single

PG Roxette – “The Loneliest Girl In The World” single is out!

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The long-awaited first PG Roxette single is finally out! It contains two songs, The Loneliest Girl In The World and Sunflower.

Video – directed by Fredrik Etoall – recorded for TLGITW is set to premiere at 3 pm CET on 3rd June on Roxette’s YouTube channel. You’ll be able to watch it HERE. Don’t miss it!

The Loneliest Girl In The World is the first taste from the upcoming album Pop-Up Dynamo!, which follows this September. TLGITW feels like a natural next step for Per Gessle. With exuberant energy, the sweetest of melodies and their trademark don’t-bore-us-get-to-the-chorus addictiveness, it’s a song that would fit comfortably into any era of Roxette’s hefty back catalogue. Whether you consider it to be the poppiest rock around or pop with a little rock edge, it’s unmistakably Roxette.

Mr. G tells:

I had so much fun making these recordings. I really tried to go back to the writing style I had in the early days of Roxette and it was a blast. Some of the songs are the best I’ve ever done. And to work with all my Roxette-friends once again was amazing. We stick together like glue.

Read the complete press release related to the PG Roxette project HERE!

Per says about Sunflower:

I wrote the song “Sunflower” a long time ago but finished it just in time for the PG Roxette project. And no, it will NOT be included on the new album. Only on this single.

So, as you see your only chance to have the song on a physical release is to get the limited edition 7″ vinyl single. You can order it at Bengans or Ginza. For the digital version click Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube (TLGITW, Sunflower) or other digital platforms!

Additional info from PG regarding Sunflower:

It was actually written in January 2002 (!) but I made a new demo in August 2020 which is the foundation of the recording that’s now being released. And, of course, the lyrics are new. The original version from 2002 only had the lyrics in the chorus.

The Loneliest Girl In The World

I once was the chosen lucky one
Born under the sun and the powers he’s got

I once was a weirdo on a bus
Thinking about us
About me, about you, he-hey

It feels like I’ve been climbing over mountains
Like I’ve been riding jumping diving
Just to find out where you might be hiding
The loneliest girl in the world, uh huh

I recall (call call) shadows being tall
Kissing by the wall oh I felt so secure

I recall wishing we could be
The breeze across the trees
Just for fun, being like one

It feels like I’ve been climbing over mountains
Like I’ve been riding jumping diving
Just to find out where you might be hiding
The loneliest girl in the world

It feels like I’ve been flying over treetops
Like I’ve been scanning all my teardrops
Just to find out where you might be full stop
The loneliest girl in the world

It feels like I’ve been climbing over mountains
Like I’ve been driving all the highways
Just to find out where on earth you might stay
The loneliest girl in the world

It feels like I’ve been rushing through the moonlight
Like I’ve been searching every website
Just to find out where you might be tonight
The loneliest girl in the world, oh yea

The loneliest girl in the world aaaaahh
Feels like I’ve been running jumping diving
Just to find out where you might be hiding
Why is there no song playing
For the loneliest girl in the world?

Words + Music by Per Gessle
© Jimmy Fun Music

Produced by Magnus Börjeson + Clarence Öfwerman + Per Gessle. Co-produced by Christoffer Lundquist.
Recorded at Farozon, Malmö + Aerosol Grey Machine, Vallarum + Tits & Ass, Halmstad
Engineers: Magnus Börjeson + Christoffer Lundquist + MP Persson
Mixed by Ronny Lahti at Denebi Studios, Stockholm
Played by Magnus Börjeson: Programming + synthesizers + bass guitar
Clarence Öfwerman: Programming + synthesizers
Christoffer Lundquist: Electric guitars + synthesizers
Per Gessle: Lead vocals
Helena Josefsson: Vocals

Sunflower

Been living on my own with just a fork and spoon
Keeping my mind tidy in my tidy room

All I
All I ever really wanted
All I ever really needed
Was a minute to find my space in the show oh oh
Then I suddenly got to know
I heard a voice singing high and low
And it sounded like a love song to me

I’m a sunflower rising to the sky
Sunflower
Yellow, big and bright
A sunflower growing very high
Would you like to touch me, baby?

I felt so out of place like a man stuck on the moon
But everything has changed this crazy afternoon

All I
All I ever really wanted
All I ever really needed
Was a minute to find my spot in the show oh oh
Then I suddenly got to know
I heard a voice singing to and fro
And it sounded like a love song to me

I’m a sunflower rising to the sky
Sunflower
Yellow, big and bright
A sunflower growing very high
Would you like to touch me, baby?
Would you like to touch me, baby?

