Sofia Härdig…Beyond the Boundaries of Rock.

Sofia Härdig has spent years exploring a kaleidoscope of alternative rock and improvisational music. She has shared stages and studio time with members of legendary bands such as Boredoms [Japan], Free Kitten [USA], The Hellacopters [Sweden], AMM [UK], bob hund [Sweden], Belle and Sebastian [UK], OOIOO [Japan], Medusas Bed [Lydia Lunch project], David Sylvian, The Cardigans [Sweden], and The Sunburned Hand of the Man [USA], to name just a few.

She has also performed with musical giants such as Yoshimi, John Tilbury, Ikue Mori [USA], Eddie Prévost, Mats Gustafsson, Sofie Agnél [France], and many others. Her musical tools include voice, live processing, guitar, laptop, electronics, cassette, keyboards, and more. She has lived and worked in Berlin, New York, Stockholm, Bristol, and Malmö.

Her album The Norm of the Locked Room [2013] received rave reviews and was hailed by national and international press as one of the most interesting releases of that year.
She has been called Sweden’s best-kept secret, hailed as “An electronica queen,” the new hope of the Swedish rock scene, and “the next girl in experimental music.”
A chorus of voices in the press has declared that… “Anyone with the slightest interest in alternative Swedish music must definitely check her out.”

Her new album”And the Street Light Leads to the Sea”, is being released worldwide this year.

Sofia’s musical adventure began early. As a child, she composed melodies and harmonies inspired by the sounds of vacuum cleaners and car engines, much to her parents’ frustration.

In her early adulthood, her main musical playground was broken blues and deconstructed rock, drawing inspiration from, among others, the most claustrophobic outbursts of Nick Cave and Suicide.

In 2006, however, her critically acclaimed album The Need to Destroy marked a shift towards seductive electronica, heavy dance beats, grinding guitars, and menacing industrial sounds.

Her following two albums — the Berlin-conceived Dream [2008] and the widely acclaimed The Norm of the Locked Room [2013] — further developed her electronic expression, both experimentally and improvisationally, with her unsettling, incantatory voice ever present.

On her new album”And the Street Light Leads to the Sea”, Sofia returns to the studio. This time, she performs alongside a band that brings to life the music she has meticulously crafted and recorded on her own.

INTERVIEW … with Sofia Härdig!

Athenscalling.gr: Good morning, Sofia, from Greece!First of all, we’d like to tell you that we discovered you online, and we were truly impressed by your music and, of course, by the way you perform your songs. So, a warm welcome to our community! We’re delighted to have you with us!

Sofia Härdig: Good morning! I’m very happy you found me, and it’s a pleasure to be here with you.

Athenscalling.gr: Your music combines raw emotion, experimental sounds, and a distinctive artistic vision. How would you describe your musical identity today, and how has it evolved throughout your career?
Sofia Härdig: Thank you. I think that’s a lovely description of what I do.
I’ve always been curious and want to discover something new with every album. I challenge myself to go places I haven’t been before.
I’m a multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, and songwriter. On my latest album, I wanted to dive deeper into the lyrics, which have always played a big part in my music. I also expanded my vocal work and arrangements, something I truly enjoy. I brought in violin and trombone, and played trumpet myself.

For me, making an album is about finding a new world to inhabit, both musically and emotionally.

Athenscalling.gr: When you write music, what usually comes first — a feeling, a sound, a lyric, or an idea? How do you transform that initial spark into a finished song?
Sofia Härdig: It can be any of those things. Sometimes it’s an image in my head, something I see, something I read, or a story that suddenly appears.
I often begin by improvising around an idea and gradually discover the shape of the song. It can be a time-consuming process, but I enjoy letting things unfold rather than knowing exactly where I’m going from the beginning.
My new single, ‘Wedding Dress,’ came from an image I saw when I was out on a misty, rainy morning. It sparked a fully formed story in my head. I went straight home and wrote and recorded it in one sitting.

