John Holm

Born in 1948 on Lilla Essingen in Stockholm, John Holm developed a songwriting approach situated between the American singer-songwriter tradition, folk-rock and the Swedish visa tradition. Before his solo career he played in the band The Underground Failure, which released a self-titled album in 1970. Spotted by producer Anders Burman, he began his solo work with Sordin in 1972, followed by Lagt kort ligger in 1974 and Veckans affärer in 1976 — three albums associated with Sweden’s 1970s scene, between rock, song and progg. His music favors spare arrangements, understated acoustic or electric guitars and lyrics centered on narrative and introspection. After a long recording hiatus Holm returned with Verklighetens afton in 1988, moved to the United States and in 1999 released Vägen till Californien, an album recorded with American musicians and largely built around Swedish-language adaptations. Over the years he has also appeared alongside Marie Bergman, Ulf Lundell, Owe Thörnqvist and Per Gessle, and he resumed live performances from 2015 after several decades away from the stage.