Norway’s STEINSDOTTER has released a new single Like July taken from her debut EP Blood Eagle out on 29 April.
Norway’s own multidisciplinary artist, musician and model STEINSDOTTER has released an atmospheric new single Like July taken from her debut EP Blood Eagle out on 29 April.
Like July is an ambient electronic pop affair dripping with sensuous vocals and laidback beats released alongside an accompanying black and white video directed by Fayann Smith during the lockdown. The video encapsulates the mystical world of STEINSDOTTER through its magnetic visuals, where we find two masked dancers engaged in a rhythmic exploration of the ambiguity of intimacy. Like July roots STEINSDOTTER’s supernatural poetry in R&B-tinged, radio-ready pop, akin to the equally enigmatic music of fellow experimentalist Serpentwithfeet.
“Wish I could kiss you one last time/ Your mouth is warm just like July,” she sighs over classically passionate piano chording, seductive bass, and lithe percussion.
STEINSDOTTER on Like July:
“Have you ever cried yourself to sleep because you miss someone so much? Or woken in the middle of the night screaming for your lover’s touch, slowly realising it was all just a dream? Like July is about the vulnerability of longing, it’s about loving deeply even when it hurts. It’s about the skin hunger that haunts us as we endure yet another lockdown and about the memories that live within us, how powerful they are. How they keep us alive.“
Like July marks STEINSDOTTER’s return after her powerful musical debut Hidden Child in 2019 which was praised by International music outlets as a “phenomenal debut”. Empowering and bold, Hidden Child was an ode to victims of sexual violence, like STEINSDOTTER herself, and the artful visuals were later exhibited as a part of an international art exhibition Merdelamerdlamerdelamerdelamer alongside some of the leading names in contemporary art including Marina Abramovic, Hank Willis Thomas and Gilbert and George.
In 2019, STEINSDOTTER also appeared at the 57th Venice Biennale as one of the founding members of the London-based female artist trio October! Collective who spearheaded the launch of Venice’s first official art quarter Giudecca Art District. The collective’s powerful flagship installation, which starred STEINSDOTTER, received widespread acclaim across international art and lifestyle press including Dazed, Frieze, Financial Times, The Times, Grazia and Vogue Poland amongst others.
The title of Steinsdotter’s upcoming debut EP, Blood Eagle, mirrors that mythic ferocity that she possesses, matching a particularly brutal style of ritual execution from the Norse sagas. In exploring her heritage, history, and home country, the now-London-based Steinsdotter’s version of prying her insides comes in the form of rippling electronic incantations. On Blood Eagle, Steinsdotter’s experimental art pop dances in the lines between gorgeous and grotesque, reeling in the undeniable pull of the past and the unending promise of the future.
Pictures by Fayann Smith
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