Without previous experience of the music business, Jakob Hellman sent his demo to ten different record companies in December 1987. Magnus Nygren, at the time
A&R at the Swedish division of
EMI Music, took interest and arranged a meeting. Much to his own surprise, Hellman soon had a record contract in his hand. Recordings started in the EMI studio in the
Stockholm suburb of
Skärmarbrink in 1988. Hellman also spent some time touring, opening for the rock band
Wilmer X. Session musicians included
Per Hägglund from
Imperiet (keyboards),
Eddie Sjöberg, ex-member of
Reeperbahn (guitar),
Werner Modiggård from
Eldkvarn (drums), and Wilmer X member
Mats Bengtsson (piano).
Titiyo provided backing vocals for the song "Avundsjuk på dej". In a 2007 interview in a Jakob Hellman special on the Swedish
public service music radio show Musikjournalen (broadcast on 15 January 2007 on
SR P3), producer
Dan Sundquist told the story of a rather strenuous recording experience, due to Hellman's unwillingness to compromise with his convictions on how the music ought to sound. Many of the participating musicians support his view stating that Hellman wanted the album to sound rawer and rockier.
The album's release The first single, "Tåg" (
Train) was released in 1988. The same year Jakob Hellman won a
Grammis (the Swedish equivalent of a
Grammy Award) as Best Newcomer. The album followed on 13 February 1989. Seven out of the nine songs featured on the demo were included on the album. The original release contained twelve tracks; a later reissue adds the single B-sides and a few other tracks for a total of 19. Although Hellman himself wanted to name the album
De sista melodierna (
The Last Melodies). It instead borrowed its title from one of the non-single songs,
...Och stora havet (
...And the great sea). Musically, most of the album's songs can be described as quite radio-friendly guitar-based music in the singer-songwriter vein, although Hellman's syncopated singing style set him apart from most of the competition. In interviews, Jakob Hellman cited
Elvis Costello as his greatest influence, and although his music by no means could be called a carbon copy, similarities can easily be found. The lyrics, entirely in
Swedish, range from rather simple
love songs to more philosophical themes. They are characterized by inventive turns of phrase, often imitated by followers.
Reception At the time of its release, Hellman's album got positive, although not jubilant, reviews, and the single "Vara vänner" (
Being Friends) became a major hit. The accompanying video is notable for its extremely minimalistic scenography. At the 1989 Swedish Grammis Awards Jakob Hellman won the Best Male Rock artist award, but not the Best Album one (it was given to
Jerry Williams). With the passing of time, however, the record has come to be regarded as one of the most influential Swedish pop records, and in 1997 it was voted the best Swedish record ever in
Nöjesguiden, a monthly entertainment magazine. A few covers of Hellman's songs have been recorded. In 1997, the band
Jumper had a minor hit with the single "Hon har ett sätt". The track was also remixed by house music act
Antiloop. In 2006, singers
Anna Stadling and
Idde Schultz covered the B-side "Vägar hem" on an album named after the song. As of 2007,
...och stora havet has sold a total of over 160,000 copies.
After the album Hellman did not succeed in following up the album's major success despite writing songs – one titled "Min Marie" was debuted live in Örebro in April 1989 – for an album intended for release one year after the debut. After appearing on an
Evert Taube tribute album and featuring in a
duet with
folk-rock act
Perssons Pack in 1991, he withdrew from the spotlight entirely. Reluctantly interviewed, he told journalists he had been studying different subjects at
Lund University and had no plans for a new record despite later admitting to writing a large number of songs that he kept in a cassette tape archive at his home. In 1995, he briefly joined
Brainpool in the studio to provide backing vocals for the
Painkiller album track "We aim to please". In the end of the 1990s Hellman started to occasionally appear on stage again. In recent years, Hellman has been playing several smaller venues and minor festivals, performing both old and unreleased tracks, fueling his fans' hopes for a return to recording. In 2005 Hellman did enter the studio for the first time in a decade, contributing two covers to an
Olle Adolphson tribute album. The following year, he appeared on a duet with
Nina Ramsby, "Du min vän", on the
Nina Ramsby & Martin Hederos album
Jazzen. However, these episodes seem to be isolated events. In recent years, Hellman has completed three tours in Sweden in 2011 – 2012, playing many new songs alongside his classics, and played one show only in 2013, at the club Debaser in Stockholm in December. I On 8 January 2021 Hellman released his second album,
Äntligen borta on CD, vinyl and digital. It was followed in June 2021 by a digital-only release of an acoustic live album with songs from both albums and two covers, "Live från Palma". ==Interviews==