Julie Aagaard, better known as Danish noir-pop supernova Kill J, releases her highly anticipated debut album ‘Superposition’ today, via Nettwerk Records.
Following the recent release of her single ‘Moon Sick’, which saw support from the likes of Earmilk – who praised its “inimitable production”and KIll J for transcending “the artist label into a realm of a glorified queen,” and The Line of Best Fit for who applauded her “whistle register on the wordless vocalisation that stands in for a chorus,” cheering her jaw-dropping performance for avoiding replicating ideas used in radio-friendly hitmaking.
Working with UK producer Liam Howe(FKA Twigs, Lana del Rey, Ellie Goulding), ‘Superposition’ is a science-inspired record, it’s a theatrical sonic page-turner: all fiery electronics, booming drums, glass-shattering vocals and pop hooks that take sinister detours into minor-key terrain. From her battle to quit smoking to the horrors of the migrant crisis and her personal loves and heartache, it’s bursting open with honesty and feeling – where every track tells a different story.
The album’s title is a nod to the superposition theory, while the more reflective, downtempo ‘Moon Sick’ in KIll J’s own words is “one of those nerdy songs”, which explores the idea of multiverse theories. Outside of science, that track is also a homage to Aagaard’s childhood obsession with Mariah Carey. Whilst‘Entangled’ distils her fascination with science into a slow-burning future-pop jam. For Aagaard, the main draw of physics is its potential for enlightenment. “The language in physics has its own poetry, which helps me understand the world a little bit better”, she says. “I visited CERN –The European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, in preparation for this album. It was a mind-blowing experience and I got so much inspiration”, explains Kill J before concluding with her logic response to today’s chaos “because, in the end, only science will save us.”
Throughout‘Superposition’, Aagaard puts different areas of her personal and professional life under the microscope. On ‘Dead Weight Soldier’, she kills off a fictional A&R – her way of calling out the sexism she has endured in the music industry. “I’m in it for the art / You’re in it for the pussy”, she sings.
Steadily putting out an array of singles and EPs over the years, the singer-songwriter and producer has already gained a legion of fans including The Guardian,The Fader, Pigeons & Planes and The 405, The Line Of Best Fit and Huck Magazine,whilst receiving airplay from the likes of Huw Stephens and Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1, Mamiko Motto on NTS Radio and even a spin on Zane Lowe’s Beats1, culminating in a live session from the BBC legendary Maida Vale studios for Huw Stephens. Named “the future of Scandinavian pop” by the likes of Complex, Pigeons & Planes, Indie Shuffle and Stereogum among others, KIll J saw her early singles catapulted to No.1 spot on the Hype Machine‘Most Popular’ and ‘Twitter’ charts.
Now it’s her time to bring her Kill J alter-ego fully to life in the form of her debut LP. “I might do chords on the piano, but very quickly I’ll move over to the computer and I’ll start producing it, because writing and producing are just so interconnected… it’s a fluid thing”, she says of the writing process. For‘Superposition’, she also worked with top producer Liam Howe. “I need someone to play ball with”, she quips.
Aagaardoffers her take on the so-called Scandi-pop sound that has rocked the music sphere in recent years. “There are definitely noir elements in what I do and also there are theatrical elements… I don’t know if it’s the lack of sun or if it’s in the water, but I’ve just always gravitated towards that kind of thing”, she offers.
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