MØ
HOME TOWN: Ejlstrup, Denmark SOUNDS LIKE:
Feisty electro-pop with a punk attitude FOR FANS OF:
Twin Shadow, Grimes and Pussy Riot LISTEN TO: When you need a kick of conviction – before a date, getting ready for a night out, gearing up to ask your boss for a pay rise
MAJOR MOMENT: This summer's collaboration with Justin Bieber and Major Lazer on the track Cold Water STANDOUT TRACK: Final Song THE CONVERSATION: Age seven, Karen Marie Ørsted Anderson, better known as MØ, discovered the Spice Girls and decided she wanted to be a pop star. ‘I wasn’t from a musical family but I was determined to be exactly like them.’
Growing up in a small town west of Copenhagen, the 28 year old knew she couldn’t conform to conventions: ‘I saw bands with perfectly choreographed performances and I was so awkward, I couldn’t do that’. Instead MØ started a punk band called MOR. ‘Playing with the band I learned to just say, “Screw that, you can let go and be weird.”’
In 2013, she went solo and released her debut EP Bikini Daze. Evocative of early Lana Del Rey with the defiance of Pussy Riot, she immediately garnered attention. Next came duets with Major Lazer, Iggy Azalea, Avicii, and this year, Justin Bieber – ‘I only met Justin one time but it was crazy. I mean, it’s Bieber!’ – followed by her second studio album Kamikaze produced by Diplo, out this October.
Despite big chart success, MØ still refuses to conform. ‘I love pop music, but you need to give it some personality otherwise why bother doing it? I would never make a pop song that sounded just like an echo of everything that’s already going on. That’s just too boring.’
She sees now as a great time to be a woman in music. ‘There’s so much focus on women as victims in this industry and I’m like, “No! Women are doing great! Universities are full of women, there are so many women in music and so many more arriving.”’ Her next challenge is to get a raspy voice now that she’s quit smoking. ‘My voice got too angelic. I want that rawness, that’s what characterises me. I’ve got to find a way to do that.’