iönä – Tick Tick (2023)
From day one, singer-songwriter Swedish iönä was surrounded by music embracing a passion for writing lyrics and melodies early on. In fact, with a musician father, she hardly remembers a time when she was not involved in music. By age 13, she was performing in various bands and in 2017 – after having suffered from a cyst on her vocal cords – iönä relocated to London to follow her creative path and formed FVRmind. In 2022, FVRmind dissolved and iönä began working on her solo project leading her to release three well-received singles, opening for Band Of Skulls, and hosting the Berlin Music Awards.
One of the most intriguing things about this Swedish talent, and there are many intriguing things, is the legal changing of her name. Many artists perform under monikers but iönä chose to transform herself entirely moving from Isabella to iönä (pronounced ee-oh-nah). Embracing this new identity, she found comfort in welcoming change into her life freeing her from disillusion and despair. She explains, “I was never able to fully relate to my previous name, but I thought that the disconnect was something I had to live with…choosing my own name was empowering…I used it as a fresh start to fully be myself and it helped me let go of some traumas from my past…” It is this empowerment and confidence that she hopes to instil in her listeners.
Following her well-received singles ‘Take Me To The Sea’ and ‘Cruel’, ‘Tick Tick’ is iönä’s third release. A collaborative piece with Danny M. Allin, the co-written and co-produced single elegantly merges aspects of trip-hop with alternative pop in a cinematic avant-garde sonic landscape.
Speaking about mental health, ‘Tick Tick’ is more than just an enjoyable melodic experience but an emotional transmission of desolation, confusion and sublime euphoria. Oscillating from bright haunting synths to gritty, grungy darkness with iönä’s siren-like vocals slivering through, ‘Tick Tick’ is obscure but excitingly so. Are you prepared for the journey?
Find out more about iönä on her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
