Markus Krunegård

Born on April 6, 1979, in Norrköping, Sweden, Markus Krunegård first rose to notice as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie pop quartet Laakso. That group, which also features bassist Mikael Fritz, drummer Lars Skoglund, and multi-instrumentalist David Nygård on trombone, trumpet, and synthesizer, entered the recording scene in 2003 via the independent Adrian Recordings imprint with the Long Beach EP and the subsequent full-length I Miss You, I'm Pregnant. A couple of years afterward, the band stepped up to V2 Music for the High Drama EP and the album My Gods, both issued in 2005. While those major-label efforts achieved modest traction, Laakso’s 2007 releases—the Västerbron & Vampires EP and the album Mother, Am I Good Looking?—lifted the quartet higher on the Swedish charts and into broader pop visibility. Krunegård then launched his own career with the 2008 V2 Music album Markusevangeliet, which reached the Top Ten on the national albums chart and yielded the singles “Jag Är En Vampyr” and “Det Är Ett Idogt Jobb Att Driva Ungdomen Ut Ur Sin Kropp.” The following year proved equally active: he delivered the companion solo sets Prinsen Av Peking and Lev Som En Gris, Dö Som En Hund, scored a hit with “Hela Livet Var Ett Disco,” and joined forces with Andreas Kleerup under the name Kleerup/Krunegård for the five-track Lead Singer Syndrome EP.