| Swedish Experimental songwriter Bonander’s video for new track ‘Smile’ celebrates forgotten Scandinavian women from the 19th & 20th century. The film is directed, filmed and edited by Bonander, with help from Josefin Stacy. Bonander tells us “The idea with this video is to show a small part of all the women and transwomen that never should have been forgotten (in this particular video, Scandinavian women from the 19th- and 20th century). To ask a woman to smile and stay ”pretty” is just one example of the pain we aren’t allowed to show to the world, a pain that is ignored and often forgotten. No more.”
Historical women featured in the video: Ada Nilsson, Anna Margret Holmgren, Anna Whitlock, Elin Wägner, Elise Ottesen Jensen, Elsa Laula, Ester Blenda Nordström, Karin Boye, Karolina Wideström, Kata Dahlström, Katarina Taikon, Lili Elbe, Siri Derkert, Sofia Gumaelius
Bonander’s debut EP, It’s A Girl (released March 23rd) addresses the theme of gender against a dark, dreamlike backdrop. The tracks explore anger, frustration and despair juxtaposed with a feeling of escape, acceptance and empowerment – it’s a journey through the uncertainty of the female identity in 2018.
Bonander tells us “The title “It’s a Girl” is me admitting to myself my strengths and my ordeals as a woman. But it’s also an angry stare towards our system, where we are wrapped in pink and blue blankets from our first breath, leaving no room for being outside the box.”
Ellinor Sterner Bonander has a sound that pushes boundaries while remaining accessible. Her mission is to affect people with her art, allowing the listener to emotionally connect with music in the same way that she has all her life.
Having studied her craft all over Sweden, from the Forest of Varmland, to Ostersund in the North and Malmö in the South, Bonander landed back in her hometown, the creative hub of Stockholm where she currently writes and produces. Her time spent studying Jazz vocals, unusual synthesizers and cutting-edge production techniques, combined with a love of pop music led her into experimental songwriting territory, inspiring her to write and produce her own distinctive compositions. |
Bonander – “Smile”
