LET'S TALK ABOUT AURORA, SIA AND BILLIE EILISH MIX

Aurora Aksnes (born 15 June 1996), known mononymously as AURORA (stylised in all caps), is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and record producer. Born in Stavanger, she released her debut extended play, Running with the Wolves, in 2015 through Decca Records.

She has been compared to Björk and Florence Welch. One look at Aurora performing, and it’s not difficult to see why. The 24-year-old singer’s stage presence is both eccentric and soft, compelling and fragile. Not one to shy away from kookiness, Aurora can look at home both at a medieval castle singing a rendition of ‘Scarborough Fair’ and belting out pop anthems amid modern dancers in ‘Queendom’. With her latest single, ‘Forgotten Love’ (you can listen to it here), Aurora talks about making room in your heart for new memories and not feeling heavy or sorrowful about it.

She is well known and get popularity after her voice used on the popular disney animation: FROZEN 2. If her performance at Coachella this summer was any indication, Aurora is fast becoming an international phenomenon. As her latest single ‘Forgotten Love’ was released with Decca Records, we spoke to the Bergen-based singer about capturing the most elusive emotions, growing up inside a Norwegian forest and what it takes to make the perfect music video.

In 2015, Aksnes debuted her first official EP, "Running with the Wolves," and her first album "All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend," which garnered over 50 million listens on Spotify. She also released a cover of the Oasis song, "Half the World Away," which caught the attention of Katy Perry, who said on Twitter that Aksnes' voice made her heart "a flutter."

Mixing frosty electronic textures, spare beats, and clear, emotive vocals, singer/songwriter AURORA works in a similar dark pop milieu as artists like Oh Land, Lykke Li, and Lorde. Her debut album, All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend, went to number one in her native Norway upon its release in 2016.

Aksnes first started playing the piano at age six when her older sister tossed it aside. "I missed the sound," she said. "So I went up to the attic and retrieved it." At age nine, when she had a better handle of the English language, she began writing songs. "I like being able to be on the inside of music, rather than on the outside listening to it," Aksnes continued. "It’s like swimming in the ocean, rather than looking at it. I’m so happy I discovered early how wonderful music makes me feel."

Some have compared her to Björk, others to Florence Welch. But Aurora Aksnes has, at just 22 years old, managed to cultivate a style that feels both elaborate and organic, vulnerable and primal. Seeing her perform live in some international stage (like recently in Coachella) or in one of her whimsical videos (her debut album, Running with the Wolves, was released in 2015), you would be excused to think she has created her own sign language – one that complements her ethereal voice and her elfin physique. She has managed to put her own stamp on iconic songs by David Bowie and Oasis, and her latest work, Queendom, just became available on Spotify and iTunes. We recommend you familiarize yourself with her work because she’s clearly destined for great things.

It was in 2012 when Aksnes uploaded a personal song onto Norwegian Soundcloud that she first got discovered. Originally, the track was meant as a Christmas gift for her parents, but it quickly found its way to the ears of an agent.