David Myhr - Soundshine

David Myhr interview with Swedish Radio P4 Gothenburg

Posted: February 1st, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on David Myhr interview with Swedish Radio P4 Gothenburg

Please feel free to enjoy an interview (including an acoustic live performance) with Swedish Radio P4 Gothenburg discussing the release of Lucky Day.

Here’s a link to the video on Facebook:

David Myhr interview and live performance for Swedish Radio P4 Gothenburg

Stefan Livh at P4 Göteborg, Sveriges Radio asks me about both present and past. For instance he asks me about my background in The Merrymakers and our collaboration in the 90s with Jellyfish frontman Andy Sturmer and how he – to our delight – helped us finishing off our song ”April’s Fool”. I explain how big the whole thing was for us and that this event is now part of Brighter Day -A Jellyfish Story I talk about how we later started to write and produce for Japanese artists in our own studio. And the realisation, after The Merrymakers had gone separate ways, that all my songs "suddenly were approved". "By myself!". And how going solo opened up new possibilities including calling whoever I felt like, and recording in Nashville etc. We also talk about my Electric Light Orchestra pastiche ”Spellbound” from the Ulf Malmros and Jaana Fomin movie Flykten till framtiden and why film music composer Jimmy Lagnefors asked me to co-write with him.I get to talk about my general philosophy of recording and in particular about the making of ”The Perfect Place” and how Andreas Quincy Dahlbäck (who I refer to here as my ”George Martin”) helped me out in finding two songs that fitted into one, and how violinist Hanna Ekström had to double herself many times in making the strings sound like a full orchestra.We also discuss the difficulty in finding a balance between ”loss-making” artistic passion projects and my job as a senior lecturer at The School of Music in Piteå, far away from family and home in Stockholm. And how my annoying(?) commercial jingles like Ryds Bilglas and Insplanet are heard by more people than who get to hear my own music, and how they help me out in making ends meet. We also talk about the Lucky Day release party at Bar Brooklyn, Debaser, in Stockholm, and the incredible band I put together for the occasion including Peter Kvint, and Peter Morén from Peter Bjorn and John.The whole thing was done ”live” and was aired on P4 Gothenburg on May 4, 2018.Video edited by Todd Productions, Inc.

Posted by David Myhr on Sunday, February 2, 2020

 

(And here’s a link to the video on YouTube where English subtitles available by clicking the subtitles button.)

Swedish Radio P4 had been playing the first single from the album ”Jealous Sun” quite a lot in the previous weeks and at one point the radio personality Stefan Livh at P4 Gothenburg commented upon the song, spontaneously calling me ”The Jeff Lynne of Sweden”. He is a musician himself and it’s obvious that he has a soft spot for classic melodic pop. He invited me to come and sing the song live in the studio.

 

David Myhr and Stefan Livh



But there was also time for an conversation where we talk about both present and past. For instance he asks me about my background in The Merrymakers and our collaboration in the 90s with the Jellyfish frontman Andy Sturmer and how he – to our delight – helped us finishing off our song ”April’s Fool”. I explain how big the whole thing was for us and that this event is now part of Brighter Day… A Jellyfish Story (The Jellyfish biography).

I talk about how we later started to write and produce for Japanese artists in our own Monogram Recordings studio. And the realisation, after The Merrymakers had gone separate ways, that all my songs “suddenly were approved”. “By myself!”. And how going solo opened up new possibilities including calling whoever I felt like,  and recording in Nashville etc. We also talk about my Electric Light Orchestra pastiche ”Spellbound” from the Ulf Malmros and Jaana Fomin movie Flykten till Framtiden and why film music composer Jimmy Lagnefors asked me to co-write with him.

I get to talk about my general philosophy of recording and I talk in particular about the making of ”The Perfect Place” and how Andreas Dahlbäck (who I refer to here as my ”George Martin”) helped me out in finding two songs that fitted into one, and how violinist Hanna Ekström had to double herself many times in making the strings sound like a full orchestra.

