Norway’s much loved creative releases a highly personal album that touches on spiritual growth & finding yourself.
– Release Date: March 7th –
Genre: Singer-Songwriter, Alt Pop, Pop Soul
FFO: Gabrielle, Eliza Doolittle, Honne, Paloma Faith
Label / Imprint: Rikkeleaks
Format: Vinyl / Digital Album
“Her music is a vessel for self-empowerment” The Indie Grid
“Playful, happy, invigorating pop music with that certain something” Soundmag
“(High Horse) is a slick bit of production & arranging for sure… love her playful vocals!” Platinum Mind
Having given us a taste of what’s to come with the release of her infectious indie-pop gem High Horse (be gone) this Autumn, Scandinavian singer-songwriter Rikke releases her latest album Not Even Air Can Come Between Us in March 2025.
Already a household name in Norway through her performance with John Legend at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert plus regular appearances on popular reality show Hver gang vi møtes (translates as Every Time We Meet), & working with multi-million streaming artists Madcon & Emma Steinbakken, Rikke’s latest body of work is an intimate reflection on being true to one’s self & developing a strength in purpose to live by that ideal no matter what life throws at you.
With tracks like the album’s poignant opener Always A Part Of Me that reflects on having gratitude for past relationships, to recognising aspects of miscommunication between friends on We Collide, to how avoiding confrontation can exacerbate the destructive nature of situations on Circles & finding the strength to stand up to abusive behaviour on High Horse (be gone), the LP is rich in its exploration of the human condition & how vulnerability shapes us all in different ways depending on environment.
Rikke explains: “A lot of my songwriting & art happens in the subconscious & then the songs just fall out of my head. During the making of this album, I foresaw my own co-dependent relationship ending. This led me to stop ‘people pleasing’ & start putting myself first. It seems there’s a lot of endings to be made before one can start living an authentic life in which you’re true to yourself & the album’s title refers to this concept – I feel now, nothing can come between me & my authentic self again.”
Born just outside Oslo, Rikke spent part of her early life also in Stockholm, but it was at the age of 6 when her family moved to London that a natural inclination towards expressing herself in English was developed & thus followed on in her songwriting. On the performance front, Rikke built a reputation as the ‘go-to backing vocalist’ for established Norwegian artists which led on to her touring throughout Europe & then being handpicked to sing with John Legend at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. However, it was when she joined the house band for Norwegian Idol for 5 seasons & featured in national reality TV show Hver gang vi møtes (in which she still appears), that Rikke became a household name throughout Norway.
With regards to her own music, Rikke reached the semi-finals of the Norwegian Eurovision with her own song & then began releasing music on her own Rikkeleaks label. The music’s enjoyed exposure on Norway’s premiere digital station NRK P3 as well as garnering popularity with audiences in Brazil & beyond. Her influences include artists like Björk, Bon Iver, Aurora & Fleetwood Mac plus Rikke loves to compose songs alone on a 100-year-old grand piano in her Oslo apartment.
Having performed at festivals like by:Larm (Norway), Live At Heart & Future Echoes (Sweden), plus iconic venue Ronnie Scott’s (UK) Rikke has shown herself to be a truly accomplished musician & creative on all fronts. This latest album, described by the artist as one of conflicts & goodbyes, is a collection of conversations & discussions about daring to finally speak your own truth & put yourself first – how about you?
TRACK-BY-TRACK DESCRIPTIONS
- Always A Part of Me – This heartfelt tale of gratitude sets the scene for the album on a positive note in which Rikke looks back on a past relationship with someone & realises how special it was. Everything seemed to make sense at the time & the chemistry was undeniable. In the end it wasn’t right, but life lessons learnt together cause you to remember it with love, happiness, respect & warm feelings.
- Horses In the Moonlight – With its uplifting chorus & imagery, this song about anticipation explores themes of taking a chance & going for it with no idea how it may end up. It may be a dream, goal or personal relationship that you’re going for, whatever, but the sense of feeling alive when we make such moves is often invigorating & moves us on in our spiritual journey.
- What Does It Matter – Bullies come in all ages & sizes – and here’s a song about taking back your power by learning to not care about what others think. It’s a waste of time anyway since you can’t change what others think, what they do or what they say. It’s your life & “only you do you” as the lyric goes – and to take it further on the lyric front: “like acid on your skin, don’t let the bastards in”.
- We Collide – This song, with its distinct vocal melody, is about misunderstanding each other when texting. Some of us are shy of conflict & feel uneasy when talking about things in person, but when expressing yourself in text, people can easily misunderstand you, take things the wrong way & the blame game starts.
- Those Who Never Were (TWNW) – A gentle bossa nova sets the scene on this highly personal track about longing for, dreaming about & wanting to find ‘the one’ or your soul / life partner. One day you feel it & think you’ve found them, only to wake up & realise it was all a dream.
- Circles – This highly emotive song, that slowly builds to a gospel like crescendo, focuses on the idea of avoiding confrontation because we ‘people please’ & are afraid of the response we may get if we were to just be more honest… and so the situation goes round & round becoming harder to ignore over time. When you stop ‘people pleasing’ & start to speak your truth, the quality of your relationships become more sincere, & so does the relationship you have with yourself.
- Dependent On You – On this mid-tempo gem with its memorable pop-soul chorus, Rikke touches on issues of co-dependence & subtle manipulation in the lyric. Your gut feelings and that inner voice both tell you it’s time to start listening.
- High Horse (be gone) – The first track to be shared from the album, here’s a song about breaking up with friends & taking decisions over what kind of people you want in your life. Some people can be energy draining with communication only going one way. Maybe unwittingly, they have no consideration for anyone apart from themselves & often taking control in social situations. Taking back your power can be enlightening & can often come with a feeling of true freedom.
- Flowers – Written within the time it lasts (3.23 mins), this song came about from being in a room & focusing on one object & writing about it. The rule was that the lyric & the melody must be the first that comes to mind. Rikke wondered, is this possible & if so, will it have a deeper meaning than the obvious? Conclusion: yes… the deeper meaning being: if you don’t understand something, try seeing it from another angle, change your perspective.
- New Beginnings – this up-tempo track is a celebration of starting over & being kind to your vulnerable self along the way. We don’t always know why things happen & nobody’s perfect, but by accepting & moving on after having hit rock bottom, we’re able to leave potential bitterness behind & start afresh.
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