- 2024-06-10
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MUSIC
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AURORA Releases New Album “What Happened To The Heart?”
Norwegian singer-songwriter AURORA released the fifth studio album “What Happened To The Heart?” via Decca, Glassnote and Petroleum Records on June 7, 2024.
It is her first album in two years since the 2022 album “The Gods We Can Touch”.
The album comprises a 16-track, featuring a guest appearance from Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun.
She wrote and recorded between Norway, Germany, England, and America.
This time, she worked with Ane Brun, Matias Tellez, Tom Rowlands, Chris Greatti, Dave Hamelin, and Magnus Skylstad on its production.
The album is inspired by a letter “We Are the Earth”, which was written by Indigenous activists from Brazil.
The letter calls the Earth the heart that beats within us and speaks of the need for us to heal the land and celebrate our connection to Mother Nature through our hearts.
AURORA said of the album title, “Before we knew it’s precise location and function, the heart was believed to be the Center of intuition. Of emotion. Of intention and interconnectedness. And with time, and deeper anatomical understanding we decided that these were qualifications of the mind.”
She continued, “Since then we have failed the planet we live on. Our only home. We have failed our children. Our future. And we have failed to truly learn from the past. If the heart does no longer matter what will happen to the people? It’s the most important, beautiful and sad question I’ve ever wondered in my life.”- AURORA told FLOOD Magazine about the album, “It started with pain, I guess. A deep-rooted pain that’s in the world, in the way humans behave again and again. Whoever we’re hurting is always someone who can’t really protest against us—like Mother Earth, or any underdog in the world. I read this letter written by Indigenous people all around the world called “We Are the Earth” pleading everyone to act more with the heart and less with the mind.”
She continued, “Writing this album has helped me make sense of that pain and anger, making sure I choose the right one out of the two paths: self-healing or self-destruction. We choose self-destruction so often, but pouring pain into art is a very good, self-healing way of dealing with it.” -
She shared on social media, “I cannot believe my album will know how it is to finally touch the world. To come alive again and again in peoples homes. Within tears or bodies dancing. It’s a completely divine thing. Making this album has helped me so much. I’ve needed so much to heal some parts of myself, to be good for the world. So once again I am so eternally grateful for the music, and the gift of creating. I’ve poured a lot of.”
AURORA explained about some tracks for the album.
“To Be Alright”
“Of all the major chord songs, it fits the album the most. If that makes sense. It’s the wish to feel better, but using the wrong remedies. One of the last stages before the problem becomes all-consuming.”
“Your Blood”
“The world is always bleeding. And you never know what is going on under people’s skin. I think it’s only when we reach out to each other, that we understand what compassion and beauty we are capable of as human beings. Even if we can’t understand what people are going through: we should still try. If we don’t, what is a life truly worth? Sometimes addressing the pain, your own, or the pain of the world hurts so much it feels like dying. But in truth, I believe it is then we are born. Your blood. My blood. Our blood.”
“The Conflict of the Mind”
“This is a song for everything you never said. Everything we left unspoken. Everything we still feel, lingering in the air around us. I know many of you know how it feels to be in a family, where everything painful. Remains quiet. And hidden. There is nothing more painful than seeing the ones I love cry, but at the same time it fills my heart up. Because it’s the greatest feeling in the world. To open up. And be there for someone. If only, we were brave enough. It’s truly when we open up We find the purest proof of love hidden in the conflict of our minds.”
“Some Type Of Skin”
“This song is very much about the act of the building our skin. So I guess finding the perfect balance between building up skin so you can protect what's soft in you against what's harsh in the world, but also making sure you let enough light in so you can let what's beautiful into your soft points. And if you find the balance between both I think life can be such a heavenly thing on earth. That it's a lot to be human that as I say it's so much.”
“My Body Is Not Mine” via FLOOD Magazine
“When you’re panicked or desperate, the world loves telling you that you need to calm down. So I wanted to let the music really grow and explode before I took a breath again. A lot of female rage, I think. You have to let yourself explode a bit.”
“Invisible Wounds” via FLOOD Magazine
“The last one is the aftermath of daring to really go into the roots of the problem, acknowledging where it comes from and allowing yourself to be angry, as well. And hurt. And it’s only after you realize that that you’re allowed to start the healing process. The last thing I say in the album is, 'We both need to tend to our invisible wounds.' The end of the album is the start of the real journey, I think. It’s an open ending.”
Photo by Wanda Martin - source : Apple Music
