Mats Björke

Biography

Mats Anders Björke was born on 10 June 1982, in Falun, Sweden. In 2002 he moved to Stockholm for music studies while also working and playing in bands. He ended his music studies in spring 2003 with no intention of continuing at another public institution. Upon learning that Mando Diao were seeking a new keyboardist after Daniel Haglund's departure, he applied and was accepted two months later.

Gustaf Norén later remarked that it was odd he had not thought of Björke initially, as they had grown up on the same street and been schoolmates. Björke was not officially a band member at first; the band even stated that performing as a four-piece worked better. However, touring together strengthened their bond, and in 2004 he was officially made a member. The band progressed from touring bars and small venues in Sweden to performing in Central Europe, the United States, and Japan.

At the MTV Unplugged – Above and Beyond performance in September 2011, Björke played guitar. Mando Diao's greatest success in Sweden came with their sixth studio album Infruset, which set ten poems by Gustaf Fröding to music in 2012. Björke has produced the Swedish indie rock band Caviare Days and collaborates with musician and actor Thorsten Flinck. He left Mando Diao in November 2014.