Words + music: Per Gessle
© Jimmy Fun Music

Produced by Per Gessle
Recorded at Tits & Ass, Halmstad
Engineer: MP Persson
Mixed by MP Persson + Per Gessle at Tits & Ass, Halmstad
Played by Per Gessle: Guitars + bass + synthesizers + piano + dobro + lead vocals
MP Persson: Programming
Helena Josefsson: Lead vocals


Vinyl sleeve design by Pär Wickholm, Wickholm Formavd., Stockholm. Photo by Fredrik Etoall.

Uno Svenningsson & Per Gessle – Bara få höra din röst

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Uno Svenningsson and Per Gessle have released a new song together. Bara få höra din röst is now out on streaming services! Listen on Spotify, Deezer, YouTube (track 1, track 2), Apple Music and other platforms! The single contains two tracks, including an instrumental version as well.

It’s not the first time the guys collaborated. Actually, not the first time in the sense of already released material. The first duet we could hear from them was Du kommer så nära (du blir alldeles suddig) on Per’s Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig album, November 2020. In fact, BFHDR originates from an even earlier period!

Per tells RoxBlog:

We wrote and demoed the song in June 2018. The very first demo had just nonsense lyrics sung by Uno. I wrote “real” lyrics pretty quickly with a slightly different title, demoed it on my own and forgot about the song. Uno called me up one day in 2020 and said he would like to use it. He had an idea altering the melody/chords in the chorus a bit but that was fine with me. I wasn’t supposed to sing on it at all but he asked me to add some backing vocals just for fun. It sounded cool. We sound good together! Two very strange voices! And then he wanted some harmony vocals. I was flattered and started fooling around with the production a bit. And then I sang the entire second verse. Suddenly we had a duet. My Gosh.

In the press release Uno tells:

Writing songs together with others is a little craft and adventure in itself and then to have the chance to write with Per, the best songwriter, is fantastic. It’s been easy-going and much fun. Two guys from the countryside who like music, it can’t get any better! I’ve always liked Per’s voice and that our voices fit so well together is awesome. “Bara få höra din röst” is therefore a telling title! My son, Mark Bihli is responsible for arrangements and production, and he has done a brilliant job.

Per adds:

Uno and I have been running into each other for many years. Not least down in Tylösand in the summer. We’ve talked for a long time about writing something together and “Bara få höra din röst” popped up one summer day out of nowhere. Just like the best songs are born. It’s incredibly fun to work with Uno, our voices are so different but fit together in some strange way terribly well. Extra fun that his son Mark wanted to produce. He has done a fantastic job.

A video to the song is set to premiere at 10:00 am CET on 21st January. It was recorded at Andreas Dahlbäck’s Durango Studio in Stockholm at the end of 2021.

Bara få höra din röst

Jag vet det är tokigt
Och alldeles för sent
Jag har suttit framför datorn
Med korslagda ben

Och kvällen har blivit
Som en virvlande vals
Jag kan inte koncentrera mig
På något alls

Du kanske redan raderat mig
Så jag går mot ett annat håll
Logiken studsar som en boll
Mellan tak och golv

Jag vill bara få höra din röst
Ingenting annat nu
Svara mig snälla du
Jag vill bara få höra din röst
Säg vad du vill för du
Jag vill inget annat nu

Det kanske är vinet
Och allt socker och salt
Jag ser din kropp vänd emot mig
Nästan överallt

Så skål för historien
Två hjärtan som brann
Och för ett ensamt skepp
Som letar efter sin hamn

Jag tror du suddat ut mig nu
Jag har försvunnit i ett moln
Jag önskar allt var som förut
Helt under kontroll

Jag vill bara få höra din röst
Ingenting annat nu
Svara mig snälla du
Jag vill bara få höra din röst
Säg vad du vill för du
Jag vill inget annat nu

Words + Music: Uno Svenningsson + Per Gessle

Photo of Per & Uno by Pär Wickholm

Roxette – Let Your Heart Dance With Me

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The long-awaited 2nd treat from Bag of Trix – Music from the Roxette Vaults album series is out this Friday.

