Daniel Cirera

This half-Swedish, half-Spanish singer/songwriter has become a legend in his homeland of Sweden the old-fashioned way: by writing great, honest songs to purge himself. Daniel's motivation is neither fame, nor fortune…he's just looking for some quality catharsis by setting his emotions to music.

He admits that being raised by an expressive family has affected his ability to emote from his earliest days. "My grandmother and father have a very 'open' language so I think I got my verbal openness from them. For me, words are like spices – you use them to enhance the flavor. This is exactly what I do. Why even bother looking for a synonym of what you want to say just because the word you have in your head is politically incorrect – it's just a waste of time…and flavor."

Cirera got his first guitar at the age of 13; after teaching himself to play, he did some time as a songwriter and background guitarist for a local Swedish band, but really felt more comfortable composing music just for himself. Leaving the band aspirations behind him, Daniel went to school, got his Masters Degree in Commercial Law and started his own publishing company.

When Cirera found out that his girlfriend was seeing someone else, his world went from blissful to bottomed-out in a hurry. Like many before him, the singer took his busted heart – along with his guitar and journals – and hit the road, travelling alone through Central America and the USA. When he returned to Stockholm, Daniel and his roommates decided to set up a home recording studio in their basement…it was there that Honestly I Love You *Cough* was born.

The CD was made with balls-out candor…not for shock value, but because Daniel comes by his lyrics honestly: straight from his journals. Truth is, Honestly I Love You *Cough* was never intended for release at all. "The purpose of it," recalls Cirera, "was just to have it for myself…but when I started to play it for friends, people kept asking me for copies. Two months after I had finished the recording, I was out in a club in Stockholm and they were playing my music over the speakers! The DJ got a copy from a friend of a friend, people I hadn't even heard of were giving copies to each other!"

By September of 2004, a Scandinavian label picked up on the enthusiasm and officially released the CD in his home country; once again, word of mouth spread Daniel's music well beyond all geographic expectations. Clubs and radio stations from Germany, Ireland and France focused on a number of different tracks. As a result, a number of songs -- including the aforementioned "Motherfucker Fake Vegetarian Ex-Girlfriend" as well as the uplifting "Roadtrippin'" and retro-loving "She Rules the School" – became hits even before the CD was released domestically in each of those countries. A short time later, more good news: first, three separate videos reached high rotation on Scandanavian MTV; after that feat, Daniel was then nominated for Best Newcomer at the Association of Independent Music Awards. Once again, the truth was undeniable: wherever it was played, Cirera's music resonated with people.

Originally, Daniel had planned to attend a number of music festivals as part of Export Music Sweden, a group designed to promote national talent. The agency later decided, however, that Cirera's lyrics were too colorful for their organization. When it came time to attend Midem in 2005, Daniel decided to take fate into his own hands and attend on his own terms. "We rented a strip club right next door to the hotel where all the executives were staying and did a small showcase there; the place was jam-packed and that's when I met up with Tommy Boy."

That is the story of how you've come to hold this simultaneously bitter, sweet and memorable thing of beauty in your hands. This is Honestly I Love You *Cough*