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artist :	Swanberg Lena
album :	The Art Of Staying Young And Unhurt
Lena Swanberg

Lena Swanberg's musical background is founded in jazz yet her debut album also spans a suggestive borderline between dramatic pop and singer-songwriter writer styles that fill ones ears with fresh sound. Her debut album is produced by Göran Petersson (Sofia Karlsson, Jeanette Lindström among others). Some harmonies lean towards pop music and others towards jazz and blues. Sometimes, there is a subtle mystic that is reminiscent of how Nina Simone could have sounded if she was a 29 years old Swede. Christian Kjellvander who is one of Sweden's most respected singer-songwriters records a duet with Lena on the album as well. Lena Swanberg grew up in a small idyllic village in the Swedish county of Hälsingland. However, a big portion of her childhood was spent living in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kenya. From the middle of her teenage years, their followed a dark period in Lena's life. "Within the fight of understanding yourself, you meet alot of demons", Lena said. "There was not enough space for what was beautiful and good alone. All the rest was forced to make space for all the feelings that I felt". The turning point come when Lena travelled to Brazil and found what was to be her path of life. There she was met with a culture full of color, warmth and excitement. "Everything that is beautiful was cherished and the rest you just ignored completely”, Lena said. It was also here that she began to question much of the way she had learned and approached music and the pre-defined relationship towards creating it. ”My own voice and music has always been there inside me waiting to find its way into the open. When I finally found my own expression then I was able to feel consolation. If my music can console someone more than myself then the feeling is even better", Lena said. source: playground (Roger Rey)