Jose Gonzalez

'Veneer' made an indelible mark in its understated, expressive brilliance and cemented José González as a meticulous sonic craftsman and songwriter of singular talent.

It’s hard to believe an album recorded with the most basic equipment in a cramped Gothenburg flat could end up going platinum. It’s harder still when one acknowledges that, aside from one brief trumpet solo and the slightest hint of percussion, the record features just one hushed voice and the dexterous picking of an acoustic guitar’s nylon strings. But 2003’s 'Veneer' was such an album, thanks in part to its delicate, evocative cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats”.