Lykke Li (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlʏ.ˈkɛ ˈliː]; born Li Lykke Timotej Svensson Zachrisson; born 18 March 1986 in Ystad), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos. Li possesses the vocal range of a soprano. Her debut album, Youth Novels, was released in 2008.
Li Lykke Timotej Svensson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother is a photographer and her father, a musician, is a member of Dag Vag. The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years. The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India. She moved to the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn in New York for three months when she was 19. She returned when she was 21 to record her album.