Molly Nilsson

Nilsson is from Stockholm; she was born in Gröndal and grew up in Södermalm, in a non-musical family.{{cite web |last=Weirdo |first=Bobby |url=https://www.weirdomusicforever.com/weird-news-and-interviews/molly-nilsson-on-new-album-twenty-twenty-the-importance-of-context-and-the-excitement-of-the-next-decade |title=Molly Nilsson on New Album Twenty Twenty, The Importance of Context, and Excitement for the Next Decade |work=Weirdo Music Forever |date=25 November 2018 |access-date=7 October 2023}} Both of her parents were communists.{{cite web|url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2023/01/molly-nilsson-leave-the-pessimism-to-conservatives|title=Molly Nilsson: 'Leave the Pessimism to Conservatives'|last=Brown|first=Alexander|date=23 January 2023|work=The Tribune|accessdate=6 February 2023}} She has described her father, a graphic designer, as her "biggest fan".{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Juli |language=de |url=https://taz.de/Molly-Nilsson-ueber-ihre-Musik/!5624770/ |title=Molly Nilsson über ihre Musik: "Ich liebe Humor" |work=Die Tageszeitung |date=22 September 2019 |access-date=7 October 2023}}

In school, Nilsson had some piano lessons and a punk rock band with friends, where they "played a little bit", but mostly "just hung out". Growing up, she listened to a lot of 1970s punk from the United Kingdom.{{cite web |last=Adam |first=Cherry |url=https://www.indienauta.com/entrevista-a-molly-nilsson-es-mejor-y-a-veces-mas-constructivo-estar-loco-que-triste/ |language=es |title=Entrevista a Molly Nilsson: "Es mejor, y a veces más constructivo, estar loco que triste." |work=Indienauta |date=6 May 2019 |access-date=7 October 2023}} As a teenager, she sometimes worked as a DJ.

She began her creative pursuits in comics and writing. Soon she began experimenting with a friend's keyboard and transitioned from visual media into songwriting.

File:Molly Nilsson in 2012.jpg

Nilsson moved to Berlin to pursue music. She worked in the cloakroom of Berlin nightclub Berghain, while saving money to write songs on weekdays.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/05/molly-nilsson-synthpop-star-embracing-hope-loneliness|title=Molly Nilsson: the synthpop star embracing hope and loneliness|last=Beaumont-Thomas|first=Ben|date=5 November 2018|website=The Guardian|location=London}} She released her first album in 2008 titled These Things Take Time, which she released on CD-R with just 500 copies. In 2009, she released another self-produced album, Europa. Nilsson gained more visibility in 2011 when her song "Hey Moon" from These Things Take Time, was covered by John Maus for his album We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/molly-nilsson-mn0002732958/biography|title=Molly Nilsson Artist Biography|last=Sendra|first=Tim|publisher=AllMusic}} After releasing another album, Zenith, in 2015, Nilsson began a world tour.

Nilsson produces and performs her music on her own, though she co-releases much of her music on Dark Skies Association and Glasgow's Night School Records.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/10/25/659598681/first-listen-molly-nilsson-twenty-twenty|title=Molly Nilsson's 'Twenty Twenty' Exposes The Fragments of Life|last=Mandel|first=Leah|date=25 October 2018|publisher=NPR}} Nilsson's style features minimalist arrangements of synthesizers and drum beats and is often categorized as dark pop or lo-fi synth-pop.{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/days-of-dust/|title=Molly Nilsson "Days of Dust"|last=Kemp|first=Sophie|date=13 September 2018|website=Pitchfork}}{{Cite web|url=https://crackmagazine.net/article/long-reads/molly-nilsson-planetary-vistas/|title=Molly Nilsson: Planetary Vistas |date=23 March 2016|last=Mallon|first=Steve|website=Crack Magazine}} She cites solitude as a necessary and important part of her creative process. During live performances, Nilsson often sings over a CD of her own work.

One of Nilsson's heroes is Polish socialist Rosa Luxemburg, the subject of Nilsson's song "Obnoxiously Talented". In an interview with Tribune magazine, she said: "[A]part from her work and legacy, I've really developed a relationship with Rosa Luxemburg on a human level. It's great to find people in history who can give you an example of what's possible, or how you can live your life, or what you should strive for." Nilsson's album Extreme (2022), was released on the date of Luxemburg's death, 15 January.{{cite web | url=https://nightschoolrecords.com/molly-nilsson-extreme-the-new-album-coming-january-2022/ | title=Molly Nilsson: Extreme. The new album, coming January 2022. | Night School Records }}

• These Things Take Time (2008)
• Europa (2009)
• Follow the Light (2010)
• History (2011)
• The Travels (2013)
• Zenith (2015)
• Imaginations (2017)
• 2020 (2018)
• Extreme (2022)
• Un-American Activities (2024)

• Sólo Paraíso (2014)

• "Ugly Girl" / "Wrong Boy" (2016)
• "About Somebody" / "Quit (In Time)" (2017)
• "Hey Moon" / "Silver" (2021 – charity re-release for Black Lives Matter)

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Category:Swedish pop singers

Category:Swedish women pop singers

Category:Musicians from Stockholm

Category:Musicians from Berlin

Category:Swedish expatriates in Germany

Category:Living people

Category:Swedish women in electronic music

Category:Minimal wave musicians

Category:1984 births

Category:English-language singers from Sweden