Johanna Linnea Jakobsson - Don't Overthink It (2025) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Johanna Linnea Jakobsson is a Danish-Swedish vocalist, saxophonist and songwriter. Born and raised in Copenhagen and currently residing in Southern Sweden, she first made a name for herself on the Scandinavian jazz scene with the release of the debut album “Alone Together” in 2022.

”Don’t Overthink It” is Johanna’s second full-length album with her own original compositions and arrangements. With a mix of traditional jazz and the singer-songwriter-genre, the debut included both original compositions and new arrangements of well known classics by Duke Ellington, Lennon / McCartney and others, switching between vocals and saxophone as the lead instrument. “Alone Together” garnered praise from several jazz critics around Europe and was also named one of the best vocal albums of 2022 by the prestigious Japanese magazine Jazz Hihyo.

In 2023 she followed up with an EP featuring some of her personal favorites from the jazz standard repertoire. Furthermore she wrote and recorded the soundtrack for the Emmy Award winning tv mini series “One of The Boys” and released the songs as an EP in connection with the series premiere. The latter was made in collaboration with drummer and producer John Fernold (Sweden) who is also the producer of her sophomore album “Don’t Overthink It”.

On “Don’t overthink it” – set for release on 31 October – Johanna Linnea Jakobsson has taken a new course, diving further into the act of songwriting and focusing purely on original compositions. The songs are all centered around her distinctive vocals. Genrewise the lines between jazz, folk and pop are both blurred and kind of irrelevant. The songs are written from the perspective of suddenly finding yourself in adulthood, navigating both dreams, worries and the unknown. It may sound a bit dark, but it isn’t. The musical landscape lies somewhere in between influences such as Norah Jonas and Ella Fitzgerald with drips of Jeff Buckley and The Beatles.

Johanna explains: “There’s a certain irony to the title considering almost every track on the album revolves around either feeling lost, indecisive or inadequate. “Don’t Overthink It” is what I wish I could tell myself whenever I get overwhelmed by worry and anxiety but for me that is certainly easier said than done. I’m trying to turn it into some sort of new mantra that I’ll bring with me from the process of writing the music. I also really like that there’s a certain aloofness to the expression. The song lyrics are often very heartfelt and honest but at the same time I also just had so much fun making the music. In that way this album is everything at once to me. Sometimes the songs feel deep and vulnerable and at other times I look at them in another and way more simple light, where they’re just songs I love and that I made with my friends – and now I want to share them with everyone else who cares to listen.”

Johanna Linnea Jakobsson | vocals and saxophone
Olof Wullt | electric guitar
Jesse Emmoth | acoustic piano and rhodes piano
Simon Petersson | double bass
John Fernold | drums and acoustic guitar

Tracklist:
01 Grow
02 Time
03 Work
04 Too Slow
05 Out of Mind
06 Spring
07 The Net
08 Better Off


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