Biography
John Martin Lindström, who spent his early years in southern Stockholm, first gained notice through his vocals on singles from the Swedish House Mafia collective. The son of a rally driver, he discovered music at age 13 by forming a Nirvana covers band alongside schoolmates. At 15 he fronted an outfit playing original songs, yet lost faith in rock and the standard band setup after a label signed and then dropped the group. A friendship with Michel Zitron, a DJ and former boy-band member, drew him toward electronic music. While Zitron helped Lindström lay down tracks at Stockholm’s Cosmos Studios, Swedish House Mafia’s Sebastian Ingrosso heard the material and asked the pair to join his project. Their work yielded the 2011 summer anthem “Save the World,” co-written by Lindström, Zitron, Swedish House Mafia, and pop artist Vincent Pontare. Lindström supplied a rock-tinged lead vocal atop the house production; the track later sold roughly half a million copies in the U.S. after reaching the U.K. top ten. Avicii’s Tim Bergling then contacted the duo, who assisted with lyrics for the Pengin Café Orchestra-sampling single “Fade Into Darkness,” a Swedish top-five hit. Although his vocal on “Save the World” went uncredited, Lindström’s name appeared on the artwork for the next Swedish House Mafia single he co-wrote, “Don’t You Worry Child.” The track reached charts in 32 countries and topped the lists in the U.K., Sweden, Australia, and Venezuela by the close of 2012. A link-up with Dutch hardstyle act Max Enforcer followed, after which Lindström shared equal billing on a vocal mix of the SHM track “Reload” early the next year.
Singles
