- 2024-03-17
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MUSIC
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Donate to support families affected by the crisis in Ukraine ➔ NOEL Releases Debut EP “Headed North”
Swedish singer-songwriter NOEL released his debut EP “Headed North” along with a new music video for “Hurt Somebody” on March 15, 2024.
The EP comprises 6-track, featuring a guest appearance from Norwegian singer-songwriter Tessa Odden.
Produced by Freddy Alexander and Fredrik Lundström.
NOEL said of the EP, “This EP will always be special to me as it is my first and in many ways my introduction into music and songwriting. I started writing songs together with others a little over two years ago, without any real concept or deeper thought behind it. Eventually I found that the songs over time started to find their place and became a coming-of-age story that I'm excited to finally share.”- The accompanying music video was directed by Room7.
NOEL said of the process of making the video, “Making the music video for 'Hurt Somebody' was one of the craziest experiences I've ever had. The entire set was built from the ground up and was crafted with a lot of love. It involved hours of finding and thrifting everything you see in the interior, and sooo many hours of painting it all red. In the end it was kind of bittersweet breaking some of the stuff that I had grown attached to.”
He continued, “The room is a metaphor for a relationship that you try to nurture and care for but small things from your past build up and haunt it. You dance around the problem instead of actually dealing with the real issue. It doesn't matter how hard you try, it always ends up with the same result.” -
NOEL explained track-by-track for the EP.
“Hurt Somebody”
“The song plays into the cliché, yet very true saying 'hurt people hurt people.' For me, it describes a feeling of numbness and desperation. There was a period in my life where I carried around unresolved hurt, which ended up affecting people around me who didn't deserve it.”
“Headed North”
“Writing 'Headed North' was like a therapy session. In the past I've found myself leaving a potential relationship before it got too serious, and I never really knew why. It sounds like a cliche, but the conversations in the studio made me realise I might be running away from the possibility of getting hurt. I'm such an over-thinker which often leads me to finding wrongs in everything, even when it might not be there…”
“30 Loose Ends”
“I've tried to write 30 loose ends so many times but I just couldn't get it to work. Basically, it's about how graduation causes you to lose a large part of your circle of friends. Every time I tried to write it, it just got a little wonky and even "oniony". I took a trip to my family's cabin with two songwriter friends and finally the words just fell into place.”
“Everything's Fine” featuring Tessa Odden
“When writing this song, I dove into the 'what ifs' that I keep reminiscing about and the relationships that could have been that I keep on romanticizing. The song is a mix of memories and feelings, but also my imagination of the perfect world where 'what ifs' became reality. I sometimes think about the people who I thought would play a big part in my life but who I have no connection to at all today, and 'Everything's Fine' is a reflection of those thoughts.
Growing up I've always loved listening to duets. When scrolling on Spotify I stumbled upon Tessa and was immediately intrigued by her voice. She is amazing and I was so thrilled when wanted do this duet with me. We spent a day together in Stockholm and recorded the song which was a great experience altogether, and I'm so happy with how this song turned out.”
“When You're Not Mine”
“'When You're Not Mine' was one of the first songs I wrote on my songwriting journey, and it has sort of progressed over time, just like me. It started as a break-up song, but it didn't feel honest since I haven't really been in love before. After rewriting the lyrics, it evolved into a personal story about longing for a special someone. Now, over a year later and after many late nights, I think we finally got it right, and I'm very proud of it. This song is for my future person.”
“Ruth”
“Losing someone that close to you is a difficult thing to process as a kid and for me it hit me many years later. It was a hard realization that she will never get to know the person I grew up to be. She only ever met the annoying kid I was back then. I think that a lot of people can relate to the feeling of wishing you had valued certain relationships more growing up.”
Photo by Room7 - source : Apple Music