We also discuss the difficulty in finding a balance between ”loss-making” artistic passion projects and my job as a senior lecturer at The School of Music in Piteå, far away from family and home in Stockholm. And how my annoying(?) commercial jingles like ”Ryds Bilglas” and ”Insplanet” (co-written with Dobedai) are heard by more people than who get to hear my own music, and how they help me out in making ends meet. We also talk about the Lucky Day release party at Brooklyn Bar, Debaser, in Stockholm, and the incredible band I put together for the occasion including Peter Kvint, and Peter Morén from Peter Bjorn and John.

The whole thing was done ”live” and was aired on P4 Gothenburg on May 4, 2018. This video was edited by Todd Productions.

 


“Spellbound” challenger (“utmanare”) on Svensktoppen!

Posted: December 24th, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , , , , | Comments Off on “Spellbound” challenger (“utmanare”) on Svensktoppen!
My last couple of posts have been about my latest single “Spellbound” (release post here, gala premiere report here, official video premiere here). But now on Christmas Eve there’s even more to report!
If there’s one chart that’s classic in Sweden it’s ”Svensktoppen” (“The top of Sweden”). As Swedish Radio P4 puts it (in my own improvable translation): “This is where you’ll hear the Swedish songwriter’s music, international as well as national hits in any language. The chart is voted by a statistically chosen jury and is one of the most important benchmarks of Swedish music”.
In any case, the list has existed since 1962. And through the years all big Swedish artists have appeared, all the way from Lasse Lönndahl (who by the way once heard me entertaining at an after-ski in Björkliden up in the Swedish mountains),  Lill-Babs, and Sven-Bertil Taube via ABBA and Per Gessle (of Roxette fame) and recently Laleh, First Aid Kit, and Robyn.
Tomorrow Sunday, yes on Christmas Day(!), the ELO influenced song I wrote together with Jimmy Lagnefors for the movie Flykten till Framtiden after the brief from the director Ulf Malmros will be one of three ”challengers” (”utmanare” in Swedish). Not being quite a house-hold name in Sweden (yet!?) it will obvioulsy be difficult for me to “kick out” national legends like Benny Andersson (of ABBA fame!) and his orchestra ,  Magnus Uggla and new international star Zara Larsson. Things are not made easier by the fact that the two other challengers Nisse Hellberg and Cajsa-Stina Åkerström both are well-known names with great new songs (Cajsa-Stina’s song is produced by my friend and highly respected colleague Peter Kvint who I’ve talked about here and here).
Funny anecdote: My good friend, Andreas Dahlbäck, who plays drums on ”Spellbound” (and who also played drums on my debut album Soundshine), actually plays on both ”Spellbound” and both the other challengers’ songs. For the last few years I’ve always talked about him as one of the key people in the Swedish recording business, and this certainly proves my point.
Who knows what the verdict from the jury, consisting of 500 people supposedly representative for the Swedish people as a whole, will be. But in any case – no matter what happens after Sunday – I will definitely remember this as a ”mile stone” in my career. Or is it rather just a ”stepping stone”…? Time will tell!
My heartfelt thanks to Ulf Malmros for making a great movie that partly takes place in 1973 and therefore had the good taste of requesting an ELO song, to my close friend, Jimmy Lagnefors who invited me in on the opportunity to write the song (something I talk more about in this Hooks & Harmony interview and in this radio inteveiw with Hawaii radio show Time Machine).
I hope you all are enjoying your Christmas celebrations!!! Probably the perfect time (yeah, right…!?) to enjoy the official video for “Spellbound”:

Happy Xmas – War if Over!!! Let us have a Wonderful Christmastime!
From Wikipedia: Svensktoppen (Swedish: [²svɛnskˌtɔpːɛn]) is a weekly record chart airing at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. The last years before the January 2003 change, the programme was strongly dominated by dansband music.

The official video for “Spellbound”

Posted: November 20th, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on The official video for “Spellbound”

If you have read this previous post and this previous post you know a lot about my new single “Spellbound” which is a song I’ve written together with Jimmy Lagnefors that is featured in the Swedish feature film Flykten till Framtiden. Now it’s time to enjoy the official video!

