Mazarin

Masarin is a Swedish word meaning a tea cake with a close English counterpart - cup cake. Real masarines can be tasted in a cafe at one of the stores of Swedish household goods . ^[3]

The recording of the album began in early 2003 , after the release of Roxette 's The Pop Hits . ^{[4] The} sessions were held at the acoustic studio of guitarist and producer Christopher Lundqvist in the province of Skåne in southern Sweden. The Aegosol Gray Machine studio has several acoustic echo rooms, as well as a collection of instruments assembled by Lundqvist, which made it possible to achieve an unusual sound compared to the rest of Gessle's. ^[five]

When performing songs, there was a need for female vocals. Then Lundqvist recommended Peru to Helena Yousefsson , then the young singer of Sandy Mouche , whose album Lundqvist produced. The backing vocalist lived up to expectations, later thanks to the success of the album, she worked with Gyllene Tider ( 2004 ) and other Gessle solo albums ( 2005 , 2007 and 2009 ). ^[6]

While working on the album, Per Gessle also tried himself for the first time as a director by filming the documentary “En mazarin blir till” (Production of the album “Masarin”). The film lasts about 30 minutes and talks about writing songs and the work of musicians in the studio. Initially, the film was recorded on DVD and released as an attachment to the album with a circulation of only 5 thousand copies. An additional 4 thousand copies were made later due to high demand for the disc. The film was included on DVD ^[7] with a live concert in Gothenburg , which was released after a summer tour in support of the new disc. ^[eight]

Another documentary film “Per Gessle - Ta en kaka till (Have another cookie)”, also later recorded on the tour DVD ^[7] , was broadcast by the Swedish SVT channel on September 25, 2003 due to the great attention to the album. ^[9]

The regular (regular) edition of the album was released on June 16, 2003 in Sweden, Denmark and Norway . On June 20, a limited edition album with the DVD movie "En mazarin blir till" was released in the same countries.

By the name of the album, the musicians who participated in its recording, fans unofficially unite under the common name - Mazarinerna .

Overview

1. Vilket håll du än går - before the song begins to sound, birds chirp, which, according to Pera, should remind of summer ^[6]
2. Om du bara vill - in 2007 this song Per Gessle and Helena Yousefsson were performed at concerts together. During the tour of the same year, underwear with the name of the song, “All that you want!” Was sold in a tent with souvenirs.
3. På promenad genom stan - a song about a walk in Halmstad , Pera's hometown. Marie Fredriksson recorded backing vocals for her at the Vinden studio in her home in Jursholm.
4. Smakar på ett regn - a sad song about summer and how to romantically walk in the rain and taste it.
5. Gungar is a melodic ballad in a guitar arrangement by Christopher Lundqvist.
6. Födelsedag - written and performed in the Roxette style of the mid-1990s. Dedicated to the birthday of Gabriel, the son of a musician. This song was performed at the festival dedicated to the birthday of the Swedish crown princess Victoria in the presence of the birthday girl and His Royal Majesty Karl XIV Gustav on July 14, 2003 . ^{[10] [11]}
7. Sakta mina steg - a melodic lullaby that Per sings with falsetto.
8. Tycker om när du tar på mej - the author of the song has repeatedly admitted from the scene ^[7] and in an interview that this is his favorite song. Fans of the group decided that since Per always out of habit calls one of the songs from the new album “his most beloved”, soon with the release of the new album, a new “favorite song” will appear. However, this did not happen. “Tycker om ...” is still the only song that Gessle speaks about. Apparently because he dedicated it to his wife. ^[6]
9. Spegelboll - a glass ball, like those that hang at discos and spin, reflecting the light of spotlights and spotlights. Fast, rhythmic composition. The only song on the album recorded and edited in HDCD format. It was supposed to release a DVD single, but later only a 12 "single was released on white vinyl.
10. För bra för att vara sant - performed in the style of Roxette, guitar riffs and pretty loud vocals of Pera
11. Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) is the first and most successful single from the album. The popularity of the song was so high that Per performed it at a concert dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Gyllene Tider , despite the fact that this song was from his solo album. ^[12]
12. Jag tror du bär en stor hemlighet - a rhythmic song with unusual percussion performed by Helena Youssefsson.
13. Varmt igen is a slow and melodic song about hope for sun and warmth. Actual in cold Swedish winters. This song was included on Peter Jöback's album "Jag kommer hem igen till jul", which was released in November 2002 in Sweden.
14. Mazarin is an instrumental song, a continuation of the previous song.

Album cover and booklet

The author of the photo for the cover of the album was the Dutch photographer and director Anton Corbane , who collaborated with such musicians as Depeche Mode , U2 and others. Photos for the booklet were taken in Rome , Italy in March 2003 . ^[13] Booklet drawings and lyrics were painted and hand-written by Per Gessle personally according to Corbane’s design. The photographer also personally directed the stage design for the tour in support of the album Mazarin sommarturné 2003 . ^[five]

After working on the Mazarin album, Per invited Corbane to work on covers for his other solo albums (2005, 2007).

Record Members

Per Gessle ( Swedish: Per Gessle ) - vocals , electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica
Christopher Lundquist ( Swedish: Cristoffer Lundquist ) - electric guitar, backing vocals, banjo
Helena Josefsson ( Swedish Helena Josefsson ) - backing vocals, percussion
Jens Jonsson ( Swedish: Hens Jonsson ) - drums
Clarence Ewerman ( Swede. Clarence Ofwerman ) - keyboards
Jonas Isaksson ( Swede. Jonas Isaksson ) - an electric and acoustic guitar
Anders Herrlin ( Swedish Anders Herrlin ) - bass, backing vocals
Marie Fredriksson ( Swedish Marie Fredriksson ) - backing vocals (in the song “På promenad genom stan”)

• Spegelball

On 12 "white vinyl, a promotional single, only in Denmark. Only 500 copies. On each side of A and B, only one song is recorded, Spegelball.

• Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) ^[14]

1. Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) (2.39)
2. Nu ar det ju juli igen, ju (2.18)

• Om du bara vill ^[15] Promosingle, only in Norway.

1. Om du bara vill (3.46)

• På promenad genom stan

1. På promenad genom stan
2. Inte tillsammans, inte isar (demo No. 2, studio Tits & Ass, June 28, 2003 )

The promotion “På promenad genom stan” has a CDPRO4330 catalog number and the same track listing as a regular single.

• Tycker om när du tar på mej

1. Tycker om när du tar på mej (3.25)
2. Mannen dem guitarr (demo November 20, 2002 ) (3.15)
3. Viskar (demo August 30, 2002) (3.29)
4. Kyss fran en framling (demo October 18, 1999 ) (3.03)

• Per Bürman, a correspondent for the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet , says that Gessle offers the listener a “direct and easy pop.” The reviewer is extremely positive about the album, calling it "beautiful." He highlights the title single “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)”, and also notes the songs “Vilket håll du än går” and “Smakar på ett regn”. Bürman says of the song “Tycker om när du tar på mig” as the best ballad Gessle ever wrote, and the song “Spegelboll”, according to the critic, is Blondie’s “Atomic” version. ^[sixteen]
• Anders Nunsted, a columnist for the Swedish newspaper Expressen , writes that Gessle's album sounds "sensational." In his opinion, this is "basic radio pop, but in a different form." According to the critic, the album feels "very personal." The song “På promenad genom stan” is called “great ballad” and is compared to Gylle Tider's hit “Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång”. “Tycker om när du tar på mig” is called the album’s strongest composition and “Gessle's classic song”. Födelsedag is also highlighted as “real rock” and “Spegelboll”. At the end of the review, Nunstead, speaking of Gessle, notes that "the guy is so unique that his last name is a synonym for sound." ^[17]
• Stefan Malmqvist, columnist for the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, rates the album 5 out of 5. He writes that Mazarin will be Sweden's most played CD. According to the critic, songs such as “Vilket håll du än går”, “På promenad genom stan” and “Här kommer alla känslorna” “will sound from every corner on summer evenings”. He compares the song “Spegelboll” with the hit of Blondie “Call me”. At the end of the review, Malmqvist notes that Gessle in this album "found his best sides." ^[18]
• Fredrik Velander, a columnist for the Dagens Skiva portal (Daily Record) rated the album 7 out of 10. He writes that Gessle and his voice “are forever associated in Sweden with summer and the album Mazarin is no exception.” He calls Födelsedag the best work of Gessle since the heyday of Gyllene Tider (in 1996). The same applies to Spegelboll: “a small sensation on the dance floor of a city hotel this summer.” ^[nineteen]
• The Norwegian newspapers VG, Aftenposten ^[20] , Nettavisen ^[21] rated the album 5 out of 6, while the Norwegian Dagbladet rated 4 out of 6. ^[22]
• After the release of the album, the Swedish tabloid " Aftonbladet " called Per Gessle "the king of pop music." ^{[23] [24]}

Progress

• Disc sales totaled more than 350,000 copies (5 platinum awards, 2891 certificate ^[25] ), becoming Sweden's best-selling music album in 2003 . He brought Peru Gessla several Swedish music awards, including “Best Album of the Year” (2003) and “Best Performer” (2003). ^[13]
• For 66 weeks (1 year and 3 months), the album was in the most influential list of the best CDs in Sweden , of which 15 weeks (3.5 months) - in the first place ^[26] . On the charts of Norway, the album lasted 9 weeks.
• In the list of the best discs sold in Sweden since 1970, Mazarin takes 8th place. Since the start of sales in the homeland of the musician, the disc has received platinum status 7 times. ^[27]

Tours

On June 10, 2003, a small concert was held in the Leif's Lounge of the Tulosand Hotel in Halmstad, where songs from this album were performed. To get to the show was possible only by special invitations. This performance was a kind of promotional concert before the upcoming summer tour. ^[28]

After the release of the album in June 2003, it was announced that a tour of Sweden would take place in July and August. The tour became very successful. For example, the premiere concert in Halmstad was sold out several hours after the tickets were on sale, and the 5 most popular ^[29] concerts sold in Sweden in the summer of 2003 were for Gessle. ^[30] Mats Ronander performed at the opening of Swedish concerts. ^[31]

The first concert of the tour in Halmstad, which was attended by 13,000 people, received the most flattering press ratings. ^[32] Additional concert tickets were issued for some concerts due to the large number of people wishing to attend the show. ^[33]

After the tour in Sweden it became known that the musicians plan to perform in the clubs of Helsinki , Oslo and Copenhagen . The last concert was canceled for a reason still unknown. The remaining concerts took place, each attended by approximately 250-300 people. ^[6]

• Official site of Pera Gessle
• Mazarinerna Project Page

• Roberth Thorselius. The look for Roxette. The illustrated worldwide discography & price guide . - Premium Forlag AB, 2003. - ISBN 978-9197189484 .
• Sven Lindström. Att vara Per Gessle . - Albert Bonniers Förlag, 2007 .-- ISBN 9789100112004 .