Biography
Susanne Sundfør, a Norwegian singer and songwriter, has earned broad praise across her native country and select parts of Europe for her steadily inventive blend of experimental pop, chamber folk, electronica, jazz, and classical music. Alternating between a more organic, piano-centered approach and sweeping synth pop, she reached the top of the Norwegian charts with 2010's The Brothel and matched that achievement on each of her following three albums. Her ambitious 2015 release Ten Love Songs marked a breakthrough and extended her reach to the U.K. charts. In the same stretch she began a continuing partnership with electronic duo Röyksopp that placed her voice on multiple tracks, while her own output turned sparser and more folk-oriented with 2017's Music for People in Trouble. Her sixth album, Blómi, appeared in 2023 and marked another turn, this time toward a fusion of jazz, classical, and precisely crafted pop carrying a pronounced philosophical emphasis.
Born in the coastal city of Haugesund, Sundfør started violin and piano lessons in childhood before adding vocal training. After finishing high school she performed in regional venues and first drew nationwide attention in 2005 when she toured as support for British artist Tom McRae. Her recorded debut arrived in 2007 via an eponymous album on the indie imprint Your Favourite Music, which unexpectedly climbed to number three on the pop charts. A live set of acoustic renditions from that debut followed in 2008 and coincided with a Spellemannprisen Award for Best Female Performance—the Norwegian counterpart to a Grammy—which she publicly declined upon receipt, citing the awards body's reliance on gendered categories. After relocating to Oslo she joined EMI and cut her next studio effort. Departing from the folk leanings of her first record, 2010's The Brothel brought a sleeker, more experimental electronic palette that hit number one and outsold every other Norwegian release that year. Capitalizing on the momentum, Sundfør issued the all-instrumental side project A Night at Salle Pleyel in 2011, built from music commissioned by the Oslo Jazzfestival for its 25th Anniversary. Her third album, 2012's The Silicone Veil, displayed heightened ambition through dominant strands of Baroque pop and icy electronic music; it also became her second straight chart-topper. Later that year she joined veteran Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp for vocals on "Running to the Sea" and a cover of Depeche Mode's "Ice Machine." Other partnerships from the period included "Oblivion" with French band M83, featured on the soundtrack to the science fiction film of the same name.
Sundfør had already gained some U.K. traction with The Silicone Veil, yet it was her fourth album, 2015's Ten Love Songs, that widened her international profile. Issued by Warner Norway, the ambitious collection merged classical scale with frosty Nordic synth pop and lyrics probing the darker, more violent dimensions of passion and relationships. Another Norwegian number one, it drew sweeping critical acclaim, landed on numerous year-end "best-of" lists, and charted in the U.K. and Sweden. Further work with Röyksopp and M83 followed in the ensuing year while Sundfør briefly moved to London to compose her next record. Largely setting aside the synth pop of her prior three releases, she returned to a more organic folk idiom on 2017's Music for People in Trouble, a haunting and anxious set built around her crystalline vocals and piano work. Her fourth consecutive number one, it came out on U.K. label Bella Union and included a guest turn from American singer/songwriter John Grant on the closing track "Mountaineers." A year later she released the companion concert recording Music for People in Trouble: Live from the Barbican, captured in London.
In 2022 she resumed her Röyksopp partnership as featured vocalist on several tracks from the expansive three-album series Profound Mysteries. The return to electronics proved brief, however, as her subsequent solo project continued favoring experimental piano-led pop. Released in 2023, the wildly ambitious Blómi examined themes of love, loss, optimism, and rebirth across a backdrop spanning gospel and soul to musique concrète and lush chamber pop. Shifting between English and Old Norse, Sundfør also incorporated spoken-word passages reflecting on healing and spirituality.
Born in the coastal city of Haugesund, Sundfør started violin and piano lessons in childhood before adding vocal training. After finishing high school she performed in regional venues and first drew nationwide attention in 2005 when she toured as support for British artist Tom McRae. Her recorded debut arrived in 2007 via an eponymous album on the indie imprint Your Favourite Music, which unexpectedly climbed to number three on the pop charts. A live set of acoustic renditions from that debut followed in 2008 and coincided with a Spellemannprisen Award for Best Female Performance—the Norwegian counterpart to a Grammy—which she publicly declined upon receipt, citing the awards body's reliance on gendered categories. After relocating to Oslo she joined EMI and cut her next studio effort. Departing from the folk leanings of her first record, 2010's The Brothel brought a sleeker, more experimental electronic palette that hit number one and outsold every other Norwegian release that year. Capitalizing on the momentum, Sundfør issued the all-instrumental side project A Night at Salle Pleyel in 2011, built from music commissioned by the Oslo Jazzfestival for its 25th Anniversary. Her third album, 2012's The Silicone Veil, displayed heightened ambition through dominant strands of Baroque pop and icy electronic music; it also became her second straight chart-topper. Later that year she joined veteran Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp for vocals on "Running to the Sea" and a cover of Depeche Mode's "Ice Machine." Other partnerships from the period included "Oblivion" with French band M83, featured on the soundtrack to the science fiction film of the same name.
Sundfør had already gained some U.K. traction with The Silicone Veil, yet it was her fourth album, 2015's Ten Love Songs, that widened her international profile. Issued by Warner Norway, the ambitious collection merged classical scale with frosty Nordic synth pop and lyrics probing the darker, more violent dimensions of passion and relationships. Another Norwegian number one, it drew sweeping critical acclaim, landed on numerous year-end "best-of" lists, and charted in the U.K. and Sweden. Further work with Röyksopp and M83 followed in the ensuing year while Sundfør briefly moved to London to compose her next record. Largely setting aside the synth pop of her prior three releases, she returned to a more organic folk idiom on 2017's Music for People in Trouble, a haunting and anxious set built around her crystalline vocals and piano work. Her fourth consecutive number one, it came out on U.K. label Bella Union and included a guest turn from American singer/songwriter John Grant on the closing track "Mountaineers." A year later she released the companion concert recording Music for People in Trouble: Live from the Barbican, captured in London.
In 2022 she resumed her Röyksopp partnership as featured vocalist on several tracks from the expansive three-album series Profound Mysteries. The return to electronics proved brief, however, as her subsequent solo project continued favoring experimental piano-led pop. Released in 2023, the wildly ambitious Blómi examined themes of love, loss, optimism, and rebirth across a backdrop spanning gospel and soul to musique concrète and lush chamber pop. Shifting between English and Old Norse, Sundfør also incorporated spoken-word passages reflecting on healing and spirituality.
Albums
blómi
2023
Music for People in Trouble
2017
Ten Love Songs
2015
Fade Away Remixes
2014
The Silicone Veil
2012
A Night at Salle Pleyel
2011
The Brothel
2010
Take One
2008
Susanne Sundfør
2007
Singles
