My name is Jesper Norda, I am born in 1972, I live in Gothenburg with my wife to be and my four children. I work with art and music, I have done some exhibitions in Sweden and in other countries, I have been part of some music collaborations in different genres. My most important collaboration is together with Åbi Berglund, we have a band called If There Is Something.
This site presents my soloproject: April Archives.
I have removed some content from this site recently, when I started this site my intention was to create a platform for both art and music, but over the time April Archives have become more and more synonymous with my songwriting.
My plan is like this: I try to follow my hands along the keyboard, and then I try to sing something that feels singable, and then I try to stop to play when I feel that something feels to complicated and messy. Then I start to play something new that I think I might like. And when I like it enough I put it on this site. Simple enough :-)
If you are interested in receving notifications of new releases, or just want to get in touch, please send email to: jesper@aprilarchives.se
"Jesper Nordas quiet and experimental pop has not just found a place in our hearts. It has also found a place on Grooves Eurosonic CD. We asked him a few questions about the past and the future."
READ MORE: http://www.groove.se/eng/artikel.asp?artId=687
"Actually, the minor key gloom and doom is just a red herring, "We have the guts" is a love ballad, a devotional epic. In a way. So much of the lyrics pertain to the dull mundane realities of dead-end day-to-day life, but the delivery is what gives it power and the conclusion is pure beauty. Jesper's voice is deep and strong, but it also aches when it strives for the higher notes and I don't doubt for a second that every word is true. And the dynamics? Intense. There's no need to sing out the title, it's implied with the final breath."
READ MORE: http://www.itsatrap.com/n/29323
"It's the quiet ones you gotta worry about. The louder, more blustery the threat, the less likely they'll follow through. At least that's my experience. Jesper Norda bristles with white-hot violence in this ballad and I don't doubt for a minute that he'll make good on it. In the same way that Tindersticks brings the darkness to their version of soul music, Norda does the same with his restrained piano ballads and I'm way into it. His deep voice seethes with darkness and brings danger to every line. Even the title track from his "Little ones" EP (free download here) is unnerving, despite the far tamer subject matter. Proof positive once again that less is more. Always. To quote Foetus: say what you mean and say it mean."
READ MORE:
http://www.itsatrap.com/n/28366
"Norda always delivers quality compositions, – he keeps it simple, but manages to get the most out of a few notes on his piano. Wonderful melodies, often melancholic and with some bittersweet lyric. His new EP is called “We have the guts EP” and it includes 5 really good songs, – probably the best ones I have heard from him so far. The songs compiled on this ep is very consistent in form, and it makes the ep as a whole a pleasure to listen to. Jesper Norda has a unique, expressive voice, and together with the piano, it creates a very special atmosphere."
READ MORE: http://eardrumsmusic.com/2009/02/25/new-free-ep-from-jesper-norda/ and http://eardrumsmusic.com/2008/07/06/jesper-norda/
"However, for me his best work has been the extraordinary cycle of songs that have made up his two recent collections We Have The Guts and Little Ones. Primarily just Jesper's piano and vocals, this is no Elton John. The two self-released EPs are full of some extrordinarily honest compositions, with some beautiful light piano work underlying a dark resonant vocal style that reminds me of Ian Curtis, or a somewhat warmer Tom Waits at times. The songs are primarily about relationships, but from the point of view of maturity, not innocence or lust, which gives them a rather rare quality. Composition seems to happen mainly free-style, sitting at the piano, which gives the song a crystalline and directive quality."
READ MORE: http://southcoasting.blogspot.com/2009/03/jesper-norda-free-things-3.html
"His reference points are surprisingly un-arty. On his two solo EPs, Norda mimics the deep-throated rasp of the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt,while also evoking a minimalist version of the National or a more somber Jens Lekman."
READ MORE: http://flavorpill.com/dailydose/159-jesper-norda.html?publication=newyork
"Le monsieur, qui est capable de rendre un morceau de Telepopmusik frissonnant (voir dans ses archives sa version de Dance Me), se retrouve de nouveau à poil consentant pour un tête à tête avec l’auditeur voyeur, un chair à chair même, tant les nœuds aux ventres sont passés d’un corps à l’autre. Œuvre du diable."
READ MORE: http://www.tatapoum.net/idisque/?D=54249 and http://www.tatapoum.net/idisque/?D=54250
"He gives away quite a few bits and bobs for free online, but this particular EP was brought to my attention when someone recommended it on the TLOBF forums months back – it’s still one of my favourite musical freebies. Containing five tracks (plus two “B-sides” you can find at the link if you so wish), this EP consists of Norda playing and singing alone at a piano. Although it’s often fairly simple and sparse, Norda’s piano playing is sometimes absolutely fantastic, even transcendent. His voice is really curious, his singing sort of semi-spoken. Combined, these two elements create something which has a really distinctive atmosphere, as much about the gaping space between notes as the notes themselves. In particular, check out the epic meditation on the 21st century mundane that is the concluding title track. Special."
READ MORE: http://andyjohnsonfreelance.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/nuggets-1/
home // info & contact // www.jespernorda.com