Albin Lee Meldau

Words by Lake Nelson and Photos by Gina Scarpino

From the beginning of his career, it was clear that Swedish singer-songwriter Albin Lee Meldau was to make an impact. With a sonic style that pays homage to the past with a distinct modern pop twist, and a vintage, yet unmistakably fresh voice, his music transcends time. Without a doubt, many of his influences span from his childhood, as he comes from a musical family, with both of his parents being musicians. He started playing trumpet at a young age, so the musical juices had been flowing since the beginning of his life. Whether conscious or not, these influences would be seeping into his veins, helping formulate the musician he is today.

“I grew up singing soul, blues, and reggae. What I want to do now is contemporary music and try to do my own thing… that’s the best way to put it. It’s a diary from a highly sensitive 27-year-old megalomaniac. It’s a breakup album, the beginning of something old, and the beginning of something new. I’d say it’s wedding singing in a new package.”

This “wedding singing in a new package” has helped Meldau become named one of NPR’s must see artists at SXSW, as well as receiving a nomination at the Grammis in his native Sweden. While Sweden is known for spawning some of the world’s best pop artists such as Robyn, Max Martin, Tove Lo, and the recently passed Avicii, Meldau’s music takes a much rougher take on what many think of Sweden’s sugary sweet pop to be. There is still without a doubt a certain distinct pop appeal to all of his music that makes it catchy and accessible, while still staying true to his dark and eclectic core. Meldau even went back to Sweden to record his debut album entitled About You, which will be released June 1st. When we asked him about going back to Sweden to record the album, he had this to say:

“I don’t believe in ghosts. A room is a room. I don’t care if it’s Abbey Road or if it’s my mate’s cellar. ‘Lou Lou’ was recorded for $200 in my friend’s house. You can never reproduce that, it’s got to do with the planets and the stars. But of course it does influence it, it actually had to do with the best place to do it, and the cheapest and the actual best equipment and everything. My producer is Danish, which is very close, neighboring country, you know? It’s basically the same country. So of course it influenced it in a great way, and I wouldn’t have been able to bring all my friends playing on the album, you know?”

Before there were plans for an album however, there was “Lou Lou,” Meldau’s somber and gravely first single that served as a launching pad for his career. Much of his first EP, entitled Lovers - EP, followed in similar sonic territory, which fused these retro elements with an indisputable pop sensibility. Meldau continued further into this territory with his next release, which came in the form of another EP, entitled Bloodshot - EP. This release helped Meldau establish himself into his own lane in the music industry, gathering legions of fans along the way. While he found a distinct sound that blended beautifully with his unmistakable voice, he was unafraid of sonic experimentation. Meldau’s most recent single off his upcoming debut album, “I Need Your Love,” shows him traveling further into the world of pop, even incorporating some elements of dance music, thus experimenting with different musical flavors once again.

“‘I Need Your Love’ was written in LA… It’s a very dancey, upbeat track about that love can also be the worst feeling in the world, you know? But also the greatest. The video will be out soon, it says it all… It’s about love and why we do stuff like this. It’s a very uncertain world, and it’s quite a tough job. I’m not complaining, but what I’m saying is it’s basically suicidal. Why would you do such a thing to yourself? Because I need your love.”

While he has released two EPs, with Lovers - EP coming out in 2016 and Bloodshot - EP coming out in 2017, About You will mark his first full length album. “This album is a real album. It’s made through Astralwerks at Capitol. Sony Music in the Nordicks. Caroline Music in Europe. I think there are 14 people that wrote stuff on this album. There’s hundreds of people that helped me do this, so it’s a teamwork. The difference is that I have real support.”

Meldau has also recently toured with English songstress Jesse Ware on the U.S. leg of her tour. “It’s been great. I’m very tired. I have a lot of stuff to do. I have to work at the same time I’m sitting in the car, so it’s very stressful. Otherwise, if I only had this tour to do, it would have been fine, but I have some more things I need to do while I’m doing this. The best places in the world to play is probably America because the audiences are very appreciative. But every culture is different. My favorite place in America… New York is my favorite city in America. Easy. It’s the only thing that reminds me of home.”

Meldau’s music has often been described by the public, and even Meldau himself, as a look into a diary, due to its honest, soul bearing nature. Many have said that his music has served as a vessel for them to relate and feel understood, so we asked him what he hoped to accomplish with his music: “My mother is a singer. She said ‘you don’t need to accomplish shit’. It doesn’t matter how many people. What you want to do is to tell a story. Hopefully people listen… What do I want to accomplish? A life, maybe? I don’t know. I just do what I do, and then we’ll see where we end up.”

While his 2018 has been very busy this far, and is on the verge of releasing an album, we asked Meldau what we can expect from him in the near future: “Album release 1st of June. Yeah, that’s it.” However he goes on to say, “I have shows. I’m not sure what’s happening exactly, but I’m doing my favorite festival in the world now in July, called ‘Roskilde Festival’ in Denmark... And then just gigging I think. Writing my next album, releasing my next album, touring this one, and then continuously trying to get more songs done. Just more work probably, and hopefully I can come headline my own shows!” With his album release in the coming days, and more shows on the horizon, we can’t wait to see Albin Lee Meldau and his timeless music take on the world.