by Gina Boldman
The Swedish group Cinnamon — not to be confused with the Canadian band of the same name — was formed in 1994 by songwriters Jiri Novak (guitar, keyboards) and Frida Diesen (vocals, synthesizers, guitar). The duo soon added bassist Samuel Laxberg and drummer Christian Ekwall. Their debut EP, Vox, was released in 1995; the full-length Summer Meditation soon followed. The 1997 album The Courier was accompanied by a European and American tour. The EP Many Moods of Cinnamon was released in June 1999; the full-length Vertigo followed in October of that year and was issued in the U.S. early in 2000.