Praise for lead single “Creator”:
“...sleek, icy, slightly strange dance-pop…” – CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND
"...impossibly infectious...not like everybody else." – BLACKBOOK
Ora The Molecule today shares new song
“Die To Be A Butterfly” and its accompanying video. Watch
here.
This latest offering follows jubilant lead single
“Creator” and the announcement of Ora The Molecule’s debut studio album,
Human Safari, which will be released
July 23 on Mute.
Reflecting on the message behind “Die To Be A Butterfly,”
Nora Schjelderup, the creative mind behind the Ora The Molecule moniker, says,
“It’s about not being so scared of death. All evil comes from fear and all fear comes from being alone. The ultimate idea of loneliness is death. If you can eliminate that basic human fear, maybe you can afford to be good to other people around you.” The video, which features collaborators
Jan Blumentrath and
Sju Smatanova, was directed by
Jody Elizabeth Nolan and
Beth Cutting of
AJCollective. Regarding their creative vision, Nolan and Cutting detail, “
When coming up with the concept for the video we began thinking about how it feels to 'create,' especially as a collaboration. We wanted to show the tension, fluidity, why some things stick and others flow. We used the visceral process of a Butterfly in metamorphosis as a jumping-off point, and thus, began our Agnes Varda-inspired abstract liquid exploration.” They continue,
“With this concept in mind, we took ourselves to the Andalusian mountains with a suitcase of jelly and a hire car discount code to go and meet the band. Our crew of 3 shot over 2 long and hectic, sticky days. Which saw our DOP Eira literally chasing the sunset in our cheap car rental around a mystery mountain range as Nora and Sju scrambled into silver jumpsuits. We learnt to always take baby wipes, don't bring dogs, and it's always worth renting walkie talkies.” Pre-order
Human Safari on orange crush transparent vinyl, CD, and digital platforms
here. All physical editions come with a one-of-a-kind Polaroid photo with doodle done by Nora Schjelderup (see artwork for her previously released singles for an example of her drawings).
credit: Jonathan Vivaas Kise
MORE ABOUT ORA THE MOLECULE
Ora The Molecule is the musical moniker of Norwegian-born avant-pop artist Nora Schjelderup. For Schjelderup, life has always been about observation and finding one's purpose in the community at large. She is the molecule personified: the smallest bit of matter that retains its own identity while being part of something greater. This keen sense of inspection and willingness to surrender to feelings of wide-eyed wonder guided Schjelderup from her childhood to the release of her debut album, Human Safari.
For the LP, Schjelderup adopted role of observer as she examined the world around her. "You could look at it like a bird walking around and feeling stupid for not understanding how everything works," she theorizes. "You feel small. When cognition takes over, those feelings can come easily because it's so much to take in for a tiny creature. It's celebrating the spectacle."
Human Safari consists of 12 songs alternating between joyous, beat-driven avant-pop and slick synthwave. "It's for sure two poles," Schjelderup explains. "The speaker is the storyteller and the instrumentals are nature or the way life goes. Sometimes you get scared, sometimes it opens up. It's life. I wanted to make a landscape where the voice could guide you through and be a safe voice. So even when it's a little bit darker, you're still in the story and it continues."
Throughout her life – and the album – Schjelderup espouses the concept of the extended chosen family and welcoming those who might otherwise feel uninvited. "It's a sense of belonging, a sense of oneness that you don't see in other parts of society," she says. "Community is everything. It's very important but it starts with the individual. If I can contribute to that, I want to do it."
Human Safari Tracklisting
1. The Ball
2. Sugar
3. Creator
4. Die To Be A Butterfly
5. Helicopter
6. Shadow Twin
7. Beat Beat Beat
8. I Wanna Be Like You
9. Pocket Universe
10. You Need Air
11. Silence
12. Souldigging
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