FOR a man whose evocative music has been consistently lauded around the world, Swedish troubadour Jose Gonzalez is low-key and laid back.

Gonzalez, 29, who is of Argentinian parentage, is at the forefront of the recent 'quiet' folk music resurgence that also counts as its cadres acclaimed Norwegian acoustic duo, Kings Of Convenience.

He will make his Singapore debut on March 11 under the Esplanade's 11th Hour series for its Mosaic Music Festival which will, as its title suggests, start at 11pm.

Four years after his 2003 acoustic debut Veneer was released, it is still drawing praises for its softness, elegance, simplicity and beauty, evoking comparisons to the late British folk icon Nick Drake.

From the port city of Gothenburg on Sweden's west coast, Gonzalez's fame soon spread to the rest of Europe and, with the release of Veneer in 2005 in Britain and the United States, to those key markets as well.

Along the way, he picked up a Grammis (Sweden's Grammy equivalent) in 2003 for Best Newcomer and saw his songs, Crosses and Stay In The Shade (both from Veneer), being used in the second and third seasons of American TV series The O.C.

His music reached an even wider audience when British downtempo group Zero 7 invited him to record four tracks on its third album, 2006's The Garden, including a cover of Crosses. The album was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album at this year's Grammys, but lost out to Madonna's Confessions On A Dance Floor.

Last month, he received another Grammis nod in the prestigious Regeringens Exportpris or Government's Export Prize category, for exceptional contribution towards the export of Swedish music. Past winners include Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus of Abba in 2001, and pop-rock group Roxette in 2002.

In a recent phone interview with Life! from Gothenburg, Gonzales, who had recorded Veneer at home, says of his success: 'When it happened in Sweden, I kind of got a shock. I thought it would sell 2,000 copies here at most. Next thing I knew, I saw my music video on Swedish MTV.'

Born in Sweden, Gonzalez, who is a second-generation immigrant, had little difficulty blending in, although he says his parents had problems. It helped that he spent his first seven years in a suburb populated by South American immigrants from Chile and Uruguay.

'I never gave much thought to growing up as an immigrant. It's my parents who had a hard time, besides having to learn the language.'

Although no one else in his family can play an instrument, he grew up listening to Latin American music like bossa nova, which influenced him to pick up the classical nylon string guitar, and in his compositions.

A middle child - his older sister is trained in anthropology and his younger brother is pursuing a physics and philosophy degree - Gonzalez was en route to obtaining a PhD in bio-chemistry when he stopped and started to pursue music full-time.

His parents divorced seven years ago. His father moved back to Argentina to work in a university, while his mother still works at a hospital in Gothenburg.

'It was no problem. We were already grown up by then,' he says matter-of-factly of the split.

His attitude is the same when discussing his approach towards music and composing.

'I like playing the guitar, it's not about expressing my inner feelings. No, not really. There's some sort of passion for music, of course, as in I really like playing music and guitar. But it's not that much of a spiritual thing, it's just a music thing.'

The 'music thing' extends to doing clever acoustic cover versions of such varied material as the cheesy Kylie Minogue pop nugget Hand On Your Heart, the trippy, ethereal Teardrop by Massive Attack, as well as the indie number, Heartbeats, by Swedish band The Knife.

'It sounds boring, but most of the time it's really just about taking a song I really like and taking it apart. In the case of Kylie, it was about giving the lyrics a different perspective,' he says.

Surprisingly, he claims that he hardly, if at all, listens to folk singer-songwriters. He also asserts that there is nothing remarkable about his musical tastes.

'It's true. My inspiration comes from whatever I'm listening to. I tend to listen to many different styles, like hip-hop, electronica and Afro-beat.'

Of his 60-minute Esplanade gig, he promises: 'I'll do 25 minutes solo first, then I have two percussionists and back-up vocals. It'll be mostly from my album Veneer, plus some new songs and some cover versions.'

Album No. 2 is also on the way, which is why he is only doing Tokyo after Singapore, and not taking on too many shows, so he can concentrate on writing and recording at home.

'I plan to have it ready before summer, I'm pretty sure my label will want to release it in September.'

So will it be a Veneer Version 2.0, with no noteworthy collaborators in sight?

'Yes, it'll definitely be a solo outing. I still want to concentrate on playing my guitar.'

Veneer by Jose Gonzalez is out in the stores. Gonzalez will play live at the Esplanade Concert Hall on March 11 at 11pm as part of this year's Mosaic Music Festival at the Esplanade. It will be an hour-long performance with no intermission. Tickets at $58 (concession tickets at $40) available from Sistic (tel: 6348-555 or www.sistic.com.sg) or at the box office.