A previously unreleased Roxette single, Let Your Heart Dance With Me is one of the last recordings Roxette ever did and is released almost a year after the tragic passing of lead singer Marie Fredriksson. It will be available on digital platforms on 2nd October and is to be released as a limited edition 7″ golden vinyl single in 1500 copies worldwide on 9th October.

Thanks to songwriter Per Gessle’s prolific flow of tunes, classic Swedish pop group Roxette always had a surplus of material to choose between for their albums. Many of these leftover songs were actually strong contenders for inclusion and their quality has made them loved among fans when they’ve popped up as bonus material on singles or compilations.

This was the case up until the release of Roxette’s final studio album, Good Karma, which in the summer of 2016 yielded a couple of songs that weren’t needed for the album. On of them was Let Your Heart Dance With Me, but it finally sees the light of day thanks to the Bag of Trix box set, Roxette’s magnifique collection of unreleased material. The first volume of Bag of Trix is planned to be released on 30th October.

Per says about Let Your Heart Dance With Me:

I wanted to write a classic and simple “clap your hands and stomp your feet” song, and “Let Your Heart Dance With Me” came out of it. I liked it already in the studio, but as usual we already had so many strong contenders that it had to wait for a second chance. And when the idea for this project came up, it was a given.

Gessle gave Let Your Heart Dance With Me to mixing maestro Ronny Lahti, who some two decades ago gave the Roxette album Room Service its characteristic pop shimmer. The result now is a song that radiates summer, sun and optimism, despite being recorded during a time when Marie was on her final days with Roxette due to increasing health problems following her cancer treatment a decade earlier.

Per Gessle says:

Just a couple of months before “Good Karma” was released, Marie’s doctors advised her to quit touring for good. We cancelled the Summer tour and all future commitments. But even a studio recording was demanding for her. She wanted so much, but really had to fight to get it out. And she did. Marie was a real trooper to the very end.

To celebrate this release, Mr. G will do an exclusive interview and answer fans’ questions LIVE on Roxette’s YouTube channel at 16.30 CEST on Friday, 2nd October. After that, premiere of the music video to Let Your Heart Dance With Me will happen at 17.00 CEST. Save the link to the Q&A and the music video premiere HERE and get ready with your questions!

The music video showcases Per and Marie’s close friendship and long companionship that led to the worldwide success. To quote Per:

We’ve also put together a beautiful music video for the song including private footage from the glorious past. Lots of memories and plenty of joy, hopefully not only for me but also for people interested in what Roxette is all about. Can’t wait to watch it together with you – our fans – who made it all possible.

See teasers of the music video here: 1; 2; 3.

See Per announcing the Q&A session HERE.

PRE-ORDER the limited edition single at Bengans, Ginza or check the availability with your local music stores, since it’s a worldwide release. UPDATE on 1st October: the single seems to be sold out at Bengans and Ginza. It might be available again on release day, but it’s worth trying to buy it in other stores. CDON, for example.

Tracklist

A            Let Your Heart Dance With Me
B            Help! (Abbey Road Sessions)

Press release in Swedish can be found HERE.

Let Your Heart Dance With Me

It was so easy to fall in love
It got so simple to fall in love
You know what I did?
I got excited
We were united
So delighted

It was so easy to laugh with you
It was so simple to look at you
You made it possible
By being beautiful
So incredible
Truly wonderful

Dance with me
Let your heart dance with me
Dance with me
Let your heart dance with me
Let me see you smile

I might be living in my car
I might be running near and far
When stars can’t find me
You know where I’ll be
Closed in the mystery
The love of you and me

Dance with me
Let your heart dance with me
Dance with me
Let your heart dance with me
Let me see you smile again
Let me see that smile

Words + Music by Per Gessle
© Jimmy Fun Music

Watch the premiere interview with Per Gessle HERE and the video to Let Your Heart Dance With Me HERE.

Nypon och ljung – new single by Per Gessle is out

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Nypon och ljung, the first single from Per’s upcoming album is now out. Listen to it on Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and other digital platforms! Look at the amount and type of instruments Mr. G plays! Oh wow! And the vocals! And the melody! So catchy!

