Category: Danish Music

Mercedess – Back to Business

Photo / Marie Vindelev

There are very few emerging artists from Scandinavia right now that have the ability to construct lo-fi pop with such an effortless flair of finesse as expertly as Danish talent Mercedess.

Dreamy and understated, yet empowering in tone, her new single ‘Back to Business’ tells the story of moving on from a sudden heartbreak.

“Growing up, I’ve always been very sensitive and take everything in. I’m an introverted person in this fast moving, crazy world. But it’s cool. I enjoy my own company, the moments of silence and the creativity it buzzes and making music has created this atmosphere you can dream yourself into – a place, where you can escape reality.”

Taken from the debut album ‘Casa Fantasia’, out later this Summer.

Mercedess

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New Music: Sweet Tempest

Photo / Tina Dubrovsky

Berlin-based synth-pop outfit Sweet Tempest construct sounds that make an immediate impact – both sonically and lyrically.

The band carry an interesting ethos, in that they hope for people to dance to their songs, while also learning about the duo’s stance on inequality and prejudice through the lyrics.

Their hard-hitting new single ‘White Country’, for example, was created as a way to express the their outlook on the current racial climate in their home nation, Denmark.

Sweet Tempest

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Magnus Tempels – For You

Danish songwriter and producer Magnus Tempels returns today with a dark and richly atmospheric sound, in the shape of new single ‘For You’.

The song was inspired by those unsettling feelings that one gets when they sense that something is wrong in a relationship – but don’t know what it is.

Drawing on references from the likes of VETO, James Blake and Trentemøller, the song’s extraordinary production provides listeners with a sense of tension that perfectly sets the tone for the lyrics.

“I’ve experienced a stomachache on several occasions that refuses to leave me. A feeling that haunts me until I have admitted to myself that a relationship is coming to an end. That’s the feeling I’ve tried to encapsulate in ‘For You'”.

Magnus Tempels

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mp.oxford – starlight

Danish artist mp.oxford returns with a shimmering slice of indie-pop in the form of new single ‘starlight’.

This is a sound that is impossible not to fall in love with, thanks to the infectiously catchy melody and captivating vocals.

mp.oxford

Soon – Not A Love Song

Copenhagen-based duo Soon return with an intimate and honest pop song in the shape of new single ‘Not A Love Song’.

Lead singer August Fogh delivers a heartfelt vocal performance over this acoustic and minimalistic ballad, which is all about denying the feeling of being heartbroken.

Soon

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New Music: Gorgeous

Danish duo Gorgeous unveil debut single ‘Divine’ today, and as their name entails, what you’ll experience when you press play is indeed very… gorgeous.

Crafting songs together as a team, these two talented musicians complement each other’s work while also being unafraid to embrace their human and musical differences.

The result is a shimmering pop sound that feels organic and understated, yet rich in emotion and character.

“Falling in love easily seems like a veil of euphoria, happiness and fascination. But at the same time, it’s a personal invitation into the life of a complete stranger – and the other way around – where you eventually will have to face each other’s story and what it holds of peculiarities, weaknesses, misfortune and tragedy. ‘Divine’ is about that total surrender – about showing the good and the bad sides when you bump into that “one in a million”-true love.” Maríe Louise, Gorgeous

Gorgeous

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JEONA – Paloma

Copenhagen-based performer, producer and songwriter JEONA returns with a captivating blend of pop and alt-R&B on new single ‘Paloma’.

As everybody curled up with their loved ones during the cold Danish winters, JEONA found himself on his own with nothing but a drink and the memories of past love.

The song describes how JEONA tries to find comfort and answers through the taste of something that his former girlfriend had introduced him to, while also struggling to understand what made him like the taste in the first place. Puzzled by his feelings, he concludes that he’s stuck in the past.

“I write songs about all the vibrant colours of life.”

JEONA

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New Music: Freddy Madson

Photo / Therese Lærke

Of all the tracks I receive from Scandinavia, this has to be one of the strongest releases that I have come across so far this year. Freddy Madson is an independent pop artist based in Copenhagen who is creating some of the most sublime sounds you could hope for.

