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7th of June 2019⁣

With three singles released, the 2nd step was finally available to us - almost a full pregnancy, 8 months and 11 days after step one (Auroras two favorite numbers, by the way...).⁣

While step one was more aimed at the emotional sides of providing energy, this album was intended as more broad, political and aimed at empowering us to stand up for the world (^55.1)⁣

"We got a little work to do because the planet is damaged. Yeah, that's the beauty of the battle, the environmental battle, that's happening right now, because there is still hope, if we do something now... We have to! That's why it's such a hopeful thing, right now..." (^53.1)⁣

But Aurora makes it clear her mission is about joy—not wallowing in the darkness. She points to the excitement of children, and snow, and the kindness she sees in her mother and self as proof that there’s still goodness in the world, even when news cycles may say otherwise (^53.2). ⁣

“I love crying,” she says. “And I think it’s such an important thing to share with the world. It’s such a perfect way for us all to connect too, since we all have tears inside our hearts from time to time. Crying is important, it seems like humans need to cry from time to time just to survive this world. And imagine how much simpler being a human would be if we didn’t have to hide it?” (^55.2)⁣

Her local paper had a talk with her about the album:⁣

"This is a pretty loud record, a political record. Some of the key lies in the title of the album. Here I come up with a suggestion, and at the same time ask a question. If people want to make the choice and be a little different." (^53.3)⁣

Sources 

53.1 - Interview with Phil Marriott
53.2 - CR Fashionbook
53.3 - BT: Jeg følte meg aldri hjemme på skolen. 

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10th of May 2019⁣

The 3rd and last single released prior to her "A different kind of human"-album. ⁣

"The recording of Infections of a different kind was very elaborate - the location [a French chateau] was huge and beautiful and dreamy... For this record I wanted to make it a very tiny room with a purple floor and dark blue walls, and it was just me and my drummer." (^52.1). ⁣

The story behind this song is quite sad:⁣

"It was inspired by something quite sad as I looked at the suicide rates on this planet and apparently 73% of them were men..." (^52.1)⁣

Travelling the globe, meeting people on her tours, she learned a lot about human nature, and she found this rate to be strange, and she came to a conclusion:⁣

"... obviously, it must be because of the feeling that you can’t talk about your emotions and show that you’re in pain because pain is often associated with weakness..." (^52.1)⁣

Aurora don't agree, of course:⁣

"... but you know, here in my world it’s not, so the song is inspired by something quite sad but it is also happy because crying can be such a positive experience, especially afterwards when you actually feel a bit lighter. It’s about that feeling to let off some steam as they say in England." (^52.1)⁣

"Music really saves lives, and I feel so honored to know that people use my music as a companion when they need it. I feel that the purpose of the song is to help people with feelings that we have a hard time explaining. Being human is difficult." (52.2)⁣

Sources 

52.1 - Interview with Line Of Best Fit 
52.2 - Q&A with Portal Aurora Brazil (@portalaurorabr) 
Picture from @aurorabestpics on Twitter

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Building up tension towards setting her album "A Different Kind Of Human" free, Aurora released this 2nd single the 5th of April, 2019. ⁣

"My new single ‘The Seed’ is quite angry and native in the old, ancient human emotional kind of way. It’s about the environment. It feels refreshing to get that out." (^51.1).⁣

Clearly, after seeing the state of the world after touring the globe, she needed to make a song to compel us to do something to save it. She now had a an army of Warriors and Weirdos to support her, and she released this song to empower us all:⁣

"The biggest demons in my life, I had to face before I started traveling. Before I became an artist... Because I knew that I wouldn't be able to offer the world anything..." (^51.2) ⁣

A sad statement, but she continues with:⁣

"Right now I have a lot of powerful, big music, because I want people to feel empowered. I want people to feel like they could do anything... I want them to feel ready for battle - like a positive battle, of course, not war!" (^51.2)⁣

