Monica Birkenes, better known by her stage name Mr Little Jeans, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter living in Los Angeles, California. She has released two studio albums: ''Pocketknife'', in 2014 and ''Better Days'' in 2022.
The pseudonym Mr Little Jeans is inspired by Kumar Pallana's character in Wes Anderson's film ''
Rushmore''.
Early life
Birkenes grew up in rural
Grimstad
Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, ...
, Norway, the daughter of a shipbuilder and a secretary.
In her youth, she performed in town plays and musical events, as well as church choirs and retirement homes.
At age 18, she moved to London to study drama, while serving tables to make ends meet.
Music career
After signing to independent label
Neon Gold
Neon Gold Records is a New York City-based boutique record label founded in 2008 by Derek Davies and Lizzy Plapinger.
Initially operating as a vinyl-only singles label, Neon Gold has launched the debut releases and international careers of m ...
, Birkenes released her first single, "Rescue Song", in 2010.
The Guardian compared her sound at the time to
Lykke Li
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth Novels'', was released in 2008, and has been fol ...
,
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...
, and
Annie
Annie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress
* Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer
The ...
. Later that year, she put out her first EP, titled ''Angel''
Birkenes grew in popularity with her 2011 cover of
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member S ...
's "The Suburbs". She often collaborates with Los Angeles producer
Tim Anderson, who was instrumental in creating her debut album, ''Pocketknife''. The record was released on
Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
on 25 March 2014.
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Guest appearances
References
External links
*
People from Grimstad
Norwegian male singer-songwriters
Norwegian singer-songwriters
Date of birth missing (living people)
Norwegian expatriates in the United States
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Nettwerk Music Group artists
Harvest Records artists
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