AURORA Isn't Scared By Australia's Deadly Spiders; She Actually Quite Likes Them

The Norwegian pop star Aurora Aksnes, or just AURORA, has an unusual fearlessness. Not even Australian insects and, crucially, arachnids freak her out. On Aksnes' first Antipodean tour with Laneway in early 2017, she determined to investigate our "bugs".

"I actually saw some of the caterpillars, but it was furry with hair," she recalls, laughing. "I really enjoyed it… I did see bats, which are not bugs, 'cause they're all over the place. I really like them. I think they're the birds of the night and I just think they're really cool. And I saw one black widow[-like spider]. They're so rare. You don't often meet the poisonous bugs. They seem to stay to themselves… And I did see a huntsman spider, but they're harmless, aren't they? It runs away from you. But it was huge – and I really liked it."

Aksnes, 22, has long admitted to being "shy", but she loves to talk. "You learn how to interact with people 'cause you have to meet, like, a million people a year."

The story is that, as a child, Aksnes discovered an electric piano in the attic of her family's home in Os, near Bergen. She started writing songs with a narrative orientation, Leonard Cohen a hero. After a school performance, Aksnes' friends shared Puppet online, leading Aksnes to court management deals. The singer-songwriter developed an individualistic, atmospheric and romantic electro-folk sound, attracting a fandom she calls her "warriors". Aksnes broke out with Runaway. In 2016, she presented a debut album, All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend. Aksnes captivated critics by inverting Nick Cave with Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1), like a gothic Robyn cosplaying Arya Stark. Ironically, she enjoyed a UK hit with a cover of Oasis' Half The World Away, cut for a department store Christmas ad.

Yet Aksnes has remained instinctively independent. She self-produces, demoing at home, or liaises with trusted studio cohorts. "I feel like the more people are involved in my art, the worse it gets," Aksnes ponders. "I'm quite kooky in the way I write my own music, because I feel like I have everything inside of me already and that I don't need anyone to get anything out… I scare people away sometimes, from coming with ideas, 'cause I'm so clear in my own vision."

Last September, Aksnes dropped a surprise album, Infections Of A Different Kind (Step 1) – the first of two parts. The title song, about having faith amid global volatility and existentialist angst, was pivotal. Aksnes had been "feeling quite tired" and "uninspirational" following a hectic 2016. "I remember I didn't really have any idea of what to do next – which is very strange for me, because I always know what to do next." 

But, on awaking one night, coincidentally just before hitting Laneway, she penned Infections Of A Different Kind, recording it on her phone. "After I heard it again, the morning after, I realised that this is my next step – so I knew the whole album then. It was a really important track 'cause it bloomed into so much more. Also it really means a lot to me."

Still, it was the lead single, Queendom, which generated buzz. Aksnes described Queendom as a bop inclusive of the "introverts". But, more a song of fire than ice, Queendom is an empowering queer anthem, too. "I got a lot of amazing feedback," Aksnes says. "It's about, kind of, calling out to people who don't get as much space in this world… [But] wherever there is a safe place for the people that don't fit in, there is an attack!" 

Indeed, Aksnes encountered some pushback to what was her first dance video, directed by feted Polish-Australian Kinga Burza. In it, she kisses a female dancer. (The singer told The Independent that she's dated women and men.) "It's just to say that it's ok to kiss whoever you want; it's ok to love whoever you want to, obviously!" 

Above all, coming of age, and travelling, has afforded Aksnes the confidence to deliver statements. "I speak with more loud words than I used to maybe – and maybe I'm even more clearly political now than you can see from my older songs."

This year, Aksnes aired the dancey Animal, which she confirms is from "Step 2". Visiting Los Angeles, Aksnes felt "disappointed in" humanity. 

"I think I mistakingly read some news, which I am originally forbidden to read because the papers make me so sad. If I read the wrong thing, I can cry for hours, really."

Aksnes, copiously creative, is impatient to circulate music more frequently, the industry slow. "I'm very quick – and I move incredibly quickly forward," she stresses. "I have already finished Step 2, so it's untouchable. I don't know when I will release it, 'cause I have to release it when the world is ready for it, but I have finished it. I've already begun making album four or three or whatever… I grow so fast and I evolve so quickly. It's weird when everything else around me does not."

Aksnes is diversifying. She notably collaborated with Danish techno type Kolsch on In Bottles and features prominently on The Chemical Brothers' No Geography, a challenge which she "adored". But Aksnes is select – and unpredictable. She covered Baby Mine for the trailer accompanying Tim Burton's reboot of Disney's Dumbo. Outside of music, she's acted as a narrator for Creeped Out, a kids anthology TV series.

Aksnes is returning here for Groovin The Moo and sideshows. And while in her downtime she plans to compose music in either rented studios or hotel rooms, Aksnes will likewise be "exploring" regional Australia. "I hope dearly that there will be a lot of nature to walk around in," she enthuses. "I'm excited to be a bit outside of the big cities also, so you can really have the silence. I think that's what really makes me fall in love with a new country, or a new place, when I have the privilege to experience a quiet place and just be with myself in a new place. It really makes me attached to the place much more, so I'm hoping that I will get that this time."