Anders Jörnesten hails from Stockholm, but his spare folk music belongs squarely in the Americana tradition. Anders Jörnesten began singing, writing, and recording songs during lockdown, searching for a way to nurture his creativity. He caught the bug, and hasn’t stopped writing since. Maybe it’s that sense of yearning that permeates his songs — and that he feels a bit like the odd one out in the Stockholm music scene. Regardless, “A Heart Split in Two” is arresting, and Jörnesten tells us more about his process below.
You’ve released a series of singles lately. Can you tell us about your latest song “A Heart Split In Two?”
My latest single “A Heart Split In Two” is a folk jazz waltz with inspiration from the harmonies used in the 60s and 70s. I have recorded it earlier, but have now made a slightly smoother version of it, that I am very happy with.
I love a lot of music from the 60s and 70s, not least Joni Mitchell and others. In the new song I have tried to capture the slightly dreamy sound of that golden folk music era. As usual, it’s just me and my guitar. I like to keep it as simple and clean as possible.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Well, I’m a Swedish guy living in Stockholm/Sweden. I’m somewhat of a late bloomer. A few years ago, during the pandemic, I started writing songs for the first time in my life. I’ve always played the guitar from time to time, but never sang or written anything of my own. All the work at home made me start to think about whether I had a creative side of myself. So, I tried writing some songs, and now I can’t stop writing new ones. I was 41 then and now I’m 45, so I’ve been at it for a couple of years now.
How would you describe your music and creative process?
I do some kind of classic American acoustic folk music based of American roots. I’m not a big fan of the sound in modern music. Although there are some really great new artists that I listen to a lot, e.g. Joshua Ray Walker, Kassi Valazza and Colter Wall. But they all have a classic sound, even if they do something new at the same time.
All my music is written by my bedside here in Stockholm. Then I record it in a professional studio, but I don’t have a producer or anything. I like to write songs and then release them quickly. That’s probably because I’m alone in my writing, and then it’s fun to release songs to get a little response to what you do. At the moment I make a lot of melodies. But I have more difficulty with the lyrics. I have to struggle a bit with them.
How do you work to get your music out there?
It really is a challenge. I have no record deal nor contacts within the music industry. I knew nothing about marketing when I started writing songs. But thanks to social media, I now have a small network of people I send my songs to. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, the songs spread that way.
The irony is that I sent my songs around a bit everywhere. But in my own country I have basically received no response at all. However, I have received a good response in the USA, Canada and the UK. Although I am a Swedish artist who sings in far from perfect English. But on the other side, I do a classic type of North American folk music that might appeal to an English-speaking audience. Sometimes I get told that my voice and music are a little too old-fashioned, but I take that as a compliment.
What are you planning next?
I have a lot of new songs on their way. I’m just going to finish writing them and then record them in early fall. Then I’m going to release the songs as singles during fall and winter. I might collect some of the songs and release as an album. But we’ll see. I also need to play live at some point, I’ve never done a gig. It’s a barrier I must get over. But then there also needs to be people who want to see me live. We’ll see, in any case I’m very happy to have found a home in music.