Nordic Spotlight
The best music and music festivals in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands
Swedish-British duo Girl Crush knows a thing or two about balance. Its newest single, “Radio Silence,” walks many tightropes. There’s the line between upbeat, vibrant, high-sheen production and EDM’s nails-on-chalkboard digital surges. Between enticing, nasal, gorgeous singing and sneering, giving-it-all-too-much belting. Insightful and cloying lyrical material. Every time, Girl Crush is on the right side […]
A band with the word “bird” in its name has a song with the word “flying” in its title. So consistent it’s kitschy? Thankfully, not quite. Danish duo BlackieBlueBird‘s “Flying Too Close to the Ground” is as delicate as is its titular image, and its fragility is vital to its deeply human profundity. The first […]
In a just world, Swedish quartet KÅRP would be as massively popular as its obvious influences are. Then again, “obvious influences” is an imperfect phrase in regards to KÅRP; although the band’s reverence of Robyn, The Knife, and Lykke Li are about as blatant as signs of decay on an avocado, there is just no one […]
The history of disco in the Nordic countries, particularly the Scandinavian ones, is nothing short of rich. With “Kjeiken,” Norwegian producer Even Hymer Gillebo, known more commonly as Cavego, is set to add to that legacy. A glimmering, linear disco tune inspired by the 1970s but embellished with the digital touches of this decade, “Kjeiken,” from […]
It still feels subversive when a pop song built on elements often used to depict faltering or collapsed romances turns out to be about something far more politically charged. “Who did this,” a standout from Norwegian quintet Pre-Echo‘s debut EP Consider This, achieves this trick with simultaneous bombast and elegance. Its delay-drenched guitar strums, melancholic but […]
Most of what we post about here at Nordic Spotlight is music by Nordic artists who sing in English. Not Alibiet. The Bergen-based band’s music is almost entirely sung in Norwegian; to not compromise on singing in one’s native language is pretty damn respectable. It helps that frontperson Maylen Rusti sounds great no matter what […]
Norwegian polymath Thomas Meidell knows a thing or two about collaborating. As Mt. Mélodie, he makes rock music infused with chamber and folk influences, but it’s rarely just him on his songs. When he records his music, “he is joined by a revolving cast of musicians,” to quote the man directly. Outside Mt. Mélodie, he’s been part […]
dj. flugvél og geimskip is truly out-there. The artist born Steinunn Eldflaug Harðardóttir is best known for kooky electronic songs as ominous as they are playful and live shows that often leave concertgoers utterly confused. She recently announced a new album, Our Atlantis, out next January on Geertruida Records, and the LP’s first single, “Have Fun at […]
Teamwork makes the dream work, and here at Nordic Spotlight, we love a good Nordic team. The producer NEIKED and the singer and songwriter Miriam Bryant, both from Sweden (where the latter is a massive pop star), have teamed up for “How Did I Find You,” released just about a month ago. Not long after, […]
Diamond Club, the singles label that Norwegian label Brilliance runs, is having one mother of a hot streak. We’ve recently reported on Diamond Club’s stunners by Company Ink and Intertwine, and now, we’re stoked on the debut single by Bergen-based singer and songwriter MAIH. It wouldn’t be appropriate to label “Habits” as the work of […]