Blänk: Only Built For Northern Lights

Album release: "Only Built for Northern Lights" by Blänk
Release date: 9 March 2015
Label: Grind Records
More information: on Blänk website

Combining lyrics about self-discovery and life’s complexities with their unique mashing of genres from Indie Pop to Hip Hop, Swedish trio Blänk already has a track record of independent success. Now they are back with a series of releases, including their first single in almost three years, ”Tears Run Dry,” and the forthcoming album ”Only Built For Northern Lights.”

In 2012, the trio of Klas, Lina and Simon released the more Dance-oriented follow up EP ”Áurinko Rising Again,” which was praised in UK and US media outlets such as Hypetrak, FAME Mag, The 405 and Clash Magazine. Since then, the band has spent the last three years traveling between studios in Atlanta, US, and Ryssbält, Sápmi, to craft ”Only Built For Northern Lights.”

Just as the title suggests, the band’s heritage from the northern parts of Sweden - commonly known as Sápmi - is still present in their music; from uptempo Rap to Indie Pop, old Sápmi folk songs, and the melancholy Swedish sound that has permeated Pop culture in recent years.

This time around, Blänk invited some of their best friends to their ranch in Ryssbält to bring yet another level of depth to their already distinct sound. Stockholm’s Noonie Bao, songwriter behind Aviici’s #1 UK record “You Could Be The One,” as well as several other acoustic and electronic musicians, also joined Blänk in Sápmi for late night studio sessions, camp fires, Sauna, and whiskey by the Baltic Sea. The result is a blissfully original and sonically diverse take on what pop music can sound like when restrictions, formulas, and self-consciousness are thrown out of the window.