Tekst: Magnus Reiten
Jason Mraz er foreløpig et relativt ubeskrevet blad i Norge. I hjemlandet USA har han derimot gjort seg svært bemerket de siste årene, med oppvarmingsjobber for storheter som Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morissette og Dave Matthews Band på CV-en. Han har også turnert sammen med UKEN-aktuelle Sondre Lerche, da som headliner.
Musikalsk er Mraz plantet innenfor popsjangeren, men med en svært åpen innfallsvinkel. Han er ikke fremmed for å hente elementer fra sjangere som jazz, country, hip-hop og reggae, og resultatet er leken, intelligent pop som aldri blir kjedelig eller forutsigbar. På scenen tydeliggjøres denne lekne innfallsvinkelen til musikk ytterligere; dette kombinert med en enestående scenesjarme og evne til å kommunisere med publikum har gitt Mraz et rykte for å være en fantastisk liveartist. Vi er stolte og glade over å kunne hente et av USAs store pophåp over Atlanteren og til UKEN 08.
Jason Mraz has been celebrated as one of the most gifted young singer/songwriters to emerge in recent years. Born in Virginia, Mraz left his hometown of Mechanicsville in 1999 and headed to California. Settling in San Diego, he became a leading fixture of the city's renowned coffee house scene. In 2002, Mraz released his first studio album, Waiting For My Rocket To Come, a compelling blend of folk, pop, hip-hop and roots rock. The certified-platinum album received major critical praise and spawned chart-topping singles. At the same time, Mraz earned widespread acclaim for his incredibly captivating live performances, headlining several national tours and sharing stages with Coldplay, Bob Dylan and Dave Matthews Band among others. In 2005, Jason released Grammy-award winning Mr. A-Z, his last studio album, produced by Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, Rolling Stones). The album fully showcased his amazing talents as a singer, songwriter and musician.
Following a relentless tour run after the release of Mr. A-Z, Mraz returned to his hometown of San Diego, where he nurtured his much-neglected garden and surfed at his local beach every morning. Performing locally around the city, Mraz reconnected with long-time loyal fans, who have, over the years, become friends. Mraz values these relationships and has always felt it vital to be accessible to his supporters.
In this environment of friends, home, and comfort, Mraz started writing songs and recording them, stripped down and acoustically, in his home studio. One song on the slate for this new project was "I’m Yours." A demo version of the song had appeared on a limited release bonus EP Mraz put out with his last album. This demo version became a hit around the world after it had leaked onto the Internet. Today, more than 200 cover versions of the song exist on YouTube.
In the summer of 2007, Mraz, part home-body, part tour-junkie, strapped a guitar to his back and left for Europe, performing in cities he’d never before visited. At the Peace & Love Festival in Borlange, Sweden, he began playing "I’m Yours," and, much to his surprise, thousands of friends in the audience sang every lyric along with him. The voices were too loud to ignore: the song has since been confirmed as the first single from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., Mraz’s third studio album, due out in May 2008.