“I had to be naked and honest and say
than where that came from, although more happy songs are in there somewhere. The first album had a lot of nostalgic melancholy in its songs, and there are definitely sadder songs I’m writing now, but they’re uplifting. ‘Oh, the world is shit, but we’re gonna have a good time’, you know?” It’s this mindset that makes MØ so refreshing; refusing to be ground down by anything or anyone, she’s transmitted her resilience in the form of a pristine pop song. Ørsted remains tight-lipped on how the rest of the album is shaping up, but emphasises her confidence in herself to take her time and not rush to meet peoples’ calls for her next step. “There’s always pressure. Of course it’s going to be different, and of course someone somewhere will say ‘oh this
EMØJI!
What better way to track MØ’s brilliant year than with, er, emoji? MARCH: MØ sings on Major Lazer and DJ Snake’s ‘Lean On’, since revealed to be the most streamed song of all time on Spotify. AUGUST: MØ enters the studio to work on her second album. SEPTEMBER:
MØ watched the total lunar eclipse (probably - tbh we just wanted an excuse to use the best emoji of all). OCTOBER: We’re all taken to the party with the release of new single ‘Kamikaze’. DECEMBER: She performs ‘New Year’s Eve’ and ‘Lean On’ at the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo. Ph oto: A b i Da i nto n
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first album was only made with one producer, and every song I wrote in that time ended up on the album,” she remembers. “This time, I think I’ve made thirty or forty songs, and have the options now to narrow these down. It’s a different process, but I think you need to try different ways - that’s how you get inspired. It’s only my second album.”
what I wanted
to say.” The idea that her upcoming album is only her second almost makes it remarkable as to both how far MØ has come since the release of ‘No Mythologies...’ and how level-headed she’s remaining while so quickly becoming one of the world’s most in-demand vocalists. ‘Kamikaze’, the as-yet-untitled new album’s barnstorming first single, sets out the intentions of a world-beater, taking the sometimes gloom-tinged pop of ‘No Mythologies To Follow’ and showing it a good time. Album two isn’t going to be all “take me to a party” though, warns Ørsted. “’Kamikaze’ is a very happy song,” she explains, “but I feel like things get a little sadder
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isn’t what I expected, this isn’t like [old song]’, but I feel like I’m really being myself and I’m not trying to disguise anything, and therefore I feel confident in terms of being honest in my work. I think it would be worse if I was trying to put up something to try and change my image, and I feel like I’m being truthful in the songs, so that’s a good start.” Despite still being so early in her career, MØ’s already using her experiences in writing and releasing ‘No Mythologies To Follow’ to work out any internal issues with her songwriting process, which she’s now taking
on board. “One of my problems as a songwriter sometimes is that I over-complicate things. I’m going for simplicity. It’s the hardest thing to make something simple though; it’s got to be fucking brilliant if it’s gonna last.” The overwhelming success of ‘Lean On’ has led to a mountain of pressure falling on MØ’s next step, but her insistence in remaining loyal to herself and not playing characters indicates her new album will be nothing if not true. “[Writing is] my therapy. It’s something I do because I need to. It’s my way of knowing myself. The songs come because they have to.” With this outlook, when the songs do come later this year, “fucking brilliant” shouldn’t be a problem. MØ’s as-yet-untitled new album is out later this year. DIY