She wanted to enrage us towards the goal of rescuing the planet from dying:⁣

“It’s a very specific type of anger... It’s not a blind anger that makes you do the wrong things. It’s not that type of anger that’s pointed at everything and nothing at the same time. It’s very clear and directed towards things that you want to change – in the environment, on the planet and with politics. It’s more like a fire that keeps you awake and keeps you on point and ready to use your power for something important. More and more, I miss that kind of fire and anger» (^51.1)⁣

«It’s representing my personal fire inside of me because I’m very passionate about saving the planet. It’s about human history, about how we’ve co-existed in the world and how we’ve forgotten how to live with nature and the power we have. It’s a very sad story, a very sad side of the story of humankind. It was a good way to end the album, to fuel the fire in people and to speak louder, about how we have to learn to exist with everything again» (51.3)⁣

Sources 

51.1 - Interview with NME 
51.2 - Interview with Småll Sessions
51.3 - Interview with DORK

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In December 2018, Aurora posted an alien picture, and she wrote a morse code in her caption saying: "Something is coming in 2019". I have included the picture above (^50.1).⁣

Then, in Christmas, the 24th of December 2018, Aurora announced the title of the first single to be "Animal", and a month later, the 24th of January, it was released (^50.2)⁣

In an interview after its release, Aurora was asked what kind of animal she would like to be, and she said "I think that any animal that looks very harmless, but could bite off your head if you weren't careful enough". Then she said she would like to be a poisonous frog, because she could eat spiders and then protect her sisters who's both afraid of them - she concluded with this though: "Maybe I would be a wolf because they are really loyal to the pack.” (50.3)⁣

Aurora said that humans are always hunting for something, that we are animals hunting animals. As a person and an artist, Aurora says the thing she is hunting for is herself.⁣

“I think what I'm hunting for the most is the absolute Aurora album, and I hope I won't find it,” she giggles, “before I'm very old, and when I find it I will stop because then my mission is done. I am also really hungry to make the perfect song… some design that I don't even know how I made it." (^50.3)⁣

"'It’s raw because we are raw, it’s sensual because nature is sensual. It’s wrong and strange because the world is wrong and strange. It’s free because we should be free. There is a lot of things I hate about us, (next to all the things I love) and part of me hate the industrial part of the music industry. And that is exactly why the song had to sound the way it did. Because it’s a way for me to make. A bit fun of it. Still Aurora, but with elements form that world. For me, It amplifies the irony in all of it. The world we all have mixed feelings about. Because it’s so easy to show people something horrible, something deep and we still choose what we want to see. And that is the must fun thing with it all." (^50.4)⁣

Sources 

50.1 - Reddit discussion
50.2 - Aurora Fandom Wiki - IOADK 
50.3 - Interview with Scenestr 
50.4 - Aurora Fandom Wiki - Animal 

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"I wrote all the songs two years after my first album, and 'Infections of a different kind' kind of started the whole album idea. I wrote it in January 2017. That's when I knew what the album was gonna be called and what is what about. It felt very good. I just woke up in the middle of the night and it was, kind of, there. And I just went down and I recorded it on my phone, and it was almost done when I woke up. And I heard it again, and it was really lovely" (^49.1)⁣

There's some reference to God in this song, but she don't consider herself to be religious:,“as long as it does not cause harm, or become an excuse to do harm, then I’m all for (religion),” she said. “I am very spiritual,” she added, “but not in a material way.” (^49.2)⁣

Aurora was alone at an airport back in 2016. It was a rough year with lots of activity, and she was often sick. There she came up with the line: "Be God in the shape of a girl":⁣

