Over the past 18 months,
Albin Lee Meldau has focused on taking his star status in his homeland of
Sweden to new audiences across the globe. Having made particularly huge strides in the UK with multiple
A / B-lists at
Radio 2 as well as a sold-out
London show, he now gets a big year underway by sharing his new single
‘Elvis, I Love You’. Listen
HERE.‘Elvis, I Love You’ possesses an irresistible warmth with rousing, Motown-tinged brass, a voice both raw and soulful that has clearly lived every moment it describes, and an instantly alluring tone that will surely make it his biggest airplay moment so far.
Yet scratch behind its uplifting sound and its self-eviscerating lyrics – depicting a nearly man desperately trying to cling onto his final hopes of success – takes Albin back to the crossroads he was at some five years ago. He had made significant inroads as a solo artist (a star turn at SXSW, a remarkable Tiny Desk session for NPR, and two acclaimed EPs) but a battle with alcohol forced him into a blunt choice: go to rehab or see his career fade to black. Five years later, he’s still sober.
Albin says, “The song is based on a bit of a weird lyric idea that and Eg wrote one morning. I was incredibly tired of the fact that everything comes second in life to the so-called pursuit of “the dream”. We are told all these things that we should do to “make it” — even things like bleaching my teeth, and it is easy to come across as an insecure, unhappy idiot.”
Albin wrote and produced ‘Elvis, I Love You’ with his key collaborator, the Grammy / Ivor Novello-winner Eg White (Adele,Florence + The Machine).
Since then, Albin has become a household name across Scandinavia. Highlights have included the smash ‘Josefin’ (5 x Platinum in Sweden, Platinum in Norway and a Top 10 hit in both countries), sold-out arena shows across the region, a Swedish Grammy nomination, and the prestigious Music Moves Europe Talent Award – a honour bestowed by the European Union upon artists who represent the sound of the future. And now ‘Elvis, I Love You’ continues Albin’s broader international push, a rise that has been assisted by other collaborators such as another Grammy winner in the shape of Nick Lobel (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), and Jack Savoretti, with who he duetted on the recent single ‘Hold Your Head Up’.
There will be much more to come from Albin throughout 2024, but there are a selection of major shows already lined up. He will perform as special guest to Jack Savoretti at the Margate Summer Series at Dreamland on July 5th before headlining the striking outdoor amphitheatre Dalhalla in Rättvik, Sweden, later that month. He is also confirmed to play the Dauwpopfestival in The Netherlands.