Add in some sumptuously soothing vocals and you have a singer who is firmly in her own lane. Falling in love with pop music at the age of seven, it was the girl power message from her favourite band growing up that set the Spice Girls fan on the path to pursue music full time. At 18, she formed the electro-pop punk band Mor, travelling across Europe. “We played all kinds of squats, weird places, everywhere. It was so much fun.” MØ’s first EP Bikini Daze featured commentary on her native Denmark’s current youth culture while also featuring the track XXX 88 co-produced with Diplo. On working with Mad Decent beatmaker, Major Lazer she says, “I was interviewed and they asked me who my dream collab was, and I said Major Lazer. So a conversation started on the internet, we hooked up when they played in Amsterdam, and started collaborating. It was very, very cool. I’m very honoured.” We caught up with MØ just before the release of her debut album, No Mythologies To Follow, which is out now on Chess/ RCA.
You were in bands before going solo. What’s the difference between Mor and MØ?
This is a lot more electronic than before, a lot more experimental. It makes much more sense live, I would say. My favourite part of doing this is the live side, it’s like I’m taken over by someone else when I hit the stage – possessed you could say (laughs)! I’d say it’s electro pop, but very melodic and soulful. It’s my favourite sound that I’ve done so far!
You used to rap, right? Ever tempted to pick the mic back up?
Oh dear, is that still floating around?! It was when I fell in love with hip hop, something in me thought, “hey, I could do this,” so I did. For me, as an artist, I think you have to experiment. If you stick with one sound and one way of working, how will you ever progress? I was always into the West Coast rap, the production and the flows were always more appealing to me. I think my rapping days are over though.
What are you working on at the moment and what’s coming up this year?
The album is just about to come out, which is so exciting and I’m with Sony now, which is beyond my wildest dreams. It still feels very weird to be walking into their buildings but I couldn’t be happier. Everything has always been so organic for me; I have no idea what I would be doing if it wasn’t for music. Music forever!
No Mythologies To Follow is out now on Chess Club/RCA.
Credits
Text Zainab Jama