The world might be in enforced lockdown, but the new music releases are just flooding in, and I really hope we can get through as many as possible. ‘What Are We’ is the debut single from Norwegian songwriter SASO (if you’re searching on Spotify there’s a few artists with a similar name), and it captured my attention simply because of the lovely vocals – there really is a never ending stream of talented Norwegian vocalists releasing new material.
SASO is now based in Oslo, but she originated from Offersøy in Northern Norway, a tiny (apparently flat) place that looks completely beautiful in the photos. She moved to the capital a few years back where she’s been working in collaboration with an electronic producer collective, but now officially releases music in her own right for the 1st time.
There are a couple of things that really stand out for me in ‘What Are We’. Firstly, of course, it’s those vocals, and the support instrumentation is so stripped back that it really pushes all the attention on to her voice, which starts softly / intimately, and then builds powerfully – she has a persuasive range in her vocal abilities. But the arrangements are nicely judged too, swelling in the centre of the track before fading again just to her voice. The song itself is pleasant enough without blowing me away, however the vocals and instrumentation are enough to raise it up a few levels.
Listen to 'What Are We':
Find her on Facebook.
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