Athenscalling.gr: Are there artists or musical movements that have shaped your artistic identity?
Sofia Härdig: I started composing at a very young age, using anything I could get my hands on. Out-of-tune pianos, pots and pans, vacuum cleaners, hairdryers, boat motors, car engines. It literally drove my parents insane.
I listened to everything I could find and dug deep.
I discovered Nick Cave and Einstürzende Neubauten when I was very young and became obsessed with both. But since I played the trumpet, I was equally obsessed with Miles Davis. Modal improvisation has stayed with me ever since. Later, I discovered Alan Vega and his band Suicide. Punk on synthesizers. Alan taught me to sing. And I have listened my way through music history. I’ve gone through periods of industrial music, New Romantic, Kate Bush, and David Bowie. Trent Reznor’s early albums taught me to use the studio as an instrument. At the same time, I’ve always kept one foot firmly planted in dirty, broken blues and punk. The Fat Possum records made a huge impression on me.

Athenscalling.gr: Your music moves beyond conventional musical boundaries, blending different sounds and emotional landscapes. How important is experimentation to you, and do you deliberately challenge yourself to explore unfamiliar musical territories?

Sofia Härdig: I’m naturally curious and always want to explore new sonic landscapes and learn from what I’m doing. Improvisation and experimentation are a second language to me. And yes I do deliberately challenge myself. I always want to take things one step further. See how much I can develop and get closer to the music I hear in my head. I’m still getting closer to it.
Athenscalling.gr: What are you most interested in exploring musically at this stage of your career? Are there any new sounds, ideas, or artistic directions you would like to pursue in the future?

Sofia Härdig: There are so many possibilities that I’m keeping myself busy working on two albums simultaneously. So many sounds, so many ways to go. The new album I’m working on is something of a marriage between my last record and a more electronic form. I’m exploring minimalism and maximalism at the same time. This time, I’ve moved from the lighthouse of my last record, LIGHTHOUSE OF GLASS, into a claustrophobic chamber drama called ROOM 1520. All the stories on the album take place in one and the same room. The first single, “Wedding Dress,” has a chorus of seventy voices, all of them me. It works a bit like the chorus in a Greek tragedy: the crowd that watches, comments, and judges.It will be released on November 13.

Athenscalling.gr: Traveling in the past do you remember the first album in your bag!
Sofia Härdig: One of the first albums I got was a Howlin’ Wolf record. But I’m Swedish, after all, so I also had a couple of ABBA albums. Then I quickly moved on to The Cure, Bauhaus, The Beatles, Kate Bush, David Bowie, The Clash, and so on.

Athenscalling.gr: What comes to mind when you think of Greece? Are you familiar with the Greek music scene or any Greek artists, and would you be interested in performing in Greece or collaborating with Greek musicians in the future?

Sofia Härdig: I love Greece. I’ve visited the islands a couple of times and love the food, the retsina, the architecture, and most of all, the music. Of course, I love Diamanda Galás. She was born in the US but has Greek roots, and I would absolutely love to collaborate with her. I saw her play live once in a church in Berlin. I was speechless for hours. She is outstanding. I’m also drawn to the extraordinary musical worlds of Aphrodite’s Child and Vangelis. Their album 666 is a record I keep coming back to for its scale, strangeness, and theatricality. I’m also very interested in the Greek darkwave and post-punk scene. Bands like Selofan and Lefki Symphonia have caught my attention, and I’m curious to discover more of what’s happening in Greece right now. And, of course, the Greek chorus! It has a very direct connection to my new album. The idea of a collective voice that observes, comments, and judges is something I find fascinating. I love the filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, too. His strange, unsettling worlds especially the claustrophobic family dynamics in Dogtooth, resonate with the atmosphere I’m exploring in ROOM 1520. I would love to come and play in Greece and meet some of the musicians there. A collaboration would be wonderful.

Athenscalling.gr: Thank you for your time Sofia and for sharing your thoughts with

Sofia Härdig: Thank you for having me. I hope to play in Greece in the near future.
FOTO BY Jessica Nettelbladt .