Sigrid Solbakk Raabe, the pop star behind euphoric Scandipop hits like “High Five” and “Strangers”, has always traded in fun.
The Norwegian artist sounds as though she is having a blast on her previous albums. Sucker Punch (2019) and How to Let Go (2022) are filled with songs that couple infectious pop hooks with emotional clarity and epic choruses.
Released in 2017, her defiant debut single “Don’t Kill My Vibe” established Sigrid as a pop iconoclast: a teenage songwriter pushing back against her patronising older male collaborators. The fact it was so undeniably catchy was a bonus.
Her new single “Jellyfish”, out this Friday, is the latest addition to that summer sing-along canon.
“I want to have fun with it,” Sigrid, 28, told The Independent during an exclusive interview in support of a partnership with Latitude music festival.
The new track is about feeling a connection with someone whether that’s in a friendship or in the giddy early stages of a budding relationship.
It was certainly written in the right circumstances to foster its optimistic mood, penned in an attic studio in Oslo at the height of summer together with her close friend and collaborator Askjell.
“I can’t remember how the melody came out,” she recalled. “We were just humming together and it came out. It immediately felt catchy and hooky, sweet and quite vulnerable.” It was “very nice and natural”, Sigrid said of the songwriting process.
“Jellyfish” is the first time that Sigrid will be credited as a producer on a song. “It doesn’t really change a thing,” she said of the milestone. “I’ve been co-producing my whole career. It’s just this time I’m being credited for it. That’s the difference.”
Sigrid was 19 years old when she released her debut single, 2017’s “Don’t Kill My Vibe”, kicking off a period in the spotlight that she described as “intense” and “amazing”.
“I’m so thankful for all of it, obviously, but it’s kind of going through a washing machine,” Sigrid continued. “And I think on the second album [How To Let Go] , I really wanted to be taken seriously and I put a lot of heavy pressure on myself to write serious songs.”
Sigrid said she is “having fun again” on “Jellyfish”, adding: “I think you can hear it in the song. I’m not trying to sing perfectly.”
“I take the piss out of myself a bit with the new music as well,” she said. “I’m trying to not take myself too seriously and allow myself to not always be the hero in a situation.”
The jubilant new single will be one of many she performs during her set at Latitude festival, which she first played in 2017.
“I love any festival that has a bit of nature in it,” she said of its bucolic setting in Henham Park, Suffolk. “I remember rowing in a rowboat to get back and forth from backstage.”
Imploring festival-goers to catch her set, Sigrid said: “My humble opinion is that we do deliver. I give my all on stage. It’s my favourite thing to do and to see everyone singing along is super special and makes me feel confident again.
“I’m a bit of a word of mouth artist but when you go to a show of mine, you know you’re going to have a good time.”
On what she would like to see from the Latitude audience, Sigrid said: “I would love to see a safe cozy mosh pit; we have a surprising amount of mosh pits at my show.”
Sigrid will perform at Latitude Festival, which is happening from 24 to 27 July at Henham Park, Suffolk; “Jellyfish” is out on Friday (11 July).
