Jäje Folke Andreas Johansson (born 11 October 1968), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Jay-Jay Johanson, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, known for his melancholic vocals. His music has integrated the

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

genre until now even if he also include a more electronical oriented direction from his 2002 album ''Antenna'', which featured "On the Radio". From his debuts, he has released 14 studio albums, continually touring on stage all around the world.

Biography

Jay-Jay Johanson was born Jäje Johansson on 11 October 1968 in

Trollhättan Trollhättan () is the 23rd-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County. It is situated by Göta älv, near the lake Vänern, and has a population of approximately 50,000 in the city proper. It is loc ...

, Västra Götaland. His debut album, ''Whiskey'', was released in August 1996. Recorded at Break My Heart Studios in the

Stockholm archipelago The Stockholm Archipelago () is the largest archipelago in Sweden, and the second-largest archipelago in the Baltic Sea (the largest being the Archipelago Sea across the Baltic in Finland). Part of the archipelago has been designated as a Rams ...

, the album was characterized by its jazzy vocals over trippy,

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

arrangements. In 1998, Johanson released ''Tattoo'', taking a step into a more richly textured, poetic ambience. Johansson's third album, ''Poison'', was released in April 2000 and went straight into the French charts at number four. The album featured contributions from

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

founder and guitarist Robin Guthrie. The same year Johanson also composed the soundtrack to French director Ilan Duran Cohen's film '' La Confusion des Genres'', and in 2001, Johanson emerged with "Cosmodrome", a sound-and-image installation first exhibited in the French city of

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. This art-piece has travelled around the world and was last shown at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. ''Antenna'' was released in 2002, recorded with assistance from German experimental electronic group

Funkstörung Funkstörung (sometimes stylized as Funkstorung) are an electronic music duo from Rosenheim, Germany, consisting of Michael Fakesch and Chris de Luca. History Chris de Luca and Michael Fakesch first met in 1992 at a techno party organised by ...

. 2004 marked the release of the compilation ''Prologue'', meant for the American market. It was followed by ''Rush'' in 2005, an album partly produced by French producer Jean-Pierre Ensuque. Johanson co-wrote and contributed vocals to

The Knife The Knife were a Swedish electronic music duo from Gothenburg, formed in 1999. The group consisted of siblings Karin and Olof Dreijer, who together also run their own record company, Rabid Records. They gained a large international following i ...

's 2006 song " Marble House". In the spring of 2006, he called together the musicians he had worked with on the three first albums, and January 2007 saw the release of their collaborative effort ''The Long Term Physical Effects Are Not Yet Known''. A tour in promotion of the album kicked off in China and continued to more than thirty cities around the world. Johanson's eighth studio album ''Spellbound'' was released on 2 May 2011. "Dilemma" was released as the album's lead single on 11 March 2011. After ''Cockroach'' (2013), ''Opium'' (2015), and ''Bury The Hatchet'' (2017), Jay-Jay Johanson released ''Kings Cross''. The name of the album is a reference to the London district where Jay-Jay had been based before starting his musical career. ''Kings Cross'' includes "Hear Somebody Whistle" one of his most popular recent songs. This song has been featured in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

show '' Foodie Love'', Apple's Vision Pro ad, and also in the movie
Eld & lågor
' (Universal Studios). Jay-Jay shares a duet with

Jeanne Added Jeanne Added (born 25 September 1980 in Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20 ...

on "Fever". While he toured all around the world performing in trio or with a full band, Johanson released ''Rorschach Test'' in 2021. The song "Vertigo" was chosen by

Ralph Lauren Ralph Lauren ( ; ; born October 14, 1939) is an American fashion designer, philanthropist, and billionaire businessman, best known for founding the brand Ralph Lauren (brand), Ralph Lauren, a global multibillion-dollar enterprise. He stepped do ...

at the spring 2022 to be the soundtrack of the AW22 Runway in New York. In July 2022,

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

picked up "The girl with the sun in her eyes", a piano theme featured on the album ''Bury the Hatchet'' to be the soundtrack of the AW22 digital campaign. For the first time Johanson, invited by

Zemfira Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (, ; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million ...

, performed at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2022 introducing for the first time the new songs of his upcoming album including
Finally
a ballad including the 3rd Brahms Symphony. In March 2023, Johanson introduced "Empty Beds" his first art exhibition in Paris a
La Hune
and in Brussels at th
Hôte Gallery
In June 2023, his 14th album ''FETISH'' was released, followed by a worldwide tour for the season 2023-2024.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

* ''Prologue: Best of the Early Years 1996–2002'' (2004) * ''3 Original Album Classics'' (2009) * ''Best of 1996 - 2013'' (2013)

Soundtrack albums

* '' La Confusion des Genres'' (2000) * ''La Troisième Partie du Monde'' (2008)

Singles

Documentary

* ''Jay Jay Johanson'' by Michel Viotte (1999) https://vimeo.com/409467025

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johanson, Jay-Jay 1969 births Intelligent dance musicians Living people People from Trollhättan Musicians from Västra Götaland County Swedish electronic musicians Swedish male singer-songwriters Swedish singer-songwriters English-language singers from Sweden Synth-pop singers Trip hop musicians Universal Music Group artists