Lars Bygdén

After eight years as bandleader and songwriter in Sweden’s most successful alt-country band The Thousand Dollar Playboys, the stress of being in charge over five equally stressed persons began to take its toll. As a way to get his lust for music back Lars sought refuge in the punkband The Bukks. But it was not long before he felt the urge to try his wings on his own.

Linus Larsson, producer of TTDP:s first album was contacted. Together with the drummer Jimi Harlevi and bass player Valdemar Asp they went out deep into the Swedish forests, to record the ground material his first solo album. The work then proceeded in Stockholm, where guests popped in the make their contribution to the record. Among others Martin Hederos (The Soundtrack of Our Lives) and Ane Brun.

The result was a fantastic album. On Trading Happiness for Songs Lars Bygdén is showing an impressing diversity as a songwriter. From fast moving pop-songs as “Thinking ‘bout You” and “Dream On” to beautiful ballads like the first single from the album “This Road” and “For the Old Folks”. “This Road” a duet with Norwegian supersinger Ane Brun, has gotten a lot of airplay on Swedish radio and the video has been the most requested video on Swedish music-channel ZTV.
Lars Bygdén says that the work with Trading Happiness for Songs has meant that he finally got the chance to concentrate on the music dearest to his heart; the sad and the beautiful.

On the 9th of February 2006 Lars got a Swedish indiegrammy (Manifest-award) for Trading Happiness for songs. Summer 2006 he release The Passenger EP.