Michael Saxell
Encyclopedia
Michael Saxell is a singer-songwriter, composer
, lyricist
, multi-instrumentalist
and producer
. He was born in Helsingborg
, Sweden
but has spent many years on the Canadian west coast
. He composed music for the Colin Nutley
movie Änglagård - andra sommaren
and for the soundtrack of Blådårar.
Saxell grew up in the southern Swedish
town of Malmö
and currently resides in Ystad
.
He has written words and music to Scania
n classics Om himlen och Österlen
and När en flicka talar skånska
.
More than 300 of his songs are recorded by other artists. Michael Saxell has earned 13 gold, 5 platinum and 3 multiplatinum Scandinavian records.
Michael Saxell composed the Lithuania
n Grammy winning song of the year "Yra kaip yra" for the artist Mia in 2007 along with co-writers Christian Svensson and Sandra diAmante. The song was also the most played pop song on Lithuanian pop radio in 2007.
Saxell is featured as lead singer and co-writer of two songs with Keith Reid
on the 2008 international release of the Procol Harum
lyricist's album The Keith Reid Project - The Common Thread along with John Waite
, Chris Thompson
, Southside Johnny
, Steve Booker
, Terry Reid
, Chaz Jankel and Bernie Shanahan.
Michael Saxell received the prestigious SKAP (Swedish Composers of Popular Music) Stipendium award, honoring the memory of the Swedish songwriter
and composer
Evert Taube
at an awards ceremony conducted at The Nordic Museum
in Stockholm
in May 2010.
He is co-writer with Randy Bachman
on the song Repo Man on Bachman & Turner (Album)
, formerly of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, September 2010 worldwide album release.
Michael Saxell was warm-up act for British
guitar legend Jeff Beck
on his 1980 Canadian tour.
Saxell's co-writing partners include Randy Bachman
, Eric Bazilian
, Douglas Carr
, Randy Goodrum
, Maurizio Fabrizio, Tim Krekel
, Dickey Lee
, Agi Lindroth, Christoffer Lundquist, Peter McCann
, Cris Moore, Craig Northey
, Keith Reid
, Steve Porcaro
, Mikael Rickfors
, Christian Svensson, Jacques Werup
, and many others.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. He was born in Helsingborg
Helsingborg
Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
but has spent many years on the Canadian west coast
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. He composed music for the Colin Nutley
Colin Nutley
Colin Nutley is an English director successful in the Swedish film industry.-Career:Nutley went to Portsmouth Art College and began his career in British television as a graphic designer. He then turned to drama and documentary film-making for ITV, BBC and Channel 4...
movie Änglagård - andra sommaren
Änglagård - andra sommaren
Änglagård – andra sommaren is a 1994 Swedish drama by Colin Nutley starring Helena Bergström, Rikard Wolff, Ron Dean, and Ernst Günther. It is the second Swedish drama film about the mansion Änglagård located in a small isolated hamlet in Västergötland, Sweden. The film premiered on 25 December...
and for the soundtrack of Blådårar.
Saxell grew up in the southern Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
town of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
and currently resides in Ystad
Ystad
Ystad is a "locality", or town, and the seat of Ystad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden, with 17,286 inhabitants .Settlement dates back to the 11th century and the town has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre and tourist attraction...
.
He has written words and music to Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
n classics Om himlen och Österlen
Om himlen och Österlen
Om himlen och Österlen is a popular song composed by Scanian Swedish singer-songwriter Michael Saxell from Ystad in 1991. The lyrics are largely autobiographical; the story of a man who moved to North America from the Österlen region in southeastern Scania at a young age and returned to his...
and När en flicka talar skånska
När en flicka talar skånska
"När en flicka talar skånska" written by Ystad singer-songwriter Michael Saxell is a southern Swedish song and was made famous by singer Danne Stråhed. In 1993 it was recorded by Wizex on the album Vår hemmagjorda dansmusik....
.
More than 300 of his songs are recorded by other artists. Michael Saxell has earned 13 gold, 5 platinum and 3 multiplatinum Scandinavian records.
Michael Saxell composed the Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n Grammy winning song of the year "Yra kaip yra" for the artist Mia in 2007 along with co-writers Christian Svensson and Sandra diAmante. The song was also the most played pop song on Lithuanian pop radio in 2007.
Saxell is featured as lead singer and co-writer of two songs with Keith Reid
Keith Reid
Keith Reid is a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every Procol Harum song that is not a cover...
on the 2008 international release of the Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
lyricist's album The Keith Reid Project - The Common Thread along with John Waite
John Waite
John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...
, Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson, also known as Chris Hamlet Thompson is an English singer and guitarist known both for his work with Manfred Mann's Earth Band and for his solo accomplishments.- Biography :...
, Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny
Southside Johnny is an American singer-songwriter, who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.-Early days:...
, Steve Booker
Steve Booker (producer)
Steve Booker is an award-winning British music producer and songwriter best known for "Mercy", "Stepping Stone" and "Rain on Your Parade", three hits he produced and co-wrote for Duffy's Brit and Grammy award winning debut album "Rockferry"...
, Terry Reid
Terry Reid
Terry Reid is an English rock vocalist and guitarist. He has performed with high profile musicians, as a supporting act, a session musician, and sideman.- History :...
, Chaz Jankel and Bernie Shanahan.
