Jesper Lindell

Jesper Lindell emerged from Sweden in 2017 when his debut EP blended vintage blue-eyed soul with warm-toned indie rock and subtle folk touches. Two years afterward his Americana-inflected full-length Everyday Dreams came out on the U.S.-based Alive Records imprint. A serious health crisis struck in 2020, leading to a kidney transplant that shaped the positive outlook of his 2022 sophomore album Twilights. While maintaining an intensive tour schedule behind that release, he kept writing and issued the Windows, Vol. 1 EP in 2023.

Born in the working-class central Swedish city of Ludvika, Lindell first picked up an acoustic guitar in his early teens after breaking a leg; his older brother showed him basic chords during recovery. He promptly set soccer aside—the activity that caused the injury—and devoted himself to music, taking up guitar and bass while fronting groups such as Almost Nature and later the Gothenburg roots-rock outfit King Harvest.

Branching out solo, he secured a deal with BMG and worked with producer Benkt Söderberg, whose daughters form the noted indie-folk duo First Aid Kit. Their 2017 EP Little Less Blue featured vocal harmonies from Klara and Johanna Söderberg; the soulful, retro-rock approach resonated across Sweden, particularly through the single “Moving Slow,” prompting extensive national touring alongside Justin Townes Earle and Andrew Combs. For his first album Lindell joined forces with Blues Pills bassist Zack Anderson, resulting in a collection that juxtaposed bluesy rock with horn-driven soul in the manner of Van Morrison. Relations with BMG had frayed by then, so he issued 2019’s Everyday Dreams independently; after the single “Whatever Happens” gained traction in Sweden, Alive Records licensed it for wider distribution.

Amid the COVID-19 lockdowns Lindell’s congenital kidney condition worsened, necessitating a transplant. While recuperating at his family home in Ludvika he composed the reflective material that formed the uplifting Twilights, which he promoted across Scandinavia and parts of Europe with a six-piece band. Fresh songs followed in 2023 as the Windows, Vol. 1 EP, and during the same stretch he and his road band backed Swedish singer Magnus Carlson on an album while finishing their own forthcoming record.