- Sophie Zelmani
Infobox musical artist
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Name = Sophie Zelmani
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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Sophie Edkvist
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Born = birth date and age|1972|2|12
Died =
Origin =Sweden
Instrument =
Genre =
Occupation =Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 1995–present
Label =
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URL = [http://www.sophie-zelmani.com/ www.sophie-zelmani.com]
Notable_instruments =Sophie Zelmani (born
12 February 1972 as Sophie Edkvist) is a Swedishsinger-songwriter who released her first single in 1995, called "Always You". Her music is unusual for a Swedish artist because it is based on the American singer-songwriter tradition.Early life
Born in the suburbs of Stockholm in 1972, Zelmani's father bought the family a guitar when Zelmani was 14.cite news |first=Matthew |last=Scott |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Sophie Zelmani - Memory Loves You |url= |work= |publisher=South China Morning Post (retrieved from Factiva) |date=11 February 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-12] Despite no professional music training, Zelmani became a songwriter and recorded some songs at a local studio. After she mailed the demos to three record companies, Zelmani was offered a record deal by
Sony Music Sweden.Career
Zelmani had never performed in front of an audience, but recorded her debut self-titled album with Sony in 1995. The album was produced and arranged by Lars Halapi [cite news |first=David |last=Sinclair |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Gentle on my mind |url= |work= |publisher=The Times (retrieved from Factiva) |date=7 June 1996 |accessdate=2008-02-12] (co-produced by Patrik Sventelius), who also played guitar. She described the process of making the album: "In the beginning Lars and I spent a few months in the studio. We had fun and then picked the musicians. We recorded in two weeks but the whole thing took half a year."cite news |first=Ara |last=Jansen |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Curtain up for Swede in search of a hobby |url= |work= |publisher=The West Australian (retrieved from Factiva) |date=22 August 1996 |accessdate=2008-02-12] By 1997, Zelmani's debut album had sold 200,000 copies in Europe and Asia Pacific, before moving to the US market, distributed by
Columbia Records . [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Global success begins at home |url= |work= |publisher=Music Business International (retrieved from Factiva) |date=1 February 1997 |accessdate=2008-02-12] Zelmani said, "I had no ambitions to go abroad. I knew I wanted to make a record. That's all I wanted." Columbia's marketing campaign included CD sampler giveaways, consumer press, and rotation onSAS Airlines flights between Scandinavia and the US. [cite news |first=Doug |last=Reece |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=New wave of Nordic bands looks to U.S. (Swedish bands) |url= |work= |publisher=Billboard (retrieved from Factiva) |date=14 December 1996 |accessdate=2008-02-12]Zelmani has continued to record albums while making only a small number of public appearances due to shyness. She won a best newcomer award in Sweden's
Grammy awards in 1996. [cite news |first=Jon |last=Bream |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Music: Sophie Zelmani |url= |work= |publisher=Star-Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities Mpls.-St. Paul |date=15 November 1996 |accessdate=2008-02-12]Discography
* "The Ocean And Me" (2008); Professional rating: World of Music Rating|3.5|5 [cite journal|title=musik angehört|p=29|journal=WOM magazin|issue=September 08|pages=23|publisher=World of Music de icon]
* "Memory Loves You" (2007)
* "A Decade of Dreams" (2005)
* "Love Affair" (2003)
* "Sing and Dance" (2002)
* "Time to Kill" (1999)
* "Precious Burden" (1998)
* "Sophie Zelmani" (1995)Zelmani has also contributed music to the TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "
Dawson's Creek ". Her cover ofBob Dylan 's "Most Of The Time" appears on the soundtrack to "Masked and Anonymous ". [cite news |first=Andrew |last=Neff |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Oddball Dylan collection has curious flair |url= |work= |publisher=Bangor Daily News (retrieved from Factiva) |date=7 February 2004 |accessdate=2008-02-12]References
External links
* [http://www.sophie-zelmani.com Official homepage]
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