The Music That Made Me — 1. Fjorda
Welcome to the first part of what will be a regular feature, in which we ask artists who are part of our At Swim Music and Punch Up Records families to tell us about the music that made them the artist they are today.
Our first artist is: Fjorda!
Fjorda is a pianist, singer/songwriter, video director, record producer, and now, music writer.
We first heard Fjorda’s song ‘Unspoken’ on Submithub in September 2020, and we licenced the recording from her just a couple weeks of later. A few weeks after that we had released it. The song is a beautiful melancholic piano ballad, where a simple, childlike piano part is set against Fjorda’s dusky, plaintive voice. The simplicity of the piano against the layered complexity of her voice is incredible. It still gives us a lump in the chest each time we hear it.
What was also incredibly impressive was that Fjorda already had all her photos, a video and a fully produced track ready to go. She’d written, performed and produced the track herself. She’d produced her own music video too, which looked fantastic (see below!). She had a really strong idea about how she wanted to present herself and her music. She was definitely the most prepared artist we’ve talked to on Submithub, and that goes a long way with independent labels like ours.
Fjorda released ‘Unspoken’ on At Swim Music in December 2020, and is currently writing and producing an EP. We’re really proud that we got the opportunity to release her debut single. We think she’s going to be a great artist for a long time to come.
Here’s The Music That Made Fjorda:
- Portishead “Dummy”
“The time I discovered trip-hop was, surely, revolutionary. The genre just struck a chord with me and started a lifelong obsession. I loved their mysterious, dark, dusty, hypnotic sound, and that profound vocal performance by Beth Gibbons — so honest and so strikingly beautiful!
Portishead’s iconic live show (the one with a string orchestra at Roseland NYC) in 1998 turned me inside out, I must have watched it a hundred times. The way Beth Gibbon carried emotion in her vocals was astounding. The piercing high notes, the sincerity. It took my teenage heart with it. The string orchestra made it all even more mesmerizing, just when I thought their music cannot get any better.
Just about every song on the album I learnt by heart. Their music is the best representation of “timeless”. They are hands down a major influence on what I do musically.”
2. Radiohead “Kid A”
“We go way back. Thom Yorke ended up on the top of my list of idols when I was 13 or so. “Kid A” took my imagination to some wild places. I had a big CD player, one of those monsters from the 90s, that my parents bought me, so every night I’d load in this album, cover myself up with blankets in my tiny room, and just let my mind travel to places I thought I would never be able to go to. The music would take me away from the grim confined reality and let me be whatever I imagined to be. I was a dreamer, music was my vessel and I traveled far!
I thought Kid A was a turning point for the band, their experiments with electronic sound brought them to a totally new level. “Idioteque” has been that track that got stuck on repeat for me. I was simply in awe of its mastery, complexity, beauty, intensity. ”Pyramid Song” was another favorite, with its beautiful harmonies and the music video, that made me cry, when I saw it first.
Very top of my list — iconic, immortal. Thank you, Radiohead!”
3. Massive attack “Mezannine”
“One simply can’t pass by this one, ain’t that true?
I discovered them around the same time as Portishead, and they made a major impression. Not surprisingly, both bands are from Bristol (what’s in the water?).
I couldn’t stop wondering how exactly these guys invented this incredible sound. I have always been ready to give so much to just take a peek at how they created their style and what ended up being one of the most influential bodies of work.
I had just moved to the US, when they announced a show in Boston. I was really short on cash back then, but I clearly remember spending almost all of what I had at the time for the ticket to their concert. I went there alone, on a cold fall evening, bursting at the seams with childlike excitement. The show was at a beautiful old theater in downtown, and ended up being one of the most profound musical experiences of my life.
“Angel” was the song that made that night for me, its enchanting hypnotizing rhythm, one of a kind vibrato by Horace Andy, bright blinding all-consuming flashes of light accompanying the climax, all that gives me goosebumps to this day.
These guys are my heroes, I’ve always secretly hoped I’d be one of their invited vocalists one day — ha ha — that’s what I dream of at night.”
4. Bjork
“I spent some time trying to pick an album by Bjork that would qualify as my favorite, but I just couldn’t! I am simply a huge fan of so much she does.
Bjork to me is a sheer force of nature! Her vocal style makes me think of volcanic eruptions, with those climactic outbursts of incredible power and intensity. Her melodies are unpredictable and raw, unlike any others, full of sincere emotion, life and movement. Her arrangements are always peculiar to me, she never stops experimenting, uses all tools handy to create sound, fuses influences from various ethnic musical backgrounds. She seems to always think far beyond the norm.
