Single reviewsThe Other Side Reviews

XOLYDIA – Summer Waltz (2024)

With a deep passion for storytelling, Swedish singer-songwriter XOLYDIA uses music as a canvas to paint emotional tales and express heartfelt experiences. This love for writing came about early in XOLYDIA’s life as she penned poems and short stories as a child, but it grew to much more. Skip ahead some years and we find UK-based XOLYDIA graduating from BIMM with a Bachelor’s degree in ‘Music Performance and Music Production’. This is our introduction to XOLYDIA, but we are not the only ones whose heads have been turned. From notable publications to international audiences, XOLYDIA is quickly becoming one of the most intriguing artists to reach our ears.

Following her well-received single ‘Small Parts’, ‘Summer Waltz’ is XOLYDIA’s first step into 2024 and the first single from her upcoming debut EP Summer’s Dream. Recorded and produced with long-term collaborator Sara Idani, ‘Summer Waltz’ is a more nostalgic dip into vintage folk as compared to previous work. From the indie-folk ‘Tuned To You’ in 2021 and 2023’s ‘Small Parts’ dreaminess, ‘Summer Waltz’ highlights XOLYDIA’s innovative nature; however, a similarity of heart-warming folk clings to each track bringing new flavours to a single genre.

Influenced by the likes of Enya and The Cardigans, ‘Summer Waltz’ has a wistful airiness in a cinematic soundscape. Then again, the fairy-like twinkles of percussion and guitar hide a more vulnerable intimacy we often hear from Nina Elisabet Persson. While similar comparisons can be made with a nostalgic nod to the songwriting style of Carol King, XOLYDIA’s tone, timbre and production offer a refreshing uniqueness.

Penned on one of those perfect summer days when everything seems right, ‘Summer Waltz’ is a reflection of personal experiences. XOLYDIA explains:

“’Summer Waltz’ is about inner change and to leave the old behind for something new. To walk into something easier and lighter and to be present in the here and now… I had made some big changes: changing careers, moving to London from my home country Sweden, enrolled on a bachelor’s degree in music performance and music production at BIMM London and started to release my music. I had followed my dreams and taken the leap, regardless of my fears…”


Find out more about XOLYDIA on her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.

This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator


Discover your new favourite folk-pop musician on The Other Side Reviews Folk Pop playlist: