Molly Nilsson

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Molly Nilsson performing in Argentina in 2017

Molly Nilsson (born December 14, 1984 in Stockholm , Sweden ) is a Swedish songwriter , singer , musician and label owner who lives in Berlin and produces, designs and markets her music largely independently. The international success of the synth-pop and dark-wave artist is sometimes seen as an internet phenomenon .

Live and act

Nilsson grew up in Stockholm as the daughter of an interior designer and a graphic artist . At the age of 19 she moved to Berlin, where she worked in the cloakroom of the Berghain techno discotheque and aspired to a career as a cartoonist .

She began making music recordings at the end of the 2000s. Her interest in producing her own music was aroused by playing the keyboard of her roommate at the time. The debut album These Things Take Time released in 2008 was released with a first edition of 500 copies. The album was burned onto CD-R by Nilsson himself and provided with a hand-numbered and self-designed booklet . These Things Take Time was published by Nilsson's own label Dark Skies Association , which she founded on the occasion.

New albums, various music videos and worldwide appearances followed almost every year , which made Nilsson particularly popular in the dark wave scene. Occasionally, its global popularity is perceived as an internet phenomenon. In the first years of her activity, Nilsson refused interviews and statements and limited herself to her music, its design and presentation. Songwriting, recording, design, production through to video shooting and concert and tour bookings remained in her hands. Their performances they designed without backing, instead of instruments sing it to one of CD played part playback .

With a cover version of their piece Hey Moon! , which John Maus published on We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves in 2011 , Nilsson became popular in the United States. In December of the same year, Nilsson made a month-long tour of the USA. For the release of her sixth album Zenith 2015, Nilsson began a collaboration with the label Night School Records , which Zenith published together with the Dark Skies Association and subsequently produced various re-releases from Nilsson's discography.

Do-it-yourself ethos

Gigs like this one in Canada in 2012 are organized and booked by Nilsson himself

For the release of the debut album, Nilsson founded the indie label Dark Skies Association , through which her music appeared from then on. As long as Nilsson published herself as a musician on the label, she didn't want to sign other artists. Some of her music was released in cooperation with the Scottish label Night School Records. Although Nilsson values ​​the greatest possible control over her work, she occasionally cooperates with such partners in various areas. However, Nilsson only enters into collaborations with absolute artistic freedom and control. It is often associated with this do-it-yourself ethos and with related terms such as “DIY queen”, “DIY goddess” and “DIY-diva”. Their independence is also regularly emphasized in meetings and interviews.

“She took her career into her own hands right from the start. From the label to booking to video clips and recordings: She does get support, but in the end Ms. Nilsson wears her pants. "

- Jens Uthoff: Not today, Satan in taz

Although often categorized as such, Nilsson sees her artistic work and the way it is produced and published not as a product or expression of a feminist or DIY-specific attitude, but as part of her life and personality that she is unwilling to be determined by third parties allow. Her decision to keep control of her work is a decision against the commercial exploitation of her personality as part of her work.

style

Both Nilsson's graphic and musical and lyrical styles are characterized by an enduring ironic minimalism. In doing so, she puts symbols charged with content in a new context or plays with the levels of meaning of the elements she uses.

layout

Nilsson's albums are designed minimalist. So she used a Mühle game plan as a cover motif for the album Europa .

On a graphical level, the publications mostly remain black and white with simple shapes. The EP Sólo Paraíso - The Summer Songs EP is an exception . It was designed with a watercolor of a shadowy black cat on a white background, which means there are shades of gray. She illustrated her debut These Things Take Time with a tangram square, Europa with a Mühle game plan and the single Sex with a yin-yang symbol .

For Dark Skies Associates she uses the wreath of stars on the European flag as the label logo. This is also shown on sound carriers in black and white, with the name of the label in the lower half of the circle. She describes this way of dealing with existing and content-laden symbols using the example of the flag as part of her creative approach.