‘Hanging in the Air’ is a beautifully dreamy yet highly-charged song that fuses hints of indie and jazz, telling the honest story of how to regain faith and trust in yourself when everything seems lost.

“I think everyone knows what it’s like to feel imperfect or inadequate. Other people’s great expectations can suddenly become a massive burden in your life – and it literally dragged me down, creating an endless flow of irrational thoughts and unnecessary contemplation. It was the feeling of hanging in the air while racing for a new tomorrow but it was with the help from my closest ones, that I got back on track.”

Freddy Madson

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New Music: Agnes Rangel

Photo / Freja More

Danish newcomer Agnes Rangel crafts an intensely unique and captivating blend of pop, jazz and trip hop. This 21-year old songwriter and musician releases her debut single ‘Blindsided’ today.

Her sound encapsulates complex human traits like infatuation and angry jealousy, all within an intimate space where honesty and feelings arise between herself and the listener.

“The song is about a beautiful friendship and how a one-sided love-euphoria can mess up everything. About how, what was meant to be a declaration of love between best friends, became a final, brutal quarrel and a recurring nightmare of total confusion and excruciating pain. I wrote ‘Blindsided’ in the middle of the night with all these emotions circulating around inside my body. I recorded it the morning after.”

Watch out for the upcoming EP, ‘Sexual Dependency’, which is expected to be released later this year.

Agnes Rangel

Asbjørn – STB x Boyfriend

Photo / Johanna Hvidtved

Consistently delivering some of the most interesting sounds to come out of Denmark, Asbjørn never fails to impress with his releases.

New single ‘STB x Boyfriend’ is a masterclass in pop – with a simple yet sleek production, an infectiously memorable melody, engaging lyrics and a fabulous vocal performance; this is one song worthy of being added to your playlists for the weekend.

“By the end of 2018, I was living in Los Angeles for a little while, wrapping up the album in a cute house in Echo Park, where roosters woke me up every morning at 4 AM. I was falling for a guy who lived there, and one night I dreamt of him. In the dream our love affair was soundtracked by ‘STB x Boyfriend’, but in this around-the-bonfire sing-a-long version. When the roosters woke me up, I grabbed a guitar and sat down on the front porch to rewrite the lyrics. The song found a different nerve and rawness with the rusty guitar, that somehow fit the rather naive chorus, about a relationship that was bound to end before it even began.”

Taken from new album ‘Boyology’ which is out now.

Asbjørn

WIINSTON – blood moon

Track of the week. Danish outfit WIINSTON has been on my radar for a good few years – and yet still they continue to surprise and impress with their releases.

‘blood moon’ is an immediately arresting piece of melodic alt-R&B that feels richly atmospheric and beautifully raw in tone.

WIINSTON is made up of producer/songwriter Alfred Thomas and singer/songwriter Daniel Richards; two longtime friends who write, record, and produce most of their music in Thomas’s one-room apartment. The duo rarely invite other musicians into their sessions – favouring one-on-one collaboration instead.

WIINSTON

Alexander Grandjean + ALEA – Kiss

Consistently delivering some of the finest indie-soul to emerge from Denmark, Alexander Grandjean returns with gorgeous new single ‘Kiss’. This is a sound that is dreamy, highly finessed and utterly sublime to experience.

Featuring vocals from fellow Danish artist ALEA, the song is taken from the new album ‘Coma’, which comes out in March.

This record represents

the current collective state of mind

This record

honors us, the people

trying but failing

to continue with the old normal

in a world that is in a coma

Alexander Grandjean | ALEA

New Music: Thyra Hilden

Photo / Jakob Valling

Danish visual artist Thyra Hilden is no stranger to the art world – with works already featured by media heavyweights like the BBC, CNN and Reuters.

During the pandemic of last year, Thyra also realised a passion for music-making, and so today sees the launch of new single ‘Touch’.

Proving herself as a gifted multi-faceted creative, the track has already been picked up by Danish Radio’s talent competition KarriereKannonen.

