CMT Blog: Archive

I traveled to Sweden for the first time last week, and I can't wait to go back. One of my Nashville friends grew up in Stockholm, so she helped me get acclimated to the city -- subway maps, menus, local customs, etc. After a few days, I felt pretty confident about striking out on my own, so when she wanted to catch up with girlfriends one night, I decided to seek out some local music. I didn't expect to find much on a Monday, but I lucked out by wandering into a jazz club called Mosebacke and hearing a fantastic singer-songwriter named Marina Mårtensson.

That night, Mårtensson was celebrating the release of a new album, Fences. I nestled into the corner and watched as dozens of her friends flooded in with hugs and big smiles, quickly filling up the place. For a minute there, I could have sworn I was still in Nashville. That is, until she started introducing her songs in Swedish. I don't know what she was saying since the only words I had learned in the language were "yes," "no," "thank you" and "coffee." She writes beautiful songs and performs them in English, although the warmth in her delivery transcends all language barriers. Her voice is subtle and serene, reminiscent of Norah Jones, and she finds a nice balance between optimistic tunes and sad ballads. On her MySpace page, she begins her list of musical influences with Etta James, Peggy Lee and Billie Holliday, which certainly promises a lovely bouquet.

After performing the whole album, she encored with an elegant rendition of Hank Williams' "I Could Never Be Ashamed of You." A friend at the merch table told me Fences had first found success in Japan, but that it hasn't come to the U.S. yet. I'd like to see that change.