“Bonander‘s sound is used as a way to challenge our ownperception of patriachy and gender conformity.”/ / High Clouds
“…with lavish string parts and icy-like synthesizer hooks, Bonander’s appreciationto develop her music against the norm is something to admire.”// It’s All Indie
“A protest epic against the alt-right… sounds like if you got in touchwith a woodland witch to cast a hex on Donald Trump.” // High Snobiety
“A beautiful slow burner that builds and builds,climaxing with her angelic vocals” // The 405
Dark pop artist Bonander sings about fear in new single “Then I’m Dead”.
Bonander’s music carries a prominent darkness that leaves no one untouched. From a feministic and norm-critical perspective, heavy topics are conveyed through beautiful lyricism and melodic playfulness within challenging electronic soundscapes. Last summer Bonander released the single ‘Annie’. Written as an epic it tells the story of Annie Oakley who was one of the first and by far the most skilled American snipers, and also happened to be a woman. Continuing into 2020 Bonander releases ‘Martha’, based on the protagonist of the book ’Lay Down Your Arms’ written by Bertha von Suttner, the first woman ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The story follows the peace activist Martha, who tries to get the men she loves to refuse war in a male-dominated everyday life.
Now, keeping true to the mystical and poetic storytelling that’s surrounding her, Bonander displays a more fragile side of her songwriting with the new single “Then I’m Dead”. The song is an honest description of one of the songwriters biggest fears, the lyrics speaking for itself. Bonander explains: “We create this absurd demand for us all to post a perfect exterior on social media, create our dream life, and that nothing is impossible as long as you work really hard. But that’s the point: things are impossible sometimes, and that’s OK. And there is this human worth in everyone, despite how many hours a day you work, or how flawless you instagram profile is.”
Arranged for pump organ and string quartet, an organic and fragile sound texture is laid before us. The delicate arrangement meeting intimate lyrics creates a dream like quality, but one that doesn’t feel quite safe. Like a soft breeze steadily growing into a restless storm. Bonander tells us: “You can hear the treading that keeps the organ alive. In the string quartet I tried to fashion the idea of a machine that builds up into this train of semiquavers, like a machine that gets stuck on repeat. I had real fun working with these instruments.”
‘Then I’m Dead’ is released on August 21, 2020 as download and streaming via Icons Creating Evil Art.
D I S C O V E R
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bonandermusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bonandermusic/
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30567de
