IVA, recipient of Årets Svensk Amerikan, will perform in the U.S. this summer

International recording artist, vocalist and songwriter, IVA, returns with her new album, LEAP, set for release on July 10, making her one of the first artists to utilize the new “Friday, Global Release Day” for music. Produced by Tim Sonnefeld, whose collaborations include Grammy winning albums with Usher, as well as albums with Philadelphia artists Amos Lee and Sharon Little, LEAP was recorded at Philadelphia’s Milkboy and Retro City Studios.

Although trained as an opera singer, IVA, who is Swedish-American by birth, wrote and released two pop records in Sweden, the second with Universal. LEAP, however, was compiled after she moved back to the United States and truly captures the essence of that freedom IVA discovered while overseas. Discussing the new EP and working with Sonnefeld, IVA remarked, “Tim is one of the most solid musicians, and persons, I have ever worked with. He understood my vision, nurtured it and took us every step of the way with an amazing ear and attitude.” Album preparations became reality with a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign that exceeded IVA’s funding goals and allowed more studio time. Continued support and early exposure of the EP on Philly’s influential tastemaker radio station WXPN, and reviews of IVA’s musical history have been very positive, such as:

Billboard Magazine remarked on IVA’s versatility, touting her as an artist to watch who was “doubl[ing] up in Sweden” with opera and pop.

Tri-State Indie proclaimed “Keep your eyes open for this remarkable crossover talent…she’s the real thing.”

IVA, a student of The Julliard School and graduate of The Manhattan School of Music as well as Princeton, began to play the New York clubs and Off-Broadway venues before moving to Sweden thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship for performing artists. It was in Sweden where IVA embraced her operatic side and sung with the Royal Opera of Stockholm. An unexpected experience for IVA took place when she relocated from New York City to Stockholm, Sweden. A stranger in a country with a completely different way of life, she was able to explore who she was with a freedom she didn’t know was possible. This time abroad led to an explosion of creativity and changed the direction of her career and her life forever.