"... at the airport… on my way home again, I felt a bit out of place, out of my own body, and then I looked at this family. I saw two very tired parents, and then this little girl – she was maybe 3 years old – and she seemed to give them so much joy, even though they were very tired. And she gave me a lot of joy. And then I saw an old couple, leaning over to look at the little girl who was smiling back at them. She seemed to interact with almost everyone at the gate, and make everyone happy. Without even knowing it. And I loved the way happiness and love can be so… simple? Don’t underestimate the power of a child. It was just very magical to see how much it affected everyone and everything.If I was to choose a religion, I would love it if god would be something that you can touch. Something like a little girl, on this earth... you know?" (^49.2).⁣

And this is how she ends part 1, I will let Aurora sum up this one:⁣

... So the album has a lot of different themes—some worldwide, some individual—but track eight sums it all up. You can go and look for track eight when I release my album. It’s the essence of the whole thing... " (^49.3)⁣

Sources 

49.1 - Interview with Aurora by Indievidualist 
49.2 - A talk with Aurora
49.3 - Interview with L'Officiel

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Aurora wrote Soft Universe together with Fiona Bevan, Cuoros Sheibani and James Jacob (^48.1). This song was borned in April 2017, when Aurora attended a songwriter camp in Bergen. The pictures above is from this camp (^48.2).

At the Aurora Aksnes Fandom Wiki you can read this about the song:

"This song possibly discusses the pain of living in the world and suggests that this pain can be alleviated with the love of someone else who can make a hard and unforgiving world into a “soft” and lovely one. but this depends on the person who listens to the song, as AURORA stated that the songs of this EP can have different meanings to everyone depending on how deep you dive into them." (^48.3)

This song is produced in 103 beats per minute (bpm), and that is no coincidence. 103 is a prime number (and also the total amount of species of crows - coincidence?). Look at this excerpt from an interview with Live in Limbo:

Interviewer: Speaking of tracks, you’ve told us previously that there are 11 tracks on the album, because 11 is your favourite number. I love the reason as to why you’ve said it’s your favourite number – because it’s the same downside up as downside up, right?

AURORA: Yeah, and backward! I also really like 8, because if you look at it in the mirror it’s also the same no matter what. It’s just so satisfying. That’s also why the special song is Track 8.

Interviewer I have a strange fixation with prime numbers, so I love the number 11 too.

AURORA: Oh, I love prime numbers as well! Many of my BPMs, the beat of the song, are often a prime number. (^48.4).

The songs 'Queendom' and 'Forgotten Love' are the only singles that was released before her album, but Aurora did a first time performance of this song when she was in Brazil in 2018, before Infections of a different kind was dropped.

Let's change the world!
Exist for Love!

Sources

Photo: Xin Li
48.1 - Song info on Spotify 
48.2 - Aurora Daily
48.3 - Aurora Aksnes Wiki
48.4 - Interview with Live in Limbo

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Photos by: @penny0119 (Thank you) ⁣

Following a global album tour, Aurora shared her documentary 'Nothing Is Eternal' , which offered insights into the woodland surroundings in her hometown of Bergen (^47.1). This change of scenery have poured into her music writing as well:⁣

"Well, my life has changed a lot for the last two years. The world I’ve explored has changed a lot." ⁣

Traveling around the globe inspired Aurora to approach her music in a more political way. ⁣

"Yes, but not in a black or white way... My only political view is that everything should be allowed to have respect and be accepted for what it is... We are more and more united, and everything works better when we’re united. It's nice to see people begin to question things more and more, because it’s so easy to go along with what's already happening" (^47.1)⁣

The song Churchyard is just like the concept of someone bigger using their power in the wrong way, that happens all the time in politics, with children, women... [Trump] is a bully. His thing is to be outrageous... It’s scary to see a leader persona like that, how his speech is the opposite of everything everyone has fought for before him. It proves how quickly a big group of humans can just switch around if someone feeds their anger and fear. It’s really scary.⁣

Thus, she wanted her new music to give people the courage and spirit to stand up and fight for the good things in life:⁣

"After you’ve fought for yourself, become a warrior for those who have not yet become their own warriors" (^47.2)⁣

