Stina Nordenstam

Biography

Kristina Ulrika Marianne Nordenstam (born 4 March 1969) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and producer.

Life and career

Nordenstam was born in Stockholm on 4 March 1969. As a child, she was highly influenced by her father's classical and jazz music collection. Her debut album, Memories of a Color×Memories of a Color1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Memories of a Colour4:462The Return of Alan Bean6:293Another Story Girl3:384His Song7:175He Watches Her From Behind3:036I'll Be Cryin' for You5:217Alone at Night5:508Soon After Christmas6:579A Walk in the Park3:41, was released in 1991. Her sophomore album And She Closed Her Eyes×And She Closed Her Eyes1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1When Debbie's Back From Texas4:082Viewed From the Spire3:493Crime5:404Fireworks5:475Proposal1:576Little Star3:427Hopefully Yours4:458Murder in Mairyland Park4:129I See You Again3:2610So This Is Goodbye4:3611Something Nice4:4212And She Closed Her Eyes2:34, released in 1994, was named the best Swedish album of all time by Sonic on their 2013 list of the 100 best Swedish albums. 1997's Dynamite began a more experimental path—most of the album was filled with distorted guitars and unusual beats. A 1998 cover album, People Are Strange×People Are Strange30 December 1998 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Sailing3:162I Dream of Jeannie3:573Love Hurts0:334Lonesome Road2:085Bird on a Wire3:436Purple Rain3:537Swallow Strings1:118Like a Swallow2:459Reason to Believe4:1210I Came So Far for Beauty4:0211Come to Me3:3112People Are Strange3:35, followed in the same vein. In 2001, Nordenstam went with a more pop-influenced sound on This Is Stina Nordenstam, which features guest vocals from Brett Anderson. Nordenstam's 2004 album The World Is Saved×The World Is Saved11 October 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Get on With Your Life3:282Winter Killing4:023On Falling4:104Parliament Square4:375I'm Staring Out the World3:386From Cayman Islands With Love4:017The Morning Belongs to the Night3:3381253:419Butterfly4:2310The World Is Saved2:5411The End of a Love Affair3:37 continued the path set on This Is..., and is her last album as of 2025.
Her song "Little Star×Little Star1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Little Star3:402First Day in Spring2:513He Watches Her From Behind3:00" was used in the 1996 Baz Luhrman film Romeo + Juliet. She appears on two songs by English band Nine Horses, on the album Snow Borne Sorrow and on the EP Money for All. She also provided vocals for Vangelis' song "Ask the Mountains", Yello's "To the Sea×To the Sea1996 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1To the Sea (radio version/Northern mix)3:532To the Sea (original version)3:273To the Sea (Southern mix)3:49", and a collaboration with Anton Fier. In 2000, Nordenstam featured on a track from Danish prog-rockers Mew's second album Half the World Is Watching Me. The track was later re-recorded for the band's international debut Frengers. Nordenstam's vocals on her track "A Walk in the Park" were used as a sample for two songs by the Canadian electronic duo Crystal Castles, "Violent Dreams" and "Vietnam".
Nordenstam presented a sound installation at the Way Out West music festival in 2013, and, in 2014, Nordenstam was one of 12 inaugural inductees into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame.

Musical style

Nordenstam's voice was called "delicate", "serious", and "plucky" by Autostraddle. The Irish Times described Nordenstam's voice as "childlike" with "hushed and fragile" tones and a "soft and gentle" timbre, contrasting it with her "mighty and immeasurable" sound. Her voice was described by Adam Brent Houghtaling, author of This Will End in Tears: The Miserablist Guide to Music, as "very fragile" and "wispy", and he stated that her music "melds a lot of jazz and folk and ambient pop all together". Her music has also been described as avant-pop. Sally Shapiro has listed Nordenstam as an influence on her music.

Personal life

In a 2013 interview, Nordenstam revealed that she was diagnosed with autism.

Guest appearances

Fleshquartet – "Dancin' Madly Backwards", "It Won't Hurt Me", "Walk", and "Someone like Me" from Flow (1993)
Yello – "To the Sea×To the Sea1996 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1To the Sea (radio version/Northern mix)3:532To the Sea (original version)3:273To the Sea (Southern mix)3:49" from Pocket Universe (1996)
Zbigniew Preisner – Aberdeen: Original Film Soundtrack (2000)
Mew – "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" from Half the World Is Watching Me (2000)
Mew – "Her Voice Is Beyond Her Years" from Frengers (2003)
Nine Horses – "Wonderful World" from Snow Borne Sorrow (2005)
Filur – "Into the Wasteland" from Into the Wasteland (2006)
Nine Horses – "Wonderful World (Burnt Friedman Remix)" and "Birds Sing for Their Lives" from Money for All (2007)