Category: Nordic Music

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

Johnning – What The Hell

Gothenburg singer and songwriter Johnning is no stranger to working with hits; his release of ‘Heroes Tonight’ with Janji picked up over 200 million YouTube plays and more than 100 million Spotify streams – achieving gold status in Sweden and Norway.

Today sees the release of his first single of the year, featuring punk-inspired guitars and a heavy-hitter chorus inspired by the glory days of EDM from the 2010’s.

“The idea of the song is to tell yourself to have the guts to take the leap, and dare to commit yourself to that special one you might have feelings for.”

Johnning

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

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: 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: 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: Bambi L

Finnish music doesn’t come over often to us, but when it does it always seems to be a beautiful experience to play.

When she’s not busy helping to write music for the likes of Karl Killing and Junge Junge, Bambi L creates a unique style of indie-pop that feels immediately relatable, while still carrying a subtle and measured sense of playfulness and eccentricity.

“With this song I want to send a message to people, that it’s okay if you’re feeling sad or lonely, or going through a hard time on Christmas. You are not alone.” 

Bambi L

Miynt – Station station

Ever the experimentalist, Stockholm-based artist MIYNT returns today with a superb blend of atmospheric lo-fi indie and pop-rock in the form of new single ‘Station station’.

Blending minimal production with a chugging guitar riff, interlaced with those signature ethereal vocals, the song serves as a taster for the next album (due early 2022).

MIYNT

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

New Music: GERD

Track of the week. A true breakout star, Swedish artist GERD has caused quite the stir since ‘Lies For A Liar’ was debuted by Zane Lowe on Apple Music Radio 1 last month.

The consequent release of the video picked up over 65k views in just over two days, and the momentum doesn’t seem to be stopping. This could well be one of the Nordic region’s newest sensations to watch out for.

GERD

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

Samson For President – If You’re Lost Just Like I Am

Swedish-Colombian musician, songwriter and producer Samson For President returns today with the beautifully emotive ‘If You’re Lost Just Like I Am’.

A sweet melody sets the tone for captivating vocals and lyrics to shine through, as the slow-building production takes you on a journey that climaxes in a gorgeously moving way.

Taken from the coming ‘Beauty Supply EP’.

Samson for President

Watch: girl in red – I’ll Call You Mine

Alternative pop mastermind girl in red shares the Jared Hogan-directed music video for her latest single ‘I’ll Call You Mine’, taken from the critically acclaimed debut album ‘if i could make it go quiet’.

Already amassing 1.6 billion career streams to date, the Norwegian singer-songwriter is undisputedly Scandinavia’s latest big new music export.

She embarks on her biggest ever headlining US tour in March 2022, joined by special guest Holly Humberstone.

girl in red

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: Matilda

No week goes by without introducing some outstanding Scandinavian talent, so today it’s the turn of Swedish newcomer Matilda.

With an energised take on melancholic electro-pop, ‘Imaginary Friend’ is a song that slowly builds in intensity, setting the scene for Matilda’s distinctive vocals to shine through.

“This song is about me feeling invisible in relationships, but still being a safety blanket for someone. I’ve always been the one that is there for people and I’m that one who is needed in their life but always in a hidden way. I felt like I was an embarrassment, like an imaginary friend.”

Matilda