Maja Francis (Maja Francis Alderin)[1] is a Swedish singer best known for her work with First Aid Kit and her closing track on the Netflix series Love & Anarchy.
Biography
Francis grew up in Ängelholm, where her father owned a record store.[2] She is the granddaughter of Scandinavian singer Thory Bernhards. Maja Francis attended Mega Musik Gymnasieskola in Helsingborg.[3]
Career
Francis debuted the single "Last Days of Dancing" in 2015.[4] On August 14, 2015, she released the single "Space Invades My Mind" with Veronica Maggio. On the same day, Francis played on Way Out West's club spinoff Stay Out West, where Maggio visited to perform the single with Francis.[5] In January 2016, her debut EP Come Companion was released.[6][7] Then in 2017 she appeared with First Aid Kit guesting on their Who By Fire tribute concert to Leonard Cohen where she sang Famous Blue Raincoat and joined in with the So Long, Marianne finale.[8][9]
She took a break after her pair of 2018 EPs, Cry Baby parts 1 and 2, saying later that "My relationship with music was kind of toxic after releasing my Cry Baby EPs in 2018… so I needed a break."[10] She returned in December 2019, again with First Aid Kit, singing It Must Have Been Love as their tribute to Marie Fredriksson.[11] She released her cover of Kate Bush's This Woman's Work in July 2020. In the same year, she recorded her single 'Anxious Angel' as the final track of the Netflix series Kärlek & Anarki (Love & Anarchy).[12] The CD from First Aid Kit's Who By Fire tribute was released in 2021.[8] Also in 2021, she appeared on a special edition of Jills veranda,[13] and later in the year released her first album A Pink Soft Mess.[14][15][16]
Written and produced by Maja Francis, Veronica Maggio and Petter Winnberg - and additionally produced by David Axelsson; Artists: Maja Francis, Veronica Maggio
^"All Things Go Music". Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. "a surprisingly thoughtful piece of well-crafted fantasy pop for your June playlist"
^"Maja Francis". Gaffa. January 2016. p. 35. Retrieved 9 May 2021. "Simple classic pop where the emotions alternately hover high among the clouds and alternately crawl in the gutter."
^ abGrieg, Zena (5 May 2021). "First Aid Kit – Who By Fire". Penny Black Music. Retrieved 15 May 2021. a dramatic and contemporary-sounding 'Famous Blue Raincoat' with compelling vocals from the singer Maja Francis
^Penfold, Will (25 March 2021). "First Aid Kit: Who By Fire". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 14 May 2021. "Famous Blue Raincoat" is dramatic and contemporary-sounding and has an outstanding vocal from Maja Francis; what surprises again and again is that singers with something like the opposite of Cohen's voice and delivery can make his lyrics live so vividly.
^"Nordic Music Prize 2022 Nominees". Retrieved 5 September 2022. "Maja Francis has created her own little sparkling pink galaxy in the Swedish pop universe."