COVID-19 Blues? Danish newcomer AAGAARD says ‘Don’t Take Me Home’

Danish newcomer AAGAARD debuts with his single ‘Don’t Take Me Home’, exhibiting a lush pop sound that integrates the best elements of electro-soul and alt-pop. Conjuring the same bedroom producer aesthetics as Tom Misch and Jordan Rakei, AAGAARD reveals himself to be reminiscent of such acts while maintaining his own unique identity. The elusive producer’s style embraces a wallflower-esque resistance to typical pop music as he layers jazz, electronic, disco and R&B undertones together in this inspired debut.

The track weaves varying levels of energy, setting intimate vocals and laid-back guitar licks atop a backdrop of pulsating synth and bass. AAGAARD’s impressive production style can appeal to both dance lovers and an indie audience, with even a nod to a darker R&B form. The multi-instrumentalist producer also flexes his capabilities as a singer on this debut, teaming up with vocalists Jess Maddox and Nica Rae. The result is a collage of smoothly blended harmonies and unique vocal riffs that complement throughout.

In particular, the sultry vocals and introspective lyrical narrative of Jess Maddox is an inspired addition. The twenty-one-year-old defies her youth with a poetic and emotional maturity that recalls the otherworldly vibes of artists like Maggie Rogers. Her words realise the track as a provocative, brooding rhapsody of solitude and self-reflection. Outlining the motivations to the track, Maddox states that it was inspired by “the sense of freedom I experience driving through the mountains of my hometown in the US, and ultimately it’s about the individual coping mechanisms we each have in times of stress.”

AAGAARD and Maddox met randomly in a Copenhagen supermarket and soon bonded over their love for music. These two artists instantly knew they had to collaborate once they heard each other’s vocals and they used their ying-yang musical chemistry to create a string of tracks over a few short weeks. ‘Don’t Take Me Home’ is just the first taste of AAGAARD’s forthcoming EP, expected to arrive in late 2020. The distinctive blend of pop and electronica displayed on ‘Don’t Take Me Home’ is a triumph for these exciting new talents and we can’t wait to hear more.