Sigrid on home ground: The pop star on her new EP and upcoming Norwegian tour

Sigrid is brimming with excitement the morning that we connect for a chat over Zoom. Sitting in the living room of her Oslo apartment, the 27-year-old Norwegian pop star is ready to reveal details of her brand new EP for the very first time. “I’m so happy I can finally talk about this!" she exclaims.

Between making last-minute adjustments to the track list and attending rehearsals for her forthcoming tour – which kicks off tomorrow in her hometown of Ålesund, Sigrid (whose full name is Sigrid Solbakk Raabe) is thrilled to be putting out new music after months spent writing in between countries. In her own words: “It feels so liberating."

The new four-track EP has been in the works since the beginning of the year. Named after the first single off the project, The Hype, the record blends country ballads with electronic beats and uplifting club-ready tunes. “I had these songs I loved but were all so different from one another,” she says of the varying genres. “Putting them together in an EP was the best way to release them.”

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While the EP’s first single, which came out in early September, brought back many of the synth-heavy, buoyant sounds Sigrid has become known for, the second single, 'Ghost', introduces instrumental, folk-inspired melodies the singer hadn’t experimented with before. “The song is a complete 180 compared to the first single,” she says. “The ability to write different songs and work with different genres is a big part of me as a songwriter.” Written on a recent trip to Nashville, the song explores the hardships of getting over someone. “It’s really sappy,” she says, “I love it.”

Sigrid’s new music represents a deeply personal body of work. “It feels and sounds really me,” she says. Since releasing her first single in 2017, the uptempo ballad ‘Don’t Kill My Vibe’, the Norwegian singer has become known for her distinctly direct style of songwriting – where emotions are expressed openly and production is kept sleek. “There’s not much of a difference between the way I talk and how I write my songs,” she says. “It all comes very naturally.”

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Her 2017 debut was followed by a string of successful songs and awards, most notably the BBC’s prestigious 'Sound of the Year' prize which she won in 2018. This led Sigrid to release her first album Sucker Punch in 2019, which established her as a leading Scandinavian pop star.

Three years on, she unveiled her sophomore record, How to Let Go: a 12-song track list that presented a mature sound inspired by the time Sigrid spent playing live with her brand. She then promoted it on her biggest tour to date, performing all around the world, reaching Japan and South Korea for the first time in her career. “It was mind-blowing,” she says. “The best tour of my life.”

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The latest EP marks a welcome continuation of Sigrid’s impressive career. It celebrates her distinct musical style, skilful songwriting and a look that has remained broadly unchanged over the years. The minimal, classically Scandinavian outfits – combining a pair of denim and a simple T-shirt – that appeared on the covers of her first releases still define who Sigrid is today. “At a recent festival I was wearing a baggy t-shirt that I got for free on a flight,” she says with a laugh. “I like to feel comfortable in my skin.”

In a fast-paced industry where staying relevant as an artist often means adopting a new look for every musical phase, Sigrid has managed to carve a place to keep being herself. “There will always be moments in which you question what you’re doing,” she says. “But for the most part, I feel incredibly privileged to be able to just be who I am.”