Track Of The Day: Stainwasher – ‘See Thee’

A bittersweet, ambient soundscape inspired by the need to push through seemingly immovable barriers, Swedish songwriter Stainwasher has re-released her single ‘See Thee’. Taken from her debut album The Outer Layer, which she shared earlier this month, the track is a dreamy blend of soft vocals, atmospheric reverb and poetic lyrics that tenderly explore what it feels like to re-frame your thinking.

“I wrote ‘See Thee’ a few years ago, but I was never pleased with the production until this year, and it was such a nice feeling to finally release it,” Stainwasher explains. “An old version of it was actually my most liked song on SoundCloud, however I always felt thought it needed more. The lyrics refer to obstacles that I felt held me back in life, and when I wrote it a couple of years ago, I thought it was me who created these obstacles. Now, I know that they didn’t have to be obstacles at all, only circumstances.”

Acknowledging this growth and slowly building up her emotional resilience helped Stainwasher to shape the sounds that form her debut album. On The Outer Layer, she contrasts her darker emotions with bright, ambient electronics and dreamy reverb, soothing listeners with her elusive, lullaby-esque vocal throughout the record.

“I would say most of the songs are more lo-fi and a bit rawer than before, if you can call something that has a thousand tons of reverb raw,” Stainwasher comments about her new record. “I’ve been listening to a lot of slowcore and some Doom music in recent years, which you probably can tell. I have woven some irony into the lyrics which made me giggle like a creep in my little home studio too.”

Stainwasher’s ability to tap into her “creepy” thoughts and transform them into beguiling, cinematic sounds is what makes listening to her music so enjoyable. On ‘See Thee’ and with her debut album, she continues to showcase her talent as an emerging electronic artist.

Listen to ‘See Thee’ below.

Follow Stainwasher on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Introducing Interview: Raindear

Having previously charmed our ears with the ethereal grace of 2019’s album Skies To My Name, Swedish artist Raindear has returned with an emotive new single. Reflecting on the theme of self-renewal, ‘Howl’ flows with a swirling majestic splendour, as Raindear’s rich, soulful vocals soar alongside glitchy hooks with a driving, impassioned energy.

To celebrate the release of the new single, we caught up with Raindear to find out what inspires her, her honest opinion on the music industry today and her plans for the next few months. Have a read, and the watch the beautiful new live video for ‘Howl’ at the bottom of this feature!

Hi Raindear! Welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself? 
I’m a Swedish artist and producer mostly known for making monumental and majestic art pop. I’m a sucker for beautiful and unique melodies, and I also love tasty things and to take a little swim. 

Are you able to tell us a bit about how and why you initially started creating music? 
I have always created things. I guess it’s just a natural instinct for people like me. Some people need to create or else they will not feel that anything is meaningful at all. I was also born in a family of professional musicians, so making music was just a normal thing that everyone did. I never had to “discover” it on my own and for that I’m very grateful. 

I love your glitchy, soulful sounds, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Thank you! That’s a tricky one. I guess Kate Bush would be one of my main ones through the years. I’ve always listened to her, long before she went viral recently. I’ve also grown up with jazz and impressionism (classical music), so I love that too. Other than that I think influences work in mysterious ways. I get influenced by pretty much everything around me – everything I experience goes through my filter and some things stick with me better than other things. I think when music is your whole life it’s hard to pick specific influences since you get influenced every day by just staying alive; you interpret everything you experience through your musical lens and it’s always possible to make something out of it because art is life and life is art. 

You’ve recently released your latest single ‘Howl’. Are you able to tell us a bit about the single? Are there any particular themes running throughout it?
It’s about massive subconscious feelings that every now and then explode out of my chest. I’ve struggled with many kinds of emotions the last couple of years – ‘Howl’ came out of that and made me feel better briefly. 

How do you feel the industry is for new artists at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the last few years in its treatment of female and queer/LGBTQ+  artists?
I’ve tried to stay positive for so long but I don’t want to fake it anymore, now I want to be real for once. This industry is just incredibly unreasonable, I actually wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. And don’t even get me started on how the industry looks specifically for female and queer/LGBTQ+ artists. Sometimes labels etc pretend that they care about equality, but they definitely don’t. At least not the ones that sit on the money. They care about money and nothing else. Sorry for not bringing too much hope to the table…!

