Amanda Hollingby started out as Hajen (The Shark), then changed her stage name to Jaw Lesson. Alas, even the second name didn’t seem to be doing it for Hollingby, who changed her stage name once again, and perhaps for the last time, to Idiot Wind – an obvious nod to the 1975 song by Bob Dylan, off the album Blood On the Tracks.
It was around this time Amanda Hollingby released her self-titled debut EP as Idiot Wind, in 2010. Shortly after, she began touring with The Tallest Man On Earth, appearing on stage for the often-encore number Thrown Right At Me. Hollingby and Kristian Matsson (The Tallest Man On Earth’s actual name) had an enormous energy and connection while performing the song and sharing a mic. It was therefore no surprise when it came out they had married. Amanda Hollingby Matsson and Kristian Matsson are probably Sweden’s most overlooked artists, although majorly recognized abroad. Nonetheless the two have seemed to have sparked the following of a cult on Swedish grounds.
In 2012, Amanda Hollingby Matsson was revealed as lead singer for the super group Amason, who has since then released half a dozen songs, which has gained enormous credibility among the musical hipsters of Sweden. And even though Hollingby Matsson’s Tom Waits-y whisky soaked voice fits perfectly with the project of Amason, there’s always been a need for her full-length debut as Hajen.
Having her own record label, Häst (horse in Swedish) it would seem that it shouldn’t be a huge concern to release something, as she obviously has many songs in storage (I’m referring to a bunch of YouTube videos and other sound bits of unreleased material). But since 2012, the album has been postponed again and again, and fans of Idiot Wind have gone empty handed.
In the midst of the craze surrounding the band Amason, which consists of members from other Swedish groups like Miike Snow and Dungen, Idiot Wind is giving a show to us like a gift from great heavens. Surely it will be intimate, because the gig is held at the lovely Restaurang Landet on Telefonplan. Opening are the wonderful Finnish-Swedish siblings and personal friends of Amanda, The Pole Siblings. Make sure you get there.
Idiot Wind is at Landet on May 16.