But she is more subtle in the ways she do it. She don't straight out points us to what is wrong or right, but guides us to think for ourselves:⁣

"Often I think it’s done in the wrong way, by lecturing people... I want to involve people in a nice way, in a way that appeals to the heart and the body first." (^47.1)⁣

Her way of speaking up is through her music:⁣

"Many hearts can react to something that comes out of one heart. It just shows that music is such an important language. It’s the one thing we manage to have in common. The one thing we can all understand and share.” (47.3)

Sources 

47.1 - Interview with Independent Magazine

47.2 - Interview with L'Officiel 

47.3 - Interview with Scan Magazine 

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28th of September 2018
According to the Aurora Fandom Wiki, Aurora started writing this song the day after releasing her first album "AMDGMAAF" (^46.1), and sh told her audience in Minneapolis that this song was connected to one of her songs from that one (^46.2). She have never told us straight out which song she referred to, but "Churchyard" is a good guess, according til Aurora Daily on Tumblr (^46.3). Aurora where asked about this in a Q&Q on Reddit, and said:

"It happened quiet can definitely be about domestic violence. It's a continuation to a song that I already have released before..."

"In Churchyard we find someone taking advantage of being in a position where they are the strongest. And then using it to hurt the other. We know that happens in many Situations. Also domestic violence. " (^46.3)

The earliest trace of this song I have managed to find, is a dead link uploaded to SoundCloud the 2nd of November, 2017 (^46.4); almost a year before its release, and almost two months before her perfomance at Nidarosdomen (29th of December, 2017) (^46.5). After that, this song isn't to be found on any setlist before IOADK was dropped.

I believe Aurora enjoys singing this song. She have included it on many live performances, and radio and TV shows after its "birth". I have done some digging, and I really encourage you to check out the performances listed below. I find them in my Bio:

Fun fact:
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry gave Auroras EP "IOADK" a platinum trophy the 1st of November 2020. This trophy represents the sales of 20.000 units. They also take streaming into the account; 1000 streams equals 1 unit (^46.7)

Song story sources 

46.1 - Aurora Fandom Wiki
46.2 - Minneapolis, MN, 2019
46.3 - Aurora Daily on Tumblr
46.4 - Dead link on SoundCloud
46.5 - Live at Nidarosdomen
46.7 - Aurora IFPI Trophies

It happened quiet live performances

29.12.2017 - Live at Nidarosdomen
11.10.2018 - O2 Forum, Kentish Town -
27.02.2019 - Minneapolis, MN -
11.03.2019 - Live at The Current -
14.05.2019 - Live at KEXP -
05.11.2019 - Albert Hall, Manchester -
21.11.2019 - NRK HAIK -
03.06.2020 - Somewhere Else Festival -
09.03.2020 - Live at Lindmo -
07.11.2020 - Aurora with Bergen Symphonic Orchestra -
17.12.2020 - Japan Streaming Show -

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28.9.2018⁣

Aurora performed this song live (presumably) for the first time in Säo Paulo, Brazil in October 2017, almost a year before it's release (^45.1)⁣

Aurora have done this live many times since it was released. She usually take some time to speak to the crowd before she do. Something random and funny. Then she will say something like this:⁣

"OK. But the next song is NOT about... (that strange, lovely thing). This song is for the emotional people in the crowd!" ⁣

Aurora have many times highlighted Ane Brun as one of her role models in music, and in 2019 Aurora had the pleasure of meeting her as a part of the HAIK documentary. Ane did a beautiful cover of the song, and had this to say about it afterwards. To which Aurora agreed:⁣

"This song is so nice, because it may catch so much. That sensitivity, the feeling of beeing in touch with yourself, and at the same time finding it hard to keep the world at a distance. As if you have larges pored in your skin, and you take in very much." (45.2)⁣

