Herkedal Shares Wild Raspberries & Plum Trees EP

by | Oct 1, 2023

Herkedal is a young artist with a veteran soul. His songs are rich with evocative nostalgia and timeless musicianship, but he also appeals to a contemporary audience to the extent that he won the TV talent contest IDOL in his homeland of Norway. Since that moment, he has stepped away from the spotlight to master his own artistic direction, a process that is today completed as he shares his debut EP Wild Raspberries & Plum Trees. Listen HERE.

Herkedal

Herkedal (Press)
Herkedal (Press)

We’ve previously been beckoned into Herkedal’s world with the singles When Heaven Calls, Rabbit Hole and Weeping Willow. Those three songs have put a spotlight on Herkedal’s inimitable world, a richly textured soundtrack of chamber pop, jazzy flourishes, soul and modern pop, all topped by an idiosyncratic voice which dances from booming baritone to the tenderest of soulful croons within a single phrase. His lyrics are just as distinctive as his music, whether he’s writing an end-of-life symphony for a women he met while working in a care home (When Heaven Calls), daring himself to take a gamble that could change his life (Rabbit Hole) or finding sanctity in sadness (Weeping Willow).

Check out live living room session performance of the EP’s closing track Weeping Willow below:

The EP’s title track and new single Wild Raspberries & Plum Trees is the heart of the project, its luscious, dramatically orchestrated pop transporting us to a sonic safe space as Herkedal’s words conjure images of a beautiful nature environment. And it’s one that has special personal significance to him too.

Herkedal says: “The idea when we started this project was me picturing my grandmother’s garden. She died in 2019 and she lived up in the mountains in the west of Norway. Her garden was filled with fruit trees, wild raspberries and it was a paradise for me and my sisters growing up. So the EP is kind of a picture of my grandmother’s garden, which I really love.”

The EP is completed by another new song in the shape of Beauty In It All. Feeling like the opening to a gothic musical, its slow motion melancholy makes for a haunting first chapter ahead of the more euphoric and flamboyant moments that follow.

Herkedal wrote four of the EP’s songs with producers Kristoffer Lo and Myrtoula Røe. The exception was Weeping Willow, which he co-wrote with producer duo Andrea Louise Horstad and Bjørn Helge Gammelsæter.

Inspired by Nina Simone, Laufey and Sufjan Stevens, Øystein Herkedal was still a teenager when his mix of covers of RY X and Tom Odell with his own originals helped him win over the nation during IDOL. Most artists would have quickly capitalised on such a breakthrough, but Herkedal’s musical passions were a step apart from chart-bound pop. Instead he studied at the prestigious music school LIMPI where mentors include artists such as Dagny and Kiesza as well as acclaimed songwriters and producers such as Fred Ball and Amund Bjørklund. He focused on developing his live band too, leading to a high impact live debut at Vill Vill Vest, which inspired Norwegian tastemakers Gaffa to state, “It is no exaggeration to say that Herkedal has a voice that few in the country can match.” He has since performed at Trondheim Calling and by:Larm.

Shawn Colvin Charms At Union Chapel

Sarah Klang (Fredrika Eriksson)

Sarah Klang Releases New LP Beautiful Woman

Sarah Klang has released her anticipated full-length album, Beautiful Woman. Produced by Eric D. Johnson (Fruit Bats, Bonny Light Horseman), Beautiful Woman sees Sarah use her own lived experiences to unpack the very essence of what it means to be a woman today.

Bryan Adams (Press)

Bryan Adams Drops ‘Roll With The Punches’ Ahead Of UK & Ireland Tour

Bryan Adams has released his brand new song, Roll With The Punches, via his own label, Bad Records. It is the title...
Imagine Dragons @ Hollywood Bowl (Andi Elloway)

Imagine Dragons Bring Hollywood Bowl Spectacle To UK Cinemas

Imagine Dragons fans around the world can experience the GRAMMY® Award-winning rock band’s record-breaking Hollywood Bowl residency like never before on Wednesday, March 26, and Saturday, March 29, courtesy of Trafalgar Releasing.

Bif Naked

Bif Naked Kicks Off 2025 With The Release Of Three Singles

Iconic Canadian artist Beth Nicole Torbert – AKA Bif Naked – is starting 2025 with a bang, simultaneously releasing...
Lake Street Dive @ The Roundhouse (Abigail Shii)

Lake Street Dive Are Better Than Ever At The Roundhouse In London

Boston’s genre-blurring quintet Lake Street Dive brought their signature blend of soul, pop, and jazz-infused rock to a sold out Roundhouse in London’s Camden to promote their GRAMMY®-nominated 8th studio album, Good Together. The “free country” band, who formed back in 2004 by Rachael Price, Mike “McDuck” Olson, Bridget Kearney, and Mike Calabrese brought keyboardist Akie Bermiss into their fold in 2017, allowing for a permanent expansion of their sound.

Black Sabbath Announce Final Show Alongside Metal Royalty!

This morning, at the home of Aston Villa, Sharon Osbourne and Tony Iommi announced that the original Black Sabbath –...
Mark King of Level 42 @ Royal Albert Hall (Kalpesh Patel)

Level 42 Add Extra Shows To ‘World Machine’ 40th Anniversary Tour 2025

Level 42 have announced four extra shows for their  World Machine 40th Anniversary Tour, which will now visit 32 UK...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing