Therese

(Photography by Jeremy Park)As a ballsy 16 year old she phoned Sony Sweden and got the record companys answering machine. Unperturbed, she sang down the phone into the machine. Sony execs liked what they heard and matched her up with a producer to record some demos. The phone call didnt lead directly to a record deal, she says, but it did give me the confidence to start making music contacts. In 1997 Dr Alban, famous for his hit Sing Hallelujah, convinced Therese to be part of a three-piece project called Drömhus. However, the other two members of the group were soon dropped by the record company, forcing Therese from the background, where she had planned to slowly learn her craft, into the spotlight.I was 19 and the success was almost instant, Therese recalls. It was a lot of fun, but I didnt realise at the time how privileged I was and how extraordinary it was being a young girl having a record deal, and a number one [Vill Ha Dig I Want You] in all the Nordic countries. It was hysterical, and I loved it.By 2001, Therese was ready to leave Drömhus behind and start recording under her own name. She released a version of the classic Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and then decided to take a long vacation from the music business so she could devote herself to writing new material.But it wasnt too long before fate and fame came knocking once again. Internationally acclaimed Swedish DJ and producer Stonebridge remixed Thereses first solo single, Monkey and later invited her to collaborate his album Cant Get Enough resulting in two hits, Put Em High and Take Me Away.As well as working with Stonebridge and under her own name on the sexy, driving house track Time, Therese was called on to co-write and sing backup vocals on Dannii Minogues recent single Perfection, which reached number 11 in the UK. Working with Dannii was great. Shes cool. Very professional. Shes been in this business for a while so knows a lot, and I was very happy she chose to work with me.Therese has been working intensely for months on her new album, which will be more of a pop than purely dance affair. Expect explosiveness, nice vocals, a bit of electrostuff, melodic and 80 influences of course, because I grew up with it, so naturally Im influenced by it and it was the best time.