• photography Johan Scarsbrick 

    Interview with Adele Marcia Kosman

    Written by Alicia Hurst by Alicia

    Swedish composer Adele Marcia Kosman unveils a world of emotion on her debut album, “VOLVM 2. pieces.” Through dissected voice, pump organ performances, and algorithmic synthesis, Kosman explores the delicate dance of pleasure, disruption, and persistence in time. Drawing from diverse experiences, her music offers a brief yet immersive journey into a realm of emotional depth and subtle revelation.

    Your album, VOLVM 2. pieces, features a blend of intimate, raw emotions and digitally manipulated sounds. Can you share personal experiences from your life, such as those in “Closer to Trust,” inspire these elements in your music?

    It is truly challenging to derive the origin of an idea or inspiration. I highly rely on intuition when composing and the many different musical circumstances and periods of my life effortlessly resurface when needed and when relevant, and I remain ignorant to whythis relevance occurs. With that said, the tools I use certainly dictate the music to a large degree. The pump organ landed in my possession by chance and has influenced the album deeply. The summer of 2021 we built a studio in my family’s summer house and I was on the lookout for a small piano. Suddenly this cute organ pops up in the Facebook-page of the village. Its sensitive fluctuations in dynamics and the rhythmic aspect of the pumping has allowed me to find new sounds and expressions in my vocal performance and I believe this also heightened the raw sensation of the album immensely.

    The digital processing, as an aesthetic, ie. Beyond mixing and effects,comes from an urge to dissect sounds – hoping to find hidden treasures.“if it were for me you’d piece me up” is a good example of this tendency and also shows how the tools at hand shapes the end result. I also love clicks and pops!

    With your background as a back-end developer and experiences in major-label-signed electronic pop, how have these diverse influences shaped your creative process, particularly in crafting the unique sound found in VOLVM 2. pieces?

    I would first of all like to say that the major-label electronic pop allowed me to become a musician. Before For BDK was signed I had no faith in pursuing a musical career. A naivety in me was born in thatsigning moment and it has since served me well. The naive dream of stardom and fame gives me so much energy and will. A side note is that studies in composition allowed me to do computer development. It’s all intertwined, like it should.

    Moreover, I had a wish to mix and merge the different sonic tendencies Ihave. The sparse and live-recorded on one hand, the heavily processed on the other, and perhaps a few instances in between. Perhaps this is something significant to the record. My intention with this has something to do with sincerity. These are the most beautiful tracks I have made in the past few years and they belong together.I won’t keep anything from you! I promise!

    Your music explores recurring themes and leitmotifs. Do any of these draw directly from personal experiences, and how do they contribute to the overall narrative of VOLVM 2. pieces?

    As many, I find it easier to compose when starting off with a little seed of sound. So, you borrow excerpts from previous works. Sometimes the resemblance of its origin is lost along the way, and other times the resemblance works to tie a story (album) together. Apart from this, ever so often you write something which has a huge potential, and I'm sure to make use of this.

    Lyrically the album is strictly personal. All texts are from diary notes. Many of these diary entries were written in the aftermath of separation. In the ebb and flow of grief, emergence of new dreams and wishes, reconciliation and all the things.

    The dualistic nature of your vocals from intimate to abstract suggests a personal touch. How do your own emotions and experiences influence the way you choose to sing, especially in songs like “Always” and “If ItWere For Me You’d Piece Me Up”?

    The dualistic nature of the album has a somewhat practical origin. How Lust and practicality impact decisions, particularly when years of movements of lust are accounted for.
    “if it were for me you’d piece me up” I wrote during my studies in composition. I wished to deepen my artistic practice beyond the voice.At the same time – the voice is my main instrument. I used recordings from earlier live concerts of mine and put my voice to good use, with new tools.
    Graduating The Royal College of Music I was again longing for the fragility and corporal aspects of vocal performance. Not unrelated to my degree project where I dwelled into the topic of liveness and how this can (should) be incorporated in a concert of electronic nature.

