Albin Lee Meldau

Counting Sam Cooke and Van Morrison among his idols, Albin Lee Meldau is a Swedish singer/songwriter with a throaty delivery rooted in classic soul. He made his major-label debut with the Bloodshot EP in 2017 before going all the way to number two on Sweden’s album chart with his full-length debut, About You, in 2018. Following a string of short-form releases, including 2019′s Top 20-charting Merry Little Christmas, over the next five years, he offered up the pining “When You’re Here,” the lead single to his second album, in 2023.
Meldau was born and raised in Gothenburg; his mother, Annika Blennerhed, was a professional folk-rock and jazz singer, and his English father, Max Meldau, recorded and released new wave music in the early ’80s. A young Albin Lee Meldau shared their interest in music, taking trumpet lessons and singing in choir. At the age of 12, he started a cover band. Later, as a young adult, Meldau formed a retro-soul band called Magnolia.
He began his recording career in his mid-twenties, releasing the debut single “Lou Lou” in 2015. The demo of the song won him the opportunity to record with Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, who produced his first EP, Lovers. It was released by Astralwerks in 2016. The Bloodshot EP followed a year later, and he was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2017 Grammis. As his reputation grew, he had the opportunity to collaborate with songwriters including Jimmy Napes (Sam Smith, Jessie Ware) and producers Bastian Langebæk (Jack Garratt, Jessie Ware) and Jamie Scott (One Direction, Alex & Sierra) on his full-length debut. About You arrived on Astralwerks in 2018. It peaked at number two on Sweden’s album chart.
Meldau remained a fixture on the Swedish charts over the next several years with EPs including 2019′s Merry Little Christmas (number 12), the two-part På Svenska (released together for a Top 40 appearance in 2020), and 2021′s Epistlar (number 29), another Swedish-language outing. Over on the singles chart, he went to number 15 with Epistlar’s “Josefin,” rose a spot better with the 2022 tribute “Mamma,” and peaked at 35 with 2022′s “Gör Dig Glad,” an acoustic duet with Swedish singer GRANT (Alma Caroline Cederlöf). In 2023, he promised a return to the full-length format with the June release of the single “When You’re Here,” from his second album. ~ Marcy Donelson