Per tells he wrote his new album’s opening song, Nypon och ljung for Gyllene Tider’s Dags att tänka på refrängen album in 2012, but they never recorded it. He thinks he didn’t even present it to the band. Later, before his Nashville trip in 2016 he made a demo, which is completely different. In the end, he didn’t record it in Nashville either. It was just lying around though he always liked it. He was sitting at home and played and it got some sort of swing that can’t really be found in his old demos. He was thinking of J. J. Cale’s old drum box stuff from the ’70s. That fits this song very well, so he made a very simple demo with a little drum machine. It turned out just fine, so he went to the studio and did an acoustic version, then added instrument after instrument. Per Thornberg came to play tenor sax, Helena came to sing, ”Gicken” Johansson plays the bass, Jens Jansson plays the drums and Per plays all other instruments. He says it was incredibly fun and unexpectedly, it became one of his favourites.

NYPON OCH LJUNG

Min dörr är aldrig stängd
Min dörr står alltid glatt på glänt
För henne

Min dörr är aldrig stängd
Fönstret står alltid lätt på glänt
Så jag kan höra henne: oooohh….

Hon hann ikapp och förbi
Hon hann ifatt och for förbi
Det är helt OK

Hon hann ikapp och förbi
Med stav och hatt, som trolleri
Och det är helt OK

Hon kom med nypon och ljung
En gammal känsla som känns ung
Ny och ung

Hon kom med nypon och ljung
En gammal känsla som känns ung
Orörd och ung: oooohh….
OK

Text + musik: Per Gessle
© Jimmy Fun Music

Produced by Per Gessle
Recorded at T&A, Halmstad + Sweetspot, Harplinge July + August 2020
Engineers: Mats Persson (T&A) + Staffan Karlsson (Sweetspot)
Mixed by Mats Persson + Per Gessle

Vocals + acoustic guitar + electric guitar + clapping + pump organ + Wurlitzer: Per Gessle
Vocals: Helena Josefsson
Bass + lap steel: Fredrik ”Gicken” Johansson
Drums + percussion: Jens Jansson
Tenor sax: Per Thornberg

Lyric video HERE!

Photo of Per on the single cover is by Åsa Gessle

Per Gessle interview on P4 Extra on Mother’s Day

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Titti Schultz did an interview with Per Gessle today on P4 Extra on Swedish Radio. It starts at 1:42:42. After Titti welcomes Per, he says it’s an adorable weekend and the weather is fantastic on the Best Coast (West Coast). He is in Halmstad during corona time, because he lives there. He laughs. He has been home since Easter. Titti asks Per if he is thinking about corona or if everything is as usual. Mr. G says his life hasn’t changed a lot, because he most of the time works alone or only with a very few people. So it’s rather business as usual for him, but he has been very productive during this period. He wrote a lot of English songs and in between, Mamma and Pappa poppud up on a sunny Tuesday morning. He was dealing with a totally different type of music and then suddenly an idea came to his mind that shit, it’s mother’s day soon, so why not writing a song about a mom. It went quite easily and then he thought he should write a song about a dad, too. It was much harder. He laughs. He booked the studio, he worked there for 2 afternoons and then came Helena Josefsson to sing and then it was ready. It happened only in 2 weeks and it never went this fast before.

Titti says she knows Per’s mom is not among us anymore and asked Per if he celebrates her mom on a day like this. He said it doesn’t happen like this directly. Now there is another mom in his family, his wife, so it became rather her day. Per says when you are young, you don’t care too much about Mother’s Day, but by getting older, you think more about how it is to be parents and that kids are growing up. He thinks it’s a nice day. Tradition in their family is to give flowers and cake.

Titti asks Per if he thinks Mother’s Day has more meaning now for other families during corona time. Per thinks it could be. He thinks it’s a very special period we are going through now. It’s something we haven’t experienced before. When there is uncertainty, family and friends are more in focus and you realize that you can’t take any basic things for granted.

Per says he read that there were a lot of weddings cancelled. During this time people either still get married after the social distancing period or they get divorced. Titti says there can be a baby boom too.

Titti gets back to the songs and asks Per about the English songs he has been writing when Mamma and Pappa popped up. Mr. G tells he has Mono Mind, an electronic pop music project, but he was also writing guitar-based classic pop music. He doesn’t know yet what the future brings, but he wants to continue touring and play and make himself heard in a way. What he is writing now is based on the music he grew up with, the 60’s and 70’s (as usual) mixed with modern music. He can’t say anything about when this music will be out, but maybe next Mother’s Day. He laughs.

Titti asks if Per wants to say anything before she pushes the play button for Mamma. Per says just sit calmly and listen to the lovely lyrics and

Mom is the best!