There is something especially contrasting about piano drive tunes. The obvious lightness of the higher notes but in general, I find a piano and a voice to just hit hard in a way that reverberates in your body and soul. Signe Marie Rustad’s voice dances elegantly and sweeping across the trickling notes of the keys. Then the bass, drums and other strings kick in and the lightness is anchored by the heaviness that lifts her voice up even further. This ones a catchy one…and it will be kicking round my head for a while…

Who: Signe Marie Rustad

From: Oslo & Elverum, Norway

Song: ‘Die With Your Boots On‘

Latest Record: When Words Flew Freely (out later this year)

What About It: “‘Die With Your Boots On‘ came about after 3 years of writer’s block. I’d been through a trialing time, and had lost the ability to connect with myself in the way that makes it possible for me to write. During all of this, the few times I was able to feel some kind of connection to parts of me that seemed lost, were mostly related to music. A guitar that sounded a certain way at a concert, a favorite song coming on unexpectedly on the car radio. I wanted to write a song about that feeling, that re-connection. ‘Sing me upstream, help me come clean’ — I’m basically calling on the power of music to help us through tough times.”