Nordic Spotlight
The best music and music festivals in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands
Oslo-based newcomer Felix probably thinks you’re reading this on a phone. On “Put Your Phone Away,” a track from his newly released, aptly-titled EP Bedroom Recordings, he implores the object of his tale—presumably a romantic interest whose fixation on her phone prevents her from being mentally present in this moment they’re spending together—to, among other things, […]
You might’ve noticed that we’re absolutely huge fans of Danish act CHINAH, a trio that warps electropop in ghostly directions while retaining the life-affirming, positive forces that pop music aptly provides. The band’s debut album, ANYONE, arrives this Friday, and to celebrate, we’re sharing “Real Thing?”, a recent single and album highlight. As with previous ANYONE single “Strange […]
Although JUNODEF is originally from Sweden, its members now live in London. It’s an interesting choice for the band to have made, because its music sounds deeply Nordic, and the UK is in a far more politically and socially precarious space than the Nordic countries are at the moment (even with Swedish legends The Radio […]
Oxen is just a couple of guys from Stockholm who happen to make great rock songs. Erik Hases and Stefan Söderqvist have, over the course of the year, released a string of singles that differ vastly from one another, connected almost entirely by the dual-part vocal harmonies that ground many of their songs. “Limbo” arrived back […]
ViVii refers to itself as a trio comprised of a core duo and an “enigmatic work partner.” While married couple Emil and Caroline Jonsson bask in all the spotlight that comes with publicly releasing music (or, more realistically, do all the public bidding for attention that comes with sharing art in the competitive, hyper-saturated music […]
We still think, “Oh wow, that last name is so Nordic,” every time we encounter Amanda Tenfjord. The thought is fleeting, though, because then we’re confronted with her music, and it’s always overpowering and all-consuming. “Let Me Think,” her newest tune, follows the R&B-infused coolness of her glorious “First Impression” from earlier this year; if anything, it amplifies […]
Anyone who knows Icelandic music knows Vök. It’s really that simple. The band has become a staple of Iceland Airwaves‘ yearly lineups (and, of course, they’ll play again this year), and folks in the US including Stereogum, Noisey, and KEXP have sung their praises. This is all for good reason: Vök’s electropop is as propulsive as it […]
Sandra Kolstad is a classically trained pianist (whom we’ve praised before), but you might not immediately know this from her newest song, “Haflife.” Although the track certainly betrays the melodic instincts of a creator with extensive formal schooling, it’s built entirely on modular synths and Kolstad’s beaming, malleable soprano. Her next album, Burning Love, is currently […]
Norwegian label Brilliance is a bit like the Nordic version of beloved American label Cascine. Each seems to specialize in its own certified cocktail of electronic music whose distinct bliss comes from stirring elements of ambient production and electronic arrangements into pop music structures. The labels also share an artist in common: longtime Nordic Spotlight […]
The always-reliable Norwegian record label Brilliance also houses a singles-only label named Diamond Club; ostensibly, it’s titled as such because it’ll only release singles that are absolute gems. If Norwegian band Company Ink‘s “Crew” is any indication, then Diamond Club is indeed releasing solely utter stunners. It’s not often that Nordic artists so completely nail […]