A genre of music that’s been on the rise lately and is predicted to have its moment in 2017 is Scandi-Pop. We’ve had guitars, we’ve had grime but this new trend is set to take things in a completely different direction. There must be something in the water…

The influence of Abba has long worn thin but now there’s a whole new crop of Scandinavian artists giving us something to shout about. MØ, Estrons and Tove Lo are just some of the musicians leading the way forward for Scandinavian artists to celebrate greater success over the coming months.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat in November, MØ expressed her amazement at the current Scandi success. “I don’t know why but it’s awesome. I wish there was a WhatsApp group for all of us.”

The Danish singer/songwriter has experienced astounding success herself over the last few years. “It’s been a crazy couple of years actually, I’ve been busy,”

2016 saw the release of a number of hits singles, including ‘Final Song’ and ‘Drum’. She’s also toured relentlessly over the last year and there’s growing anticipation surrounding her second album.

No release date has been firmly fixed yet. “I could be done in three weeks or I could be done in four months – I’m only playing it for a few people.

“When it’s your own thing it can take longer because you keep thinking ‘what do I want to say?’.”

The singer, whose real name is Karen Anderson, has come a long way from her time spent in the punk duo, Mor, and it was going solo that saw MØ experience her first taste of success and recognition.

“It was the first time I ever had any success with any music that I was doing. For the first gigs I was a nervous wreck.”

It’s not just solo artists that are facing success and critical acclaim in their Scandi-Pop genre though. Bands like Estrons and Sløtface are also rising through the ranks swiftly too.

The former, based in Norway, are a punk-pop band with fierce ambitions. Recently known as Slutface, plan to challenge the way young women (and young people in general) are presented in the media. The four-piece also want to make concerts safer for females to attend.

“We want them to feel comfortable being part of the mosh pit, especially girls in their teens,” said frontwoman Haley Shea to The Guardian earlier this year.

“We try and encourage them to stage dive for the first time, because it should be really empowering, and you shouldn’t have to be scared.”

Scandi-Pop is a wide and varied genre, although it is usually characterised by perky pop with melodies to remember. Keep your eye on it in 2017 as this is one genre that it about to finally, and deservingly, have its moment.

Categories: Arts Music

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