Kevin Johansen (born 21 June 1964) is an US-born

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

musician and

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

. He is known for mixing several rhythms and languages in his musical work.

Biography

Kevin Johansen was born on June 21, 1964 in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

, to Marta Gloria Calvet and Kent Johansen. Marta Calvet was an Argentine feminist and polyglot; she met Kent Johansen while studying in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. They moved to Alaska and lived there until Kevin was 5 years old. In 1969, they moved to

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

where his sister Karina was born. His parents got divorced soon after, and the mother and children moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. His mother remarried a Mexican painter, but in time the relationship became abusive and she decided to leave her husband and the US in 1976. Johansen spent his teenage years between

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. In 1990 he married an Argentine ballerina in Buenos Aires, and the young couple moved to New York so she could continue her dance studies. Johansen worked as waiter, tourist guide and translator for a while, until he got a chance to start performing regularly at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

and got his musical career on track.

Career

He started to play guitar and write lyrics at 14, and by the end of high school he decided to become a musician. Johansen made a brief appearance in the local rock scene with the band ''Instrucción Cívica'' with Julian Benjamin in the 80s they released two albums: ''Obediencia Debida'' in 1985 and ''Instrucción Cívica'' in 1986. In 1990 he moved with his girlfriend of that time to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He had several jobs unrelated to music, until

Hilly Kristal Hillel Kristal (September 23, 1931August 28, 2007) was an American club owner, manager and musician who was the owner of the iconic New York City club CBGB, which opened in 1973 and closed in 2006 over a rent dispute. Early years Kristal was bor ...

heard him sing and invited him to perform at his club

. He played at CBGB for several years, until he created the group ''The Nada'', and in 2000 recorded the album with the same name, which consists in a mix of different Latin sounds with modern pop,

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and rock. By the end of 2002 Johansen delivered the album ''Sur o no Sur'', which was released by the label Los Años Luz in Argentina and by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

in the rest of the world. During 2003 Johansen achieved greater success in Argentina, playing in June of that year at the Gran Rex Theatre, the largest

hall. Touring in Spain, he promoted his new album with concerts in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, this time with bigger audiences. He also performed at the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Latin Awards, from where he continued a series of concerts in Miami, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco, prior to the release of ''Sur o no Sur'' in United States. In 2010 he returned to Argentina, where he currently lives. In that same year he released the live album ''Kevin Johansen + The Nada + Liniers = Vivo en Buenos Aires'', published again by Los Años Luz. It led to Johansen and the group going on tour as far as Spain (the album was edited there by ''K Industrias''). He has performed in countries such as Mexico, Chile and Belgium. Spain, and also Colombia, are among the countries with positive response from fans and the media. At the Latino

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

s, 2002's ''Sur o no Sur'' was nominated for "Album of the year", "Song of the year" ("La Procesión") and "Best Music Video" ("La Procesión"). For about 15 years, most of the visual arts of his music was done by the Cartoonist Ricardo Siri Liniers. They went on several tours together, where Liniers would draw along to Johansen music while the latter's sketches were projected in the back of the stage. They have also published a book together, titled ''Oops!''.

Personal life

He divorced his first wife and he remarried in 2006 to María Laura Franco. He currently lives in Buenos Aires with Maria and his four children: Miranda (who is also in the music business), Kim, Tom and Roy.

Critic reviews

Newspapers from different countries have highlighted his musical and language mixtures. He naturally switches from English to Spanish or from Cumbia to Rock. He is seen as an artist who is not afraid to experiment. Since he has not settled on one genre, he usually calls his work “''de genre-ate''”.

Discography

*''The Nada'' (2000) *''Sur o no Sur'' (2002) *''City Zen'' (2004) *''Logo'' (2007) *''Kevin Johansen + The Nada + Liniers = Vivo en Buenos Aires'' (2010) *'' Bi'' (2012) *''Kevin Johansen + The Nada + Liniers: (Bi)vo en México'' (2014) *''Mis Américas'' (2016) *''Algo ritmos'' (2019) *Tú Ve (2022)

References

External links

Official Site
(English and Spanish)

Csmonitor.com (English)
Kevin Serenades Luz Prieto in LAN Marketing Stunt
Buuteq (English and Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Johansen, Kevin 1964 births Living people Argentine musicians American emigrants to Argentina Wrasse Records artists People from Fairbanks, Alaska American expatriates in Argentina Argentine people of American descent Citizens of Argentina through descent American people of Argentine descent Latin music songwriters