Photo: Per Kristiansen
Everyone knows Scandinavia, and particularly Sweden, is a hub for excellent pop music and newcomers NONONO have proved they are better at it than most. The three-piece are currently causing huge waves of excitement with their debut single 'Pumping Blood' - and with good reason.
Working with producers Astma and Rocwell, frontwoman Stina Wappling reveals that Swedish culture has been instrumental in their ability to tap into pop sensibilities and develop a sound that fits into the current music scene.
"Swedish people are quite trend sensitive into clothes and all kinds of stuff like that," says Stina. "I think that’s something that’s quite active in being picky and trying to make a good song, which is in the Swedish, trend-sensitive nature."
NONONO’s debut single ‘Pumping Blood’, set for release in September, is proof that Swedish people make great music. It showcases the band’s talent for an electro infused-punchy pop - and even boasts the most memorable pop riff since M83's iconic 'Midnight City' - although Wappling warns early fans that not all of their tracks have the same uplifting sound.
"I think most of our music is a little bit less upbeat as ‘Pumping Blood’, but I think in most of the songs that even if there is a bit of melancholic, there is still hopefulness to each of them," says Stina.
Watch the video for 'Pumping Blood' below:
The three-piece met through mutual friends and wrote music for two years whilst Stina was studying psychology in the UK. But despite her training, she finds it's the boys who keep her head together - not the other way around.
"The guys have been in the music industry for more than 10 years so they take care of me if I get overwhelmed. We got to know each other really well before NONONO formed; it was really fun to get to travel with your really good friends and do new and exciting things together. We’re good friends, we like making music and its important that our hearts are in it ," she muses.
Stina still works part time as a psychologist nurse in a hospital when she’s not working in NONONO. "I would really like to keep juggling the two because I really enjoy both," she says. "But I haven’t worked there for three weeks as we’ve had a lot of different things on."
Listen to track 'Like the Wind' here:
Despite the whirlwind of the past year and everything that is set to come (we reckon 'Pumping Blood' has No.1 written all over it), Stina addresses the importance of handling the demands of their growing success and acclaim as a band.
"All three of us are good at keeping out feet on the ground, just talking to each other and trying to spend time in the studio," she says. "It’s just about making music and we like making music and not getting too wrapped up in anything else."
NONONO’s single 'Pumping Blood' is set for September release in the UK.