With its energetic, raw and youthful take on alt-pop, ‘Touch’ feels current and relevant while still maintaining a strong sense of individualism. On the song, Thyra says:

“Love and loneliness are basically chemical processes in the brain and body, and this knowledge creates a slightly absurd twist to joy, longing and devotion.”

Thyra Hilden

New Music: Stella

Copenhagen-based Scandinavian talent Stella creates a style of indie-pop that is so refreshingly unique in tone, all the while still feeling relatable and easy to connect with.

Stella

Kamma – Good Daughter

She tried her best to be

Some one you could be proud of

You left her in the dark

Made her try so hard

I was once your good daughter

But I forgot to what you taught her

Kamma

New Music: Skøien

Emerging newcomer Skøien is a Swedish born, Danish-Norwegian artist who is rapidly gaining traction thanks to an impressive fusion of dark pop and alt-R&B.

This is a sound that is sleek, well-constructed and thoughtfully produced – making Skøien one Scandinavian talent to watch out for in 2022.

Skøien

Elias Boussnina – Been Fru

Critically acclaimed artist Elias Boussnina has been at the forefront of the Danish R&B-pop movement for quite some time. This 27-year old Copenhagen talent returns today with ‘Been Fru’, which is taken from his new album ‘Intervention’.

“I’ve always tended to become really easily addicted to things – and without realising it myself. Addictions are very exciting to write about and pretty quickly I knew it was gonna be a recurring theme for the album. ‘Been Fru’ is pure thought-frenzy. It’s a look back on all the things that used to feel just right but doesn’t anymore –about finding your path in life.”

‘Intervention’ is out now.

Elias Boussnina

Ida Laurberg – Singing Mars A Lullaby

Every release from Scandinavian artist Ida Laurberg to date has been nothing short of breathtaking.

With stunning vocals delivering intelligent lyricism over a dark and melancholic production, ‘Singing Mars A Lullaby’ continues to prove that Ida could well be one of the Nordic region’s biggest future exports.

“On my latest single ‘Personal Letters’ I started working with a more 00’s pop/ rock/ punk sound than what I’ve done before. This was how ‘Singing Mars A Lullaby’ came to life. I usually write about personal experiences such as heartbreaks, bad friendships, and stuff like that. Now I felt like writing about something larger than that from the outside world, but which still affects me somehow. ‘Singing Mars a Lullaby’ is about billionaire’s strange wishes of traveling into space instead of spending their enormous amount of assets on helping our world. About how it shouldn’t be possible to possess that amount of money. And mostly, it’s about how these types of people are probably going to end up feeling pretty lonely at some point.”

Ida Laurberg

Lydmor – The Last Call

After recently performing a sold-out gig at the iconic VEGA in Copenhagen, critically-acclaimed Danish artist Lydmor returns today with beautifully emotive new single ‘The Last Call’.

The first new release since her ‘Capacity’ album, this is a song that builds from an atmospheric beginning into waves of blissful synth-euphoria.

“This is a song about realising the fact that love is right there in front of you and doesn’t have to be so damn complicated. I personally love how the tune mingles with the lyric. Especially the part where the morning tide rolls your body to the shore, and you figure out that you’re already exactly where you should be. I’ve added so much love and tenderness to this little cocktail of a song that the glass almost runs over and it becomes a tide of its own.”

Lydmor

New Music: Marianna Winter

American-Faroese emerging starlet Marianna Winter crafts a style of soul pop which is nothing short being completely mesmerising.

Born and partly raised between Tórshavn and California, Winter is one of the few female artists currently pioneering the lo-fi underground scene in the Faroe Islands.

“I tend to spend a lot of time making sure that the people around me are good, but sometimes I just wish I could be someone who doesn’t feel the need to answer every text within 2 seconds or fix every problem, and just say ‘fuck it, I’m busy’. You know? ‘BMM’ (Busy Making Money) is an anthem to anyone who secretly pretends to be a ruthless, champagne-popping, cut-throat, money-making bitch.”

Marianna Winter