Complete artist CV
Krister Svensson / Kris Woodbird
Biography
Krister Svensson, working as Kris Woodbird, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and interdisciplinary artist whose work has moved through experimental rock, indie pop, electronic music, singer-songwriter traditions and interdisciplinary art. Originally from Lund in southern Sweden and based in Stockholm since 1991, Svensson began recording himself at the age of four or five. Although he did not fully emerge as a songwriter until much later, music has always been part of his life — a way to grow, understand and process experience through song and poetry. From approximately 1976 to 1989 he studied music and drums through private tuition with Bent Schmidt and Peter Danemo, as well as at Jazzinstitutet in Malmö. He later emerged from the punk, post-punk, new-wave and experimental music scenes of 1980s Lund. His artistic practice spans nearly four decades and includes work as a drummer, songwriter, composer, lead vocalist, lyricist, performer and independent record maker.
Overview
Beginning primarily as a drummer, Svensson gradually developed into a songwriter, composer and lead vocalist. His artistic history includes Kirres Kammarrock, That Barnes Woman!, American Brain, Jari, Cinnamon, Planet of the Poodles, AMP 45, Wan Light, Krister & Alm, Bowyer Hawks, Paris St Paul and, since 2016, his principal solo identity Kris Woodbird. His recordings have been released through or associated with Heartwork Records, Stockholm Records, Universal, Labrador Records, Beat Rude Records, Wood & Bird Records and Labelcaster.
Profile
Swedish artist, songwriter, vocalist, musician and lyricist working across experimental pop, indie folk, poetic pop and interdisciplinary art. Born in southern Sweden, he emerged from Lund’s punk, new-wave and art-music scene before moving to Stockholm in 1991. His work is marked by intimate vocals, narrative lyrics and arrangements that move between acoustic closeness and experimental textures.
Music education
- c. 1976–1989 Private music and drum studies with Bent Schmidt and Peter Danemo, and studies at Jazzinstitutet in Malmö.
Artistic practice
Woodbird’s practice centres on songwriting as a meeting place for music, poetry, memory and image. Voice and language are treated as physical materials: fragile, direct and open to collaboration. Alongside solo recordings, he works with musicians, producers and visual artists in projects that extend songs into performance, installation, printed editions and exhibition formats.
Current artistic work
- Your Lost Loving Hands — ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration with Diana Storåsen. Storåsen draws freely; Woodbird writes music and lyrics in response to the drawings and their continuing conversations. Storåsen contributes to the development of lyrics and performance. The project brings drawing, music, poetry and dialogue together as recordings, editions, exhibitions and live work.
- Recording and performing as Kris Woodbird since 2016, often collaborating live and in the studio with musician and producer Mattias Olsson and musician Jonathan Segel.
- Label and distribution partner: Labelcaster.
Kris Woodbird — albums
- Monsters of Heart (2017).
- Before a Thousand Birds Leave the Forest (2019).
- Born in to the sun (2025).
- Tall buildings and lakes (2025).
Kris Woodbird — EPs
- If I Am in Love with You (2025).
- Le bonheur c'est nous, Lovebirds & heroes, other sketches (2025).
Kris Woodbird — singles
- Alien & River (2016).
- Monsters of Heart (2016).
- Frisco Bay McQueens Escape (2017).
- I Want Tell Anyone That I Love Them (2017).
- Lovebirds & Heros (2017).
- New York (2017).
- Second Last Day of the Year (2017).
- Alaska (2018).
- Butterflies on the Interstate (2018).
- Friendship Is a Star (2018).
- Home & Hurricane (2018).
- I Am a Boy (2018).
- Lovers (2018).
- My Name Is Free, I Am a Forest (2018).
- Ocean Between (feat. Meive) (2018).
- The Owl, Only Building a Heart (2018).
- Animal, Wood, Sunset (2019).
- Before the Sky Welcome the Trees (2019).
- Beth (2019).
- Crashed and Came Out as a Sparrow (2019).
- I Wish I Wasn't so Hard to Love (2019).
- Love Is a House on a Hill (2019).
- Somehow I Know You Will Miss Me (2019).
- Sound & View from a Falling Sky (2019).
- Strangers & Athletic Poets (2019).
- Touch Me Now, Before I Fall Apart (2019).
- Before I Disappear (2020).
- By Your Side (2020).
- Crashed Cars (2020).