It was made by a talented team consisting of Hans Montelius, Nikita Rönning Ledström, and Erik Sandström. The shooting took place on the famous street Sundsgatan in my former home town, Piteå, in the north of Sweden. I spent a few drunken weekends in my youth going back on forth on the sidewalks of Sundsgatan while watching the “raggare” driving back on forth on the street with their American cars, playing loud music. It was they way we knew party life before we were old enough to be let in to the local pubs and discos. Little did I know then that I was going to be cruising back and forth in a ’73 Volvo thirty years later miming to my latest single release. Some scenes were also shot in front of a green screen at the TV-studio of The School of Music in Piteå where I also teach.

It’s out on YouTube here:

And on Facebook here:

I look very much forward to your reactions on both platforms. Thumbs up or down? “Like” or “Angry face”? Share it to the world and help spread the word or keep it to yourself?  All up to you of course!

skarmavbild-2016-11-20-kl-23-07-28 skarmavbild-2016-11-20-kl-23-06-16 skarmavbild-2016-11-20-kl-23-05-46

 

 

 


Gala premiere for Flykten till Framtiden (My Future Love) where my new single “Spellbound” is featured.

Posted: November 9th, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , , , | Comments Off on Gala premiere for Flykten till Framtiden (My Future Love) where my new single “Spellbound” is featured.
Today The New Yorker wrote in this column: “The election of Donald Trump to the Presidency is nothing less than a tragedy for the American republic, a tragedy for the Constitution, and a triumph for the forces, at home and abroad, of nativism, authoritarianism, misogyny, and racism.”
In my state of a a slight hangover, and with the above worrying news from the USA this morning, I right now prefer to take a little break from the telly and instead look back on yesterday when all our troubles seemed so far away. The thing is I was fortunate enough to be invited to the gala premiere of Flykten Till Framtiden (My Future Love).
img_2703
There I got the chance the hang with my good friend Jimmy Lagnefors, film music composer, and responsible for the movie’s (great!) soundtrack (available here through my own label Monogram Recordings!).
It was together with Jimmy I wrote my new (highly ELO/Jeff Lynne flavoured) single ”Spellbound” (see my previous blog post) which is featured heavily in the movie and plays when the credits roll. Also present was my new friend, the talented musician/artist Pontus Snibb who co-wrote no less than six songs with Jimmy on the soundtrack. Below you’ll find pictures of the three of us directly after walking out from the cinema, and also at the reception afterwards.
img_2725img_2739
At the reception I also got the opportunity to congratulate directors Ulf Malmros (huge ELO/Jeff Lynne fan himself!) & Jaana Formin, and producer Jan Blomgren, to a fantastic movie (it was really good – go see it!), as well as meet & greet with main actors Henrik Dorsin, Elias Palin, and Victoria Dyrstad who all spoke very kindly about my little contribution to the movie in the form of a song. I also had a good laugh together with side role actor Henrik Kursula and his girlfriend Jenny. Henrik does a fantastic character in the movie and does it amazingly well!!! Very funny guy! All in all, a very fun evening!
img_2738 img_2746
I would like to take the chance express my deep gratitude to Jimmy Lagnefors for inviting me in for the second time to help him out with movie songs. The first time was when we wrote ”Vänta inte på mig” (which became my first single in Swedish, see blog post here) and ”Superman” for the film Micke & Veronica a couple of years ago. Also, to his sweet girlfriend, my friend Tia Tuhkunen who always makes me feel welcome at their home and who is very supportive of our music. Tia also made yesterday’s event flow smoothly also after the free drinks were over (including making sure the new ones were paid!). Here’s a picture of the company at Nada Bar where the party continued.
img_2750
In a couple of days the movie will have the official premiere for the public but not only that. The OFFICIAL VIDEO for “Spellbound” is going to be released as well!!! Stay tuned!!!
On an end note, about the situation in the U.S.A. I would like to quote the first two lines from “Spellbound”:  “We’re at the end of time. It’s either fall or climb…”. Please let me suggest the latter! Peace and love everyone!
ftf_poster1_hr

”Spellbound” – new ELO-flavoured single by David Myhr from the soundtrack for “Flykten till Framtiden” (“My Future Love”) directed by Ulf Malmros

Posted: October 14th, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on ”Spellbound” – new ELO-flavoured single by David Myhr from the soundtrack for “Flykten till Framtiden” (“My Future Love”) directed by Ulf Malmros

It’s been an unusally busy week here on the blog with the news of the recent Nasvhille recordings of David Myhr’s future second album (and the US co-writing trip that preceeded it). But now on to something completely different… a brand new single from an upcoming movie and an accompanying lyric video!!!

