Swedish producer LonelyTwin just released her cover of MGMT’s āElectric Feel,ā and without discounting the magic of the original, this version is a masterpiece.Ā
The track creeps in with an unassuming groove, synths decorating the soundscape before rich, airy vocals dominate the vibe. That familiar chorus hangs in silence as the production drops to reveal the voice weāve connected to alone with a guitar. The song grows with a quiet yet whimsical originality, sparkling intuitively arranged odds and ends. As easy going as the track is, it bears movement that is delicate yet strong in its simplicity.Ā Ā
LonelyTwin is the brainchild of Madelene Eliasson, who grew up in the wooded suburbs of Stockholm, Sweden. As the youngest child, she was given space to get lost in her own world, which found her alone with one of the many instruments scattered around the home. Progressing quickly, Eliasson went to a high school for guitar, but credits the prestigious Musikmakarna school for further inspiration. Now, she wears all the hats as a singer, songwriter, and producer.Ā
LonelyTwin creates inventive trip-hop and evocative electronic folk that subtly slides between blue mood and hard-earned joy. Sheās had many past lives as a musician, including being half of the pop songwriting/production team MAD FUN (Le Youth, SHY Martin). Eliasson also teamed up with Jonathan Olofsson as Jo&Me, whose cover of Drake’s “Too Good” racked up blogosphere love in 2017.
We caught up with the dynamic dichotomy that is LonelyTwin to find out what makes her so electric:
Your music is effortless and such a refresher! What is one thing you always have to have by you when writing or producing?
Thank you!! For sure a guitar, Itās my go to for everything. I get most of my ideas from there, rhythmic, chords or even synth stuff.
Growing up playing organic instruments, how did your skills in production develop?
I was always really into production as well but it was a slower process. My dad taught me the basics in garage band when i was like 13 and then i just tried to learn new stuff on youtube. But canāt say that i really got good at it until i started a music school here in sweden. There i got a lot of awesome new friends that were great so i learned a lot from them.
Your music has been described as electronic folk. Do you always blend real instruments with programming? Do you ever prefer to just use one or the other?
I think I always do actually. I just love when those two worlds combine and I always have. But some of my favorite albums ever are all organic/analog. For example āI Forget Where We Whereā by Ben Howard. So i would love to try that one day, but i just donāt really have the resources for that now. It would be a whole different process.
There are plenty of textures in your music, making it so visual. Are you visual? If so, what kinds of imagery do you see in your music?
That makes me happy to hear that you think that! Iām actually not that visual when i write, probably more overly emotional haha
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Whatās the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Iām terrible in the morning cause iām so bad at getting up… So itās usually a slow start. I try to make morning plans to change my habits but I always end up canceling them. Then i walk to the studio. Work, play some ping pong with my friend who also works there, work some more. Itās so dark and cold now in sweden so thereās not much more to do.
What is your favorite childhood memory?
I think playing with my dog as a kid. I used to dress him up in my clothes and he would always let me.
What do you hope others feel when they listen to your music?
I guess i just hope that people can relate to it. And that it feels a lot, whatever the feeling is. If that makes sense?
Describe where the name LonelyTwin came from, and how it relates to you as a person?
My star sign is a gemini/twin, iām not super into that but I kind of liked how the words have opposite feelings to me and i think it went well with the project. I can have trouble expressing how i feel and that can be lonely sometimes. But i get to do that in my music so it resonated with me.
CONNECT WITH LONELYTWIN:
story / Ariana Tibi
photos / Hedda Selder / @heddaselder
