Danish wonderkid Alexander Oscar is back with an almighty banger of a pop tune that’s near impossible not to fall in love with.
Alexander Oscar – One More Dance
Category: Nordic Music
Delara – Swole
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.
New Music: SIGNE DØ
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.
Remington super 60 – Talk with You
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.
Vola Tila – Not Your Fault
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.
New Music: JAYNIE
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.”
New Music: Benner
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.
Bathsheba – LALA
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.”
Watch: Eric Saade – Every Minute
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.
Boy Destroy – Beautiful Crimes
One of the most exciting exports to emerge from Sweden recently, Boy Destroy returns with a vibrant, emotive and nostalgic fusion of emo and alternative RnB.
“Everybody longs for connection. Togetherness. A need that can be fulfilled with flesh or love or peace or whatever. I used to be in a twisted relationship with a person that I didn’t really love. I wasn’t a very good person to her but I made it look like I was. I felt like the devil, but then and there it felt like it was exactly how it should be. She hates me now, and I deserve it. You can fix yourself if you’re lucky.”
Christopher – Fall So Hard
A long-established beacon in the Danish pop scene, wildly popular Christopher returns today with a summery slice of optimism; a song about how something (or someone) can step into your world and change your focus in life for the better.
To date, every single he’s released has been certified as Gold or Platinum, with ‘Fall So Hard’ looking set to join that illustrious record in a matter of time.
“‘Fall So Hard’ is a song of optimism and change. About how all of a sudden, something or someone can step into your life and make it fundamentally different. But the thing about this cliché is that it’s really true. I recently became a dad for the very first time and from one single moment I was a subsidiary person in my own life. Everything is turned upside down. It’s just a brand new and overriding dimension which is indescribable.”
New Music: Peaceful James
An immensely catchy track from Ugandan and Danish talent Peaceful James. Despite the fact that listening to James’ blend of pop and rap on ‘Still Not Good Enough’ is a cheery affair, the track mixes those feel-good beats with sad lyrics that focus on those feelings of self doubt we get after an unsuccessful date. An all too relatable topic for most of us!
“I found myself staring at my phone for half a week to see if she had written back or was online. I really liked her and actually thought our date had gone super well! So it was an even bigger blow when it dawned on me that she probably did not felt the same way. But like so many times before, I luckily got my frustrations out through the music and only when I had written the song ‘Still Not Good Enough’ it was as if I could let go and move on”.
New Music: Jørgen Engebret
Hailing from the Norwegian city of Bergen, newcomer Jørgen Engebret’s style of minimal RnB and hip hop makes it easy to enjoy (and fall in love with) – even when you’re not a native from the Nordic nation.
Translating as ‘Are You Awake?’, the song takes nuanced lyrics and lays them over a smooth melody to create a sound that is not only beautifully mellow and emotive, but also feels inviting and charming.
New Music: Astian
Swedish artist Astian initially broke in to the music scene back in 2016, having been discovered by national radio show P3 Osignat where his track ‘Like it’ was voted as the number one song several weeks in a row.
Now heralding a new era for himself as an independent artist, he launches this next stage of his career with the release of ‘Pain’.
The song is a finessed blend of Astian’s soulful vocals, and a catchy melody that balances elements of Scandinavian pop and RnB in a subtle and delicate way.
“On the surface ‘Pain’ is a song about an infectious love relationship. But for me the song is about the love/ hate relationship I’ve felt towards making music for some year’s now. The song is an outlet for me to write all the anxiety and hurt away. Though this song is very much about my past, it reflects my future, and I’m starting to write that with the release of this single.”
Ola Village – Love To Cry
Norwegian wonder kid Ola Village returns today with a song that’s mesmerisingly beautiful in it’s own uniquely charming way.
‘Love To Cry’ is a poignant and heartfelt study of emotions, sketched over a canvas of joyous indie-pop balladry.
It’s really no wonder that this talent has already garnered recognition from the likes of The Line Of Best Fit, EARMILK and Clash Magazine since his debut last year.
“I generally don’t like sharing too much about my songs, which I think becomes obvious if you listen to the lyrics. So by saying that I guess you can imagine what this song is about. You might think: me, an emotional being with the lack of will to show those emotions to others, would be a bad fit. But I have to say that I like it that way. In a time where all of our lives are so public, it’s nice to have something that is just mine.”
A debut EP is due for release in Autumn 2021.
New Music: EYJAA
An infectiously memorable Icelandic bop from sisters Brynja Mary and Sara Victoria Sverrisdottir.
While this is a quintessentially Scandinavian style of pop, the track still carries a sense of uniqueness which is quite captivating to listen to.
KRISTRÚN – Calling Me Home
Equal parts ethereal and abrasive, KRISTRÚN returns today with an electro-pop song that is truly like none other.
Haunting tones lure you into a world made of a dark and twisted soundscape, that feels ethereal in a very sinister way.
Off Bloom – Hit & Run
Today’s lesson of ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Wait’ is served to us by Danish duo Off Bloom, who have finally released their debut album, ‘In Bloom’.
And it’s a big record; they’ve worked with the likes of CJ Baran (Panic! at the Disco, Carly Rae Jepsen), and George Reid of AlunaGeorge. There’s even a song which was co-produced by the pop legend that is Max Martin.
To celebrate it’s release, the duo have released ‘Hit & Run’ as a taster of what to expect from the record.
“‘Hit & Run’ is a hot vibey track full of attitude! We wanted to reminisce the guitar sound of the 00’s and we even turned up the gain for the first ever Off Bloom guitar solo! The song is very Britney in her way of saying ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ and it’s about when you end up hurting someone because you’re just not into him or her emotionally – and basically, you just wanna have fun.”
Debut album ‘In Bloom’ is out now.
SHY Martin – Break With Me
Regular visitors to Alfitude will know that there is no introduction needed for Swedish artist SHY Martin. I have been a huge fan of this talent for quite some years, and still she never fails to impress with her releases.
Now back with the stellar ‘Break With Me’, this song looks at the mixed emotions that arise when two people become strangers, and serves as the debut to her new record label, SHY Recordings.
“For the first time in years, I have spent a lot of time with myself and taken the space to reflect. I have thought a lot about how these strange times we are in have changed so many relationships, some that have become stronger, and others that have broken down. We started writing ‘Break With Me’ one summer evening in the car on the way home from a lake, but I relate to it now more than ever.”
New Music: IVA
A punchy and bold approach to electro-pop from Danish talent IVA.
“I love music and write songs that are based on life experiences – music needs to come from the heart, body and mind. Music can take you out of your comfort zone but also strengthen you.”