Anticipating a future EP, ‘Summer Waltz’ is a further piece of XOLYDIA’s nuanced and cathartic artistic puzzle. Crafting material that’s poignant and relatable, the Swedish songstress pairs evocative and malleable vocals with eclectic, functional production, placing the attention on the project’s strong lyricism.
Bordering folk and indie territories with a touch of dreaminess and ethereal energy, ‘Summer Waltz’ reinforces the hazy and liquid imagery behind XOLYDIA – perhaps drawing inspiration from the limitless forests of her native Sweden, the record pursues a rather organic and vibrant sonic livery, further reinforced by abstract and bucolic songwriting.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the wonderful human behind the project talent to learn more about her artistry and future goals… interview below!
Hey XOLYDIA, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
Hi, very well thank you. Of course, I am an independent artist who creates atmospheric indie and folk-pop under the moniker XOLYDIA. I take inspiration from artists such as Kate Bush, Lana Del Rey, Aldous Harding and Marie Courtney Andrews to name a few. Songwriting is my biggest passion and I love to tell stories. For the past four years, I’ve been based in London, but I’m currently back in my home country Sweden while focusing on the release of my upcoming EP. I’ve previously released three singles, ‘Tuned to You’, ‘Toxic Rain’ and ‘Small Parts’.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
Music has been there from an early age. When my mom went grocery shopping, my dad took me to his hidden LP collection and we chose one to put on. Then we danced to his old classics, before helping mum to put the bags in. When I was five years old, I was given a freestyle and that was the start of a dedicated love for music. I was also the kind of weird kid who used to make up nonsense songs when walking back from school.
I had an interest in writing poems and short stories that turned into writing my own songs as a teenager. I’ve always been an emotional and sensitive being and I have turned to creativity to process my emotions, I also paint a lot for example. Later on, I sang in many different choirs, played the recorder and the piano. At 16 I was in a girlband where we made original songs and performed covers. At that age, I also participated in several international choir competitions, something I loved and remember dearly. It is a long journey I realise, and this is just the start…
‘Summer Waltz’ is your latest effort – a nuanced and ethereal offering, it’s certainly soothing and reflective. What does the song mean to you?
‘Summer Waltz’ means quite a lot to me, it’s the first song on my coming debut EP and has grown to become one of my favourites out of the five songs. It’s a song about inner change and leaving the old for something new. I wrote it after reflecting on the last few years, which have been very transformative. I changed careers from a more academic path and found my way back to music, the thing that makes me feel most alive in life. I moved from my home country Sweden, first to Norway to study music and later to the UK to study for a bachelor’s degree at BIMM London. I took a leap and followed my dreams in other words. None of this is in the lyrics of the song, but this was what inspired me to write it. It’s a very light and hopeful song. I wrote it a few days after graduating with a Music Performance and Music Production degree while sitting on the roof terrace of the house in Hammersmith (London) where I used to live at the time.
Can you share with us the process behind the song’s production and its overall genesis? Were there any references that helped you achieve the final result?
When I wrote the song I was in the process of practicing for a gig with a friend of mine, an incredible guitarist. We were supposed to do a blend of originals and covers and he showed me a song, “The Waters” with John Flynn and Laura Marling. I liked the simplicity and beauty of it and had it in the back of my mind when I wrote the lyrics and melodies on my guitar. I made a very simple demo and contacted Sara Idani, a music producer I have also worked with on my previous projects. We started to have conversations about the sound, direction and meaning of the song. I also wrote notes with keywords and sent over a few reference songs.
The references have changed as time has gone by and the song has started to take shape. “For What It’s Worth” by the Cardigans has been one, “Somersaults” by Sweeter than Sorrow another one. Something I appreciate when working with Sara is that even though I’m not producing, I am very involved and many versions have been sent back and forth. I’m grateful that she truly cares about the songs on a deep level and makes such an effort to make my vision a reality. The vocal recordings were recorded in a lovely studio called Yla Studios in the south of Sweden, where the country singer Jill Johnsson also has recorded many albums. The sessions were held by Amir Ally, an amazing studio engineer that I will have the pleasure to work with again in only a few days, when I’ll record some more songs. I have mixed and mastered the songs myself, something I really enjoy.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team?
