News

First Aid Kit Release Jack White-Produced Single

• 16th Dec 2010

Rising Swedish folk-pop duo First Aid Kit are among the latest artists to take part in Third Man Records’ Blue Series of releases. The special series of 7-inch records, produced by Jack White and recorded at his own Third Man Studios in Nashville, has featured releases from Wanda Jackson, Laura Marling and Secret Sisters, among others.

For their Blue Series 7-inch, First Aid Kit recorded spine-tingling covers of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier” (made famous in 1965 by Donovan) and classic blues standard “It Hurts Me Too”, a song much loved by fans of Karen Dalton’s 1969 folk-blues version. First Aid Kit, comprised of 17 and 20-year old sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg, recorded the tracks with White during the Nashville stop on their US headlining tour in October. Joshua Hedley joins the duo on fiddle for both tracks, while touring drummer Mattias Bergqvist, their father Benkt Söderberg, and Jack Lawrence (The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs), also contribute additional instrumentation on “It Hurts Me Too.” First Aid Kit won international acclaim this year for their stunning debut full-length album The Big Black And The Blue (Wichita Recordings).

First Aid Kit – Blue Series 7-inch single released on January 18, 2011
Side A) “Universal Soldier”
Side B) “It Hurts Me Too”

First Aid Kit’s Third Man Blue Series vinyl is available for mail order via link and from the Nashville store at 623 7th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203; the single will be available digitally worldwide via iTunes as well.

First Aid Kit’s Ghost Town single is also now available as a 7-inch at indie retail stores. Released digitally September 28 on Wichita Recordings, the 7-inch had previously only been for sale at the band’s shows. The single includes The Big Black And The Blue track “Ghost Town” as the A-side and a cover of Fever Ray’s “When I Grow Up” as the B-side. SPIN.com premiered the gorgeous, haunting video for “Ghost Town” in early September (view it here), while Brooklyn Vegan premiered a stream of “When I Grow Up” later that same month (listen here).

It’s been a whirlwind, banner year for First Aid Kit, who were nominated this week for Swedish Grammis in the ‘Best Newcomer’ and ‘Best Folk Artist’ categories. Following their debut US performances at SXSW in March, the band released their debut album in the US in May; toured Australia for the first time in September; and completed their first US headlining tours in June and October (even selling out venerated NYC venues Mercury Lounge and Joe’s Pub). NPR’s All Songs Considered included First Aid Kit in their 2010 CMJ wrap-up show, while additional press has also taken note, including AOL Music’s Spinner blog, Nylon, and SPIN (‘Breaking Out’ artist in the September issue), among others. The band’s new live session with Shoot The Player – filmed in New York City’s Washington Square Park in October – posted late last month, joining previous sessions already online at Daytrotter, Yours Tru.ly, and Shockhound. First Aid Kit has also now made the set from their September show in Sydney (broadcasted and recorded by Australia’s FBi independent radio station) available to fans as a free holiday download gift via their official website, link.