If I were to highlight a few songs that are amongst my favorite, “Pagan Poetry” will surely end up on the top, together with “Possibly Maybe”, “Venus as a boy”, “All is full of love”, “Joga”.
Her artistic identity and her music have been my number one inspiration, I’ve looked up to her since I was 15, and up to this date she keeps influencing my musical journey.”
5. Amy Winehouse “Back to Black”
“Amy’s style is truly one of a kind. To me, she is this fragile girl that somehow embodies a true classical powerful black woman’s voice. This was so striking to me, when I first saw her perform.
This album is in some ways a tragedy wrapped in major harmonies. The things she sings about are open bleeding sores, but her melodies are at times so lighthearted. Back to Black being the darkest song on the album, is the one that really got me, she spilt her heart out in that vocal booth and you can truly hear it!
I often think of all the music she never created, at times I feel such intense regret… I can’t stop imagining what she could bring into this world, if not for the tragic circumstances. She seemed to struggle with immense emotional pain, which ended up being stronger than her. I feel it is what in part allowed for her to create this epic legacy, but at the same time it is what destroyed her.
She was, is and will continue to inspire generations, a true, iconic, remarkably unique artist.”
6. Placebo “Without you I’m nothing”
“This one may come as a surprise amongst other artists I’ve listed, but it takes such a special place in my library of music that I’m eternally in love with!
I was, I think, seventeen, when on an overcrowded bus in the dead of winter in Russia a friend of mine handed me his headphones with the acoustic version of “Special K” on. It stuck on repeat for me for days and days after.
Their first album started off on a punk-ish note with lots of heavy dirty guitars, libertine sinful vocal performance by Brian Molko, but they rapidly grew into a deeper heartfelt sound, as they would release follow up records. Then “Without you I’m nothing” came along, which I believe was the epiphany of their career.
What really struck me and drew me to their work is the way Molko has released his pain into the music and the lyrics. When you watch him perform “My Sweet Prince” live, he’d fall apart right there, right in front of you, he’d let it all out, the very brink of self-destruction… but there’d be this raw beauty to it, his unhinged emotions and disarray, a beautiful mess, all in a powerful intense performance.
I simply looooove artists who stay true to what they feel, what they are no matter the opinions… and are able to put themselves out there as is, naked and unadulterated. Placebo is one of those acts.”
7. Sigur Ros “Takk”
“Sigur Ros is yet another bright star from mysterious Iceland.
They introduced me to post rock, and made me totally fall in love with its emotive soundscapes.
Their music is much different from other artists I like. To me, it’s actually on a brighter side, if you may, it’s full of light, life and oftentimes it carries this meditative peaceful energy.
Jonsi was the first artist that I witnessed playing bowed guitar and gosh, did it blow my mind! The sound has this grandiose, spacious, oceanic depth-like feel to it, which is a leitmotif to all of their music. It brings this massive power and distorted raw energy with it! Their work seems to be so intertwined with Icelandic nature, landscapes, culture, mentality.
I got a “Heima” CD as a gift for my 18th birthday, and to this day, it travels with me wherever I go around the world. The movie is such a beautiful visual representation of the band’s sound. As you explore remote nooks of Iceland with them, you really get to understand where their music stems from, the people, the nature and the community on this isolated picturesque island.
I am in love with these guys, their modesty and humble genius, their devotion to music and the unique sound they have created. A musical role model without a doubt!”
8. Trentemoller “Last Resort”
“This album is what truly made me fall in love with electronic music.
I have carefully listened to and, in my head, deconstructed each and every song, but I can’t stop going back to this album over and over again.
“Miss you” is one of my favorite compositions on the album, its reverberating melancholic melody echoes in my head as I’m writing this. All about this song is so much like what I do musically: its subtle, dreamlike, translucent textures and minimalistic harmonies, that ooze feelings of nostalgia and melancholia. To me it sounds like a lullaby, or an attempt to reach someone unreachable. It really makes me FEEL.
“Moan” is yet another masterpiece. When I heard Trentemoller’s remix of it, I had an urge to drop everything and start making dance music, haha. This is how contagious the energy of this track is to me! It is like nothing else I ever heard on a dancefloor, such a complex, beautifully developed and executed piece of work.
Trentemoller is undoubtedly my guru of electronic sound.”
We hope you found this article interesting. If so, give us a few claps, follow us and share with like-minded people! Cheers, Ian & Ed x.
At Swim Ltd. is a creative arts company that likes to do things differently.
Visit our website for links to all our other content.
