A Camp is the solo side project of Nina Persson, vocalist for the Swedish indie pop band The Cardigans. Persson formed A Camp when The Cardigans took a break after several years of touring and the recording of their 1998 album Gran Turismo.
''A Camp''
A Camp's debut album, also called A Camp, was originally recorded with Niclas Frisk of Atomic Swing, before Persson teamed up with Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse to re-record it. In doing so, he also contributed some new songs to the album. Persson had been a long-time fan of Sparklehorse and has referred to them as "the best I've ever heard". After a gig in Lund, Sweden, Persson gave Linkous a cassette of all the demo A Camp songs. When they met again during the recording of his most recent album, Persson mustered the courage to invite him to produce her project. Linkous listened, liked the songs, and agreed. The debut album released the singles "I Can Buy You" and "Song for the Leftovers". These country-inspired selections later seemed to have inspired The Cardigans' following album, Long Gone Before Daylight, which was released in the UK in 2003 and the US in 2004. In 2004, "Charlie Charlie" was covered by the Polish singer Ania and released as a single from her debut album Samotność po zmierzchu. A French version of "Charlie Charlie" was recorded by Vanessa and the O's for inclusion on their debut album La Ballade d'O in 2004 which retained the same title. Vanessa & The O's featured Niclas Frisk, Andreas Mattsson, James Iha and French singer songwriterVanessa Quinones.
''Colonia''
The recording of a second A Camp album was confirmed by Persson in an interview with Swedish newspaperDagens Nyheter in May 2007. "Girl-pop from the 60s, 80's punk, and David Bowie" were said to be the main influences. In a post on The Cardigans' official forum, dated 16 August 2008, Persson unveiled the launch of the new A Camp website and disclosed a target release date of "early next year" for her second solo album, entitled Colonia. The album, produced by Persson with husband and film composerNathan Larson and Atomic Swing's Niclas Frisk, features appearances from ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Joan As Policewoman and Guided By Voices drummer Kevin March. The first single from Colonia, "Stronger Than Jesus", was released on the Swedish iTunes on 17 November 2008. The full album was released in Europe in February 2009, via Universal, and will be released in April in the US via Nettwerk.
''Covers'' EP
A three-track EP named Covers, featuring interpretations of Pink Floyd's "Us And Them", David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" and Grace Jones' "I've Done it Again", was released digitally in the United States on 9 June 2009 and in Europe on 16 June 2009.
