Nicola Persson, a remarkably talented vocalist and lyricist, primarily associated with the Swedish band The Cardigans, was born on September 6th, 1974, in Orebro, Sweden.
Joining The Cardigans in 1992, Persson was drawn to music, with skills in playing harmonica, some guitar, piano, and drums. The band formed in Jonkoping, Sweden, after guitarist Peter Svensson met Magnus Sveningsson, an extremely tall musician, playing in a hardcore group. The two heavy metal fans grew tired of this genre 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) showcased Persson's sweet voice and Svensson's winning way with a tune. The album's success focused attention on Persson's undoubted attractiveness, with some interviews highlighting her physical appearance and diminishing the contributions of the other band members. Persson found this sort of exposure discomfiting, as it undermined her real musical ambitions.
The next album, Life, with several re-recordings of Emmerdale songs, was a satirical response to the first album, showcasing the band's more avant-garde direction and arrangements. It broke The Cardigans into new markets, especially 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, with songs about heartbreak, infidelity, and despair. The album also contained Persson's first solo writing credit, the plaintive 'heartbreaker.' After being featured in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996),the song 'Lovefool' rocketed the band to international stardom. However, it was unrepresentative of the album and, despite helping it go gold in America, many critics branded them saccharine soft-pop based on '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-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, although 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 formed the experimental indie act A Camp with Swedish musician Niclas Frisk. Cardigans' business occupied Persson for the next couple of years, but 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.
Persson 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, whom 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, SuperExtra Gravity.
