Music paid off, biochemistry didn't, for singer

A doctoral degree in biochemistry might seem a worthy goal for many academically minded students, but it became an abandoned pursuit for Jose Gonzalez, who chose music in his native Sweden. He has since built an impressive career as a singer and guitarist who sings in English but also, obviously, speaks Swedish, as well as Spanish and some German -- so he maintains he speaks three and a half languages.

Born in 1978 to Argentinean parents who had fled political unrest in their home country two years before, Gonzalez says he never intended to pursue music seriously.

"I originally considered music to be my hobby as I went through my studies at the University of Gothenburg," he explains. "I was almost six years at the university, I had gotten a master's in molecular biology and was doing my doctorate research, and the music just suddenly took over. I had been in bands and done solo things and toured around Europe.

"As soon as I put out my first EP in Sweden in 2003, I was getting lots of play on radio in Europe, and it just took off from there. My ambitions weren't that high to begin with. Now I pay my rent with music!"

Gonzalez released a number of singles and EPs in the past decade, plus three albums: Veneer in late 2003, In Our Nature in 2007 and Vestiges and Claws on Feb. 17.

With a softly strummed touch on guitar and low-key vocals, he has been compared with J.J. Cale and Nick Drake.

"I had gotten my first guitar when I was 14 or 15," he says, "and I listened, of course, to The Beatles and to Simon and Garfunkel. After a year, I had learned all the chords, and I found my own style of finger-picking on a nylon string acoustic guitar. I was impressed with the voice of Chet Baker singing quietly, and about halfway through my first album, I heard Nick Drake's Pink Moon and was moved by that, by his voice and guitar, and since then there are people who say I remind them of him."

Fans of Drake may especially be reminded of Drake's song "Which Will" when hearing Gonzalez's "What Will" on his latest album. (The song contains the line "With vestiges and claws, fight for a common cause," giving the name to his current album.)

He even whistles softly in places on "Open Book" and "Vissel," the album's sole instrumental.

Gonzalez is not averse to recording or performing material made famous by other musicians. He is known for his version of "Heartbeats" by Swedish band The Knife, and he also does "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division and even "Born in the U.S.A." and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen.

Gonzalez has performed on a lengthy list of American late-night TV shows hosted by Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Carson Daly, plus the British program hosted by Jools Holland. His song "Crosses," from his first EP, was featured on the final episode of the second season of The O.C., and his song "Far Away" won the Spike Video Game Awards for Best Song for its use in a video game, Red Dead Redemption.

When he plays live these days, he brings along two percussionists, another guitarist and a vocalist/percussionist, making for some unusual sound textures, he figures.

"We can create some large harmonies at times, perhaps recalling Crosby, Stills & Nash, even."

Weekend on 10/01/2015