- 2026-05-06
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MUSIC
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Lykke Li Premieres New Song “Happy Now” on BBC Radio 1
Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li premiered a new song “Happy Now” on BBC Radio 1's New Music Show with Jack Saunders.
The song is the fourth and final-prerelease single from her upcoming sixth studio alum “The Afterparty”, which is due out this Friday (May 8th) via Neon Gold Records.
It was written by Lykke Li, Björn Yttling, and Matthew Castellanos. Produced by Lykke Li and Björn Yttling.
The track features Björn Yttling on keyboards, guitar, and bass, Gustav Ejstes on flute, Lars Skoglund on drums, Amanda Bergman and Mapei on background vocals, and 15 string players.
Lykke Li said of the song, “Jon Fosse walks into a rave and doesn't come home. ABBA and The Prodigy have a baby and it won't stop crying. An unanswered prayer on a dancefloor. God isn't picking up.”
She added, “I look completely insane here but that was the feeling when I wrote it.”- Lykke Li told Jack Saunders about the song, “I think this song is, if ABBA and The Prodigy have a love child, and that's me, basically, that is the song. Well, I was definitely like, 'Okay, I'm just gonna channel ABBA once and for all with the harmonies.' And then Björn kind of was messing around with this kind of like breakbeat. So then we were trying to pretend like we were The Prodigy in the studio, but played with with drums. And I really, I liked that.”
She added, “I think I have this urge to fly when I make music. Whenever I'm in the studio producing, like, you want to just get wings and like, take off from here.” -
The new album comprises 9 tracks, produced by Lykke Li, Björn Yttling, Dave Sitek, and Rick Nowels.
It is her first album in four years, following the 2022 album “Eyeye”.
Lykke Li said of the album, “I wrote it in I it just came in one rush. And I'm really, I was inspired by this writer, Jon Fosse, this Norwegian writer that just kind of is stumbling in the dark trying to find God. So I'm actually really interested in open ended questions in this album.”
She continued, “I feel like we are at The Afterparty in the world. That's just the feeling I get, like things could not be more false to the walls, more insane no one's thinking about tomorrow. So I feel like that's just the state of the world somehow.”
She added, “Truth, really laying it all bare. And also, to be honest, real people in the studio, real instruments, real chemistry. That's what makes it.”
Photo by Chloé Le Drezen - source : BBC Radio 1
