A Camp is the solo side project of
Nina Persson
Nina Elisabet Persson (; born 6 September 1974) is the lead singer and lyricist for the Swedish rock band The Cardigans. She also has worked as a solo artist, releasing two albums as A Camp and one under her own name, and has appeared as a guest ...
, vocalist for the Swedish
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band
The Cardigans, her husband, composer
Nathan Larson, and former
Atomic Swing guitarist
Niclas Frisk. Persson formed A Camp when The Cardigans took a break after several years of touring and the recording of their 1998 album ''
Gran Turismo''. A Camp recorded and released two albums, in 2001 and 2009, after which the project has been inactive.
Albums
A Camp
A Camp's debut album, also called ''
A Camp'', was originally recorded with
Niclas Frisk of
Atomic Swing, before Persson teamed up with
Mark Linkous of
Sparklehorse to re-record it. In doing so, he also contributed some new songs to the album. Persson had been a long-time fan of Sparklehorse and has referred to them as "the best I've ever heard". After a gig in
Lund
Lund (, ;["Lund"](_blank)
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
, Sweden, Persson gave Linkous a cassette of all the
demo A Camp songs. When they met again during the recording of his new album, Persson invited him to produce her project. Linkous listened, liked the songs, and agreed.
The album met with critical acclaim, and reasonable commercial success, topping the charts in Persson's native Sweden.
In 2004, "Charlie Charlie" (the "
I Can Buy You" single
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
) was covered (with new lyrics in
Polish) by the Polish singer
Ania and released as a single from her debut album ''Samotność po zmierzchu''. A French version of "Charlie Charlie" was recorded by
Vanessa and the O's for inclusion on their debut album ''La Ballade d'O'' in 2004 which retained the same title. Vanessa & The O's featured Niclas Frisk, Andreas Mattsson, James Iha and French singer songwriter
Vanessa Quinones.
The debut album released the singles "I Can Buy You" and "
Song for the Leftovers". The country-inspired influence was also apparent in The Cardigans' following album, ''
Long Gone Before Daylight'', which was released in the UK in 2003 and the US in 2004.
Colonia
The recording of a second A Camp album was confirmed by Persson in an interview with Swedish newspaper ''Dagens Nyheter'' in May 2007. "Girl-pop from the 60s, 80's punk, and David Bowie" were said to be the main influences. The album, produced by Persson with husband and film composer
Nathan Larson and Atomic Swing's Niclas Frisk, features appearances from ex-
Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
guitarist
James Iha
(born March 26, 1968) is an American rock musician. He is best known as a guitarist and co-founder of the alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. He was a member until the band's initial breakup in 2000 and rejoined in 2018.
Iha has als ...
,
Joan As Policewoman and
Guided By Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
drummer Kevin March.
The first single from
Colonia, "
Stronger Than Jesus", was released on the Swedish
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
on 17 November 2008. The full album was released in Europe in February 2009, via Universal, and in the US via
Nettwerk
Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984.
The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...
.
Covers EP
A three-track EP named ''Covers'', featuring interpretations of
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
's "
Us And Them",
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's "
Boys Keep Swinging" and
Grace Jones
Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, model and actress. She began her Model (person), modelling career in New York State, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent (brand), Yves St ...
' "I've Done it Again", was released digitally in the United States on 9 June 2009 and in Europe on 16 June 2009.
Post 2009
Persson has continued to record and perform as a solo artist, and reunite with The Cardigans for occasional tours. There are not known to be any plans for further A Camp recordings.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Notes
References
External links
imeemPurevolumeBiography for Nina Persson at imdbLive photos of Nina Persson and A CampA Camp discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp, A
Swedish alternative rock groups
Swedish musical trios
2001 establishments in Sweden
Musical groups established in 2001
English-language singers from Sweden