On the 11th of November Flykten till Framtiden (English title: My Future Love) hits cinemas in Sweden. The feature-length film is directed by Ulf Malmros and Jaana Fomin and stars Henrik Dorsin, Elias Palin, Victoria Dyrstad and Johan Ulveson.

The time-travel themed narrative is partially set in 1973 and for this composer Jimmy Lagnefors was hired to create a soundtrack authentic to the period. When the director specifically requested a song that “sounds like Electric Light Orchestra” Lagnefors brought in songwriter/artist David Myhr to collaborate.

Myhr, with his background in the 90’s power pop combo The Merrymakers and, in particular, his 2012 album Soundshine (Lojinx), has demonstrated a knack for creating fresh, modern, pop music with roots firmly in the classic tradition of McCartney & Lynne. It was no surprise that Myhr jumped at the chance. (Read more about David’s relation to Jeff Lynne here).

Lagnefors and Myhr were also behind the song “Vänta inte på mig” (“Don’t wait for me”) in last year’s Swedish box office smash Micke & Veronica. With the new song ”Spellbound” the songwriting duo has managed to create “”the song that E.L.O. never made”. It features heavily in the film and plays when the credits roll.

The first interviews with David Myhr about “Spellbound” are expected soon. Follow David Myhr’s Facebook page for updates.

Elias Palin (som Svante), Victoria Dyrstad (som Elsa), Henrik Dorsin (som Bengan) Stillbildsfoto: Johan Bergmark

Elias Palin (som Svante), Victoria Dyrstad (som Elsa), Henrik Dorsin (som Bengan)
Stillbildsfoto: Johan Bergmark

spellbound_cover_1200x1200

Here is the official video for “Spellbound”:

Lyric video for “Spellbound”.

 

 

The single “Spellbound” is released in Sweden, and the rest of Europe, on 14th of October on British indie label Lojinx. (See Lojinx own relase page here).

You can find it on Spotify and iTunes and the lyric video here (and the official video here). It is also available in the USA and the rest of the world on the same day on all digital platforms through Myhr’s self-owned label Monogram Recordings.

“Spellbound” is the first David Myhr since last year’s cover single with Elvis Costello’s “Veronica” and Secret Service’s “Oh Susie”.

If you want to get a glimpse of the movie Flykten till Framtiden, check out this trailer:

 

David Myhr (2016)

David Myhr in Nasvhille, September 2016. Photo: Andreas Dahlbäck


The “near Jeff Lynne experience” I could have lived without

Posted: April 4th, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , | Comments Off on The “near Jeff Lynne experience” I could have lived without

As my old band The Merrymakers once sang: “It’s so sad. When you’re losing what you never had…”. (On Spotify here)

This is still a bit painful to talk about only hours after the fact. But I could really use some sympathy right now. Since my wife and I were in the UK anyway for this event that I talked about in the last blog post I had also signed up for the “one in a million” chance to win super exclusive tickets to Jeff Lynne’s ELO’s ”the day before the world tour premiere” show in front of an extremely small audience in Liverpool. It was so unlikely that we would win so I had kind of forgotten about it.

Imagine, then, my incredible excitement when an e-mail came saying “Congratulations – you have been successful in winning a pair of tickets to the exclusive Jeff Lynne’s ELO event today, Monday 4th April. Your name will be on the guest list on the main door.” I was kind of shaking in a way I haven’t since the day I met Paul McCartney when I realized that we could be one of a hundred lucky people watching from only metres away the full production of this first world tour in decades. The tour that we (and 49,999 others) were partly responsible (according to Jeff himself) in making happen through participating in the legendary Hyde Park come back show two years ago (see us singing along with Jeff here). I could go on forever about how Jeff Lynne, his E.L.O., as well as his productions from ”Got My Mind set on You” (George Harrison), ”Free Fallin’”, ”I won’t back down” (Tom Petty), and ”Free as a bird”, ”Real Love” (The Beatles!) among many many others has formed an enormously influential part on my own musicianship since I was a teenager.

