The Tiny

Ellekari Larsson, the vocalist and founding member of the Tiny, had been advancing toward a career as a professional ice skater when a serious fall at age 14 abruptly ended that path. Turning her focus entirely to music, she spent her teenage years performing with several punk and ska groups based in Stockholm. A mutual acquaintance brought her together with cellist Leo Svensson, a Royal Academy of Music dropout, in 2002, and the pair connected at once. They immediately began shaping songs Larsson had already composed, added upright bassist Johan Berthling to the lineup, and commenced playing shows around the Stockholm area. To pull the band free of the demo-trasket ("demo swamp"), Larsson sold her Stockholm flat and reserved studio time locally. She then obtained a distribution deal with V2 Music Scandinavia, resulting in the April 2004 Swedish release of the group’s debut album, the warm, spare chamber pop effort Close Enough. Two years afterward, the Tiny issued its follow-up, Starring Someone Like You, on DetErMine, the label Larsson launched alongside her friend and fellow Scandinavian Ane Brun.