Aurora Aksnes is a Norwegian record producer, songwriter, and singer. She was born on 15 June 1996 in Stavanger. She released her first debut EP in 2015 called running with the Wolves, and it was released through Decca Records. The debut received approval from the national press and online music blogs.

Aurora’s music is characterized by sophisticated, emotional, and dreamy pop, although they are still direct and catchy. For the instrumental sections, there are folk, orchestral, and electronic elements. She is compared to popular individuals such as Emiliani Torrini, Lana Del Rey, and Suzanne Sundfor.

Early Life of Aurora

Aurora spent the first three years of her life in Hole, where both her parents had lived for about 15 years. It is in that town that she developed a taste for traditional clothing, singing, and nature, which makes her a beautiful woman, just like the other Norwegian women. Later, her family relocated to Western Norway, a house in Os mountains woodlands. She describes the place as where, “There are almost no cars, and the roads are small and bumpy, and there are lots of trees everywhere, it’s very quiet, and the internet is bad.”

Western Norway

She has two other sisters, Viktoria (fashion designer) and Miranda (make-up artist). Her love for music made her commence creating melodies at years old and even started writing lyrics when she was nine.

Career of Aurora

All my demons greeting me as a friend (2012-2016)

The first two tracks of Aurora were “Puppet” and “Awakening,” and they were released in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The first single that she released made her be signed in Decca Records and Glassnoe Records. Other songs such as “Under Stars” and “Runaway” were also released in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and the second single titled “Running with the Wolves” was released in April 2015.

Aurora has appeared in some of the summer festivals, including the Green Man Festival, Wilderness, and Way out West. Besides, it was in September 2015 that she released the third single called “Murder Song,” and it received support from the national radio, popular music blogs, and national press. In 2015, “All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend” debut album was released, and it got positive reviews.

Infections of a Different Kind – Step 1 (2016-2018)

While releasing the first album, Aurora said that it was the first of the many albums that she would release. After coming from the European tour, Aurora said that she was ready to write and produce more material. In 2018, Aurora released two singles, “Queendom” as well as “Forgotten Love,” in April and August, and they were part of the second album.

Although Aurora maintained some of the stories and themes in the previous album, the second album included sexuality and political themes. The new inspirations in her second album came from the interactions she previously had in the initial musical tour. Therefore, Aurora released her second album titled “Infections of a Different Kind – Step 1” on 28 September 2018.

A Different Kind of Human – Step 2 (2019- present)

Aurora released four tracks before releasing the third album. The four tracks include “Animal,” “The Seed,” “The River,” and “A Different Kind of Human” on 24 January, April, 10 May as well as 31 May, respectively. The album titled A Different Kind of Human – Step 2 was later released on 7 June 2019, and it had 11 songs.

On 2019 11 June, her vocals were featured in Frozen 2. Besides, on 13 March 2020, she collaborated with Gundelach in releasing a single, “Cynical Mind.” Currently, she has an upcoming album that is expected to be released in 2022. It will be her fourth album, which will be a major turning point because she would have achieved more as compared to other musicians or even people her age.

Artistry of Aurora

Musical Style

Music is the only language everyone across the globe can understand. Aurora’s music consists of folk-pop, dark pop, electro-pop synth-pop, Nordic-folk, and art-pop. She is also a curious artist and poetic author of the art-pop.

Different people describe her music style in unique ways. For instance, Mathias Rosenzweig considers her “Scandinavia’s newest dark pop prodigy” as she also loves Nordic folklore. Besides, in the Guardian, Michael Craag describes her as “dark electro-pop,” while Jessica Fynn of Clash magazine defines her as an “alt-pop aesthete.”

Influences

The people Aurora mentions as her influences like Kate Bush, Björk Guðmundsdóttir, Underworld, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Enya Patricia Brennan. She also loves the Scandinavian metal bands and Davie Bowie. However, her favorite band is Gojira.

Likes and Dislikes

Aurora is bisexual and loves dogs. Besides, her favorite places on the globe are every forest and mountain. Apart from that, she is a pescatarian and loves fantasy books, The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter being her favorites. During free days, Aurora drinks tea and paints, and she also has favorite snacks, including carrots and chocolates.

As opposed to her peers, Aurora dislikes hugging, and at some point, she said, “I used to be terrified of people who wanted to hug me.” Her deepest fear is the sun, and she is also an introvert who is scared of people, although she is not bothered with what they think about her. Among the songs she has released, her favorites are “Infections of a Different Kind,” “Soulless Creatures,” and “The Seed.” She also hates coffee and heat.

Aurora’s Awards and Nominations

Although Aurora has been nominated for several awards, some of them that she won include EBBA Awards ’16 (2015), and the award was Album of the Year: Norway, and her work was Running with the Wolves.

The other awards that she won in 2015 were Årets Nykommer, or rather Newcomer of the Year, and Gramo Scholarship, while the awarding organization was Spellemannprisen ’15.

In 2016, she won three awards, including Silver Creator Awards, Årets Norske Album, and Popsolist, and the awarding institutions were YouTube Creator Awards and GAFFA-Prisen, respectively, while the work was All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend.

In 2017, she won the Årets Musikkvideo or Music Video of the Year, the awarding institution was Spellemannprisen ‘16, and Aurora’s work was “I Went Too Far.”