Composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist
Web: myrkurmusic.band
Most recent: “Touch My Love and Die”
In February, composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Myrkur (AKA Amalie Bruun) performed at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix—the celebrated annual Danish music competition—in which she entered her song “Touch My Love and Die.” The video, filmed on Northern Europe›s highest mountain pass, Sognefjellet, uses the natural elements to capture the drama and intensity of the track, which takes inspiration from metal, Nordic folk music, mythology, and—clearly—film scores. “I enjoy having rules around my songwriting, and there are definitely rules when scoring for film or television or a competition like this,” Myrkur says. “The confinement is incredibly inspiring for me. For ‘Touch My Love and Die,’ the song is a mix of a lot of things I walk around thinking about, and my approach was similar to how I would write a score—it’s all about visuals and performance and stage-setting.”
Besides releasing her own albums, Myrkur has written music for film, television, and theatre, including for Vikings: Valhalla on Netflix, as well as the critically acclaimed production Ragnarok at The Royal Danish Theatre. She says visual storytelling is integral to all her work, and she’d like to score more music, also for ballet and musicals.
Myrkur has described “Touch My Love and Die,” recorded with live musicians using over 40 microphones, as an antidote to throwaway culture and A.I. as it becomes more prevalent in scoring and production. “At this point with A.I., anyone can create anything without knowing anything about music. But I won’t consider that in my writing. It’s like junk food, a dopamine hit. But you’re not going to pick that [A.I. generated] album up in 20 years,” she says. “Fortunately, with the niche audience I have, people still want the stuff that’s stood the test of time.”
On the subject of aspiring composers finding their way in the age of A.I., Myrkur says: “My advice is stupid—who wants to spend years learning an instrument when a computer does it quickly and for free? But if you wake up every morning and music is all you can think about and it’s what makes you feel purpose, then just keep going.”