“I like to put images and symbols that are highly charged in terms of content into other contexts. Then you can see what they mean without it. The idea of ​​the EU - and by that I mean a united and peaceful Europe and not some political realities - is something beautiful and visionary. The simple message of working together instead of fighting in competition or in war. "

- Molly Nilsson after Jens Uthoff: Not today, Satan in taz

music

The music presented by Nilsson is categorized as minimalist synth pop and dark wave in a return to the corresponding music of the 1980s. The music consists of simple keyboard arrangements and programmed rhythms. Accordingly, the synthesizer is regarded as an instrument that determines the sound of your music. Despite the ongoing recourse to the synth-pop of the 1980s, Nilsson takes up other influences such as calypso or tango rhythms . The electronic beats are, meanwhile, as a cheap and oblique circumscribed. Nilsson sings to this simple music with an alto voice approaching the tenor range , which is often compared to that of Nico . However, Nilsson negates an occasionally assumed influence by the German singer. Nilsson's voice as well as the overall sound of her music is perceived as cool, reserved and aloof.

Texts

Lyrically, Nilsson often uses black humor . Joy and sadness are in constant interaction. So the piece I hope you die is described as a morbid song about devotion . In addition, Nilsson occasionally exercises social criticism with songs like Let's talk about privileges or Money never sleeps . She herself describes her texts as very personal , sometimes she finds them embarrassing , but does not attach any importance to their interpretation and intention for the reception. In her opinion, it is not significant "if everyone hears their own song."

Discography

  • 2008: These Things Take Time (album, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2009: Europe (album, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2010: Follow the Light (Album, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2010: Silver (compilation, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2011: History (Album, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2013: The Travels (Album, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2014: Ex (Single, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2014: Sólo Paraíso - The Summer Songs EP (EP, Dark Skies Association)
  • 2015: Zenith (Album, Dark Skies Association, Night School Records)
  • 2017: Single (Single, Dark Skies Association, Night School Records)
  • 2017: Imaginations (Album, Dark Skies Association, Night School Records)
  • 2018: 2020 (Album, Dark Skies Association, Night School Records)

Web links

Commons : Molly Nilsson  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Juliane Reichert: To a whiskey sour with Molly Nilsson. berlin030, accessed on March 12, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Jens Uthoff: Not today, Satan. taz, accessed on March 12, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b Tim Sendra: Artist Biography. Allmusic, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b c John Lucas: DIY queen Molly Nilsson's songs work on many different levels. Crack Magazine, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  5. ^ A b c Molly Nilsson. Steirischer Herbst, accessed on March 13, 2018 .
  6. ^ A b c Molly Nilsson. Torstrassenfestival, accessed on March 12, 2018 .
  7. ↑ a b Editorial Team: The embracing intimacy of Molly Nilsson. PW Magazine, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  8. ↑ a b Rod Glacial: Molly Nilsson - Sous la Lune Exactement. Brain Magazine, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  9. ↑ a b c Patrick Clarke: Molly Nilsson Interview. The Quietus, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Steve Mallon: Molly Nilsson: Planetary Vistas. Straight, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  11. ^ Colette Pomerleau: Molly Nilsson + Ménage à Trois at Shameless / Limitless. Kaltblut Magazin, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  12. ^ A b c Kyle Mullin: “My Music and My Work Are an Extension of My Life. And I Intend to Live All of It, ”- Interview With Molly Nilsson Ahead of Nov 11 DDC Gig. The Beejinger, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Kunigunde Weissenegger: New resolution: celebrate the new 39NULL with Molly Nilsson. Franzmagazine, accessed on March 12, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Rudolph Beuys: MOLLY NILSSON release gala at berghain tonight. Beatrausch, accessed March 13, 2018 .
  15. ↑ a b Molly Nilsson. Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, accessed on March 13, 2018 .
  16. ^ Johannes von Weizsäcker: Molly Nilsson in Berghain cool, but not callous. Berliner Zeitung, accessed on March 12, 2018 .
  17. ^ Emilie Friedlander: Molly Nilsson: History. Pitchfork.com, accessed March 12, 2018 .
  18. ^ A b Andrew Darley: Such Great Heights: An Interview with Molly Nilsson. The 405, accessed March 13, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Nilsson, Molly
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swedish singer
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1984
PLACE OF BIRTH Stockholm , Sweden