A bright and atmospheric realm, filled with euphoric textures

After delivering her much-loved singles ‘Not Your Mom’ and ‘Silvi’s Dream’ in recent months, Finnish singer and songwriter Astrid Swan continues the support for her new studio album ‘D/other’ with the warm and soaring new offering ‘Luxuries’.

Much like what we have heard so far, ‘Luxuries’ sees the artist transport us to a bright and atmospheric realm, filled with euphoric textures. The light and effervescent energy of her music creates a fresh and vivid alt-pop direction that compliments not only her sublime songwriting, but her bold and sweeping voice as well.

Speaking about the new release, Astrid said, “Time and life are the resources we run out of first, the most treasured luxuries. This is very clearly about being ill, knowing death is near and living life to the fullest while idealizing the state where one does not worry about each day and season because it may well be the last.”

Her new full-length ‘D/other’ finds Swan writing about motherhood, dreaming and sleeping – realising her most complete and personal musical statement yet. Composed over the course of the last five years, the stories Swan tells over the ten songs of ‘D/other’ cover themes of dream-states, mothering, loss, creativity, digital versus analogue, feminism and relationships. ‘D/other’ was produced by Swan herself. Her long-time collaborator Mikael Hakkarainen recorded and mixed the album. Along with Hakkarainen and Swan’s trusted musical partners Alina Toivanen, Veli Kauppinen and Johannes Salomaa, the Canadian visionary Owen Pallett also performs and arranges the strings for the album.

Continuing about the new record, Swan said, “I set out to write about mothering, being a daughter and a mother. I was informed by the simultaneous research process for my PhD which investigates maternal life writing in blogs and memoirs. The title D/other comes from this research. It is a mother/daughter in digital form, and a trans-affirmative concept which argues that mothering is done by anyone who performs care. In my songs, I wanted to explore sleeping and dreaming as states of unconsciousness which connect us to each other, and to different times and to those who are dead and that which is in the future. I wanted to explore the logic of the liminal and intra-active, that which slides and transforms. I focused on clear, comforting and uplifting lines, trying to crystallize what I do melodically. In this case the lyrical depths are presented in comforting pop structures.”

‘D.other’ will follow up her highly praised 2017 LP ‘From the Bed and Beyond’, which won the prestigious Teosto Award in 2018, was shortlisted for the Nordic Music Prize, and also nominated at the Emma Awards (her second nomination for a Finnish Grammy).

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