Berlin-based artist Solmai makes music that feels like memory put into melody. Born in Copenhagen, she cut her teeth on underground stages back home before moving to Berlin four years ago, where she started working closely with producer Tilmann Jarmer. Since then, she’s been building her sound: dreamy, emotionally charged pop with a strong indie edge.
By day, she works in advertising; by night, she pours herself into music, writing about heartbreak, transformation, and everything that comes with your late twenties. Now, after a string of singles and an EP, Solmai is gearing up to release her debut album, Favorite Kinda Girl, this November.
KALTBLUT caught up with her to talk about the process of putting it together, navigating independence as an artist, and how it feels to write songs that grow with you over time.
KALTBLUT: How is your album going?
Solmai: The album is going great. It’s gonna be released in November, so the dates are set. I think we’re missing one song to finalise. I’m starting to release singles in late August, and then every month I’ll release one, and then a big release in November.
KALTBLUT: How do you decide which songs get released as singles and which don’t? Is there a theme?
Solmai: Not necessarily. Well, actually, it kind of depends. Some of them do have a bit of a theme. Others, it’s more about what has potential to be picked up, what has potential for playlists. A very slow, sad song that’s maybe a bit obscure or alternative won’t usually be picked up.
The first single, “For Now”, is kind of an ode to summer, looking back at summer, so I felt late August is a good time for the release. Some of the other songs make sense with the month they’re in. For example, October is very rainy, at least I hope it will be.
KALTBLUT: There’s been some discussion recently that albums should be listened to in the order the artist created them. Do you agree with that, or does releasing singles randomly break that idea?
Solmai: That’s true, I think. Every song should be able to stand on its own, like a single. But putting them in a certain order creates something new again. I’m still figuring out what order exactly I want, because it’s about the story I want to tell with the album.
If someone listens to the whole thing, they’ll hear the waves I’m trying to create. The album is basically about the breakup I went through: the period of breaking up, the hardship, then meeting someone new and falling in love again.
It’s also about being in my late twenties, going through all that growth, heartbreak, insecurities, and also coming to terms with them and with who I am. A lot of the songs are like me telling myself: it’ll be fine, you’ll get through it, the next decade will be great, you’re pretty cool, just continue on that note.
KALTBLUT: You’re in a different place emotionally. Does that change your performance of break-up songs now?
Solmai: I think when I write something and then sing it again, I can quickly tap into the emotion I had when I wrote it. Of course, it also develops with time. Maybe those words meant one thing back then, and now they mean something different, but they still ring true in some way.
So I can always find an emotion to put on it. If I don’t feel like “oh, it’s about the breakup,” then maybe I’ll think of a broken friendship, or just a period where I felt really sad.
KALTBLUT: Did you plan on making a full album from the beginning, or did that come later?
Solmai: I started with about four songs, and then at some point I thought, I want to do an album. I wanted to create something longer, more conceptual, something that introduces me as an artist.
For the first time since I started making music, I’ve had a consistent producer. That let me see how far we could take it, how my sense of making music changed over time. I gave myself two years – well, it ended up being two years – and then I felt this reflects how I feel right now and how I’ve felt the past year and a half, two years.
KALTBLUT: How has your musical style changed since your debut EP?
Solmai: The EP was more pop, still alternative, but more pop. Now I’ve leaned more into the alternative side of alternative pop, with more indie influences. There are more live instruments in this project, especially the guitar.
KALTBLUT: Is the prospect of releasing an album scarier?
Solmai: No, it’s more exciting. It’s like: okay, I’m making an album, I’m a real artist now. Of course, you don’t need an album to be a real artist. But a lot of people feel that way: once you’ve put out an album, you’ve proven something.
It takes a really long time, a lot of commitment, and good collaborators. You need to have something to say. For me I have ten songs now, and they all say something that feels relevant and interesting. If you can put that into ten songs, you can really say: I did that.
KALTBLUT: What was the hardest song to produce?
Solmai: One of the hardest was about turning 30 this year. I had this idea that I was going to move to Switzerland in February with my partner. We were excited, but then I panicked: if we move, I’ll just have a nine-to-five, then kids, then everything becomes predictable.
Instead of dealing with it, I went partying every weekend for five weeks and was kind of crumbling inside. Then I wrote it all down. I showed it to a Danish friend, and now she’s singing with me on the track. We’re singing in Danish because I wanted it to be very personal.
KALTBLUT: Does it feel different singing in Danish than in English?
Solmai: Yeah, it does. It feels even closer to me. For a long time, I didn’t want to sing in Danish because I thought it would limit me internationally. Every country pushes its own language – German rap, Danish pop – because it resonates with people. That makes sense.
But now there’s more pride in that. I grew up before that pride, and when people asked me – A&R people included – “why not sing in Danish?” it always felt like a loss, like then I’d never be international. If I sing in English, I can go to Germany, the UK, the US, France, anywhere.
Now, though, I’m more open to combining both. It’s more interesting. I love listening to music I don’t understand – it’s another dimension. And the production of that particular song is very Nordic, you can really hear it.
KALTBLUT: Releasing an album is hard enough, but then there’s the campaign. Are you doing everything yourself?
Solmai: Yes, I’m doing everything myself. It’s tough. I’m lucky to have support from friends, family, and my partner, but I feel bad for them sometimes because it’s not easy being close to an independent artist. I don’t know anything else, though.
KALTBLUT: Would you want to release with a label?
Solmai: Maybe, if it was a good deal. I don’t want them to take decision-making power away from me. That’s the most important thing. If they paid me well, and I kept final say, I’d be fine with that.
Working with PR, booking, and smaller things — that’s more what I want. Just someone to help take work off my plate, like sending out a hundred PR emails every week.
KALTBLUT: Isn’t doing your own PR ruining the fun?
Solmai: Yes, oftentimes it does. I was just texting with another artist friend who’s releasing soon, and I told her we have to remind ourselves every day that we love making music. Otherwise, it’ll fall apart.
It’s a daily reminder: step back sometimes, don’t lose the joy.
