James Yorkston’s announces Tender New Chapter with ‘Songs for Nina and Johanna’

(London - June 4, 2025) — Acclaimed Scottish singer-songwriter James Yorkston has announced his brand new album Songs for Nina and Johanna to be released via Domino on August 22. The album is his sixteenth on Domino and his third to be recorded in Stockholm in conjunction with members of The Second Hand Orchestra. Nina Persson (The Cardigans), who teamed up with James on his previous critically-acclaimed album The Great White Sea Eagle, this time shares singing duties with Johanna Söderberg (First Aid Kit), the two of them singing separately with James on five and four tracks respectively. A Moment Longer and Love / Luck, the first two tracks to be taken from the forthcoming album, have been released today and you can listen to them here.

Songs for Nina and Johanna is a meditation on family, love, and parenthood, filled with gentle melodies and poignant lyricism. Recorded live at Studio Rymden in Stockholm with co-producer Daniel Bengtson, the album features two of Sweden’s most recognisable female vocalists: “Who wouldn’t embrace the chance to sing with two great Swedish voices?”, says Yorkston. “When the idea for Johanna to join the fold was suggested, I leapt at the chance. Nina and Johanna, they complement, yet never compete. And me? I tried not to get in their way, tried to give them space to interpret the songs as they felt.”

Söderberg was heavily pregnant with her second child during the recording sessions, something which may have ignited a certain emotion seeping into her performances. And despite the more limited appearance of Second Hand Orchestra leader Karl Jonas Winqvist—due to illness—members of the collective still feature prominently on the album. Contributions include Peter Morén (Peter Bjorn and John) on guitar, Ullis Gyllenberg on violin, Lina Langendorf on saxophone, and Lars Skoglund on drums.