Left of centre Scandi electronica
Who She?
Things might have been very different for Sweden’s Cornelia Dahlgren. Growing up with music on her mind, choirs and bands came and went, and she found herself on the telly in the first series of ‘Swedish Idol’. But good sense prevailed and she walked away from the manufactured pop merry-go-round in the final stages. What we have here now is something of a reinvention.
Why Cornelia?
A clutch of singles followed, as did a raft of collaborations with the likes of Kwes, Rinse’s Scratcha DVA and Portico, whose pal Jamie Woon talked her into upping sticks and moving to London. With friends like that it’s no surprise that her debut album, ‘Balun’, is such an inventive, deep, rich throb of a record. Delightfully off-kilter, it’s as comfortable with curveball pop (‘Not In Love’, ‘Oh Well’) as it is with downtempo electronica (‘Cruising’, ‘Trust’). Top it all off with enchanting lazy Sunday vocals and it’s the sound of the very best electric dreams.
Tell Us More
Rather curiously, ‘Balun’ is available as a limited edition “audio poster”. The complicated explanation is that Cornelia has teamed up an award winning Cambridge technology company called Novalia, who have devised a way to combine “conductive print and capacitive touch to create smart surfaces that act as sensors and speakers”. Put simply, they’re bringing print to life by creating a physical release that plays her songs when touched.
Touch it? You’re not going to want to put it down.
’Balun’ is released on Cornelia’s own Camp Mozart label
