Soldråper (Sundrops) consists of five young musicians from different parts of the country that converged on Kristiansand in the south and their style is to explore themes of growing up, love, and relationships – both the good and the bad – and by drawing on personal experiences and reflections.
They were here back in March with ‘Slik du ser meg’ (‘The way you see me’), a song about self esteem and one of the tracks on their self-titled EP which was released on 23rd May and they’ve said it would be an emotional musical journey.
This time I only had access to Norwegian lyrics, which could be hieroglyphics from Tutankhamun’s tomb, but I managed to get some help from Mr Google and even his haphazard translation can’t disguise the fact that ‘Soldråper’ has a profound meaning for its writer as she mulls over having walked a road many times before but not having been able to cement a relationship at the end of it, to the extent that she doesn’t ‘know’ herself any longer.
That is my interpretation and might be inaccurate but those are the vibes that I get.
But the melody alone, the insistent simple piano notes and chords and the way its builds its way up from what sounds like the opening credits to a Scandi Noir TV cop drama to a full blown anthem in the outro is a joy to behold.
The real star of this show has to be the singer, Mary Sønsteby, who soars like an eagle over the high plains of ‘Soldråper’.
In some ways she reminds me of Ingrid Helene Håvik in her early days.
Kudos too, to the producer, engineer, mixer and masterer (is there such a word?) for their contribution to a sensitive song that oozes poise and passion.
This might be selfish but I’d like to hear a song or two in English. Their cultured sound might well catch on over here.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soldraaper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soldraaper/
