Following in the footsteps of Björk and Sigur Rós, the Scandi and Nordic music acts you should listen to now
Fresh Scandinavian and Icelandic musicians are following fellow artists and all that chilly TV
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Your support makes all the difference.Nina Finnerud runs a monthly club night in London devoted to emerging music from Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Denmark.
She has recently noticed that her Ja Ja Ja nights at music venue the Lexington now always sell out, even when the guests are unlikely to be familiar with the acts on the bill.
It’s because they just want to hear some Nordic tunes; any Nordic tunes: “Most of the bands have never been to the UK before but people know they will discover something new,” she says.
Along with our fascination with Nordic noir and Danish crime drama on TV, the UK’s appetite for the distinct twangs of Scandinavian and Nordic music has also become insatiable.
In recent months, Björk’s latest album Vulnicura hit No 5 in the UK’s download charts and First Aid Kit’s Stay Gold debuted at No 11 on the UK albums chart, but just as we moved rapaciously from The Killing to Borgen and then on to The Bridge, we’re also on the hunt for even more Scandi music action and new talent like Icona Pop, Lykke Li and The Knife have all found a keen audience in the UK.
Now, a new wave of Scandi bands and Nordic musicians is coming to our shores. But what is it about that distinct Scandi-pop sound that we can’t get enough of?
Emilie Nicolas, a Norwegian artist whose debut album Like I’m a Warrior is released here in June, says she has also noticed that Brits are drawn to the quirkiness of Nordic sounds. “For me it’s mainly the vocals that make our music distinct, it’s a bit cold and warm at the same time and a bit haunting.”
Matthew Herbert, an electronic musician who worked with Björk on her “Nattura” single, which was released to promote the protection of the Icelandic environment, has a theory that the unique Nordic landscape has an impact on the music, giving it that distinct quality. “The city is much closer to the natural world,” he says, “it’s really a presence... you get these giant eruptions from the ground and there’s beauty and there’s awe – but it’s dangerous as well.”
Finnerud agrees. “That quirky sound is based around moods and that comes with the seasons and the very dramatic nature of the landscape,” she says. “Iceland is the best example of that. It is very atmospheric and the music comes from that isolation.”
Katzenjammer are four-piece from Norway who will be touring in the UK in May. The band consists of Anne Marit Bergheim, Marianne Sveen, Solveig Heilo and Turid Jorgensen. The music ranges from energetic pop to dissonant wails, to a feeling of reeling into chaos (listen to “Demon Kitty Rag”) and they all acknowledge their environment has an impact on their sound. “We are all outdoorsy, happy people,” says Bergheim. “The good thing in our band is we never stand still, we take the instruments outside and that makes a unique sound.”
Bergheim grew up in the forest just outside Oslo. “As a kid, I put on my Walkman and walked around in the forest and my most energetic experiences were listening to music while I was in nature,” she says. But the group believe that ultimately, the similarities in our cultures are what make Nordic and Scandi music accessible to a UK audience.
“We look towards the West a lot, both UK and America, so the Norwegian culture is affected by that,” says Sveen. At live gigs too, there are similarities: “I actually think the English and Norwegians are similar. In Norway they are quiet and polite at the beginning but toward the end everything loosens up and eventually explodes. “We also have a grand tradition of drinking and so if you go out you’ll get a drunken audience. The Norwegians are in for a good party.”
Northern lights you need to catch:
Highasakite
Helmed by singer Ingrid Helene Havik, this Norwegian band have toured with Bon Iver and London Grammar. Their last album, Silent Treatment, reached No 1 in Norway and last month they received a nomination for the European Independent Album of the Year Award. But they’re still very much under the radar over here. Although details are scarce, they plan to visit the UK in 2015.
Check it out: Google the weirdly compelling track “My Only Crime”, from debut album ‘Silent Treatment’
Aurora
Norwegian Aurora Aksnes counts Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen among her influences and there’s a definite Björk-esque redolence to her voice; fluttering, moody and quivering with emotional pull, too.
Check it out: Search YouTube to see her wring out fresh emotion from a cover of Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” and go to Spotify for brand new single ‘Awakening’
Elliphant
Ellinor Olovsdotter is very versatile; she sings and raps, meaning her music falls somewhere between agit-pop and hip-hop. She features in the latest iPad Air 2 advert and puts most of her work together using iPad and GarageBand software, with a little help from Swedish producer duo Jungle. She has also just been shortlisted on Virgin Media’s Tips for 2015 poll.
Check it out: Watch video for single “One More” on You Tube, which shows her misbehaving with fellow Scandi star MØ. Wearing matching Adidas tracksuits, they snog, drink smoke and then wee. Also check out hip-hop tune “Shoot me Down”, which has echoes of Rihanna’s ‘Rude Boy’
Say Lou Lou
High-cheekboned twins Miranda and Elektra Kilbey-Jansson count Arcade Fire, TLC and Fleetwood Mac among their influences and featured on the BBC’s Sound of 2014 longlist. Their floaty electro-pop sound is an easy introduction to Scandi music.
Check it out: 8 April at Heaven, 26 July at the Secret Garden Party
Asgeir
One in ten Icelanders owns fellow countryman Asgeir’s first album, which sold more copies than either Björk’s or Sigur Rós ‘s debuts. He has since re-recorded it in English for an international release, but some people still prefer the original version.
Check it out: Visit asgeirmusic.com for music and news, where you can listen to title track “In the Silence” and compare it to the Icelandic original (“Glory in the Silence of Death”)
MØ
MØ, aka Karen Marie Orsted, has done rare headline slots at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire and Shoreditch music venue XOYO and she won the Danish Music Award for Solo Artist of the Year in 2014. She counts Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon as her role model and her music style vacillates between pure pop, R&B and dance music and her influences range from the Spice Girls to Nirvana.
Check it out: You’ll find an elegant cover of the Spice Girls’ ‘Say You’ll be There’ and debut album ‘No Mythologies to Follow’ on Spotify
NoNoNo
Production duo Astma & Rocwell formed a band with singer Stina Wappling in 2012, but smashing single “Pumping Blood” only reached us in November last year. In a nod of recognition, the bouncy electro-pop group recently played alongside legendary Swedish rap group Infinite Mass at the Swedish Grammy awards.
Check it out: The self-titled debut album is out on 15 April and on iTunes now
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
Swedish couple Mariam Wallentin and Andreas Werliin have supported Lykke Li and St Vincent on tour, which gives you an idea of the kind of sweet vocals and weird experimental sounds the band deals in.
Check it out: Their song ‘Peeling off the Layers’ is the title music for the Sky Atlantic TV series ‘Fortitude’
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