Today’s episode takes us into what can only be described as the transcendent world of Norwegian artist Aurora Aksnes, known to most simply as, AURORA. As naturally wondrous as the celestial phenomena that is her namesake, AURORA’s artistry and persona is undeniably beautiful - a beam of light. It carries a feeling of magic and mystery. While those of us with a more cynical nature might find this world hard to imagine and even harder to imagine ourselves in, AURORA’s story and the message she embodies in her music opens the door of possibility that we only have to step through to see our life on earth as full of wonder, perfect in its imperfection.

As you will hear during this conversation, she is both wise beyond her years, and has a childlike innocence. Born in 1996 and raised in Norway, singer songwriter and producer AURORA is the youngest of three daughters, and grew up surrounded by forests and mountains. She taught herself how to play piano in secret when she was just six and began writing songs, and it took years before her family learned that they had a prodigy in their midst. At 15 when a song she recorded made its way online to the ears of a music industry exec, it was with lightning speed that she was signed, and at 19 her first EP Running With the Wolves was released, quickly followed by her platinum debut album All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend in 2016.

Next came A Different Kind of Human in 2019. Now, her adoring fan base of millions she calls “Warriors and Weirdos” are getting ready to celebrate her return with the arrival of AURORA’s third album, The Gods We Can Touch. Listen in as I sit with AURORA in the New York City offices of her label, Glassnote Records, and together we create her Mixtape Memoir.

Credits:

Host/creator/creative director - Carmel Holt @carmelholt @sheroesmixtape @sheroesradio
Engineer/Mixing/Mastering - Phoebe Wang @feebswang 
Theme music - Lucius @ilovelucius
Cover art - Merle Cooper @m.c.cooper
Art direction - @carmelholt 
Guest: AURORA / @auroramusic
Label: Glassnote Records / @glassnotemusic & Decca / @deccarecords