Upon the release of 'Infections Of A Different Kind', Aurora had been touring a lot around the world. And her fanbase started to recognize themselves as 'Warriors and Weirdos' - And she noticed how her music had a healing effect on their sorrows:⁣

“Very nice, of course, but also very strange, that so many hearts can react to something that comes out of one heart. It just shows that music is such an important language. It’s the one thing we manage to have in common. The one thing we can all understand and share.” (^45.3)

Sources

45.1 - Aurora Aksnes - All is soft inside (new song) - Live in São Paulo - Brazil - 21/10/2017
45.2 - Aurora in HAIK documentary 
45.3 - Interview with Scan Magazine and photos

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A different kind of song story... ⁣

Aurora did a cover of this song the 2nd of March 2016 on BBC Radio (^44.1)⁣

"In the Night" is a song by Canadian singer "The Weeknd" from his second studio album "Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)" ... The song was released to contemporary hit radio as the album's fourth single on November 17, 2015 (^44.1)⁣

What's quite special about this song, is that it's one of the few songs she covers while it's still being a hit on the radio worldwide. Only four months after Weeknd released it - and only nine days before releasing her own first baby, All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend. ⁣

Sources 

44.1 - Aurora performing "In the Night" 
44.2 - About the song

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"I'm not home
In a place where
love has been broken
I lift myself and run"

28th of September, 2018.
The period before the release of "Infections of a different kind" is well presented in the documentary "Once Aurora". Among many other things, we follow her on the hunt for ambient sounds to include in her music. There is a scene where we see her debating with her producers on making "the sound of orgasm", followed with some voice play. She obviously wants to present this as something natural, and not as something dirty (^43.1). And in the process, learning more and more about music production:

"On her first album, Aurora encouraged her producers towards figurative ends: "Can you make this sound like a person dying? This like a belly ache? And this like the ocean?" In her new songs, Aurora has taken over much of that production wizardry, and continues to channel the magnificence of nature through her art." (^43.2)

"This particular track came to Aurora in a dream during her time in the studio at La Fabrique in the South of France. While hidden away in a studio that "looks like the house they found Narnia in," Aurora "didn't go anywhere else," either physically or mentally. "The whole song is inspired by the dream I had the night before I woke up that morning. I dreamt about walking in the same halls and about making music: I couldn't leave in any way before I finished my work." (^43.2)

Touring made Aurora more aware of what's going on in the world. And this EP is absolutely a gamestarter for her. That she uses "Queendom" as the opening track is a witness for that.

"Much of Aurora's motivation comes from this need to help those people "who are lonely or heartbroken or in grief", as she once was. "We are all from the same seed, you know? And it makes sense that trying to find happiness is so you can be of help to others. I want to make people feel special: I have to meet my fans and hold their hands and be there for them as much as I can."(^43.2)

Let's change the world!
Exist for Love! 

Sources

43.1 - Once Aurora Documentary (2019)
43.2 - Interview with ReadDork, October 1st, 2018
43.3 - Gentle Earthquake on KEXP Iceland. 

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I look in the mirror I see reflections⁣
I see the eyes of somebody else⁣
I look in the mirror I see reflections⁣
I see reflections of myself 

⁣

18th of December 2015⁣

International release in December 2018.⁣

The Chinese musician Hua Chenyu released the album "Aliens", and one of the 6th track on the album is actually Auroras, but only the music. Hua have changed the lyrics to a complete different song and then changed the title to "The Escape from Utopia" (^42.1)⁣

Aurora made a recording of the original song with VEVO, and released it on her YouTube page the 2nd of August 2016 (42.2). Quite interesting that it was, since the Chinese Huy released it 9 months before, and Aurora must therefore have given or sold it a long time ago. ⁣

According to the Aurora Fandom Wiki, it was registered to Songfile and BMI in 2017. They also states that the song is leaked out, but I haven't been able to find confirmation on that (^42.3)⁣

During the year 2016, Aurora performed mostly in Europe. The list of venues is quite long but no Asian countries was visited that year. As a matter of fact, she didn't go to Asia until November 2019, but she didn't go to China - only Japan, Singapore and Korea (^42.4)⁣

Do you know something more about this song? Please comment below?

