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Introduction by Margeaux Labat

If you’re even remotely tapped into the world of experimental pop music, the Copenhagen music scene has probably come across your radar. Over the past few years, the Danish capital’s music scene has built a quiet but steady buzz, thanks to the tight-knit group of art-pop visionaries. What’s happening in the city’s underground — which thrives partly due to the country’s generous arts funding — is perhaps getting more global attention now than ever before. This creative momentum is explored through the lens of music, family and community — first in conversation with the family behind a beloved concert space and platform Brodie Sessions, followed by a deeper dive into the scene with a group of artists themselves.

The musicians Clarissa Connelly, Cæcilie Trier and Ydegirl (real name Andrea Novél) are well-known and deeply respected names amongst Copenhagen’s coolest creatives. In addition to being artistic peers, they’re also friends, displaying a mutual admiration and relaxed connection that’s palpable amongst much of the city’s music scene. Despite occupying different sonic lanes, the commonalities between the trio are clear: each creates music that’s deeply stirring, dynamic and emotive, and all three are unafraid to push the boundaries of the capabilities of the human voice.

Between Connelly’s labyrinthine art-pop compositions (most recently exemplified on her stellar 2024 album, World of Work), Trier’s classically-informed soundscapes (she’s also a highly sought-after cellist) and Ydegirl’s seemingly effortless forays in bedroom pop experimentation, the three represent what makes the current Copenhagen music scene so great: unfiltered expression, collaboration, and a fearless approach to music-making that bridges the avant-garde with the modern pop landscape.

They recently gathered in the backyard of the Brodie Sessions home to have a candid, sunlit chat about what’s inspiring them right now, their thoughts on the relationship between performer and audience, and what makes Copenhagen an especially fruitful place for an artist’s creative process.

SB: First of all, thank you all for being here. It is absolutely amazing for us to bring together such a strong group of amazing musicians and individuals. I wanted to just start off by asking you all what inspires you at the moment?

AN: I was curious to hear more about the dancers on the island Fanø that you mentioned before, Clarissa.

CC: On Fanø, there’s a folk dance culture called Sønderhoning. It’s a pair dance where you spin around a lot, so you get dizzy but also have to really hold on to each other. It becomes quite intimate because you get so close, swinging around in rhythm. It’s about body language, rhythm and connection. How nice would it be if that kind of closeness was more common in  dance today—nowadays people dance by themselves.

CTM: We should also all go to the Fanø Pentecost festival; it’s all locals making music all through the Pentecost holidays. You can hear them in gardens all night playing while the kids play in the streets, it’s just amazing. They dance and you can join in on it.

CC: The whole community part is always something that furthers creativity and openness and wanting to do new things. Especially in Copenhagen, where you have people to bounce off from with your own work. That’s also how it is on Fanø, where they write new folk melodies, also more personal songs too, for people’s birthdays. Then they celebrate with their own Sønderhoning. I love that type of creativity.

KWE: Do you feel part of a creative community in Copenhagen? Has it changed since you started making music?

CC: I don’t think it’s changed. When I moved here, I didn’t see a community at first, but everyone knew each other. Mayhem, the experimental art venue, is a place where there’s a space to evolve and to create, and that’s always one of the most important things in a scene. The music conservatory and the art academy as well. Creativity dies when these places disappear.

AN: The record shop Insula felt like a place like that as well.

CC: It’s a big loss when these places close.

KWE: Thankfully, Mayhem now has permanent community support.

CTM: Mayhem is really crucial because there are rehearsal spaces and studios, so you hang out and meet each other. You’re able to set up your own shows and you don’t have to get an invitation from the mainstream venues. We can just do the shows ourselves with our friends. There are no gatekeepers—not the commercial ones at least.

CC: Denmark’s social support and values help too. Governmental support allows people to study and create music without needing wealthy parents. That’s a crucial point—it keeps the scene thriving.

Denmark also has some social programs, but they keep wanting to make cuts to the conservatories and art schools, so things are falling apart. But it’s great to get the SU (State Educational Grant) to study and have time to create music. That was a turning point for me to be able to write music that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. In other places, you have to have parents that can pay for your education. But in Denmark we still have SU, and I think that’s why it’s a place that music is still thriving.

AN: I also think it’s because Copenhagen somehow has been left to itself to grow. I just moved from Berlin after spending a few years there. I really love Berlin for so many different reasons, but something that I really like about Copenhagen is that people stay, they generally don’t come and go. They put time and energy into the local communities.

When I moved to Copenhagen, I remember meeting Cæcilie outside of Hotel Cecil. I had been forwarded the raw version of her album Suite for a Young Girl, and it just completely blew my mind. I went up to you and said how much I loved your music, and you were just so nice and I feel like you opened up something for me in a way. You started inviting me to the studio and listening to my music. Supportive people like you are very important.

SB: Copenhagen is a cultural hub for not only music, but also for art, fashion, food etc. How do you, as musicians, see your role as part of that?

AN: It’s all about inviting people into spaces, different to fashion which seems more closed off in a way. You gather people and you set the atmosphere. I sometimes ask myself: “What am I doing?”, and that’s always what I come back to. It’s one thing writing, composing and producing music. But it’s another thing making the kind of space I want. When I was living in Berlin, it became clear to me that I was missing some spaces, so I started organising events at this place called Queer. That was where I became very aware of what kind of space or atmosphere I wanted to create.

CC: That’s such a good angle. When creating, it always comes down to what we actually need. My projects often come out of different needs and wanting to create these spaces with other people. Music is so many things, like sound waves interfering with each other. It can be very magical. Creating together with others is the best feeling in the world, singing with each other, making choirs, playing with bands.

Find Full Interview In A Magazine Curated By Cecilie Bahnsen