Heavenly electronica from Scandi siren
Who?
Norwegian vocalist and producer Live Sollid Schulerud stealthily emerged from the Oslo underground scene during the last decade. Her CV includes a stint with the experimental vocal choir Oslo 14 Vokalensemble, and she tutors musicians in the ways of Ableton in her spare time – though none of this will prepare you for the fully realised, invigorating manifestation that is Mörmaid. Her extraordinary, ethereal, dreampop single, ‘Turn Away’, was released in 2020, which more than whetted appetites. Two years later, her debut EP, ‘Push Pull’, confirms the first taster was no apparition.
Why Mörmaid?
Live Sollid Schulerud is a fine name, though Mörmaid suggests an artist who’ll entice you into the water, make you smash your head against some rocks and then have you do it all over again. ‘Push Pull’ certainly lives up to that metaphorical, postulated sequence of events, with enough sonic diversity to signal an artist who is confident to fish in several directions at once. Lead single, ‘We Love We Dive’, does that to a tee – a dreampop fantasy with angelic vocal ostinatos, which then breaks down into weird, glitchy codas carried along by a skittering underbelly of beats.
Tell Us More…
Schulerud, who now resides in London, will inevitably garner comparisons to artists like Björk, Holly Herndon, Jenny Hval and Arca, to name just a few. But there’s more than enough invention on ‘Push Pull’ to convince you that Mörmaid is a genuine one-off. Anna Prior of Metronomy certainly thinks so, with Schulerud a marquee signing to her Beat Palace label. It’ll be interesting to sit back and watch how the internal fight between heightened pop sensibilities (‘Mirror’, ‘You To Me’) and stern, nocturnal bangers (‘Punish’) plays out. Dive in.
‘Push Pull’ is released by Beat Palace
