Strange Hellos' Birgitta Alida goes solo with the lush, classical pop of "Something Real"

11 September 2018, 10:00 | Written by Austin Maloney

(Tracks)

(Lumikide) (Strange Hellos) (Birgitta Alida)

If you've got an eye trained on the Norwegian indie scene, you've probably come across Birgitta Alida's work before. She's been the vocal centre of the country's best new bands over the last few years, dabbling in high-octane, sweeping rock with Strange Hellos and jazz-inspired alt-pop with Lumikide.

Now though, she's stepping out on her own as a solo artist, and her debut single "Something Real" shows off another side of her stylistic range. It dives back into the past for its musical inspiration, settling on the 60s, string-heavy classical pop sound. She uses that template for a slow-burning song about melancholy and stasis, and the desire to break out of that and find, you guessed it, "Something Real".

When you settle on a detail-rich musical style like this, the thing is you've got to get everything perfect, every touch just right. "Something Real" manages that, with every instrument interplaying in perfect harmony, nothing overwrought or overthought or added for the sake of showing off. Pair that with a soaring chorus, and you've got a great debut single. Birgitta says:

"I’m inspired by all kinds of music, but especially by artists such as Amy Winehouse, Serge Gainsbourg, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Kate Bush, The Beatles and classical composers like Bach and Debussy. My music might be hard to categorise, but let’s say I move in a pop/soul/Motown-ish/indie-segment."