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Yasmin  ·  Asger Johannes Steenholdt

Aphrodesia

An aphrodisiac road movie in sound.

The Danish duo behind the albums Lavandou (2004) and Indigo (2007) — disquieting, alluring and unafraid of being downright inviting.

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Yasmin & Asger Johannes Steenholdt — Aphrodesia
Yasmin & Asger
The Story

Written more or less on the road

Behind Aphrodesia you find the singer Yasmin and bass player / multi‑instrumentalist Asger Johannes Steenholdt. The name is drawn from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.

32 raw sketches, fragments written down on the laptop, picked up, reworked and drawn — more or less on the road. Literally speaking. En route, moving, during breaks, between here and there, with a base in the French town of Lavandou.

Over a process that ran through five years of creative work, those sketches grew into nine closely connected tracks — the debut album Lavandou, mastered by Tim Young, known for his work with Madonna, Massive Attack and Björk. Three years later came Indigo, widening the palette into pop, jazz, soul, bossa and blues.

Yasmin and Asger have been together since Peter Langdal's staging of Hair at Betty Nansen Teatret in 1996, which also played to sold‑out houses in Paris at the Théâtre Mogador.

Yasmin of Aphrodesia — portrait
The Music

Two albums

Both released on Sundance Music / Nordic Light. “Wind Song” and “Calling You” appear on both records in very different recordings.

Lavandou album cover

Lavandou

2004 Jazz · Electronica Soul · Reggae 9 tracks · 43 min
  1. Wind Song
  2. Calling You
  3. Into Your Eyes
  4. Come On
  5. Be Loved, Be Heard
  6. Been The One
  7. Tenderness
  8. Blood Keeps Running
  9. Dream On

Released 13 October 2004 · Sundance Music / Nordic Light · Cat. SU 9063‑2.
Yasmin — vocals · Asger Johannes Steenholdt — bass, multi‑instrumentalist · Mastering: Tim Young.

“…et usædvanligt fint, homogent, men varieret CD indeholdende alt fra stille ballader til kraftfulde, pulserende sange. Det der virkelig imponerer, er deres frygtløse og fandenivoldske behandling af materialet, som aldrig krydser grænsen til galskab.” Gaffa (Danish review)

Music from the album has since featured in the TV series Ørnen and Borgen.

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Indigo album cover

Indigo

2007 Jazz · Pop Soul · Bossa · Blues 9 tracks
  1. Superstar
  2. Wind Song
  3. Late Night, Late Love
  4. Jovina
  5. I Leave You Tonight
  6. Calling You
  7. I Feel Happy Today
  8. Sing To The Stars Above
  9. Walk Away

Released September 2007 · Nordic Light / Stunt Records · CD Digipak · Cat. SU 9072‑2.
Yasmin — vocals · Asger Johannes Steenholdt — guitar, keyboards, treatments.
With Stig Samson Naur (sax), Nikolaj Hess (piano), Anders Christensen (bass), Jakob Høyer (drums), and Emil, Halfdan & Sira Jovina Steenholdt (backing vocals).
All songs written, produced and mixed by Aphrodesia. Cover photo: Stephen Freiheit.

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The Artists

Yasmin & Asger

Yasmin

Yasmin

Vocals · Composer · Lyricist

Yasmin Elvira Steenholdt released two solo albums in the early 1990s. Slow — produced by Soulshock/Cutfather — contained the single “Wanna Dance”, which won the Danish Grammy for best rap/dance single (1991) and climbed the Billboard charts. It paved the way for her second album, A Scent of Flowers.

As a singer she has performed on record and on stage with a long line of Danish and international names — among them TV2, Hanne Boel, Lisa Nilsson, Eric Gadd, Randi Laubek, Erann DD and Big Fat Snake — and appeared on stage in Hair (Betty Nansen Teatret, Paris & Denmark).

Today she works as a singer, composer, lyricist and voice trainer, and is a certified Soul Voice® practitioner (sound healer). Since 2010 she has specialised in sound‑and‑song workshops for young children, reaching thousands through more than 2,000 workshops in day‑care institutions and around 450 in special‑needs institutions. With Asger she performs wordless, improvised meditation concerts.

Asger Johannes Steenholdt

Asger Johannes Steenholdt

Bass · Guitar · Multi‑instrumentalist

Born in Copenhagen in 1964, Asger switched from guitar to bass in 1980 after discovering funk. He wrote music for the theatre with Dr. Dante, trained as a bassist at the Bass Institute of Technology in Los Angeles, and later studied at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen.

He recorded and toured with a long line of Danish names — among them Nikolaj Steen, Lars H.U.G., Tamra Rosanes, Love Shop, Savage Rose and Caroline Henderson — and in 1997 joined the rock band Big Fat Snake, first on bass and later on guitar.

Today Asger works as a psychotherapist (MPF), executive coach, supervisor and facilitator, and continues to perform improvised concerts with Yasmin.

Press · EPK

Press kit

Facts, quotes and downloads for press and promoters.

At a glance

Artist
Aphrodesia
Members
Yasmin (vocals), Asger Johannes Steenholdt
Origin
Denmark
Label
Sundance Music / Nordic Light
Albums
Lavandou (2004) · Indigo (2007)
Genres
Jazz, electronica, soul, pop, bossa, blues
Mastering
Tim Young (Lavandou)
Contact

Press & booking: contact@aphrodesia.dk

“Yasmin here shows herself to be a fearless singer, not afraid of trying new grounds, on the contrary.”

Downloads
Press release — Lavandou English · PDFOpen ↗ Pressemateriale — Lavandou Dansk · PDFOpen ↗ Press photo 1 Hi‑res JPG · Photo: Bjarne StæhrDownload ↗ Press photo 2 Hi‑res JPG · Photo: Bjarne StæhrDownload ↗ Press photo 3 Hi‑res JPG · Photo: Bjarne StæhrDownload ↗ Press photo 4 Hi‑res JPG · Photo: Bjarne StæhrDownload ↗

All press photos by Bjarne Stæhr. Please credit the photographer.