A hugely promising talent hailing from Sweden, Lars Martin’s approach to music-making is quite extraordinary.
Through ‘Plans’, the listener experiences a beautifully arranged blend of soul and RnB, twisted and shaped with an alternative edge to create something that feels nostalgic yet experimental and a little quirky.
“I write songs about life, love and overcoming myself in order to be more myself.”
I ever so rarely feature acoustic songs on the site, but I was so moved by this one from Norwegian talent Aleks Grey that it just has to be shared with the rest of you.
It’s a beautifully sweet little number about a relationship where nothing works anymore, and no matter what you say or do, you just can’t make it better.
Danish talent RoseeLu has released one of the most stand-out releases from her homeland so far this year. ‘Playing Alone’ brings a luxuriously dark, sultry and intense approach to alt-pop. A hugely exciting prospect to watch out for!
Another week and another sensational Swedish talent. This time it’s Stockholm-born songwriter and producer Noomi, with her debut release ‘Ride’.
The track seems to blend future-forward electronic pop with 90’s inspired RnB beats, forming a sound that feels refreshingly original yet also familiar. Matched with airy vocals gliding over a smooth melody, I’m quite certain you’ll fall in love with Noomi just as hard as I have when you press play.
The Danish/ Japanese pop starlet returns today with a sublime piece of pop that shimmers with summery vibes and smooth vocal tones.
Listening to Mina Okabe gives you that sense of reassurance that something better is coming on the horizon – even if her love is bittersweet.
“I wrote ‘Walk Away’ about the feeling of not knowing if the guy that I was seeing was as interested in me as I was in him. I was asking myself, if I should walk away from what we had or keep giving him chances to prove me wrong.”
Swedish DJ Chris Tall returns today with his sixth release, ‘Dancin’ Alive’. Featuring the vocals of MLK, this is a perfected fusion of disco, electronica and pop that gives us an essence of empowered sensuality in the form of retro-futurism.
“‘Dancin’ Alive’s’ message is to never give up on that feeling of losing yourself to the music and dance yourself away into happiness.”
Featuring a spoken word appearance from 4-time Grammy nominee Phoebe Bridgers, today sees the return of multi-talented Swedish creative Luminous Kid (Olof Grind) with the release of new single ‘Mountain Crystals’.
The pair first became acquainted after Grind shot the cover to Bridgers’ 2020 record ‘Punisher‘. As master of many arts, Luminous Kid is not only a pop singer and songwriter but also a photographer and visual artist. Together with his self-directed music videos, he aims to create a complete body of queer art with his portfolio of work.
“I think the more role models and queer experiences that exist in popular culture, the better. If a song or a work of art can make a sad and trapped young queer person feel better about themselves, then it is a step in the right direction.”
Taken from the new album ‘at the end of the dream’ which is due 23rd April 2021.
One of my favourite Swedish talents so far this year, Dear Sara returns with a guitar-driven pop bop in the form of ‘Do Better’.
Featuring those distinctive vocals that float so effortlessly over an infectiously catchy melody, you’ll have this song playing in your head all weekend.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve had a very vivid imagination. I’ve always enjoyed writing and coming up with stories. ‘Do Better’ is not about anything I’ve experienced personally, but more of a ‘what if’ kind of thought experiment.”
Stockholm-based songwriter Amanda Cygnaeus is already an established name within the industry, having worked behind the scenes with the likes of LÉON, Iggy Azalea, Paloma Faith, Soleima and Icona Pop. She was even even nominated for ‘Songwriter Of The Year’ by the Swedish Music Publishers Association in 2018.
Today marks her debut as a solo project with the launch of ‘My Name Next to Yours’ – a song that was written as a reminder to stop romanticising about an ex-girlfriend.
It’s an empowering indie-pop bop that acts as a call for self-respect after a breaking up, while also wondering if you’re the only one thinking about the past.
“I wrote it after my first real heartbreak, back when me and my ex-girlfriend broke up. I have a tendency to either romanticise the past or worry about the future, so this was a way of reminding myself of what the relationship was really like and the fact that she ditched me. Kind of ‘how dare you?’ but at the same time feeling okay cause you know that you just weren’t right for each other. I had built up those emotions for a while, so the song literally flew out of me.”
