Biography- Million Miles

"Million Miles" is Winter's second album, and the first one to be distributed outside of Sweden. It was also the first album to be produced by Malcolm Burn after he received a Grammy for EmmyLou Harris' "Red Dirt Girl".

Many bands have written material that they know is great. Some of them have had visions of which producers they would most of all like to work with. But very few have actually sent their songs to their favorite producers around the world.

Winter went all the way. After the low-key debut album they had played festivals, clubs and opened for acts such as Buddy Miller (who subsequently became a fan). They knew their second album had to be special and the aim was set high.

"We had been looking for a producer for a long time without result", Anna-Lena Winter remembers. "Out of frustration I sent the demo to Malcolm Burn and a few other big shot producers that I felt would understand our music. I knew chances were slim they would actually agree to work with us, even if I felt the songs were up to scratch. And since there was no immediate reply, I forgot about having sent those demos".

Imagine her suprise when Malcolm Burn a while later contacted the band, saying that he was interested in producing Winter if they would consider flying over to the States to record in his own studio in upstate New York. They would. And they did. For the record, Malcolm Burn has, apart from the aforementioned Emmylou Harris, produced acts such as Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop and John Mellencamp.
Winter knew that having a name producer is no guarantee for a great end result. On the contrary, there are several things that can go wrong (communication problems, lack of chemistry, running out of time or money, material having to be re-worked etc.) The fact that Malcolm had arguably reached his career peak, earning a Grammy, a more ego-oriented man could have added a certain arrogance to his way of treating an unknown Swedish band. But he was the same enthusiastic, music loving man as ever and in some miraculous everything fell into place during November and December 2001 in Kingston, New York. Burn, who worked with Daniel Lanois in New Orleans for several years, has the same relaxed, down to earth approach to the recording process and also likes to work at home.

"It was all about capturing feel, not perfection. Malcolm has one foot in the old way of working - analogue tapes and "real" instruments - but at the same time h'es just as used to the new computerized way of recording", Anna-Lena Winter remembers.

The album is very much about strings vibrating, instruments that feel alive. The band agreed with their producer that the important thing was getting the story across.

"Malcolm is a true artist. Sometimes you wondered what he was doing. Sometimes it felt like he put everything we did in a can, shook it and waited for the result. But of course he knew exactly what he was doing."

Winter's music can best be described as a seamless mix of rock, country and pop. Guitar based and with lyrics that often tell stories that provoke images inside the listeners head.

Among Anna-Lena's influences are people like Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) and Lucinda Williams. There's also the more rootsy aspects of The Rolling Stones, the arena grandness of U2 and subtleness of some of the names in modern alt-country.

Winter's sound is organic. There is room for everyone's influences to enrichen the music. Without revolutionising a new way of making music, they still don't sound like anyone else. The group's current (and, dare one say, definitive) line up has existed for four years.

Singer, main songwriter and guitarist Anna-Lena Winter has been singing, writing songs and played music nearly all of her life. She was a member of Queen Bee & The Zydeco Amigos, whose music was very rootsy and New Orleans influenced. The band toured regularly, also touring America.

Bassist Johan Strömberg is an experienced musician, having been professional for more that 20 years. Apart from being an integral part of the Winter sound, he is also a song-writer and producer in his own right.

Drummer Abbe Abrahamsson is a multi-facetted musician who has a timeless groove which can be combined with a more modern touch when needed.

Winter play live as much as they can. On-stage they are famous for including a few lesser known but still great covers that, far from being he usual top 40-fodder, blend well with their original material.

"There are so many unbeliavably good songs that are seldom heard, songs that we believe people would love just as much as we do if they only had a chance to hear them", Anna-Lena enthuses.

Winter are part of a timeless songwriting tradition and they hope people are still interested in albums where every song is important.

"The market has a singles fixation right now. Pop is dominating, especially here in Sweden. But my heart was always in rock musicm, and if you dig deeper it is almost inevitable that you find yourself surrounded by blues and folk music. I'm probably about as far from computer based music as you can get", Anna-Lena laughs.

At the same time, the song "Waterfalls" is an obvious exception to the rule.

"We had a song that we really didn't know what to do with. We had played it to death and had a hard time feeling enthusiastic about it. So we decided to turn it inside out. We peeled eveything off and started rebuilding the song."

It resulted in a completely different song, including sequencers and an over-used auto tuner. It is as if Winter wanted to say "we know all of this exists. We just chose a different path".

"The funny thing is that everything that Winter usually stands for is also there: the guitars, the rootsiness and the acoustic instruments. Malcolm played the harmonica until he was covered in sweat." Later he stated "this, ladies and gentlemen is New York 2002!"

Apart from that, Winter's music is very much about touching strings, in every respect. The music is big, but warm. It romantic in that harsh "Americana" way. Anna-Lena is the typical front person; strong and bold. At the same time she is in touch with the blue melancholy that moves people.

"I could never say which is more important, lyrics or music. I write songs the old-fashioned way: paper and pen, guitar in hand. Melody and words are one, then you can dress it up any way you like".

"On A Train" is a ballad with dobro and a movie-like Jim Jarmusch feel. "When you close your eyes, you can sometime go on a ride with a song and this one seems to have that effect on the listener", Anna-Lena nods.

Then there's the "arena country rock" that's Winter trademark. On the other side of the spectre we can find "When Everything Is Right", an upbeat pop song in the vein of "Back On The Chain Gang" by The Pretenders.

Is there any Swedish element in Winter's music?

"I don't know. It isn't like we don't want to sound Swedish, it's not that deliberate. We make the kind of music that comes natural to us. Lyrics tend to mean more and more to me. I really do have a hard time listening to someone who uses a lot of nice-sounding phrases that not add up to anything. It's not real".

Winter are for real - and they're fully capable of delivering the new album on-stage.

./.
September 2002