22-year-old Norwegian Jakob Ogawa has a delicate, soulful voice. It lends him a litheness that other singer-songwriters of his ilk might not have. Take, for example, the recent single “You and I,” where he bends his vocal into a falsetto that sounds like a helium’d Sade, or the 2017 track “Let It Pass,” where he adopts the dazed timbre of psych-pop contemporaries Nick Allbrook or Mac Demarco. This versatility has allowed Ogawa to place himself as an auteur of small-scale musical vignettes that traverse everything from indie rock to straight-up dance pop, all tied together by his distinctive and flexible voice. Today, The FADER is premiering “April,” the title track of Ogawa's new EP, out tomorrow, and another charming refraction of Ogawa’s style. Clean and warm, “April,” with its lilting piano and airy synths, recalls 70s singer-songwriter classics.
"The EP is all about relationships. “Atari Acid” is in many ways the first part of the story, “April” follows, while “You & I” is just ...bliss,” Ogawa tells The FADER via email. “I wrote “April” while in some kind of a search mode, I felt lost. “April” reflects that feeling, but also that there’s still hope. You know you have to get through, but you don’t know how. Its all about learning to love yourself before you can love someone else.” Listen to “April,” and watch its James Rönkkö and Alice Agrusa-made video above. April is out September 27th.
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