J. C. Schütz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Johan Christher Schütz
J.C. Schütz in 2004
J.C. Schütz in 2004
Background information
Born 1976
Origin Flag of Sweden Sweden
Genre(s) Pop, Bossa nova, Jazz
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, Musician, Artist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Cavaquinho
Years active 2004-present
Label(s) Terrinha Records (Sweden)
Website www.jcschutz.net

Johan Christher Schutz (born in Motala, Sweden in 1976) is a Swedish singer, musician and songwriter, living in Stockholm. In the comprehensive Swedish guidebook to Brazilian music, Brasiliansk musik by Åsa da Silva Veghed, he is mentioned as one of the Swedish contemporary artists that have been inspired by Brazilian music.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Raised outside the small town of Mjölby, Östergötland, where he at the age of seven found a guitar in a trash container, an experience that he says changed his life: "I didn't understand it at the time, but now I have realized it was a gift from God".[2]

He studied music and art at Kungshögaskolan in Mjölby, focusing on music.[2]

In 1998 his songwriting earned him a cash scholarship from STIM,[3] the Swedish performing rights society, and he moved to London in 1999. He refers to the time in London as "some kind of rebirth, where I discovered the bohemian artist lifestyle which was spiritually enriching in a way I didn't know was possible".[2]

Back in Sweden, he wrote a song for the Swedish short-film Marcus & Medelhavet, directed by Johan Pettersson in 2003, resulting in the bossanova song Think of Me, which appeared on Schütz' debut CD Passion the following year. Schütz and Pettersson worked together again for Pettersson's second short-film Grälmakar from 2007.[4]

When Passion had been released in Sweden in 2004, Schütz composed music for a Czech novel film by Robert Nelson, The Miracle, starring American actor Daniel Fleischer-Brown.[5] Triggered by the theme of the film and having worked with its music, Schütz wrote the song Plunge into the Miracle, and later said it "marked the beginning" of writing the songs for his second CD Blissa Nova.[6]

Blissa Nova was released in November 2007. In November Schütz also did an acoustic Japan tour to promote the release of Blissa Nova and the Japanese re-release of Passion.[7]

During the winter/spring of 2008 he started recording his third album, for the first time in Swedish. As a project, he decided to make the process of recording an album available on his blog[8], and his record company published a 20-minute documentary on the internet, and in 6 parts on youtube, showing his work and also presents him performing acoustic live versions of some songs from the album.

Schütz albums are released by Stockholm-based record label Terrinha Records.

[edit] Passion

Schütz' debut CD Passion was released in May 2004, with jazz and bossanova influenced pop with reflecting lyrics in English, containing 13 songs all written by Schütz.

In a review, Swedish daily newspaper DN called it "romantic bossa nova",[9] while the Swedish world music magazine Lira called it a "summery bossa nova cocktail", also stating that the guitar playing of Schütz is "closer to Nick Drake than Jobim", and the reviewer was impressed by the album's "creative instrumentation".[10]

[edit] Blissa Nova

His second full-length CD Blissa Nova from November 2007 has a more contemporary and authentic Brazilian sound, with lyrics still in English and some small parts in Portuguese and Swedish. Blissa Nova also sees Schütz as a translator, as five of the album's 13 tracks are English translations of Brazilian and Swedish standards/classics: Eu Vim da Bahia by Gilberto Gil, Pra Que Chorar by Baden Powell/Vinicius de Moraes, Tristeza (a duet with Brazilian singer Aline de Lima) by Luiz Bonfá, and Underbart Är Kort by Povel Ramel and Den Lilla Bäcken by Allan Edwall.

In their review, Swedish music magazine Groove called it "almost immaculate" and stated that the first song "Plunge Into the Miracle goes from 0-100 in less than a second, and if all the songs had been in a similar style then this could well have challenged the title of the best Swedish album of the year in the genre".[11]

Daily newspaper Östgöta Correspondenten said that the album is "alleviating life with sweet sun and bossa grooves", made possible by the "beautiful melodies" and the "hive of rhythms".[12]

[edit] Discography

  • Blissa Nova (2007)
  • Passion (2004)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brasiliansk musik, Åsa da Silva Veghed, vmb förlag, 2007, p.225, ISBN 978916310287
  2. ^ a b c Official biography press sheet for Johan Christher Schütz, Terrinha Records, September 18, 2007 - http://www.terrinha-records.com
  3. ^ STIM-nytt, issue 4, 1998 - http://www.stim.se
  4. ^ IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1966570/bio
  5. ^ IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467471
  6. ^ Official press release for "Blissa Nova", Terrinha Records, November, 2007 - http://www.terrinha-records.com/schutz/index.php?do=release&lang=en
  7. ^ Japanese production company - https://www.disquesdessinee.com/jcs_tour/index.html
  8. ^ Press release, Terrinha Records, 31 March, 2008, in Swedish - http://www.terrinha-records.com/press/080331.doc
  9. ^ Dagens Nyheter, June 4, 2004 - http://www.dn.se - "Romantisk bossa nova"
  10. ^ Lira Musikmagasin, issue 4, 2004 - http://www.lira.se - "denna somriga bossanovacocktail [...] Och hans gitarrspel ligger närmre Nick Drake än Jobim. [...] Något som imponerar är den nyskapande instrumentationen"
  11. ^ "Groove, issue 1, 2008 - Original Swedish quotes: "Blissa Nova är snudd på fulländad" [...] "Inledande Plunge Into the Miracle går från 0-100 på under en sekund och hade alla låtar varit i samma stil så hade det här kunnat utmana om titeln årets bästa svenska platta inom genren." - http://www.groove.se/site/recension.asp?recId=1610&mediumId=1
  12. ^ Östgöta Correspondenten, November 21, 2007 - http://www.corren.se - "Från Mjölbys sönderblåsta slättland längtade JC till de musikaliska trakter som gör livet lättare med söt sol och bossaflyt i steget [...] behagliga melodier [...] Bland JC:s musikervänner sprutar Peter Asplunds trumpet ettrig tonkonfetti över brassefesten där Sebastian Notinis och Micke Sehlstedts rytmmyller håller alla på rätt kurs."