「Diamond destruction」

Hello everyone!

Its been a little more than a week since I released my first EP / mini album entitled Diamond destruction. I want to use this opportunity to write some about the songs.

First of all its a collection that includes many different themes, commenting both worldwide events as well as my personal life. For the first time I have also written a true love song, which you can hear in the last track of the album, The Key. I’m very pleased with this one, I feel like I managed to incorporate many different elements that harmonizes well together. Recording the vocals, I must admit, was a challenge, my vocal range is an altos rather than a soprano. But I do feel that no matter what you have to challenge yourself.

The album starts with a song called Lunar Love. I have always been fascinated with the moon, and I am not alone, there are many mysteries and beliefs surrounding it and I tried to mix my own feelings about its beauty with tales I’ve red from others. Musically I do like the organ the best, its an instrument which suits the spirit of the moon, I believe. This was also a huge challenge to sing, but I’m pleased with the outcome.

The Devil on my shoulder is without a doubt the most personal track on this album. As I’ve mentioned before, I suffer from anxiety and depression, and here I try to explain what it can feel like when its most severe. I do believe most people have been in situations where they feel like there’s no way out, and The Devil on my shoulder is a song about that specific moment. Its not about life in general, there’s always a way out, and things will always get better. I hope that this song can give others an outlet for their sorrow and pain and give them strength in knowing that they are not alone.

On an opposite note there is Here be dragons. Now, the title might seem a bit strange, but its merely the nerd in me that is shining through. Here be dragons is an old expression about the places that are outside the map. If you look at old European maps you can often see strange creatures and beasts in the outskirts of it, because that’s what people though might exist in unknown lands. The word ‘unknown’ is key here, because people are often afraid of that they don’t know and understand. This is the reason people who look or act different are often alienized and frowned upon. This is what the song is about, how people who are different in any way might be treated brutally. In the end though we’ll always have each other, and things often change for the better. I hope you can feel hope when listening to this track!

Lastly there is Diamonds. I’ve saved this one for last because in many ways its the most special one for me. Not only did SaSa and AREKU do a wonderful cover of it, but its a song I’ve worked on for quite some time now. I also think this is the strongest vocal performance on my part. Overall I’m just very proud of it.

Have you had a chance to hear it yet? If not, listen it here.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you who have listened and supported Diamond destruction thus far. You are the best!

Love,
~K

 

 

「Skogsrået」

My new single 「Skogsrået」is out! You can find it on Spotify and on Soundcloud. All songs are also available on Gance Media’s YouTube account.

This is my second solo single and my first release in Swedish. Singing is Swedish is quite difficult for me, even though its my mother tongue. I believe its because its the language that is the closest to myself, so I feel a lot more vulnerable singing in Swedish. I still wanted to do it though, because the song is about a creature from Nordic folklore, so it felt more natural to do it in Swedish. However, I decided to do an English version because I want to be able to connect to more people. Translating the lyrics was difficult, but I am rather pleased with it.

Skogsrået is a creature living in the woods, and like most other Nordic creatures she can be either helpful or vicious depending on her mood. I’ve been fascinated with her for many years and she’s one of my favourite creatures in Norse mythology. It also is personal to me because I grew up in the forest, so I like the mysterious feel it has to it, and I tried to convey that in the sound of the music.

I hope you enjoy this release!

Love,
~K

K recommends

Its been long overdue – here’s another ‘K recommends’. Today I will give you tips on goth songs that I like.

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Tearing Apart

Starting off with one of the pioneers in goth, Siouxsie Sioux (here with the Banshees), the song Tearing Apart sounds rather uplifting. However the lyrics are, as you can imagine, on a bluer note. As most other 80’s goth bands, Siouxsie and the Banshees uses a soft guitar sound and heartfelt vocals. I really enjoy Siouxsie’s voice and I really think you should give her work a try if you haven’t so already.

The Cure – Pictures of You

I believe most of you are familiar with The Cure. If you aren’t you really should look them up! Pictures of You is not one of the most famous songs such as Friday or Boys Don’t Cry, but for me its a very beautiful and dreamy song. The lyrics as well as the sound really makes you feel a sense of longing, which is amazing to me. Its also nostalgic since I used to listen to this quite a lot during my teenage years.

MALICE MIZER – ヴェル・エール ～空白の瞬間の中で～ (Bel air ~Within Moments of Nothingness~

I’ve been listening to MALICE MIZER for many years now, and its debatable weather they qualify as ‘real’ goth. I for one believe they do, especially in their earlier days.  Bel Air is a rather fast paced song, while at the same time being soft sounding. The guitar riffs stands out a lot, even though the song also uses many other effects including sounds from a music box. The vocals are impressive as well. Bel Air is found on the album Merveilles. While my favourite album by MALICE MIZER is Bara no Seidou, Merveilles is better suited for this list.

