Lars Winnerbäck

Initially rooted in a restrained singer/songwriter approach, Winnerbäck gradually gravitated toward pop and rock. This shift placed him, by the late 1990s, among Sweden’s youngest and most widely embraced singer/songwriters. Born in Stockholm, he spent his formative years in Linköping, where he performed with the punk rock outfit Snoddas. A hometown gig brought him into contact with veteran punk and singer/songwriter Johan Johansson, who soon became his mentor and produced two of his albums. In 1996 two friends launched the independent label Elvira specifically to issue Winnerbäck’s debut, and Dans Med Svåra Steg was cut on a minimal budget. Because Elvira lacked resources for substantial promotion, the album drew little notice. After its release Winnerbäck returned to Stockholm and renewed his association with Johansson. They shared several concerts that autumn, and Johansson produced the follow-up Rusningstrafik while also supplying drums, percussion, and guitars. Issued in summer 1997, the record matched the debut’s modest sales and reached mainly the existing singer/songwriter audience. Winnerbäck left Elvira in 1998 for a deal with Universal. Solen I Ögonen was made with a considerably larger budget and leaned further into pop and rock. During summer 1999 he toured with Stefan Sundström, Kjell Höglund, Johan Johansson, and Karin Renberg. Later that year KOM! appeared, assembled with an array of established musicians chosen by Winnerbäck himself. The album earned him a Swedish Grammy for Best Lyrics as well as Bellmanpriset, the singer/songwriter prize instituted by Evert Taube. On the 2001 release Singel, Winnerbäck began revealing stronger influences from rock poets such as Ulf Lundell and Bruce Springsteen, an image he actively projected in his videos. The album attracted widespread attention and established Winnerbäck as a fixture on the mainstream pop scene rather than solely within the singer/songwriter community.