Introducing… Ola Village

Ola Village: “I fear my songwriting would get predictable if I don’t change things around every now and then.”

From his Oslo studio, this calm and laid-back artist uses his musical toolbox to write indie-pop songs for the masses

Name: Ola Village

Location: Oslo, Norway

Style: Emotionally charged indie-pop music, with influences from artists like Frank Ocean, Bon Iver, and Tyler, The Creator

Look out for: His debut EP later this year

Website: facebook.com/olavillage

Norwegian artist Ola Village is building a name for himself in music as an indie-pop act who combines memorable sounds with stirring lyrical content. Village wrote songs in his childhood while working with his guitar, but honed his skills further while studying music in his late teen years. His exploration of different themes, structures, and songwriting processes have led to a wide-ranging toolbox from which Village can pull various approaches for creating music. “Now I don’t have a certain way of making a song, and I think that’s healthy,” Village says. “I don’t want to be stuck in the same patterns. I fear my songwriting would get predictable if I don’t change things around every now and then.”

Having grown up in the small town of Ålesund in Norway, Village describes himself as a “calm and laid-back person” with “a relaxed attitude towards life.” His 2020 debut single A Ok has upbeat and dreamy vibes that breathe hope into the global pandemic and reflect his tranquil nature.

This is in contrast to his most recent song release, Love To Cry. Calling upon personal experiences, the single reveals Village’s most intimate feelings and serves as a commentary on inner emotional conflict, including the lyric: “I rarely show emotions but I love to cry / I guess I’m kinda shy and I hate goodbyes.”

“It’s inspired by how I am as a person. An emotional being that keeps his emotions quite private,” Village says of the track, which he wrote and produced in his home studio in Oslo and released on 10 March. Love To Cry also includes mixing from multi-platinum engineer, David Nakaji, and is just a taste of what’s to come.

Listeners can expect a debut EP from Village in the autumn of 2021. With two strong singles under his belt, his future plans focus on producing music that flourishes on an international level. “I think the ultimate goal is to make a song that grows to become bigger than myself,” he says. “That people are able to take ownership of my song on a level that makes it everyone’s in a way.”

Words: Devin Herenda

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