„VIBEY, INSPIRATIONAL POP WITH ARRESTINGLY SOULFUL VOCALS“ „It’s something I’ve never seen before. She’s amazing. A huge star of the future, I guarantee it.” British songwriter Lee Horrocks offers up the kind of superlatives that seem to be following Yohanna wherever she goes these days. The 15 year old singer has been a multi-platinum star in her native Iceland since the age of nine, but in the last few years some of the biggest names in music have lined up to work with her. What do they see in the young singer? Horrocks cuts right to the chase: „It’s all about the voice. It’s very pure, very original. She’s a star.” But maybe it’s more than that. How does a girl from a tiny island nation catch the attention of some of the biggest names in music, both in America and Europe? That is, of course, the million dollar question, although it shouldn‘t be surprising that the land of Björk and Sigur Rós has produced yet another unique talent. Certainly it starts with the voice and that amazing purity of sound. Maria Björk is a well-known performer in Iceland and runs its premier singer’s school: „Yohanna has an amazing voice; you can hear that immediately. But what sets her apart as a singer, and especially one so young, is the complete control she has.” But along with the sound is an intangible magic not often seen in someone so young. Onstage, she blooms, seemingly inhabited by a soul much older than her own. Veteran recording engineer Thomas Yezzi, who‘s been mixing the new cd, has his own take on the transformation: „She’s a 15 year old, white Icelandic girl with the soul of a 50 year old black woman. She’s really amazing.” It‘s something everybody seems to be saying: Amazing. Pure. Unique. As with all great artists, it may be impossible to understand the “why.” And in the end, all that matters is the voice. That voice. Listen for a few seconds, and you realize, as Maria says: „She can do anything!”

Source: pdf-file www.yohanna.net (no longer available!) Date of creation: Wednesday January 18, 2006 - 4:37 pm