00.html. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
- ^ Michelle (9 September 2008). "Killahbeez exclusive: an interview with Lykke Li". Killahbeez. http://www.killahbeez.com/2008/09/09/killahbeez-exclusive-an-interview-with-lykke-li/. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ Stereogum Artist to Watch
- ^ Almassi, Hannah (January 11, 2012). "Lykke Li Is Signed By Viva Model Management - Music Girls Are Taking Over Fashiondom!". Grazia. http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/fashion/archive/2012/01/11/music-girls-are-taking-over-fashiondom-lykke-li-joins-the-model-singer-club.htm. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ http://www.catwalkqueen.tv/2010/09/levis_curve_id.html
- ^ "Lykke Li signs with Viva Model Management". NME. January 12, 2012. http://www.nme.com/news/lykke-li/61383. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ Lykke Li 'Get Some' - Music Video - Directed by Johan Söderberg Your Music Today, Retrieved Nov 15, 2010.
- ^ Lykke Li 'I Follow Rivers' - Music Video - Directed by Tarik Saleh Your Music Today, Retrieved Mar 14, 2011.
- ^ Lykke Li 'Sadness Is a Blessing' - Music Video - Directed by Tarik Saleh Your Music Today, Retrieved Apr 28, 2011.
- ^ "?". Hed Kandi. http://beta.hedkandi.com/Music/KandiLounge/HEDK086/Pages/default.aspx. Retrieved 3 September 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Friendly fieres Kiss of Life video". http://causeequalstime.com/2009/07/friendly-fires-kiss-of-life-video/. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "Lykke Li Remixed by Buraka Som Sistema". imyouare.com. http://www.imyouare.com/101/Lykke_Li_Remixed_by_Buraka_Som_Sistema. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ 3OH!3
- ^ "Im Good, Im Gone (3OH!3 Remix) by Lykke Li". iLike. http://www.ilike.com/artist/Lykke+Li/track/Im+Good,+Im+Gone+%283OH!3+Remix%29. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
[edit] External links
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