Michael Saxell received the prestigious SKAP (Swedish Composers of Popular Music) Stipendium award, honoring the memory of the Swedish songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Evert Taube
Evert Taube
Evert Axel Taube was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is best known for his folk songs, and is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians.-Biography:...
at an awards ceremony conducted at The Nordic Museum
Nordic Museum
The Nordic Museum is a museum located on Djurgården, an island in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to the cultural history and ethnography of Sweden from the Early Modern age until the contemporary period...
in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in May 2010.
He is co-writer with Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...
on the song Repo Man on Bachman & Turner (Album)
Bachman & Turner (Album)
- Bachman & Turner :* Randy Bachman – Composer, Guitar, Vocals, Producer* Fred Turner – Composer, Bass Guitar, Vocals* Mick Dalla-Vee – Guitar, Background Vocals* Brent Knudson – Guitar, Background Vocals* Marc LaFrance – Drums, Background Vocals...
, formerly of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, September 2010 worldwide album release.
Michael Saxell was warm-up act for British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
guitar legend Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
on his 1980 Canadian tour.
Saxell's co-writing partners include Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...
, Eric Bazilian
Eric Bazilian
Eric M. Bazilian , is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer, best known for being a founding member of the rock band The Hooters.-Early life:...
, Douglas Carr
Douglas Carr
Douglas Ward Carr was an English amateur cricketer.Carr went to Brasenose College at Oxford University and while there played both football and cricket...
, Randy Goodrum
Randy Goodrum
Randy Goodrum is an American songwriter. Goodrum has written numerous popular songs, including Anne Murray's #1 hit "You Needed Me" and "Broken Hearted Me" , Michael Johnson's "Bluer Than Blue" , England Dan & John Ford Coley's "It's Sad to Belong" , Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie" , DeBarge's "Who's...
, Maurizio Fabrizio, Tim Krekel
Tim Krekel
Tim Krekel was an American rock musician and country music songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky.- Early life :...
, Dickey Lee
Dickey Lee
Royden Dickey Lipscomb , known professionally as Dickey Lee , is an American pop/country singer and songwriter, best known for the 1960s teenage tragedy songs "Patches" and "Laurie ."-Career:Lee made his first recordings in his hometown of Memphis for Tampa...
, Agi Lindroth, Christoffer Lundquist, Peter McCann
Peter McCann
Peter McCann is an American singer and songwriter, who later resided in Nashville, Tennessee. As a staff writer with ABC Music he wrote the song "Right Time of the Night", which was a Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit for Jennifer Warnes in May 1977...
, Cris Moore, Craig Northey
Craig Northey
Craig Northey is a Canadian musician and one of the founding members of the band Odds.After the breakup of Odds in 1999, Northey has embarked on several other ventures, including working with Colin James, Rosanne Cash, Glen Phillips, Bruce McCulloch and many others...
, Keith Reid
Keith Reid
Keith Reid is a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every Procol Harum song that is not a cover...
, Steve Porcaro
Steve Porcaro
Steven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro is an American keyboardist and composer, who was an original member of the rock/pop band Toto....
, Mikael Rickfors
Mikael Rickfors
Mikael Rickfors was born in Stockholm, Sweden, 4 December 1948. From 1968 he was the lead singer and bass guitarist in popular Swedish band Bamboo. The band released two singles before breaking up in 1970. Rickfors would later perform with the British rock group The Hollies for about two years....
, Christian Svensson, Jacques Werup
Jacques Werup
Jacques Werup, born January 14, 1945 in Malmö, is a Swedish musician, author, poet, stage artist and screenwriter. Werup's poetry is often associated to jazz. He was a childhood friend of Mikael Wiehe and Göran Skytte and had his first novel published in 1971...
, and many others.
Discography (as solo artist)
- Christmas - the living room recordings(w Jennifer Saxell), Egna Händer 2009
- Alltid en vals(w Jalle Lorensson), Egna Händer 2008
- The Common Thread"(The Keith ReidKeith ReidKeith Reid is a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every Procol Harum song that is not a cover...
Project), Rockville Music 2008 - Om himlen och Österlen, Egna Händer, 2006
- Wonky Windmill, Rootsy/Cobblestone Music, 2005
- Red and Blue, Wide Road Music/EMI, 1986
- It's Good To Be Alive, Mercury/PolyGram, 1981
Discography (as producer)
- Här Är Den Sköna Sommar, Lill LindforsLill LindforsLillemor "Lill" Lindfors is a Finland-Swedish/Swedish singer. Born in Helsinki, Finland she has been performing in Scandinavia with minor and major success since the 1960s. She debuted as a revue actress in Uddevalla in 1960 and the following year as a recording artist...
, EMI, 2006 - Sken, Jacques WerupJacques WerupJacques Werup, born January 14, 1945 in Malmö, is a Swedish musician, author, poet, stage artist and screenwriter. Werup's poetry is often associated to jazz. He was a childhood friend of Mikael Wiehe and Göran Skytte and had his first novel published in 1971...
, Gazell Records, 2005 - Gör Mig Lite Levande, Lill Lindfors & Jacques Werup, Gazell Records 2004
- Karin GlenmarkKarin GlenmarkKarin Glenmark, born 8 April 1952, is a Swedish pop and rock singer. She is the niece to Bruno Glenmark and sister to Anders Glenmark. Together with Anders, she is a part of the siblings duo Gemini, and together with uncle Bruno and his wife Ann-Louise Hanson, they formed the group Glenmarks.She...
, Pool Sounds/Carlton Music, 1996 - Lost It All, Adversity, Manic Ears, 1988