Liebling"....."Darling" to you and me and to the millions of fans that Andreas Johnson has made worldwide with his international hit CD Liebling.
Liebling features the smash single "Glorious," a top ten hit in over 10 countries including the UK, France, Germany, Ireland, and in Andreas' home: Sweden. It's a song that London's Express calls an "unforgettable three minutes and 29 seconds of gorgeous, soaring guitar pop that manages to be both uplifting and devastatingly sad at the same time."
Andreas Johnson is a 28- year-old singer songwriter born in Sweden to jazz musician parents. By his early teens he was playing music and formed a punk band. At 21 he moved to New York and was signed, with his band Planet Waves to a major label.
Johnson's young band soon broke up, but the experience of the US left a lasting impression.
"New York is a very inspiring city, especially the first time you're there. The US and New York especially meant a lot to me." Johnson released his debut solo recording in 1997, traveled through Europe and wrote new songs, then settled in Stockholm. It is there that he recorded his second solo disc, Liebling.
Liebling is an album, in the best sense of the word. It has that special feel that makes it possible to digest as a straightforward, modern rock album full of strong individual songs as well as a texturally layered conceptual album of pain and beauty.
"The songs were conceived during a short period and concern a few very special people who I met while living in Berlin." Andreas says. "In the center of it all was a woman named Debbie Straight, a very dear friend who, sadly, is no longer with us."
Despite the sorrowful events that surrounded Johnson, the resulting songs are not at all depressing. On the contrary the songs are about a lust for life.
"I am always fascinated by, and attracted to, people who choose their own roads in life, regardless of society's conventions. Not the self-destructive part, but the freedom that such a lifestyle also contains."
In addition to handling all songwriting and lead vocals, Johnson himself plays guitar on the recording. Kvint, a known Swedish producer produced the CD, played keyboards and guitar and added additional vocals. Jerker Odenhoim played bass; Andreas Dahlback handled drums and percussion.
Over a year has passed since Liebling's Swedish release. It was an extraordinary year that earned Johnson two nominations in the Swedish Grammies and featured performances on MTV Europe and England's famed Top of the Pops. Liebling's release has drawn favorable comparisons to, among others, U2, Suede, and The Verve. Now, Andreas comes to America. Get ready for what some critics are calling "the greatest Swedish export since Abba."
