Nordic Spotlight
The best music and music festivals in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands
Sometimes, it feels like vanity on social media is a distinctly American phenomenon. Reality TV and celebrity culture is strongly rooted in the United States, where children indirectly learn from a young age that money, success, and fame are directly correlated, if not outright equivalent. What’s more, social media’s leading platforms were invented here, and […]
Mysterious Swedish newcomer Bah Non describes his newest song “homonym modulation” as “a ride through the emotional roller coaster of a recent difficult break up.” Although the electronic artist’s apparent debut single moves across six minutes of ambient sear and waveform digital bloops without so much as dropping a single drum beat or finding anything […]
The man behind Lusitanian Ghosts, Neil Layton, may have his roots in Portugal and Canada, but his music is deeply embedded in the Nordic nations. He surrounded himself with Swedish artists and instrumentation for his last album The Betrayal of the Self (released under his own name) and brought some of that to bear on the […]
You should be able to tell where this video is leading. The starry-eyed lyrics that Swedish popster Tove Styrke sings throughout is a clear indication: this is a clip about love. Does that make any less powerful and lovely? Hardly. This amazing short film, directed by Joanna Nordahl, is just another feather in an already […]
What’s better than just one great song from a Swedish artist? When that song is remixed by a different Swedish artist! The artists in question are the delightful pop trio NONONO and the up-and-coming electronic producer Hillbom. In the latter’s hand, the original song becomes a new entity. He pitches down singer Stina Wäppling’s vocals, […]
Singer-songwriter Louise Lemón calls her music “death gospel.” How that translates to the real world is the spirit of soul music finding truck with dark, dark pop sounds that verge on the doom metal. Is it any wonder then that this Swedish siren was recently announced as one of the acts booked to play next […]
Finnish electronic pop duo Hymner like to say that they make music in a “Scandinavian style.” Or as they put it recently, “melancholic indie with a beat that makes you wanna dance and leave your troubles behind.” Mission accomplished, gents, as your new song has us feeling carefree and ready to get on our bikes […]
The all-caps revolution in the Nordic nations continues with the appearance of Swedish duo WYRES. This little project is the braintrust of musician Fredrik Forell and singer/songwriter Arvid Jonsson. Both gents were involved in other artistic endeavors before deciding to join forces to bring about some electronic pop delights. Their first EP will be out […]
In spite of its title, our love for this tune is not temporary. We have a long-lasting, fulfilling relationship with it. And now we want to know all there is to know about its creator STEELE. What information we do have is that she is a rising star both in her native Sweden and around […]
The land of dream-pop has some great Swedish ambassadors, including this fantastic new trio ViVii. Made up of married couple Caroline and Emil Jonsson and their mysterious musical partner Anders Eckeborn, this group has created something swimmy and sweet, like a long pull off a bottle of absinthe. That’s the mood of ViVii’s debut EP Savant […]