Margrethe "Maggie" Björklund is a Danish guitarist and singer-songwriter who composes, plays, and sings music in the folk and

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

genres. She began her career playing electric guitar in the female band The Darleens and briefly for the experimental pop band Miss B Haven. Björklund then started playing pedal steel guitar as a studio musician and has released two solo recordings.

Early life

Maggie Björklund was born in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

and grew up near

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. She took piano lessons, but switched to guitar as soon as she could. She moved to Hollywood and attended the Musicians Institute, where she was introduced to

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

. She returned to Denmark after a year.

Career

Back in Denmark, she formed the all-female country band Darleens, and they recorded three albums for Sony Records. After Darleens split up, she took pedal steel guitar lessons from

Jeff Newman Jeff Newman may refer to: * Jeff Newman (baseball), American baseball player *Jeff Newman (musician), pedal steel guitar player and Nashville session musician *Jeff Newman (TV personality) Jeffrey William Newman OAM (born 4 February 1944) is a ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. Her 2011 debut ''Coming Home'' was produced by Johnny Sangster (

The Tripwires The Tripwires are a Seattle, Washington (state), Washington–based rock supergroup made up of well known local musicians Dan Peters, John Ramberg, and brothers Jim and Johnny Sangster, all of whom have been members of bands that include The M ...

). The record featured members of Calexico, and guest vocalists Mark Lanegan ( Screaming Trees), Jon Auer ( The Posies), and Rachel Flotard (

Visqueen Visqueen is a brand of polyethylene plastic sheeting (typically low-density polyethylene) produced by British Polythene Industries Limited. It is the registered trade mark of British Polythene Limited in numerous countries throughout the world. ...

). After the album's release, she played pedal steel with Jack White's all-female backing band, the Peacocks. In 2011 and 2012 she performed at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. She also toured with

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...

and with Exene Cervenka from the band X. For her sophomore album ''Shaken'', released in 2014, she enlisted John Convertino ( Calexico), Barb Hunter (

Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John Cur ...

), and Jim Barr ( Portishead).

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Ch ...

(producer for Sparklehorse) was producer, and Kurt Wagner ( Lambchop) provided a guest vocal. The songs reflected the impact of the death of her mother.

Discography

Maggie Björklund

;LPs: * 2011: ''Coming Home'' ( Bloodshot Records BS 174) * 2014: ''Shaken'' (Bloodshot Records BS 221) ;Singles: * 1996: ''Margrethe Björklund'' CD Single (self-released MB 9601) ;Appears on: * 1994: Kirsten Siggaard - ''Sirenernes Favn'' (Scandinavian Records 966 031-2) * 2002: Superheroes - ''Superheroes'' (Crunchy Frog FROG 027-2) * 2004: Sara Indrio - ''Dark Clouds, Silver Linings'' (Playground Music Scandinavia - TPCD-401) * 2005: Jens K - ''Luksus Og Laser'' (Playground Music PGMJKCD 1001) * 2006: Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands - ''Snake In The Radio'' ( Bloodshot Records BS 129) * 2007: Ginman / Jimmy Jørgensen - ''Deep'' (Universal Denmark 174 800-5) * 2010: Rusty Willoughby - ''Cobirds Unite'' (self-released) * 2011: Exene Cervenka - ''The Excitement of Maybe'' (Bloodshot Records BS 177) * 2012:

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later ...

- ''Tucson'' ( Fire Records FIRECD262) * 2013: Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands - ''Tess'' (Candy Cross PWCCR 1301) * 2014: Gruff Rhys - ''American Interior'' (Turnstile TS008LP) * 2014: Jack White - '' Lazaretto'' ( Third Man Records – TMR-271) * 2015: Giant Sand - ''Heartbreak Pass'' ( New West Records NW5105) * 2016: Jack White - '' Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016'' (Third Man Records TMR-387)

Darleens

;LPs: * 1991: ''Darleens'' (Columbia 469259 1) * 1993: ''Twisted'' (Columbia 473751 2) * 2003: ''This Is Darleens'' (Rocky Love Records, Music NetWork Records SMEK 03) ;EPs: * 1992: Cold Cold Christmas (Columbia 658808) * 2001: Soft and Sweet ;Singles: * 1991: ''I Cry Over You'' (Columbia 657583 7) * 1993: ''All Is Right'' (Columbia 659604 1)

References

External links

*
Maggie Björklund
at Bloodshot Records * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Björklund, Maggie Danish women singer-songwriters Danish guitarists Living people Bloodshot Records artists Steel guitarists Musicians from Copenhagen 20th-century Danish women singers 21st-century Danish women singers Year of birth missing (living people)