Sources

42.1 - Hua Chenyu on YouTube 
42.2 - Aurora "Silhouettes" on YouTube
42.3 - Aurora Fandom Wiki
42.4 - Bandsintown Setlist 
42 - Aurora "Silhouettes" animation on YouTube

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28th of September 2018
Not actually an album but an EP, intended for streaming, but became available on CD, cassette and LP the 1st of November 2019 (41.1)

"With my first album, I wanted people to look into themselves, to know they deserve to spend time on themselves, to ask why they’re feeling sad and accept that they can’t push those emotions away. So I wanted my first album to be about being your own warrior. When you’ve fixed your demons, all of the things that make you cry or feel less worth, then you have a bigger capacity—you can become a warrior for others...

... After seeing the plastic in the ocean, we have become more conscious and people are voluntarily cleaning beaches. We have to do things ourselves, and we can’t do anything alone, but together we can do a lot of good for the world. That’s what my next album is about: after you’ve fought for yourself, become a warrior for those who have not yet become their own warriors...

... So the album has a lot of different themes—some worldwide, some individual—but track eight sums it all up. You can go and look for track eight when I release my album. It’s the essence of the whole thing... " (^41.2)

We see that in this one, Aurora has been taken more charge over the music's production:

“I’ve learned that everything is out there in my name and I am in the front of the ship. So I’m definitely going to stand on my ground a bit more and to be even more bossy and take a bit more control of the ship – ’cause I am a very stubborn lady and I know what I want. I’m just going to trust my own ideas – even though they might seem a bit weird and unusual at the time.” (^41.3)

Sources

41 - YouTube - About the album 
41.1 - Aurora Aksnes Wikipedia 
41.2 - Interview with L'Officiel 
41.3 - Interview with Musicfeeds

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Building up towards, IOADK, Aurora released this a few months after Queendom. Forgotten Love was first performed live in April 12, 2018 at Phoenix, Arizona (^40.1). Probably sung during that summer before its release. ⁣
⁣
In an interview with Clash Music she talks about the release of step 1 and 2:⁣
⁣
“It began as a whole, collective piece, and then I did think about it, before making it, that I would like people to have time for every song,” she ponders. “The less you have of something, the more you see what the ‘something’ is made out of, the deeper you can dive into every song which I like the idea of.” (^40.2)⁣
⁣
Still today, Aurora choose to offer some singles before handing out her albums. And now you know: She wants to make sure we get the message. In bits and pieces. She has strong hopes for her purpose in making music:⁣
⁣
“It’s just one goal. To be a warrior of light - That’s the only mission.” Aurora is very clear on what she wants to happen with the release of her second album. (^40.2)⁣
⁣
In this song, her emotional language is really noticeable. Aurora stated that there’s no real language behind the verse that some thinks is  Norwegian. As we know, it's a language invented by herself, and only she can understand. She also revealed in an interview for The L'Officiel USA in September, 2018: “My own language is an emotional language and it means what you need it to mean in the now. It’s very liberating to sing the words, because I can change the energy in them. My newest song, “Forgotten Love,” has my own language in the second chorus, and you can feel the melody and instruments without having any input on what I’m saying” (^40.3)⁣
⁣
As for the meaning of the song, Aurora sais:⁣
"'Forgotten Love' is a song I wrote about how when we choose to fall in love with someone, either a partner or even just the love you have for a friend, we know the risk it takes. How much it would hurt if we would lose this person who we love this much." (^40.4)⁣

Here's the sources...

40.1 - Genius.com

40.2 - Interview with Clash Music 

40.3 - Interview with L'Officiel USA

40.4 - YouTube, Aurora presents IOADK 

40 - YouTube, Music video