    In your role as a stylist and model, how does your identity in these fields intersect with or influence your musical identity? Are there moments where your work in one realm directly informs the other?

    Today, I am a composer and artist. The time I spend with shape and form,clothes and expression, is to aid a musical expression. Music is the beginning and end!

    Reflecting on your electroacoustic academic endeavors, can you share a specific concept or discovery that significantly impacted your artistic perspective and found its way into your music?

    We have already mentioned “if it were for me you’d piece me up” a few times and I find it necessary to do so again. This piece is the oldest track of the album and at the time of birth it evoked a new musical era.I set off to expand on the use of voice and to generally explore new techniques of processing recorded sounds. My exploration led me to databending and glitch. Damaging the source code of an audio file is one way to perform data bending, it is a tedious process but it brought about the most interesting and surprising variations to the motif of the piece. In the track I also explored the simple mechanism of using a gate with a side chain. This basically allows one sound to affect the volume of another sound. This is a technique that I often use and it’s easily spotted in “Intro: Unusually Lost Bits.”

    As a rising artist from Stockholm’s experimental music scene, how has the local community influenced your growth, and are there collaborations or interactions that have been particularly impactful for your creative journey in VOLVM 2. pieces?

    I am very happy for this question! The collaborations on this album are life-changing for me. It has also emphasized the concept of collaborations itself. Working together makes everything more fun, and to be honest – making music is not fun. It is seriously difficult and exhausting and heartbreaking. Ah! But! Together! Fabian Grytt mixed the album and is also featured on one track, “always.” Our discussions leading up to the mixing and his investment in the music has been more than I could ever dream of. It has been the most precious thing to digdeep and write and then to thoroughly, sometimes, slaughter the music with Fabian and see it grow far beyond my initial intention.
    In the process of working with the album we decided to start a record label of which my album would be the first release. This has also been incredibly FUN! Arvid Kraft and Anton Berglund I studied together with at the Royal College of Music, and Saga Fagerström I know via the two.The four of us run Echo & Altar Records. Sharing this with my dear friends makes it all deeply meaningful, and that’s what it's all about.

    Link to VOLVM 2

    photography Johan Scarsbrick
  • photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Emelie Bodén

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    jacket Ahlvar Gallery

    shirt Aveny

    trousers Our Legacy

    rings Efva Attling & Annika Gustavsson

    bracelet & necklaces Efva Attlling

    watch Seiko

    Interview with Kerstin Ljungström

    Written by Emelie Bodén

    For nearly a decade, Kerstin Ljungström has dedicated herself to working as a producer, live musician, songwriter, and studio technician for some of our brightest stars. Finally, on October 13th, her debut album takes its place in the British pop landscape. It's a tumult of everyday melancholy, a nod to the music that has carried her through it all – with Kerstin's velvety vocals, uncensored stories, vibrant productions, and rarely witnessed musicality serving as the overarching theme.

    What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
    From the first moment I started singing and playing the guitar, it felt like I'd found “my thing.” Nothing else made me more excited or drew me in the way music did. It's never really been a choice for me to pursue music; it's just been this kind of force that drew me to where I am today. Might sound a bit cheesy, but that's how I feel about it.

    Can you tell us about your musical journey and how you got started in the industry?
    My mother taught me how to play the guitar when I was around 11 years old. After that, I started a band with my friends back in Bollnäs, and we had lots of gigs. I was 16 years old when I moved to London and studied at a music school called Rytmus, then another music school up north in Sweden. After that, I had an internship at a studio where a lot of established producers worked. I worked there for a few years and then signed my first publishing deal.

    How would you describe your musical style or genre?
    I'd say it's pop, but with lots of different influences. I grew up listening to everything from jazz to Daft Punk, and in my early 20s, I worked a lot as a DJ, so I've always consumed a lot of different genres. When I produce my own stuff, I try to bring everything I love into the mix.

    Are there any specific themes or messages you aim to convey through your music?
    I try to write very personally and want the songs to be as honest as they can be. But one thing that's always been very important to me is to write openly about being queer and always use “she” instead of “you.” Kind of want to write songs that I wish I could have listened to when I was younger.

    What's your dream collaboration with another artist, dead or alive?
    I'd love to work with Sam Smith or Troye Sivan; I think they're both such amazing artists. But for my own stuff, I'd say Jonathan Johansson because I think he is one of the best lyricists we have in Sweden.

    What advice do you have for aspiring musicians trying to break into the industry?
    Don't rush it! Music is so much about just finding that thing that is yours. And don't care about what other people think or do!

    How do you handle criticism or negative feedback, and how has it influenced your work?
    I'm human, so, of course, I get affected, but I try to always remind myself that it's just a matter of personal taste. The only thing I can do is keep doing what I like and love.

    jacket Ahlvar Gallery

    shirt Aveny

    rings Efva Attling & Annika Gustavsson

    bracelet & necklaces Efva Attlling

    watch Seiko

    shirt Aveny
    jeans Adnym Atelier
    necklaces & rings & bracelet Efva Attling

    jacket Ahlvar Gallery

    shirt Aveny 
    trousers Our Legacy
    rings & bracelet & necklaces Efva Attling

    shirt Arket
    trousers Hope
    shoes Dr. Martens
    rings Efva Attling

    shirt Aveny 
    jeans Our legacy 
    shoes Converse
    rings, bracelets & necklaces Efva Attling

    .

    jacket Ahlvar Gallery

    shirt Aveny
    rings Efva Attling & Annika Gustavsson
    bracelet & necklaces Efva Attling

    .

    shirt Aveny

    trousers Adnym Atelier
    shoes Converse

    rings & bracelet Efva Attling

    photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Emelie Bodén

    hair & makeup Filippa Finn

    photography assistant Rebecka Barlach

    general assistant Vanessa Eriksson Tonel

  • Oslo Skin Lab

    Written by Jahwanna Berglund

    Oslo Skin Lab, established in 2017 by Cecilie Nordstrom and stands as a pioneer in introducing safe and well documented inner beauty treatments. Among their esteemed offerings, the collagen supplement stands out on the Scandinavian beauty market.

    Collagen is a crucial protein in the body that the body produces itself. Its fibre-like structure is used to make connective tissue. These tissues in turn connect to other bodily structures and are a major component of bone, skin, and muscle support.
    The body’s inherent collagen production undergoes a gradual slowdown as we age and incorporating collagen into one’s daily routine holds numerous potential benefits.
    Some common signs of deficient collagen levels manifest in various ways, from wrinkles to lifeless hair, delayed injury recovery and joint pain.

    In my personal trial of the supplement for 60 days, a noticeable changes surfaced within a short period of only three weeks.

    Below I have listed some of the benefits of implementing collagen to your daily diet. 

    Skin Health: Collagen serves a fundamental component of skin structure, contributing to its elasticity, firmness and hydration. Incorporating collagen supplements or skincare products enriched with collagen may have a reduced visibility of wrinkles, enhance skin elasticity and promote a more youthful appearance.

    Joint Health: Collagen provides structure to your joints, tendons, and ligaments. Supplementing with collagen may help reduce joint pain and stiffness, as well as support joint flexibility and mobility.

    Bone Strength: As you age, collagen production decreases, leading to weaker bones. As collagen significantly contributes to the structure and strength of bones. Adding collagen supplements may help improve bone density and reduce the risk of conditions and other skeletal disorders.

    Hair and Nail Health: Collagen supports the growth and strength of hair and nails. Using collagen supplements might help improve hair texture, and reduce brittleness and promote stronger nails.

    Gut Health: Collagen can support the integrity of the gut lining, potentially aiding in digestive health.

    Muscle Mass: Collagen is essential for muscle structure. While it's not a direct muscle builder like some proteins, it supports the connective tissues around muscles, potentially aiding in muscle recovery and maintaining muscle mass.


    It’s essential to note that individual experiences with collagen supplementation can vary significantly. Factors such as diet, lifestyle, and overall health can influence the result observed

    www.osloskinlab.com

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