You’re now based in Stockholm – how is the music scene there? Do you feel that the live music community there has fully recovered since the pandemic? 
I think the Stockholm scene is very boring and mostly focused on mainstream pop. I don’t know if the live music scene is fully recovered. In some ways I feel like it is recovered – at least people are excited and out to gigs again. At the same time, the whole system is so broken and the noise is insane. It’s probably harder for the independent ones to get back into some some kind of normality right now. 

And what can fans expect from a Raindear live show? 
Heavy and colourful stuff in every possible way!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other upcoming artists or bands you’re loving right now that you’d recommend we check out?
My friend Bonander is insanely talented and makes very cool music. 

What does the rest of the year have in store for Raindear?
I’m performing at Rough Trade East on August 31st – come!! I’m also releasing a second single in August. And performing in Montreal in Canada October.

Massive thanks to Raindear for answering our questions! Watch the beautiful new live video for ‘Howl’ here:

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EP: Cuntrie – ‘Scrapbooking’

“Everything I write needs to be true, because I don’t like to lie”, confesses Cuntrie (aka Ebba Gustafsson Ågren) about her debut EP, Scrapbooking. Released via Feverish on 22nd January, the Swedish indie musician embraces both the silly and the serious on her first offering under her new moniker.

Best known for fronting Swedish duo Wy, Ågren’s solo work explores more quirky, personal themes through a combination of witty lyrics, sweet vocals, and minimalist synth textures. Opening track ‘Spider’ is an ideal display of this, as she extrapolates about her phobia of a small arachnid over glitchy beats, prompting her to reflect on the deeper fears of losing control, and trying to stay calm.

On the brief ‘Hamster Cancer’, twinkling keys intertwine with ominous synths to help relive the pain left behind by the loss of a beloved pet. It’s a dark subject to lament about, but Cuntrie’s emotive vocals make her reflections feel soft and poignant. “I always thought that you were cool / just wanted to know more about you” she muses on penultimate track ‘The Singer’. Lo-fi beats and lush, longing vocals blend cooly together here, making it one of the strongest tracks on the EP.

Her gentle exploration of toxic masculinity on closing track ‘Oh Boy’ is especially touching. Cuntrie paints a picture with her lyrics of the stereotypical strong, silent man who is afraid to be emotional. With the simple repeated refrain “Men don’t want to fight / they just want to cry”, she effortlessly dismantles these pressures over slow, tentative beats.

Cuntrie’s debut EP certainly has the quality of a scrapbook. It’s a nostalgic, raw, genuine collection of reflections, fears, and anticipations that have a personal, yet universal quality. Her eccentric approach to songwriting makes Scrapbooking a refreshing, truly enjoyable listen.

Cuntrie’s debut EP Scrapbooking is released on 22nd Jan via Feverish.
Follow Cuntrie on Facebook & Spotify for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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VIDEO PREMIERE: Coral – ‘You’re Not Worth A Song But You Still Got One’

Expressing a sentiment that many an upset heart can relate to, Swedish newcomer Coral has shared visuals for her new track ‘You’re Not Worth A Song But You Still Got One’. The song is a b-side to her recent single ‘Find Me Wrong’, and the video is an intense two minute close-up of the artist silently processing her emotions in the shower.

Coral (aka Miranda Coral Engholm) grew up in Österlen in Sweden, but she originally has roots in Argentina and Stockholm. She began making music after she graduated from high school, and uses her songwriting to explore her own emotions.

Despite its brief duration, ‘You’re Not Worth A Song But You Still Got One’ is a poignant reflection on reluctance and divisions in feeling. The track’s sparse nature is reflected in the intimate visuals that accompany it, and the use of trickling water in both video and sound gives the track a tangible quality.

Speaking about her lyricism, Coral explains further: “I like the intimacy of it. Sometimes when I listen to a song, it can feel like a complete stranger is suddenly standing in my living room talking about something really personal. I can feel closely connected to that person even though I’m just listening to a recording…Like someone wrote it in their diary and it just happened to rhyme.”

Coral’s confessional songwriting is sure to strike a chord with tracks like this. Watch the video for ‘You’re Not Worth A Song But You Still Got One’ below, and follow Coral on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: Ebba G. Ågren

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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