London After Midnight – Where Good Girls Go To Die

Another one of the top bands from the goth scene. Where Good Girls Go To Die has a darker sound than the other songs on this list. It also uses synthesizer more frequently. What I like about this song is that it is indeed heavy and mysterious, and that the vocals used are both clean and scream/growl. Very interesting band overall.

 

Hope you enjoyed this post. Now go and listen!

~K

Sadness

Its midnight here in Sweden and I’m feeling rather sad. And it feels rather good to be sad. It might sound strange, but let me explain;

I recently got out of a few months with a lot of anxiety and panic attacks. Now, instead of feeling like my chest will break and thinking I’m the most awful person on the planet, I just feel sad. Its a simple feeling that anyone can relate to. And it means that the anxiety is getting better since I can focus on having such a ‘simple’ feeling. I’m not really saying that sadness is easy, it just weighs so much lighter on my shoulders compared to how I’be been feeling since the middle of August.

In conclusion; I’m happy to feel sad.

~K

Small victories

Its been a while since I updated about my mental condition, mainly because its been going rather well. I’ve had a backlash lately, but that happens. I don’t give up (even though I admit I sometimes feel like doing so).

For those of you who haven’t red my past posts about this I suffer from anxiety, which had also led me into a depression. Its something I’m struggling with every day, but with the help of psychologists and medication I have been able to control the anxiety more and more. Its also made me realize that no matter how deep I feel like I’ve fallen there’s always a way back up.

Its also important to remember the small progresses I make. For example; I finished reading a book yesterday and that is a big thing for me. It might sound like nothing, ridiculous even, but when the scariest thing you know are your own thoughts, reading a book can be a struggle. That’s because when you read, everything around you feels empty, and the only sense you use is your eyesight. For me, that emptiness is very scary, so every time I finish a book its a victory.

To sum up; Right now I’m not great, but I work hard to change that. In the meantime I hope that this post might help someone.

~K

WITCHES

Hello everyone!

As some of you might know, I recently released a solo single! Its entitled 「WITCHES」and was released on August 6. Its both exciting and scary to release a song on my own, but I gotten many compliments from everybody so I want to thank you so much for it!

If you haven’t heard the song yet, you can either purchase it on iTunes or listen to it on Spotify.

I would like to share some thoughts about the process behind this song. I’ve always enjoyed songs with strong themes. I especially think it goes rather well with songs in the electronica genre. The theme of this song is rather evident; the lyrics and astetics are about witches and the myths surrounding them.  I’ve always been fascinated with magic and witchcraft so it felt natural to go with this type of theme.

Besides the obvious interest in supernatural powers there are also other reasons why I wanted to make this song. I wanted to portray the unfair treatment that many people throughout history have had to suffer through, people who were blamed, tortured and even killed for their uniqueness. I don’t want people like that to be forgotten, but instead I want to make sure we all know that justice will always find a way, that we have to make sure that it does. Its also a reminder that just because somebody is different doesn’t mean that they are dangerous or bad.

Music wise I’ve worked a lot with vocal harmonies, which is something I want to pursue more in the future. I do like the contrast of digital music with the organic vocals. I also like to think that even though the theme is rather serious the beat still makes you want to dance!

 

Mini haul – The Body Shop

Hello lovelies,

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I am quite obsessed with the skin care brand The Body Shop. What you might not be familiar with is the fact that they also sell make up. Because of this wonderful thing we call “after Christmas sale”, I have been able to make some very good deals at some of their products. So, here is a mini haul to present the items I have bought.

Starting with the base, I got the Extra Virgin Minerals Compact Foundaction. I needed to re-stock my regular foundation and saw this on a sale so I figured I should try it. They only had one colour left called Rose Ivory, and it fits me perfectly!  The foundation is light, but still gives a nice coverage. Finding a foundation on 70% sale with your ideal colour just doesn’t happen like that, so it was an amazing find.

Next I got two lip pencils, in colours Rosy Red and Nude (yeah, ‘nude’ if you are white. Shame on you, The Body Shop!). I am not blown away by these, but I think they work as a base for lipstick more so than lipgloss. The red one is a very nice shade.

Next one is also a lip product, a lipgloss which I cannot seem to find the name of. I haven’t worn it enough to comment on how long it lasts, but the constancy is nice and it smells amazing. A pretty neutral gloss which is always good to have.

The eyeshadow is called Amethyst and is a duo one in purple and black. I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet, but its the ultimate shade of purple, and I can ever get enough black so I am looking forward to try it out.

