We profi le fi ve of the hottest
artists who are climbing
the charts, breaking the
Internet or just dominating
our oi ce stereos...SOUNDS LIKE:Norse folk ballads served
ontherocks.Talesoveravarietyof
synth claps, trills and other electron-
ic curios
FORFANSOF:Of Monsters and Men,
Lorde, Sia
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY ATTENTION:Like
many budding pop stars, 19-year-old
NorwegianAuroraAksneswasfirstdis-
coveredonlineafterpostingheroriginal
songs on Soundcloud and Youtube. She’s
sincebeensignedtoGlassnoteinthe
StatesandDeccaintheUK,andhasgone
on to sell out shows in London, where she
scored the opening slot for Icelandic pop
titans Of Monsters and Men. Across the
pond she won over Katy Perry, who vis-
ited Aurora backstage after her show in
LosAngeles.“Shewasn’twearingher
usual dresses or make-up, she was very
lovely and down-to-earth,” says Aksnes.
“Itmustbestrangebeingthatfamous.”
Her debut album,All My Demons Greet-
ingMeasaFriend,isoutnow.
SHE SAYS:“Ilivebythesea.Weusealot
of field recordings and samples from the
oceanandfromrainydays.”Delicatesin-
gle“MurderSong(5,4,3,2,1)”isapartic-
ularly grim introduction to her album, in
whichshesingsfromtheperspectiveofa
murder victim who embraces her mur-
derer. “Lots of songs aren’t even from my
experiences, but they’re about accept-
ing...thedarkthingsaboutyourself,”
says Aksnes.
HEAR FOR YOURSELF:“Conqueror” is an
upbeat song for the modern Viking girl
who bemoans the timidness of her love
prospects. SUZY EXPOSITOAURORA
46 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com May, 2016