Now, try to imaging the horror realizing that we should more or less ALREADY have jumped on the train from London to Liverpool in order to have a fighting chance to be in time for the 4 ó clock(!) showtime. Why not 5? Why not 6? Why didn’t I read my e-mail an hour earlier? WHY WASN’T IT SENT OUT A DAY IN ADVANCE? (I saw the e-mail when we had just ordered some sushi a little bit after one). In a moment of despair I called a woman at the PR agency behind the send-out in hope she would say that it would actually start an hour or two later that would make it all possible (or at least that it would still be possible to get in even an hour into the show). Instead, she only confirmed my three biggest fears. That it would start at four. That there would only be 100 people (can it get more exclusive?) in the audience and that any latecomers wouldn’t be able to get in. She could probably hear the increasing pain in my voice and she told me (only to increase the pain even more) that the first e-mail send-out had “bounced back”(wtf!!!???) and that she ”was sorry” about the late notice.

Skärmavbild 2016-04-04 kl. 22.07.00

Jeff Lynne is my biggest musical hero after the Beatles (on par with Tom Petty and Jellyfish) and it would obviously have been a memory of a life-time. Did my eyes tear up when realized how close we were? Yes. Had I preferred not being contacted at all considering how it all ended? Yes. Do I hope that ANY MEMBER OF JEFF LYNNE’S TEAM OR MANAGMENT OR BOOKING AGENCY sees this, feel incredibly sorry for  me, and decide to contact me in order to compensate us with a VIP experience on an upcoming show on his tour? YES!!! (Worth sending out a prayer anyway…).

Thanks everyone for reading and comforting me in these “troubled times” (as I once sang here). You can’t win them all, can you? See you some other time Jeff! Best of luck on the tour! Come to Sweden! Peace and love!

 

RS1_0129_V1-682x1024


David Myhr welcomes Tom Petty to Europe by singing “Wildflowers”!

Posted: January 16th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: post | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The first time I took notice of Tom Petty was when I was watching the Live Aid concert on TV in 1985. I remember thinking as a 15-year old; “what an boring old fart with silly glasses…”. Instead I was fascinated by Bowie & Jagger, U2 and Queen etc, and hoping for a rumoured Beatles reunion with Julian Lennon instead of John. (In the end the final turned out to be Paul McCartney singing “Let it be” without a functioning microphone…)

Little did I know that only three years later Tom Petty would team up with ex-Beatle George Harrison who had just made a comeback with the brilliant Cloud Nine album, and that album’s producer ex-E.L.O. genius Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, and Roy Orbison in the supergroup Traveling Wilburys. And soon after came one of my all time favorite albums – Petty’s masterpiece Full Moon Fever. I was blown away and realized he’s the coolest artist on earth, writing nothing but brilliant songs and with a taste for Beatles, Byrds, Dylan, American roots rock, British new wave á la Costello, Rickenbacker guitars, well… I could make the list longer. (No wonder another pop fanatic like Sweden’s Per Gessle of Roxette always was a big fan!) Another few years later came the album “Wildflowers” and I realized Petty is like vintage vine. Just gets better with age. (At least up ’til that point.)

I saw him live in Stockholm in ’93, and I saw him at Hollywood Bowl, L.A. (where I amazingly have played myself two times), in 2006 (with my hero Jeff Lynne as a guest!), and now it’s time again to welcome him to Europe after twenty years!

So while waiting for my solo album Soundshine due for release in Europe on Lojinx this spring I thought this was enough reason to have a go at one of my favorite Petty songs – “Wildflowers”.  Just like I did with ABBA’s “Happy New Year” a couple of weeks ago I decided to keep it simple; one voice – one guitar. As I said then I’m often tempted to add layers of vocals and lots of overdubs. It’s like Jeff Lynne said in this interview “I used to think that more is more, I just loved to overdub.”.

I didn’t intend to make the song “my own” by changing it around too much which is normally recommended when making cover versions but I just think it’s perfect as it is. Sorry for that!

 

Hope you enjoy! Please feel free to share the YouTube clip or download a free mp3 (“arrow pointing down”) or share from the Soundcloud player above.