Tess

Tess is a Swedish eurodance artist born in Stockholm in 1978. She grows up in Solna, north of Stockholm, and lives with her mother until she is 15. She studies French for three years, then leaves school and starts dancing in nightclubs across Sweden while also working at the Sheraton Hotel during the day. Her background is described as including Indian and Finnish ancestry on her father’s side, and Belgian and Swedish ancestry on her mother’s side.

Early work and La Cream

Before becoming known as a vocalist, Tess performs dance work with Dr Alban, Rob ’n Raz and Drömhus, and also sings backing vocals and dances with Basic Element. In 1998 she becomes the voice of La Cream. The group’s first single, “Château d’amour”, is released on Dr. Records and Arcade Music and becomes a hit, leading to further activity. Their next single, “You”, becomes a commercial hit and reaches gold sales in Sweden and Norway. Tess leaves La Cream in 2000 after about 160 shows with the project.

Solo career

After leaving La Cream, Tess releases her first solo single, “Justify My Love”, which is written and produced by Ari Lehtonen. Her planned album involves work from David Kreuger, Jörgen Elofsson, C&N Project, Juha Myllylä and Jorge Vasconcelo. She performs at NRJ Spring Break Party in Stockholm’s Kungsträdgården and at Power Summer Party in Gothenburg and Stockholm. She later releases her debut album. In 2002, her voice features on a SM-Trax project and the single is released in Germany. In 2004 she returns with “The Second You Sleep”, which reaches number 12 on the Swedish charts, followed in 2005 by “Breathless”, which enters the Swedish charts at number 27.

Other musical activity

Tess says her musical taste ranges from classical music to heavy house techno, and she also listens to a broad range of popular music. Her listed favourites include Madonna, Markoolio and Antiloop. She says she prefers dance music for her own work, while also liking harder music when she is not performing.