Today, we’re thrilled to be speaking with Gabriel Jemsten, a rising 23-year-old musician based in Lund, Sweden, whose introspective soundscapes are quickly garnering attention. His journey into music began early, driven by a lifelong passion and a dream to record and share his own material. His latest release ‘Pure Light Blue’ marks a significant step in his artistic evolution. The track, which features in a documentary about Åsa’s life, explores themes of loss, renewal, and emotional transformation with a delicate, impressionistic approach. In this interview, Jemsten opens up about the inspiration behind his new song and how working on a project tied to someone else’s story brought new depth and discipline to his creative process. He discusses the role of quietness in his music, the careful balance of knowing when a song is complete, and the collaborative techniques used to shape the track’s atmospheric sound. While he leaves interpretation of the song open to the listener, there’s no mistaking the emotional resonance that defines his work. With a new single on the way this August, Gabriel Jemsten is clearly just getting started.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Gabriel Jemsten, can you introduce yourself?
I am a 23 year old musician based in Lund, Sweden, i have always loved music since I can remember and my dream has always been to record my own material, a dream that has been granted ten-fold over the last two years and something that I am very grateful for!
Your new song ‘Pure Light Blue’ is tied to a documentary about Åsa’s life. How did her story influence your approach to music?
Well it is kind of an impressionistic touch on her life tied closely to my own. It is about loss and rebirth and getting over a loss.
Did writing this track feel different from your earlier work?
Yes! It was from the beginning meant to be in this documentary so it was more people than me that depended on this song being finished, so it gave me extra fuel to follow through with getting it done.
This song has been described as “impressionistic”, what does that concept mean to you in the context of songwriting?
Well it is not about Åsas life as to say, it is more vague and more about the concept of loss and rebirth.
There’s so much power in the quietness of this track. How do you know when a song is finished, when to stop adding and let the stillness speak?
I think that I try to add as much as possible to the song and then strip back parts that need to be stripped back. I also get a ton of help from my producer Joakim Lindberg.
Can you talk about the specific techniques and instruments you used to build this atmosphere?
We double tracked both the guitar and the voice to give it a little bit more fullness and also hired session musicians that had a lot of experience and they lended their knowledge to the track so it was very collaborative!
What do you hope listeners feel when they hear ‘Pure Light Blue’ for the first time?
I don’t really know, I think it’s best to leave that to the listener themselves. I hope they like it but more than that I can’t ask for!
What’s next on the horizon for Gabriel Jemsten?
I have a new single that has just been recorded that I will release somewhere in August, it is a lot different from this song but very unique!
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