LEIF captures essence of scandinavian melancholy in new video

“Scandinavian melancholy is the yearning for something you never had, the longing for that which never happened” . - LEIF

With New Beat LEIF paints a quintessential picture of Scandinavian melancholy; those ​ long, bright summer nights full of hope, which end up with you going home alone, again. The video is a vivid story of friendship, attraction and longing set in an archetypal Oslo nightscape. Two young guys have an instant connection and everything looks set for a perfect summer evening, right up until the girlfriend of one of them shows up unexpectedly.

- Everyone has gone home alone through the city one light summer night and felt that unmistakable sense of longing. We pine for someone, something. It’s that nagging ache amongst all the beauty of life and living. Sometimes we get what we want...but most often we don’t.

Watch the video for New Beat here

Hailing from , on the rainy west coast of (home of luminaries like Röyksopp, , Datarock and Aurora) LEIF had his breakthrough in 2011 making the final of the Urørt competition and radio-listing on NRK P3 as the front figure of the band Leif & ​ ​ The Future. The debut Songs of Youth was extremely well received, with 5/6 in ​ ​ Dagbladet. Now he’s ready with his eagerly awaited debut solo album - Scandinavian ​ ​ Melancholy. ​

- I’ve explored themes such as feelings of longing, a conservative Christian background, intimacy and bisexuality - in a Scandinavian context. I had a good upbringing, but much of my own melancholy derives from feelings of loss, things I never got to experience. It’s not necessarily too late, but the time that’s lost you’ll never get back.

The Lisbon-based artist launched his solo project LEIF in the winter of 2016 between literature ​ studies and concert tours. The debut single Boys Who Want Love was immediately listed by ​ NRK P13 and stayed there for over 6 months. Accompanying the single was a self-produced book with visual and literary remixes, featuring Edy Poppy and Falck (Betrayel Junkie, NKVO) to mention just two.

The single New Beat is released together with a music video on March 16, and leads up to the ​ ​ album Scandinavian Melancholy which comes out on April 18, 2018. The album was produced ​ ​ together with Daniel Tjäder (Korallreven, Radio Dept.), in , Berlin and a wintergarden in Oslo. LEIF also delves into the themes visually, with over 200 collages displayed via his Instagram account @scandinavian_melancholy with 13,5k followers, which will also be a physical exhibition during the album release period.

Listen to the single here: New Beat ​

For more information, contact: PR: [email protected] ​ ​ Label: Popklubb / [email protected] ​ ​

Press-kit

“So dance-y and vulnerable that your heart beats twice as many popbeats per minute in pure happiness.” Julie Pettersen (Dagbladet)

“LEIF creates songs about lost love and intense hunger for live, and sounds like a yearning literature student who stumbles out of a techno club in Berlin at 5 o’clock in the morning.” Gaute Tenold Aase (Anti/Grand People)

"...a pulsating Balearic anthem straight out of the ‘90s.” ​ Andrew Hannah (The Line of Best Fit)

“Both upbeat and danceable, it’s exactly what a comeback like this calls for!” Matt Pendrill (Indie Current)