Den sjunde vågen

Marie Fredriksson and her then-boyfriend, producer Lars-Göran "Lasse" Lindbom, wrote the majority of songs found on Den sjunde vågen while on vacation in the Canary Islands in the summer of 1985. During the vacation, Fredriksson finished reading Henri Charrière's autobiographical novel Papillon, the plot of which inspired the album's title; the book describes how Charrière observed that waves "come in a series of seven – the last being the biggest and the strongest."[1] The couple returned to Sweden to record the album at EMI Studios in Stockholm between June and September 1985.[3] It was recorded with a predominantly new group of musicians; many of the people who performed on her 1984 debut solo album, Het vind, also performed on Per Gessle's debut solo album. Fredriksson and Gessle would go on to form pop duo Roxette in 1986.[4]

The album was preceded by the release of two singles in Sweden: "Den bästa dagen" on 4 October 1985 and "Silver i din hand" on 8 January 1986,[1] both of which failed to chart.[5] Despite this, the album was an immediate commercial success upon release, spending over three months on the Swedish Album Chart, where it peaked at number six on its third week.[5] Upon release, multiple Swedish journalists commented that Den sjunde vågen was "just another divorce album", as Fredriksson and Lindbom ended their romantic relationship partway through its recording. However, Fredriksson denied this, saying that only one song on the album, "När du såg på mej" ("When You Looked At Me") – which features Lindbom as a co-lead vocalist – relates to the disintegration of their relationship.[1]

The record was promoted by Fredriksson's second solo tour, which began on 28 February 1986 and was initially scheduled to run until 30 April, although it was eventually extended until the end of May due to high ticket sales.[1] Over the course of the tour, two songs from the album – the title track and "Mot okända hav" ("Toward Unknown Seas") – became top ten hits on Svensktoppen, Sweden's airplay-based chart.[6] In July, she was a featured performer on the inaugural edition of the "Badrock Tour".[1] This two-week festival was founded by former Blue Swede vocalist Björn Skifs, and took place at the Borgholm Castle ruin on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Öland.[7] Roxette's debut studio album, Pearls of Passion, was released on 31 October 1986; two days earlier, Den sjunde vågen was issued on CD for the first time, containing b-sides from the two commercial singles as bonus tracks.[1] The success of the album in her home country led to Fredriksson winning her first Rockbjörnen award in 1986, for Best Swedish Female. She would go on to win the award a total of four times: the most of any artist in the awards' history.[8]

All songs written by Marie Fredriksson and Lasse Lindbom, except where noted.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Den sjunde vågen.[3]

Musicians

• Marie Fredriksson – vocals and recorder
• Per Andersson – backing vocals, synthesizer and drums
• Staffan Astner – guitars
• Richard "Ricky" Johansson – bass guitar and electric upright bass
• Leif Larson – piano, keyboards and synthesizer
• Lars-Göran "Lasse" Lindbom – lead vocals (track 4), backing vocals, acoustic guitar, engineering and production

Additional musicians

• Marianne Flynner – backing vocals (track 6)
• Henrik Janson – guitar and synthesizer (track 7)
• Jan "Nane" Kvillsäter – electric (track 1) and acoustic guitars (track 9)
• Tove Naess – backing vocals (track 6)
• Tommy Nilsson – backing vocals (track 6)
• Mikael Rickfors – backing vocals (track 6)
• Reg Ward – saxophone (track 2)
• Basse Wickman – backing vocals (track 6)

Technical personnel

• Kjell Andersson – sleeve design
• Calle Bengtsson – photography
• Björn Boström – engineering