Easy Chair Sessions (Free entarnce | Entrada gratuita) JACQUES LABOUCHERE (US/SWEDEN) www.jacqueslabouchere.com Jacques Labouchere is unquestionably the pioneer of true Americana in Scandinavia. His work ethic combined with an impressive body of live performances set him apart from his indie contemporaries. Perhaps more poignantly his empathetic songwriting of heart-wrenching and compassionate life-stories mark him as the last of a dying breed of artists in the current music industry where a photo of someone is worth more than a musician reaching out to connect emotionally with his audience. Jacques can confidently claim to have done the latter. Raised on the U.S. East Coast and a born wanderer, Jacques took his guitar with him through the Appalachians, Connecticut, Boston and Washington DC before moving to London in his youth and then finally Gothenburg, Sweden where he settled down. As an emboldened flâneur Jacques was schooled in the bitter reality of always being a stranger. Often alienated by language and struggling to find work, he constantly and maniacally played the streets daily to make ends meet, such was once also the case in Gothenburg: before well-known local musicians approached him wanting to make music, together. Labouchere has long been a proud contributor to his local music scene and community, offering his veteran advice to less experienced Swedish artists and giving them a platform for touring and releasing music abroad. In spring 2006, following the independent release of his début album, Jacques toured Sweden, Denmark and the UK with an ever-evolving line-up of some of Gothenburg’s best local musicians. It was during this period that Jacques developed a faster, louder and more effervescent approach than the softer pop, psych and folk ballads of his first album. In 2010 Jacques signed with Popjinx Records, then a sister label of Lojinx Records, to release his sophomore album: “Bi-polar Baby Strollers”. Jacques was invited to perform at Gothenburg’s International Film Festival in 2011 sharing the bill with local Jose Gonzalez’s band Junip, and accompanied by Den Stora Vilan’s Thomas Frank and Christian Dyresjö on stage. This constellation was the latest and most enduring line-up aiding Jacques in building up a new repertoire and co-producing what would be Jacques’ now imminent 3rd release coming out on October 27th, 2017. Over the years since his last release, he has accumulated an impressive catalogue of songs. Moreover, the success of his work has proved to be intense but a highly productive period for Jacques where the quality, content and honesty of his live performances has really begun to shine. It is noteworthy that he has independently booked all of his shows, which include 3 tours of the UK, 4 tours of Germany and a month of solo shows in NYC and Brooklyn where he held 2 weekly residencies at Pianos and The Knitting Factory. Immediately before embarking on that trip to NYC, he received an invitation to open up for Arlo Guthrie at a sold out show in Gothenburg.
