Category: Norwegian Music

New Music: Ira Nor

Photo / Luis Kramer

Norwegian talent looks set to take over the pop world once again – this time with the help of Oslo newcomer Ira Nor.

Freshly signed to noted record label 777 Music (home of boy pablo and Fur), Nor constructs a style of experimental electronic pop that pushes the boundaries of the genre, yet does so in a tastefully balanced way that makes her music relatable to most listeners.

Lifted from Nor’s upcoming ‘Swim Ira‘ EP (out 26th August), new single ‘doomed’ was written alongside Øyvind Glåmen, and is inspired by Nor’s mantra of trying to find the beauty from painful experiences.

“It’s about moving past a relationship that always was doomed; getting the power over yourself back, and letting go of an unhealthy relationship.” 

Ira Nor

🎵 Discover more new music on the Ones To Watch + Scandinavia Sound playlists

Delara – People Come And Go

Acclaimed Norwegian singer and songwriter Delara returns with a charming slice of summery pop through new single ‘People Come And Go’.

Perfectly balancing elements of nostalgic soul with R&B and pop, the song highlights the importance of choosing your true friends wisely.

Impressively, Delara has accumulated well over 50 million career streams on Spotify, and currently commands close to 400k monthly listeners on the platform.

Delara

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

bby ivy – Losing Sleep

Norwegian social media sensation bby ivy returns with another finessed pop release through new single ‘Losing Sleep’.

Alongside the track comes its superb video, which has already picked up considerable critical acclaim – including nominations for several music video festivals and awards across the world.

Commanding over 350k followers on Instagram alone and close to 50k monthly listeners on Spotify, this rising Scandinavian talent looks set to take on her biggest year yet.

bby ivy

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

NIGHTMÅNE – REVIVE

Just in time for the weekend, American-Norwegian duo NIGHTMÅNE release a bold slice of dark synth and disco-pop through new single ‘REVIVE’.

Confidently risqué, raw and powerful in tone, the song perfectly balances feelings of intensity with a beat that is irresistibly memorable.

NIGHTMÅNE create their work through a mix of inspirations – ranging from 80’s synth-pop to 90’s Scandinavian pop, as well as mainstream hits from the US Top 40.

As industry professionals, both members of the group have each achieved songwriting and production credits for artists as notable as Cher to Ace of Base and TVXQ!

NIGHTMÅNE

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

Amanda Tenfjord – Plans

After her spectacular performance representing Greece at Eurovision last week (eventually coming in at a respectable eighth position), Greek-Norwegian artist Amanda Tenfjord returns today with her new single ‘Plans’.

“It’s a song about the moment in a relationship when you realise that you actually don’t make plans together anymore. At first you have all these dreams about the future and the things you want to do together; travel to Rome, buy a house together and see your kids grow up etc., and then slowly as love fades away you don’t even plan what to do the next weekend together. And the worst part is seeing the one you love living your previous common dreams together with someone else. It’s a very sad song.”

The track further teases the release of her upcoming debut album, due for release later this year via iconic Oslo label Propeller Recordings.

To date, Tenfjord has released two widely praised EP’s, ‘Miss The Way You Missed Me’ and debut EP ‘First Impression’. 

Amanda Tenfjord

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

Siv Jakobsen – Most of the Time

Photo / Jørgen Nordby

After two long years, critically acclaimed Norwegian singer songwriter Siv Jakobsen is back with what is likely to be her most vulnerable song to date, entitled ‘Most Of The Time’.

Ethereal and beautiful in style, this melodic and deeply moving song is about wanting – but being unable to forget.

“‘Most of the Time’ is about not being able to forget a particularly difficult relationship from my past. When left undealt with, the memories seemed to heighten in my sleep, in my subconscious, day and night, almost as if I was being haunted. It’s about how our past affects our future, how it can affect our personalities morphing into someone slightly different. Being back in this place again after such a long time was a much greater shock to my system than I would have ever thought it could be, and it forced me to unbox a lot of things I thought I had safely stored away in the back corners of my mind. In the end, it’s about reminding myself that I am feeling better now, most of the time.”

Siv Jakobsen

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

New Music: Hanna Emilie

Emerging from Norway is newcomer Hanna Emilie. New single ‘Stay Numb’ is subtly quirky, while still maintaining a strong pop sensibility that is as polished and sleek as you’d expect from Nordic music productions.

Hanna Emilie

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

New Music: Hannah Storm

One of the most impressive indie releases of the month comes from emerging Norwegian artist Hannah Storm.

Once that first chorus kicks in on her powerful new single ‘House of Cards’, you’ll find it hard to not have this song on repeat all day. This fusion of indie and pop-rock is some of the finest you’ll experience from Scandinavia right now.

“As long as I can keep making lots of music and live the life I am living now, it will be the best I could have imagined.”

Hannah Storm

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

New Music: Alex & The Alpaca

Photo / Maria Maaneskiold, vitaboy

Alex and The Alpacas is a 22-year-old  Nicaraguan-Norwegian artist and producer, currently crafting some of the most charming blends of indie, rock and lo-fi pop to emerge from Norway.

Produced, written and performed solely by Alex himself, new single ‘Adorable’ is an understated slice of bliss that affirms this Oslo-based talent is one to watch.

