何塞∙冈萨雷斯

José Gabriel González (born 31 July 1978) is a Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from Gothenburg. He is also a member of the band Junip, along with Tobias Winterkorn. As of 2026, he has released five solo studio albums.

Early life and education

José Gabriel González was born on 31 July 1978 in the Haga district of Gothenburg, Sweden, to Argentine parents. His politically active parents were students at the National University of San Luis before fleeing Argentina after the 1976 Argentine coup d'état. Escaping to Brazil with González's older sister, they were granted asylum by the Swedish consulate in Rio de Janeiro and relocated to Gothenburg in 1977.

González grew up listening to Latin folk and pop music and has named Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez as a favourite artist. He said that the first concert he went to was the Wailers. In an interview with Time Out magazine he stated, "I got their autographs and everything. I was about 12 or so. At the time, my favourite music was Bob Marley and Michael Jackson".

González earned a master's degree in molecular biology from the University of Gothenburg and was in a PhD program for biochemistry before dropping out and focusing on music.

Career

The first band González played in was Back Against the Wall, a Gothenburg hardcore punk group influenced by Black Flag, Misfits, and Dead Kennedys. He later played bass guitar in another hardcore band, Renascence, between 1993 and 1998. He also played guitar with the indie rock band Only If You Call Me Jonathan.

In June 2003, González issued his debut solo release, a two-track 7 in (180 mm) single. It was discovered by Joakim Gävert, co-founder of the then-fledgling label Imperial Records, who signed González as their first official artist. In October, González released his debut album, Veneer, in Europe. The record was subsequently released in the UK on 25 April 2005 and in the United States on 6 September 2005. González had begun working on the material while still a PhD student.

González' trademark sound is solo classical guitar with soft vocal melody. His work, although mostly original, also includes acoustic covers of such hits as "Heartbeats" by his fellow Swedes the Knife, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division, "Born in the U.S.A." and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen, "Hand on Your Heart" by Kylie Minogue, "Smalltown Boy" by Bronski Beat, "Teardrop" by Massive Attack, and "Last Snowstorm of the Year" by Low.

His second album, In Our Nature, was released internationally on 22 September 2007. Its lyrical content was in part influenced by books like The God Delusion by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and Practical Ethics by ethicist Peter Singer.

In 2010, a documentary about him, called The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of Jose Gonzalez, was released.

His third album, Vestiges & Claws, was released in February 2015. It was critically acclaimed and received the IMPALA Album of the Year Award.

On 17 February 2021, González released a single with Spanish lyrics, "El Invento". In April, he issued "Visions", the second single from his next album, Local Valley, which came out on 17 September.

In 2023, González appeared in the feature film A Tiger in Paradise, which is a fictionalized depiction of his own life.

In 2026, he released his fifth album, Against the Dying of the Light.