- I Am Love (2020).
- Indiansummer (2020).
- Waterfall & Bears (2020).
- White Bird (2020).
- Birds (2021).
- It's Easy (2021).
- Leaving Everything (2021).
- Not Dark (2021).
- I Would Appear Like This (2022).
- the beginning was so much harder than the end (2023).
- Angel, Waiting for the plane (2024).
- Butterfly (2024).
- I Was Born In To The Shade (2024).
- Picture Deli (2024).
- Sailing Out of Age (2024).
- Sarah (2024).
- Satellites (2024).
- She's a Thin Line, On the Lake (2024).
- The Cloud, The Sun And The Heart (2024).
- When you are gone (2024).
- After the Dark (2025).
- BERLIN (2025).
- Black Bird (2025).
- Fly the Bird (2025).
- Heading home from LA (2025).
- heroin on a sunday (2025).
- know this (2025).
- Loaded for bear (2025).
- Lovebirds & Heroes (2025).
- October (2025).
- Paris, Amsterdam, New York (2025).
- Salt whisper & Milky veil (2025).
- Summer Milk, and famous bars. (2025).
- Talking about Sandy (2025).
- The flip side of ice (2025).
- The love you never found (2025).
- The more I think about it (2025).
- There is a storm behind your eyes (2025).
- Tiden som har gått, var allt som vi har haft (feat. Krister Svensson) (2025).
- Wolf, And Game (2025).
- You are the sun (2025).
- birchtree (2026).
- Birds, lovers and trees (2026).
- Burning Star (2026).
- Demons (2026).
- Going back to San Francisco just to see you again (2026).
- Sand (2026).
- Silhouettes (2026).
Related releases under Krister Svensson include Håll Mig, Mitt Namn Är Fri, Faller Sönder and the Bowyer Hawks collaboration Mexico.
Your Lost Loving Hands — releases
- Burning Star — 11 September 2026.
- Birch Tree — 18 September 2026.
- Birds, Lovers and Trees — 2 October 2026.
- Your Lost Loving Hands — 9 October 2026.
- Only Hear Your Spirit — 16 October 2026.
- Carry You — forthcoming, 23 October 2026.
Kulturmejeriet / Mejeriet, Lund
Grassroots cultural activism. During the same period Svensson was involved in the movement around Kulturmejeriet in Lund. He participated in the occupation and campaigning around the building and the effort to establish a permanent place for music, art and independent culture. That movement eventually contributed to the establishment of Mejeriet, which became one of Lund’s central music and cultural venues. This environment—where music, art, cultural organisation and independent production overlapped—became an important part of Svensson’s early artistic background.
Kirres Kammarrock
Drums · Experimental / Art Music · 1980s. One of Svensson’s earliest musical projects was Kirres Kammarrock, part of Lund’s independent and experimental music environment during the 1980s. He played drums on “Kvasiockerala Deltafagen”, included on the compilation Fullt Ös Från Källare Till Vind in 1987, as well as on a single. The group combined elements of art music, rock, experimentation and performance and played a large number of small, independent and unconventional venues. The project reflects an early interest in music outside conventional genre boundaries—an approach that has remained present throughout Svensson’s later work.
That Barnes Woman!
Drums. Svensson played drums with the Lund independent band That Barnes Woman! The band released the mini-album The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born through Heartwork Records in 1989. This connects Svensson directly to the independent Lund scene surrounding Heartwork Records during the late 1980s.
American Brain
Early independent band and collaborative work within the Lund music environment.
Jari — 1990–1991
Drums. Around 1990–1991 Svensson played drums with Jari, an artist associated with EMI. Recordings were made during this period, although the material featuring Svensson was never commercially released.
Cinnamon
Drums · Live member / early formation · Soap Records / MNW · Island Records / PolyGram. Svensson was involved during the formative period of Swedish indie-pop band Cinnamon. He is credited on drums on the debut album Summer Meditation (Soap Records / MNW, 1995), with Mats Persson credited on “Take Me (Out Tonight)”. Material from Cinnamon’s early Swedish recordings was subsequently included on The Courier, released internationally by Island Records / PolyGram in 1997. His role in the early live version of the band was extensive: he performed with Cinnamon while the band was being established, including appearances at Trästockfestivalen and Hultsfred. Svensson, Magnus Karnock and Björn Öqvist left after the debut-album period and went on to form Planet of the Poodles.