“The lyrics of ‘Adorable’ are ironic, and the beat has a video-game-like characteristic. To me this gives the song a feeling of being on top of the world and a sense of carelessness, like on the day you finally get over someone.”

Alex & The Alpaca

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

New Music: Ea Othilde

Emerging from Norway comes 17-year old artist Ea Othilde. Inspired by the likes of Elliott Smith, PJ Harvey and early Bon Iver, this talent crafts a captivating indie sound that feels sincere, emotive and immensely captivating.

“‘I Couldn’t Be There’ is a little indie rock tune about all the things you want to do, all the places you want to go, everything and everyone that’s out of reach. It’s the sound of time slipping through your fingers, the soundtrack of roads leading nowhere.”

Ea Othilde

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

Mr Little Jeans – Better with You

Photo / Nina Jordan

Norwegian musician Monica Birkenes, aka Mr Little Jeans returns today with the superb ‘Better with You’.

The song was written about the exhilarating early stages of a relationship, and speaks to Birkenes’ symbiosis with her co-writers, Drew McFaddenand Leon Jean-Marie”

“I’m at my most creative and honest when I’m writing with people I know and trust. It also helps if I can boss them around and be vocal about what I want, which is what I did most days.”

Taken from the forthcoming project ‘Better Days’ which is out on 3 June 2022 via Nettwerk.

Mr Little Jeans

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

New Music: Oh Blonde

Adding further to Norway’s already-impressive roster of pop talent, today marks the debut for newcomer Oh Blonde.

Showcasing some of the finest new music that Scandinavia has to offer right now, ‘If I See You’ is slow-burning banger that is subtly melancholic and heartfelt in essence.

“This song was written with fellow Norwegian artist, Elsie Bay and producer Ola Frøyen. It came along in a studio session where I poured my heart out about a difficult time in my life where relations changed and some ended. I had been wanting to write about it forever, but never managed to do in a way that felt right until this session. The song is about closure in a way, and the fact that with time things sort itself out.”

Oh Blonde

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

Beach of Diamonds – Can’t Wait

Norwegian duo Beach of Diamonds return with an anthemic slice of pop-punk in the form of new single ‘Can’t Wait’.

The nostalgic song reminisces about young teenage love, and being too shy to stand up for the love of your life.

Taken from the forthcoming mini-EP, which is due to drop soon via Sailor Music. 

Beach of Diamonds

🎵 Follow the Scandinavia Sound Playlist

Ponette – Losing Me

Track of the week. Norwegian artist Ponette has rapidly shown herself to be one of the Nordic nation’s most promising new talents recently.

With a production that is stripped-back and relatively subdued, ‘Losing Me’ is a mesmerisingly moving song that is immediately captivating.

Ponette

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

New Music: Gard Read

Hailing from the Norwegian city of Bergen comes Gard Read. Introduced to the music industry from the age of sixteen, this artist’s musical inspirations range from James Blake and Labrinth to The Weeknd.

“Music helps me speak about things that can be hard to talk about. Through my songs I’m able to find the words to admit when something hurts.”

With an impressive take on power-pop, Read’s new single ‘All We Can Do’ presents intensities of emotion that only Scandinavians seem translate into music so seamlessly.

Gard Read

Alann8h – Rings of Saturn

Now commanding close to 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone, it’s safe to say that indie singer and songwriter Alann8h has begun her ascent to musical stardom.

Today she releases new EP ‘Apollo8’, and with it comes the stunning lead single ‘Rings of Saturn’. Talking about the EP, she says:

“The overarching theme of the EP is outer space, longing, and change. I found myself constantly looking up at the sky at night and feeling humbled and fascinated by many different thoughts that inspired a lot of the lyrics on the EP. The introspective EP includes many different aspects of my mind and each song has its own unique sound to it allowing something for everyone’s ears. The sounds vary from acoustic guitar to lo-fi and alternative beats. This EP allowed me to work with other artists from around the world who I love. One track has UK artist Feux and another was co-produced by indie artist Jimi Somewhere. I’ve been sitting on this EP for a while and have been so excited to share it with the rest of the world, so I truly hope you enjoy what you hear, sit back relax and get ready to blast off.”

‘Apollo 8’ which is out now.

Alann8h

New Music: IMGfound

Norwegian outfit IMGfound craft a style of music that blends multiple genres together in a very organic and compelling way.

With elements of alt-hip hop, hyperpop and ambient, ‘Eversnow’ is a refreshingly unique sound that takes you on a very special sonic journey.

“Since we’re a duo we often open up and talk about what we feel at the moment, which often impacts the theme of the songs we make. This song in a lot of ways a journey the same way we felt we’ve been through. Here in Norway the winters get very cold and brings you in a special state of mind and we think this song can speak to that in people.”

IMGfound

Haider Raja – Drain Me of my Love

It seems as though Norway’s rap scene is beginning to gain momentum beyond the Nordic nation, and with good reason.

Haider Raja is yet another superb emerging talent who’s approach to the genre is refreshingly fun and engaging.

Haider Raja

Ivan Ave – What A Day!!!

One of Norway’s most interesting talents returns with a song that balances hip hop with R&B and soul in the most beautiful way imaginable.

If you’ve yet to experience Ivan Ave’s music, you really ought to give this Scandinavian artist’s catalogue a listen.

Ivan Ave