Moving through a vibrant soundscape of future-retro indie-pop with shades of bedroom electronica, 22-year-old Swedish songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Augustine made his debut with ”Luzon” in February of 2019, followed by “A Scent of Lily” in April. Both singles went straight to #1 on Hype Machine and received critical acclaim – and Augustine quickly became one of the most talked about debuts of the year.
Characterised by soulful falsetto, cinematic instrumentation and melancholic love stories, his songs and lyrics have drawn comparisons to iconic voices like Mark Foster, Justin Vernon, Ezra Koenig and James Blake.
As he releases his debut EP, Wishful Thinking (Read our review, and listen to the songs right here on Nothing in the Rulebook), Augustine offers a few reflections on each of the tracks on his EP:
Luzon
Augustine says: “The first song I released as an artist that changed so much about my life. It’s a memory of the contrasts in a relationship, thinking that it’s a bit scary if the current moment is the highlight of your life. You are high on life, but so afraid to lose the feeling that you somehow lose yourself instead.”
Viola
Augustine says: “I was a little angry with the world when I wrote ‘Viola.’ Much of that anger was due to feelings of anxiety, guilt and other boring things. The line ‘I’ll be your biggest disappointment if you sum up the years of adolescence’ is really about being scared of not being enough.”
Wishful Thinking
Augustine says: “I’m weak for synth pop songs that are so big that you just lose yourself in them, so I wanted to try one myself. ‘Wishful Thinking’ is a twisted love story about looking back at something with both regret and lack, but mostly with a fear of forgetting how a certain person is, looks and sounds.”
A Scent of Lily
Augustine says: “This was initially an attempt to write a pop song, with inspiration from the chorus of Ariana Grande’s ‘Into You.’ ‘Lily’ eventually became much more alternative. It’s about powerlessness in a relationship, when you buy into everything about the other person, to the point that you stop thinking your own sensible thoughts.”
Slacks
Augustine says:“The most personal song of the EP. It’s about how a lovely relationship didn’t last because of distance. We moved to different cities, and I became so self-absorbed. I started suffering from agoraphobia that made it hard for me to even go outside. A little crazy in hindsight.”
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