El Perro del Mar

Biography

El Perro del Mar is the musical project of Sarah Assbring, a Swedish singer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer born and raised in Gothenburg, Sweden. She founded the project in December 2003, naming it after a stray dog she encountered on a Spanish beach that lifted her spirits during a fragile moment. Assbring received her musical calling at age five, despite not coming from a musical background, and began her career as an MP3/CD-R artist, releasing her first songs through Hybris Records in 2005, including the EP 'Look! It's El Perro del Mar!' and 'You Gotta Give to Get.' Her self-titled debut album followed, gaining international attention when picked up by UK label Memphis Industries in 2006, leading to awards, namechecks from David Bowie, and tours with artists like Lykke Li and José González.[1][2][3][9]

Fun Facts

• The name 'El Perro del Mar' ('The Dog from the Sea' in Spanish) comes from a stray dog Assbring met on a Spanish beach that inspired her during a low point in her life.
• Her eighth album 'Big Anonymous' originated as a commission from Stockholm’s Royal Dramatic Theatre (Dramaten) in 2019, featuring live music with dancers from the Royal Opera.
• 'Big Anonymous' was recorded live in a former torpedo factory on Skeppsholmen island in Stockholm, chosen for its natural reverb to emulate classic production techniques.
• David Bowie namechecked her early in her career, contributing to her international recognition after her 2005-2006 releases.

Musical Connections

Key Collaborators

• Jacob Haage - longtime partner and key musical collaborator, essential to her work especially on recent albums (Big Anonymous (synthesizers)) [since meeting, notably 2019-2023]
• Petter Granberg - friend and collaborator on synthesizers for live and recorded performances (Big Anonymous, Dramaten commission performance) [2019-2023]
• Daniel Rejmer - Australian engineer who mixed the album after being inspired by her live show (Big Anonymous (recording engineer)) [2023]

External Links

• Spotify
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #classic-pop-and-rock