Album Notes

PRESS \"A sumptuous collision of jazz, soul and pop.\" \"...At the center of each song is Lagerström\'s remarkable voice. She has the soul of Gladys Knight, tonal qualities of Billie Holiday and soaring qualities of Barbara Streisand. Yet it\'s Annie Lennox that her voice most closely resembles. Her voice is so inviting that you want to wrap yourself in it like a warm blanket.\" - The Spectrum, Utah. ”Lagerström’s voice has true Soul in it and I don’t mean the swinging kind but the kind of Soul that gets under your skin and makes you itch...In the beautiful slow ballad, Loose Ends, the guitar, saxophone, drums and organ provide accents in the right places to make the track sound sultry...If I Say Yes is sung with the same, almost careless, but skilful timing for which singers such as Erykah Badu are renowned. Lagerström’s Swedish background can’t be deduced from these songs in which she sounds like a genuine soul diva. \"...This lady is an extremely talented singer.\" - Folk Forum, Netherlands \"At once soulful and folky, Lagerström manages to sound angel like and down to earth at the same time, making the timeless Heaven Sent a more than enjoyable record.\" - Heaven Magazine, Netherlands. \"...A beautiful record that deserves an audience.” - The Independent, Utah. “Heaven Sent, the new album from Victoria Lagerström, is fascinatingly beautiful...Victoria’s soft soul-jazz voice is like a young to midaged Joni Mitchell.\" - Meadowmusic, Sweden \"Imagine Anita Baker had gone pop and joined The Tindersticks to do a tribute album for Soul God Terri Callier, that\'s what you\'ll hear when listening to singer/songwriter Victoria Lagerström\'s debut album, Heaven Sent. Truly a gift from up above...\" - German Kontrastradio, Berlin. \"How I wish for a moment I had a magic way to share with the entire world the incredible music of Victoria Lagerstrom. When Victoria sings...I begin to dream of new love, of starting over and of hope. She certainly rivals or is on the road to surpass all of her more famous inspirational influences like Gladys Knight, Judy Collins and of course Sade. Can the accomplishments of legend Edith Piaf be far away? You will hear the beautiful Ms. Lagerstrom\'s heavenly voice cry out for love or the lament of a broken heart on a lonely Sunday afternoon. Do not miss the chance to see and hear her in concert. It\'s simply magic.\" - Rich Panessa of KTIM 101.9 FM Radio, President of Southern Utah Song Writers Association. BIO Contemporary singer/songwriter Victoria Lagerström’s heartfelt voice, sincere lyrics and ability to write timeless melodies make her a rare jewel in today’s music scene. Although influenced by artists like Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight, Sade and Eva Cassidy, Lagerström\'s sound is distinctly her own. Her voice has an angelic quality yet echoes of the smoky, full-bodied texture of a classic soul singer. Lagerström states “The singers I returned to again and again were the ones that were brutally honest willing to show themselves as heroic at times and achingly vulnerable at others”. Born in Sweden, Victoria Lagerström studied voice throughout her school years. Music was a passion, but not the priority in her life until 2005. At that time Lagerström went through a profound transformation initiated by a surgery that left her questioning what was truly important. The eleven songs on her debut album Heaven Sent (2006) were conceived in this receptive time. “I really let myself go”, Victoria says of her deeply introspective lyrics. “I wrote from a place of having no fear. Being near death does that to you”. Once Lagerström began to focus entirely on music serendipitous events began to happen, aiding her on her journey. Some of Sweden\'s most respected musicians assembled to contribute to the refined sound of \"Heaven Sent\". The record’s title track is a powerful and positive message that resonates with people of any age. The album is based solely on Victoria\'s life experiences and her dreams dealing with profound themes such as forgiveness and personal loss. Her expression is sometimes melancholy but ultimately hopeful. As \"Heaven Sent\" was finished and her professional career began to blossom, her personal life transformed as well. Lagerström met American singer/songwriter Dave Tate in the fall of 2006. Soon after meeting the two were married, recorded their first duo record The Same Heart (2007) and began to perform as a duo in the US. After living in Austin, Texas in 2007 and embarking on a successful tour to the Netherlands, the duo returned to Tate’s southern Utah home to write and record their next duo CD. Lagerström and Tate now perform locally in Utah as well as touring nationally. Victoria Lagerström\'s career continues to expand with the 2008 release of \"Heaven Sent\" and of the duo CD The Same Heart. When asked what she would like the listener to take away from listening to Heaven Sent Victoria says, “I am a firm believer in the soul’s survival no matter the outer circumstances. So, I pray that my songs will give hope to those who need it when they need it. I also want to encourage people to make the most of their dreams in this life\". Victoria pauses for a moment and then continues, \"In my song “Broken Armor” I sing The loneliest ones are those who resign from what might have been their reason to shine. I know enough now to fully stand behind that statement”.