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The indie-folk troubador Thomas Jonsson was 2008 listed in the British newspaper The Times as one of six acts who have taken the Swedish pop scene onwards since ABBA. Now in 2010, the time has come to release his fourth solo album 'ARCTIC' which is the first one to come out under his brand new musical alias I'm Kingfisher (formerly: Thomas Denver Jonsson).
The new cd 'Arctic' is a conceptual album about polar expeditions and Arctic flora & fauna. Though it's
being largely inspired by the late 19th-century endevours of Dr. Fridtjof Nansen, this album is at the same
time Thomas' clearly most personal, outgoing and experimental material to date. And despite it's obsolete
theme, this is also an album expressing big amounts of personal and contemporary details and Thomas clearly
defines his own part in the songs as he deals with an urge of emerging (Svalbard, Expedition), a missing of
what's been sacrificed or left behind (Smile with your 1000 teeth, Nansen), a fright of changes (Twin Sorrow,
A Continent Lost), some delirious sights (Deer Theatre, Peacock Color Song) and sincere hopes for a calm
closure (The Whale Hunt, Feline Funeral).
When Thomas and his steady producer Carl Edlom started working in the studio with the new album, they formed
an idea of a sound consisting both of deeply rooted folk soul mixed with modern and synthetic elements. The
final result is folky, bluesy and sometimes quirky as it both in lyrics and music blends old, new and the odd
bird's chirp. Thomas continues to share the path of contemporary indie/folk colleagues such as M Ward, Gillian
Welch and Jason Molina but also adds occasional sparks of more left-field stuff like Akron/Family, Mogwai and
Cat Power. The album features guest appearances by people like Keith Kennif (Helios/Goldmund), Richard Neuberg
(Viarosa), C-J Larsgården (Ondo/Yrsel), Lisa Bodland-Fielding and Helena Arlock. ARCTIC is also the first part
of a planned album trilogy.
After being musically active for a decade as Thomas Denver Jonsson, Thomas now changes his stage name to I'm Kingfisher with the 'ARCTIC' LP. The reasons for doing so are many but the most obvious would be feeling "finished" with the old name, admiring birds deeply and quote; "since I do have come up with the best stage name ever, I think it's mandatory to use it no matter what". Thomas has previously released three solo albums ('Hope to Her' 2003, 'Barely Touching It' 2005, 'The Lake Acts Like an Ocean' 2007) and two EPs as Thomas Denver Jonsson and he has done around 400 shows in nearly 20 countries (including SXSW Festival, Swedish tours with Josh Rouse, Damien Jurado and Rosie Thomas, five UK tours and sharing a gig with Thin Lizzy @ Paradiso in Amsterdam).
The previous albums have featured guest appearances by friends like Damien Jurado, Rosie Thomas, Ned Oldham, Ellinor Blixt (Bobby Baby, It's a Musical, Bobby&Blumm) and Jennie Stearns (Donna The Buffalo). Thomas is also
together with C-J Larsgården the postrock/indietronica duo A Perfect Friend which has two albums out. He also co-runs the currently sleeping vinyl-only label Going Places.