A new Norwegian talent who seemingly has a gift for crafting some bass-heavy bangers, perfect for the weekend.
Dark and ambiguous vocals contrast against euphoric bouncy beats, reminding you that soon we’ll all get back in to clubs again and go bonkers!
Now on her sixth single release, Norwegian talent VILDE is back a stunningly sensual slice of Scandinavian RnB-pop in the form of ‘Motions’.
Danish wonderkid Alexander Oscar is back with an almighty banger of a pop tune that’s near impossible not to fall in love with.
Norwegian talent Delara has become a musical institution in her native homeland. The singer, songwriter and record producer now commands well over 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and with the release of the sensational ‘Swole’ it seems like the rest of the world is finally waking up to this tremendous artist.
Hugely promising new Nordic electro-pop artist SIGNE DØ crafts a sound so richly intricate and dark that you are prone to falling for it’s charm within seconds of pressing play.
Her new single ‘Frail’ focuses on the attraction for the unknown, and portrays the frailty and chaos connected to stepping out of the comfortable and familiar.
“The song was written at a time when I forgot what I had. It does not conclude, but reminds you that when leaving what you love, you also leave a part of yourself behind.”
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘Ways of Escaping’ which is out in May 2021.
Formed back in 1998, Norwegian indie-pop group Remington super 60 have released several albums and EP’s on various indie labels around the world through the years.
Their latest EP ‘Nouvelle Noveau’ consists of six new songs and one forgotten song from 2002. Some of those tracks were inspired by the breakup of band members Christoffer and Elisabeth, who were a couple for almost 16-years before deciding to end their relationship last year.
As good friends they continued to work together, and thanks to this new dynamic we now have a fantastic set of songs that showcase some of Norway’s finest fusions of dream pop and indie.
Swedish indie-pop duo Vola Tila’s distinctive blend of indie and pop-rock features haunting vocals and hazy atmospherics that culminate in huge swathes of emotion.
New single ‘Not Your Fault’ looks at the their thoughts on the concept of time, and being stuck in a desire for something else.
“We know that the present is the only thing we have. Despite this, the future has had a great impact on us, and we have many times been stuck in a desire for something else, looking for something that does not exist. We processed a lot of this when we wrote the album. But we both realised somewhere along the way that we could not find what we were looking for until we stopped looking.”
Taken from the debut album ‘Soon’ which is out now.
Life wouldn’t be normal if we didn’t feature at least one Swedish pop talent every week. So here’s a treat for you!
JAYNIE takes inspiration from the music of the early 2000s and adds a current spin to create something playful and charming; all the while her lyrics carry darker tones as a contrast. On her new single ‘Blame’, JAYNIE explains:
”It’s like playing chess, you have to be smart and know the next move to ruin the other persons plan (aka push the right buttons to get an outcome that’s in your favour). But it’s silly, because in the end it’s JUST a game, but it can get a little too serious and then it’s not fun anymore. It’s knowing when you’ve gone too far that’s the hardest I think.”
Danish singer-songwriter Benner crafts a style of pop that is stripped back and minimal, yet full of emotion and personality. The songs themselves carry a sense of rawness and authenticity, which translate perfectly when Benner performs on stage:
“When I perform live, I try my best to find the nerve and presence from which the songs were created. I know how much I appreciate hearing musicians communicate from the heart which is why I sing my soul out every single time I am in front of an audience.”
Taken from the upcoming EP ‘My Mind Is A Movie Of The Night’ which out soon.
A playful yet sharp electro-pop sound from Danish talent Bathsheba.
“Does anyone else miss the days when the news were boring? I can’t believe it’s been a year since Denmark first went into lockdown. The past year has been so insane in all kinds of ways. You wake up every morning to yet another disaster. Another crisis you have to comment on in some way. And sometimes it just becomes too much. I wrote a song about that.”
I’ve often featured talent from Sweden’s most-watched television event, Melodifestivalen. You’ll be hard pressed to find a famous pop artist from the Nordic nation not to have been involved with the competition at some point in their career. It runs for six weeks and acts as a process to select country’s Eurovision entry.
This year saw the return of the hugely popular Eric Saade – one of the biggest names in Swedish pop from the last decade. And while he was declared as the runner-up eventually, he delivered one of the most experimental and avant-garde performances ever to be seen on the show’s 62-year old history.
