For the finale of Season 2, Melody A.M. makes a return visit to Norway, with an episode dedicated to singer-songwriter, Vårin Strand, who releases her music under the name Vaarin.

Vaarin hails from Hokksund, a small town about an hour’s drive from Oslo, and she first started writing songs in her early teens. There was a lot of jazz and folk music playing in her home when she was growing up and, while this musical background fed into the sound of her debut album, which came out in 2018, over the years her music has moved much more into the realm of pop. Mind you, there is still a nod to her formative influences in everything she does. 

2023 was a big year for Vaarin with the release of her second long-player, The Identity of Belonging. The first single from the album, 'Dark Matter', with its percussive rhythm section and cinematic feel, called to mind the universe of Agnes Obel’s album, Citizen of Glass. The subsequent singles from the record each built on Vaarin's evolved approach and there was even some experimentation with her voice, as demonstrated on the ethereal, ghost-like crescendo of the song, 'Angel'. 

Joining forces with her close friend, MIIA - another impressive Norwegian singer-songwriter - 2023 also saw Vaarin release a duet called 'Skin of a Fool', which is up there among our favourite tracks of the year. In our interview, we talk about the rather poignant lyrics to that song and explore whether harshness towards oneself, a theme which the song looks at, is actually embedded in janteloven, the Nordic social attitude of disapproval towards expressions of individuality and personal success.

Vaarin tells Doron about the tough times that inspired the writing of her first record and how it helped her overcome that period in her life. She also gives Melody A.M. an insight into her work on her next album, which she started crafting earlier this year.

Towards the end of this episode, you’ll be able to hear an exclusive acoustic version of 'Dark Matter', which Vaarin has kindly shared with us.

On our website at www.melodyam.com/vaarin check out the recommended Vaarin playlist which includes highlights from the Norwegian singer-songwriter's discography.

Faroese artist, Heiðrik, released his debut album, An Invisible Gun, back in 2007. This was the year Patrick Wolf released The Magic Position and it’s striking how these two albums share a very similar Folktronic soundscape, which - listening to them with today’s ears - makes them come across as sibling records. Not unlike Patrick Wolf, Heiðrik's artistic talents span across many different genres and mediums. 

Musically, he collaborates with a variety of Nordic artists including Helena Brimheim, Sigmund and Leah Kampmann, and his releases straddle folk, jazz, country and electro-pop. Outside of creating music, you’ll find him directing music videos (he’s recently directed Brimheim’s excellent new music video, Literally Everything) and, rather impressively, he also spends his time making fine art. 

He’s been nominated for and won quite a lot of awards, including the ‘Best Male Singer' accolade at the Faroese Music Awards in 2017 as well as the 'Best Music Video' award for the single, Monster, in 2018​​. 

Sharing his time between the Faroe Islands and Denmark, this past year, Heiðrik released a tribute album to Björk, reinterpreting some of the Icelandic icon’s tracks and giving them a whole new apparel. He has also recently put out an album with Leah Kampmann - together they release music under the name Einangran - and this album, although released in the autumn, makes for a perfect soundtrack to winter hibernation. In addition, as part of his duo with Faroese buddy, Sigmund, which is called Koboykex, Heiðrik has recently released a country-style cover version of Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam. 

In our interview, Heiðrik reflects on how he and the Faroe Islands have evolved since 2007 when his debut album came out; he talks about some of his artistic influences and also sheds some light on his ways of working. 

Very graciously, Heiðrik has also shared with Melody A.M. an exclusive live version of a beautiful unreleased track called Island Fever, which you can catch during our interview.

Over on the Heiðrik page on the Melody A.M. website there's a Heiðrik playlist with a selection of his best tracks. Head over to www.melodyam.com/heidrik.

Elias Kapari has been making music for over two decades - in the early days he had his own bands and he subsequently got involved in production and writing for other artists, working with some of the biggest names in the Swedish music industry including: Icona Pop, Molly Sandén, Linda Sundblad, Veronica Maggio, Oskar Linnros, Ana Diaz, Maja Francis, Cherrie, Victor Leksell, Charlotte Perrelli and previous Melody A.M. guest, Stefan Storm from The Sound of Arrows.  

One of the defining chapters of Elias’s career has been his collaborations with Swedish star, Miriam Bryant. Their work together has resulted in a slew of chart-topping mega hits, including ‘Passa Dig’,  Miriam’s duet with Viktor Leksell, 'tystnar i luren' and 'Ge upp igen’, a track she recorded with Yasin. These three songs elevated Miriam’s status in the Swedish music scene and to say they were radio hits would be a huge understatement - you couldn’t get away from them on Swedish radio for months after their release. 

In 2022 Elias and Miriam’s work together was recognised at the Swedish Grammys with the album, PS jag hatar dig, clinching the Album of the Year award and ‘tystnar i luren’ winning the award for Song of the Year.

​Elias’s reach is not limited to Sweden. He’s got a credit on the last Stormzy album after Stormzy heard a song called ‘Nu Till Livet’, which Elias co-created with Daniela Rathana on a Swedish television programme called Helt Lyriskt. Stormzy’s song, ‘My Presidents Are Black’, is built around the main melody from Elias and Daniela’s original. Elias has also worked with Danish success story, Christopher, the star of the Netflix hit film, “A Beautiful Life”, and he is also helping Christopher craft his next studio album. There is also a Kylie Minogue connection - sort-of-kind-of - but you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out more about that.

Earlier this year, the Swedish broadcaster SVT, brought an American TV format called SONGLAND onto Swedish screens and Elias was part of the expert panel on this brilliant show, which is essentially dedicated to the art of songwriting and production. His place on the panel is testament to Elias's esteemed position in the music industry. 

In our interview, we discuss his involvement in SONGLAND, his creative partnership with Miriam Bryant and his forthcoming solo project, allowing him to step from behind the mixing desk and onto the limelight with his own voice taking centre stage. 

On our website, at www.melodyam.com/elias you will find our Elias Kapari playlist with highlight moments from Elias’s career, to date.