I enjoy doing the songwriting part alone, or two and two. I have a few friends that I love doing songwriting sessions with, but often we just hype each other’s energy up until someone gets an idea and writes a song by themselves in the end anyway. “Oh I have an idea. I will speak to you later. I just need to get this down”, one of us can say and then be completely focused until it’s all written and recorded. I have grown into liking to work in a team, mostly because I’ve found some great people to work with. I tried a few collaborations before that didn’t lead to anything or just stressed me out, which made me a bit pessimistic.
However, now that I’ve found people who like to work in a similar way that I do, I find it very enjoyable. Me and my producer Sara have now a great flow, after having collaborated on a couple of projects. We both like to be organised and the very first thing we did was create a shared folder where we put all our documents and files. As a true perfectionist, I’ve had a hard time letting other people do things for me, but I’m learning. The next person I want to include in a team is someone to help me out with marketing, since at this stage, I’m doing it all by myself.
What can we expect from your upcoming EP? Will it develop along the lines of ‘Summer Waltz’?
I love that question! In some ways yes, but each song has its own character. The other songs will be a bit more atmospheric, with more synths and violins. Something I’ve grown fond of is implementing sound design as an element of storytelling. This will be a red thread throughout the EP. This is inspired by my all-time favourite album “The Kick Inside” by Kate Bush. All the songs have a certain glimmer and softness, that I think will be noticeable. Many of the songs are also romanticizing nature – I was born and raised in the Swedish countryside with meadows and forests just outside the house. The themes on the EP are varied and quite wide, spanning from friendship, gratefulness, personal growth, navigating in life, mental health, and war, with the ‘umbrella theme’ summer connecting them all.
You’ve been in the London music scene long enough to know how to navigate it properly; how do you deal with the pressure of being ‘successful’? what’s your end goal overall?
That’s a hard one. I often feel like an imposter, but I know this is very common in many creatives, not only musicians. I find that sharing my thoughts and feelings with other performers is something that really lifts me up, I have many supportive friends around me on similar or completely different journeys in life. I often come to the realization that each and every one of us has our own timelines, whether it’s squiggly or straight. I first didn’t choose music as a career path and jumped on that train as a 25-year-old, releasing my first song at 26, while many of my peers I was studying with at BIMM London were 18 and 19 and had already gigged for several years and had many followers on their socials.
However, I knew very strongly that I wouldn’t have been ready by that age. I would have been completely swept away by the industry chaos. I didn’t have the steady foundation I have now. I know what I stand for and what I want to express through my music. I believe that you need to find your own definition of success. We discussed this topic at BIMM quite a bit, which I appreciate because it’s been healthy getting different perspectives on it. Success can be so many things. Success was when I overcame my self-doubt and released my first single, success was when I finally managed to master the vocal technique twang, success was when I got the first review of my music, success was when I got my first radioplay, success was when I realised my then 12-year-old niece was my biggest fan on Spotify, success was when I inspired an acquaintance to also make a career change, success was when a stranger complimented my lyrics and the list goes on.
We need to remember to celebrate all the small successes, not only the ones society credits. I take one step at a time, the next single, the next EP, the next gig. Do you focus on the forest or the trees or the birds sitting on the branches? You can tell I’m a songwriter right, haha. But jokes aside, the dream would be to be able to live solely by making my own music and writing songs for other people. I admire artists such as BJORK, Lykke Li and Aurora for feeling very authentic and genuine. I’d liked that for myself too, to share the real me. The end goal is to make lots of really great songs and not let fear stop me from sharing them with the world.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
There are lots of exciting things! First, there’s the second single “Blanket of Stars” on my upcoming EP Summer’s Dream, which hopefully will be released at the end of July if things go as planned. Then the whole EP will be released at the end of the summer. After the release, I plan to play the songs from the EP live, which really I look forward to. Then there’s actually another EP in the making, but I will probably hold on to that one until 2025.
