If you took an imaginary knife and cut Liverpool’s student body in half, you’d find a surprisingly large part of it is Irish and Norwegian. The Gaelic part can be explained away by this town’s ethnic and spiritual connection with the emerald isle, not to mention our similar drinking habits, but the Norwegian section is less obvious…

Firstly, Liverpool was a home from home for a lot of Norwegian sailors when it was this country’s major port, and it’s a well-known fact that the Nordic dish lobscouse is what gave Liverpudlians their popular nickname. Secondly, Liverpool Football Club is huge in Norway and a surprisingly large percentage of any home game’s fans are Norwegian. But the last and I think most overlooked reason why Liverpool attracts Viking students is it’s romantic past as a hub for great music, and I think it’s this we have to thank for giving us such great artists as RAGZ.

(If your browser is not supported by the player then click here to listen)

Ragnhild Nordset originally came to the city to study music but gave this up to get out there and practice her art firsthand. The new single You Started It All sees her transgressing her singer/songwriter roots to the realms of gleaming electronica pop. The story of this transition is almost reflected in the intro of the song which begins with a humble strummed guitar and tapped piano chords before breaking into synths, drum machines and all manner of studio magic tricks. On first listen Mario Leal’s production can seem a little over the top, with a few of the blips and snares sounding somewhat misplaced and detracting from the vocal, but as the song builds into a richer tapestry near the end all the bells and whistles become justified by the overall effect.

There’s something about the Nordic accent which really lends itself to electro-pop and like Swedish singer, Robyn, Rag’s voice has an ergonomic economy for cold synthesizer sounds, not a mechanical trait but a very human one, expressive of a certain distance and longing. At five minutes, You Started It All is a little long for a commercial pop song but the chorus is a hell of a lot catchier than anything Adele ever put out. In another form it would even make a decent dance track, if a little too down-tempo for clubs. But just because it’s pop doesn’t mean it’s not serious. Throughout, the track has a moody haunting quality. A simple piano melody stays with us the whole time and at points a violin even emerges through the mix. The song possesses that very rare and dangerous combination of catchy and brooding; it wouldn’t sound too out of place on Radio 1, but it’s also something you can lose yourself in, and perhaps stay stuck there if you’re not too careful.

Produced by Mario Lealcreditsreleased 05 December 2011 
Song by: Ragnhild Nordset 

Mario Leal: production and mixing 
Malcolm Young Lunan: Bass 
Camilla Wilson: Violin 
Ragnhild Nordset: Vocals and co-production 
Plast-c: art work

Words: Joseph Smith

Photoraphy: Ragz

Links:

• http:// www.myspace.com/ ragzmusic
• http://www.ragzmusic.net
• http://ragz.bandcamp.com/

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