Kristina Ulrika Nordenstam (born 4 March 1969), better known by her stage name Stina Nordenstam, is a Swedish singer-songwriter and producer.

Life and career

Nordenstam was born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

on 4 March 1969. As a child, she was highly influenced by her father's classical and jazz music collection. Her debut album, '' Memories of a Color'', was released in 1991. Her album ''

And She Closed Her Eyes ''And She Closed Her Eyes'' is the second studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Stina Nordenstam. It was released on Telegram Records Stockholm in 1994. Track listing Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes. * Stina Nordenstam – ...

'' was released in 1994, and was named the best Swedish album of all time by ''Sonic'' on their 2013 list of the 100 best Swedish albums. 1997's ''

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

'' began a more experimental path—most of the album was filled with distorted guitars and unusual beats. A 1998 cover album, ''

People Are Strange "People Are Strange" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It appears on the band's second studio album, '' Strange Days'', released in September 1967. It was also issued the same month as a single, which peaked at number 12 on the ''B ...

'', followed in the same vein. In 2001, Nordenstam went with a more pop-influenced sound on ''

This Is Stina Nordenstam ''This Is Stina Nordenstam'' is a studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Stina Nordenstam Kristina Ulrika Nordenstam (born 4 March 1969), better known by her stage name Stina Nordenstam, is a Swedish singer-songwriter and producer. Life ...

'', which features guest vocals from

Brett Anderson Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004-2 ...

. Nordenstam's 2004 album '' The World Is Saved'' continued the path set on ''This Is...'', and is her last album . Her last two known recordings were included on the album ''

Snow Borne Sorrow ''Snow Borne Sorrow'' is an album by Nine Horses, released in October 2005. Nine Horses is a collaboration between David Sylvian, Steve Jansen and Burnt Friedman. Other contributors include Norwegian trumpeter and Supersilent member Arve Henr ...

'' and the EP ''

Money for All ''Money for All'' is an EP released 2007 by the band Nine Horses, featuring David Sylvian, Steve Jansen and Burnt Friedman. The EP includes three new songs: "Money for All," "Get the Hell Out," and "Birds Sing for Their Lives." The others a ...

'', both by English band

Nine Horses Nine Horses was a musical collaboration between singer/instrumentalist David Sylvian, his brother and frequent collaborator drummer Steve Jansen, and electronic composer/remixer Burnt Friedman. They released the album ''Snow Borne Sorrow'' in O ...

. She also provided vocals for

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

' song "Ask the Mountains",

Yello Yello is a Swiss electronic music band, which formed in Zürich in 1979. For most of the band's history, Yello has been a duo consisting of Dieter Meier and Boris Blank; founding member Carlos Perón left in 1983. Their sound is often charac ...

's "To the Sea", and a collaboration with

Anton Fier Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...

. In 2000, Nordenstam featured on a track from Danish prog-rockers Mew's second album ''

Half the World Is Watching Me ''Half the World Is Watching Me'' is the second album by Danish alternative rock band Mew, released on their own record label Evil Office in 2000. The album was originally printed in about only 5,000 copies, but has been reissued twice for wi ...

''. The track was later re-recorded for the band's international debut ''

Frengers ''Frengers'', alternatively titled as ''Frengers: Not Quite Friends, But Not Quite Strangers'', is the third album by Danish band Mew, originally released on 7 April 2003. The title is a portmanteau of the words "friend" and "stranger". A freng ...

''. Nordenstam's vocals on her track "A Walk in the Park" were used as a sample for two songs by the Canadian electronic duo

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, formed by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass, who later left and was replaced by Edith Frances. Crystal Castles were know ...

, "Violent Dreams" and "Vietnam". Nordenstam presented a sound installation at the Way Out West music festival in 2013, and, in 2014, Nordenstam was one of 12 inaugural inductees into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame. Nordenstam is

autistic The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

Musical style

Nordenstam's voice was called "delicate", "serious", and "plucky" by ''

Autostraddle Autostraddle is an independently owned online magazine and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women ( cis and trans), as well as non-binary people and trans people of all genders. The website is a "politically progressive queer femin ...

''. ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' described Nordenstam's voice as "childlike" with "hushed and fragile" tones and a "soft and gentle" timbre, contrasting it with her "mighty and immeasurable" sound. Her voice was described by Adam Brent Houghtaling, author of ''This Will End in Tears: The Miserablist Guide to Music'', as "very fragile" and "wispy", and he stated that her music "melds a lot of jazz and folk and

ambient pop Ambient music is a genre of music that emphasizes tone and atmosphere over traditional musical structure or rhythm. It may lack net composition, beat, or structured melody.The Ambient Century by Mark Prendergast, Bloomsbury, London, 2003. It u ...

all together". Her music has also been described as

avant-pop Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental music, experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing ele ...

Sally Shapiro Sally Shapiro is the pseudonym of a Swedish vocalist and the name of the Italo disco/synthpop duo composed of Shapiro and musician Johan Agebjörn. On 28 April 2016, Sally Shapiro announced the end of their 10-year career alongside the release ...

has listed Nordenstam as an influence on her music.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Fleshquartet Fleshquartet ( sv, Fläskkvartetten) is a Swedish band. Despite the band's name, Fläskkvartetten is in reality a quintet consisting of an electrical string quartet plus a percussionist. The band often collaborates with vocalists who comprise a v ...

– "Dancin' Madly Backwards", "It Won't Hurt Me", "Walk", and "Someone like Me" from ''Flow'' (1993) *

Zbigniew Preisner Zbigniew Preisner (; born 20 May 1955 as Zbigniew Antoni Kowalski) is a Polish film score composer, best known for his work with film director Krzysztof Kieślowski. He is the recipient of the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis as we ...

– ''Aberdeen: Original Film Soundtrack'' (2000) * Mew – "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" from ''

'' (2000) * Mew – "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" from ''

'' (2003) *

– "Wonderful World" from ''

'' (2005) *

Filur Filur is a Danish duo band established in 1999 and made up of producer Tomas Barfod and of Kasper Bjørke (on lead vocals). They also feature many guest artists for their releases. Filur has released 4 albums and many successful singles. They ar ...

– "Into the Wasteland" from ''Into the Wasteland'' (2006) * Nine Horses – "Wonderful World (Burnt Friedman Remix)" and "Birds Sing for Their Lives" from ''

'' (2007)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nordenstam, Stina 1969 births Living people Musicians from Stockholm Swedish folk musicians Swedish singer-songwriters English-language singers from Sweden People on the autism spectrum