Born in 1984 in southern Sweden, Elin (maiden name Larsson) moved to Stockholm at the age of 20 to pursue saxophone and jazz studies at the Royal College of Music. For the last 15 years, she has been a prominent voice on the Swedish jazz and impro scene.
Starting off with her first own band Elin Larsson Group, Elin gained a wide recognition with the debut album Live And Alive (Playing With Music/Border 2009). In 2010 she was awarded Newcomerof the year bytheSwedish Jazz Radio.
The debut was followed by albums Let You In (Playing With Music/Border 2011) andGrowing Up (Playing With Music/Border 2013). In 2013 Elin received another prestigious award, The Lars Gullin Prize, in recognition of her work for the development of Swedish Jazz.
In 2013, Elin started working with the praised Anna Högberg Attack, a six piece band that has since then released two much acclaimed albums and toured Europe frequently. Around this time she also performed a lot with Mats Gustafsson’s FIRE! Orchestra and found herself being more and more drawn towards free music.
Today, Elin works primarily with her own band Elin Forkelid Plays For Trane, a quintet that plays willful interpretations of jazz giant John Coltrane’s work, along with quartet SOL SOL, which she leads and composes for together with guitar player David Stackenäs.
In 2020 Elin started her own record label, Sail Cabin Records, in order to release her own projects and the freedom that provides. The label has released two albums, with a third one coming in the spring of 2024.
Elin has gained praise for her composing skills. She enjoys composing for various different line ups, and focuses on the individualities of the musicians she’s composing for at the moment.
Today, Elin finds herself standing somewhere in between jazz, free jazz and free impro. Her curiosity and love for the art of improvisation keeps bringing her to new places and faces.