Planet of the Poodles
Drums · Songwriting · Stockholm Records / Universal Music. Svensson played drums with Planet of the Poodles and contributed to the band’s songwriting and recordings. The group’s releases include the single “I Owe Her” (Stockholm Records, 1997/1998) and A Different Pace (1998), released within the Stockholm Records / Universal music-company structure.
AMP 45
Drums · Songwriting · Vocals. Svensson played drums and contributed to the songwriting in AMP 45. He also sang lead vocals on the track “Never Talked It Through”.
Wan Light
Vocals · Songwriting · Labrador Records · EMI Music Publishing · Wood & Bird Records · Pacifique Records. Co-founded in Stockholm with Magnus Karnock in 2002. Svensson worked with vocals, songwriting and artistic direction across three albums and three EPs: Landmarks and Houses (2003), Let’s Wake Up Somewhere Else (2003/2004), That Grim Reality (2005), Carmaline (2005), Space Canaries (2013) and The Tug of War EP featuring The Clarets (2021). The first period was released by Labrador Records, with publishing connected to EMI Music Publishing; Space Canaries was released independently through the group’s own label, while The Tug of War EP was released by Pacifique Records. Wan Light performed in Sweden and internationally, including London.
Krister & Alm
An interdisciplinary collaboration combining music with photography and visual presentation. The project reflects an artistic direction that later became increasingly central to Svensson’s work: allowing music, images, writing and other artistic forms to function as parts of the same work.
Bowyer Hawks
Svensson collaborated with Paris-based deep-house artist Bowyer Hawks on Mexico, released in 2016 by Beat Rude Records in the UK. The release included the original work together with a Korius remix.
Paris St Paul
Independent electronic and collaborative project represented in Svensson’s catalogue by the release Silhouettes (2026).
Kris Woodbird
Solo recording and performance identity used since 2016. The project brings together intimate vocals, narrative songwriting, acoustic instruments and experimental arrangements, often in collaboration with Mattias Olsson and Jonathan Segel.
Your Lost Loving Hands
Interdisciplinary collaboration with Diana Storåsen, uniting drawing, music, lyrics, dialogue, performance and printed editions. Storåsen’s drawings and the artists’ conversations provide starting points for Woodbird’s music and texts; Storåsen also contributes to the development of lyrics and performance.
Independent release work
Alongside his work as an artist, Svensson has remained closely involved in independent production and release processes: developing recordings, visual identity, presentation, distribution and collaborations across music and art. Current label and distribution work is carried out with Labelcaster.
Labels, publishers & releases
- Kirres Kammarrock: “Kvasiockerala Deltafagen” on the Lund compilation Fullt Ös Från Källare Till Vind (1987); single.
- That Barnes Woman! / Heartwork Records: The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1989).
- Cinnamon / Soap Records, MNW, Island Records and PolyGram: Summer Meditation (1995); early material subsequently represented on the international release The Courier (1997).
- Planet of the Poodles / Stockholm Records and Universal: “I Owe Her” (1997/1998); A Different Pace (1998).
- Wan Light / Labrador Records, EMI Music Publishing, Wood & Bird Records and Pacifique Records: Landmarks and Houses; Let’s Wake Up Somewhere Else; That Grim Reality; Carmaline; Space Canaries; The Tug of War EP featuring The Clarets (Pacifique Records, 2021).
- Bowyer Hawks / Beat Rude Records, UK: Mexico (2016), including Korius remix.
- Kris Woodbird / Wood & Bird Records and Labelcaster: solo albums, EPs and singles from 2016 onward.
- Paris St Paul: Silhouettes (2026).
- Krister Svensson: Håll Mig; Mitt Namn Är Fri; Faller Sönder.
Live & collaborative work
Woodbird’s live practice ranges from solo voice-and-guitar performances to expanded collaborations. Performances are characterised by close audience contact, sparse arrangements and a focus on the text. Across his different projects, Svensson has performed in Sweden and internationally, including London, Berlin and Copenhagen, and at festivals including Trästockfestivalen and Hultsfred. Recent Kris Woodbird live work frequently includes musician and producer Mattias Olsson and musician Jonathan Segel.
Selected timeline
- Early work in Lund’s punk, new-wave and art-music scene.
- Record contract, 2002; first album of original songs, 2003.
- First release under the name Kris Woodbird, 2016.