Lastly, the perfume is called White Musk Libertine and it smells amazing! I think its great for everyday wear, but still comes with a little twist. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you don’t want to use a flowery scent, but still want to have a fairly light and fresh smell.

There you have it! I hope it liked this little haul, and let me know if you want more content like this.

Love,
~K

 

K recommends | Music of 2015

Hello lovelies!

Since this is the last day of the year, I thought I should give you some recommendations of some new music* I discovered during 2015. Its a pretty mixed list of genres so I hope there will be something for everybody.

*Disclaimer: I’m not saying this music is new per say, but I have myself not listened to it until this year. So, new music for me.

 

Ghost

If you follow me on any social media, this hardly comes as a surprise. I started listening to them this summer and then I was stuck! Luckily for me, they released a new album, Meliora, in August followed by an international tour.

Ghosts music living within the metal genre, border lining on hard rock. To be honest, their image is much harder than their music, but that doesn’t matter since their music is really great! I recommend the songs Monstrous  Clock, Con Clavi Con Dio, Year Zero and Cirice.

 

Red Velvet

You knew there had to be some kpop in this list. Red Velvet began their activities in 2014, but got their big with Ice Cream Cake this year. They also released their first full-length album, The Red, including the songs Dumb Dumb and Huff n Puff.

Since the music is commercial pop, its hard to find any real depth in it. I do believe RV stands out amongst other groups though, especially when comparing them to other all-female groups within the pop genre. Its fun, fresh and not overly-sexualized. I recommend Ice Cream Cake, Somethin Kinda Crazy and Huff n Puff for starters.

 

Septicflesh

I regularly go through my recommended playlists on Spotify and sometimes I find bands that stands out to me. Septicflesh is an example. They are a Greek metal band with really interesting lyrics and catchy melodies (as catchy as death metal allows anyway).

For first-time listeners I recommend listening to Anubis and Sunlight / Moonlight, then move on to The Vampire from Nazareth.

 

Steam Powered Giraffe

This band I only learned about last week (thank you AREKU), so I cannot say too much about them. But I can say that they are a steampunk band with really a style that is just to die for!

The music is really catchy with lots of vocal harmonies. Automatic Electronic Harmonics is a song that showcases this, as well as the ballad Honeybee.

 

Zella Day

I’m cheating a bit on this one, because I began listening to the song Sweet Ophelia last year. But when Zella Day released her debut album Kicker this year I was really stuck!

Her music is described as a happier sounding Lana del Ray. I partly agree, but I wouldn’t say “happier”, rather more varied and I believe Zella uses her voice to the fullest. She’s an amazing singer and her lyrics are ver poetic.

The songs I recommend are Jerome, Sweet Ophelia and Compass.

 

So, there you have it! Like I wrote earlier, its a mixed list and I don’t know if that is cool or just strange. I hope you will find some new, great music though.

Take care,

~K

Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

Have you celebrated? I have, I went to a secret place in the forest to eat lots of food and spend time with my family.

Not really “Christmasy” weather, but still beautiful!

Since a few years back we don’t give each other gifts within the family, because it doesn’t feel that important any longer.

I have gotten some gifts from others though, as my dear friends SaSa and AREKU, as well as one of our cute fan.

SaSa had made her own “mixture” of gingerbread late that she gave me. Who needs Starbucks, really?

AREKU gave me a vintage style picture for the wall, featuring two ladies showing of and under-vest of wool and cotton. I really like these kinds of pictures, and vintage underwear has always been fascinating to me. It looks great on my wall.

Our dear Norwegian Alavin Kim sent these keychains, a necklace and four hand-made pictures. I will let you know Kim that I was in need of a keychain so these are perfect. Thank you!

I hope you’ve had good holidays even if you celebrate Christmas or not.

Love,

~K

『POWDER』

Hello lovelies,

A few days ago I learned that the band Femme Fatale will disband at the beginning of next year. I believe it came as a surprise for everybody and even for the members themselves. I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I also support them in their decision.

Its rather peculiar though what happened today. I just got home from a trip in Stockholm and had a package waiting for me and it turned out it was Femme Fatales’ latest single POWDER. It felt rather special receiving it so soon after hearing the sad news. I’m also happy I bought it since it seems to be their last release.

 

This release is a concept single so the members look pretty different from usual which is interesting (I barely even recognize TaNa!). It comes with a photo book with two different styles for each of the members, one extravagant and one more casual. Since I ordered it from CD Japan I also got an extra photo set.

I think this is a great piece in my collection and it feels very special. I’m looking forward to see what projects the members will part-take in the future.

Until next time, take care.

~K