Made In Norway: Maud
The Norwegian producer has just released her second album The Love That Remains taking the listener on a journey through love, breakup and the aftermath
The junction between winter and spring couldn’t be a more perfect time for delivering some broodingly brilliant hyper pop to burst the blues and propel us forward towards longer days again.
Anyone who encountered Maud’s eponymous album back in 2021 or the rollercoaster of her follow-up EP In My Haven and subsequent singles, will be familiar with the cool club meets Ibiza bar vibe that drew comparisons with Charlie XCX and Caroline Polachek.
But while her new release The Love That Remains may lean more towards the Sia in its breathlessness, to go down the avenue of comparisons may add context for the uninitiated, but frankly doesn’t serve justice to Maud’s creative individuality.
It oscillates between ambient sounds and hip swinging beats, like moods, which is the craft behind an album that she described herself as being a "a capsule of longing, melancholia, nostalgia, transformation and self-love".
The album was written, recorded, produced and mixed entirely by Maud (Kristine Hoff) and places emphasis on the feeling of being heartbroken, isolated and abandoned on tracks "Stranger", "Wherever I Go and "Forever", but also a new chapter of empowerment, growth, healing and self-love "Let Me Feel It", "Can’t You See Me", "Remind Me", "Still Alive", "Back To Myself".
Speaking for the launch, she said: "It would be incredible if the album could help the listener to find a way back to themselves after a heartbreak or a difficult period – like it has helped me. It would also be a dream if the album could be some kind of eternal capsule in the metaverse for anyone to dive into whenever they needed. Hopefully the love that remains will exist forever."
"The album title takes its inspiration from the Portuguese term saudade which means a form of melancholic longing for something or someone you used to care about.
While creating this album I’ve healed from the grief of a heartbreak, and learned how to truly validate my own feelings and take care of myself - Maud
"While creating this album I’ve healed from the grief of a heartbreak, and learned how to truly validate my own feelings and take care of myself.
“To me, the album represents both grief, growth and empowerment, as well as gratefulness for all the people I’ve met so far in my life and all the moments and memories this has given me. Although some people might not stay in your life forever, I really do believe that their presence shapes or affects you at some level. I don’t think I would be the same person today if I didn’t meet the people that taught me how to love."
"Love has so many various, complex and contradicting emotions, but it’s impossible to avoid it because it’s literally everywhere," says the Norwegian. "It’s a part of being human. We give, and we take, and we learn. Continuously."
Having released her self-titled debut album in 2021 and the In My Haven EP in 2022, Maud has spent the time since then writing and releasing new music and also remixing other artists including fellow Norwegian producer Mörmaid.
She was also the recipient of the Arctic Talent award, Northern Norway's largest music scholarship grant and 2023 saw her release "Remind Me", "Stranger", "Can't You See Me" and "Let Me Feel It".
"It gives me a lot of flexibility and freedom; it can be quite challenging to be in charge of all these different processes, but to me they also go hand in hand,” said Maud on writing, recording, producing and mixing the album entirely on her own.
“This doesn't mean, of course, that I completely avoid collaborations, because having sessions with others can be fulfilling as well. I just think I like to dive into my own head and isolate myself from others, when I’m creating music as Maud.
“I feel like that’s when I write the most authentic and honest songs."