Danish singer/songwriter Signe Vange aches from the inside out on her dreamy new single “Skyscraper” (featuring Lise Westzynthius), a soul-stirring reflection on climate change, survival, and the future’s uncertainty.
Stream: “Skyscraper” – Signe Vange ft. Lise Westzynthius
It’s so hard to look at the next generation – our future – and not worry about the world they’ve been born into. It’s a world of chaos; a world in crisis – one of increasing calamity, whose destruction and damage was brought on by humanity’s actions, and later, humanity’s inaction and indifference. This is not a “normal” kind of generational trauma: We all have an individual and a collective responsibility to do better, not just for the sake of ourselves and our own wellbeing, but for the sake of all those to come. Tomorrow’s children deserve to live in a greener and bluer world than the one we know today; they deserve to breathe cleaner air than the air we breathe, and so on.
So far, many of our global leaders have failed us. Profit-hungry businesses have failed us. But all hope is not lost – and we’ll continue to advocate for everything tomorrow’s children need in order to flourish. Danish singer/songwriter Signe Vange aches from the inside out on her dreamy new single “Skyscraper” (featuring Lise Westzynthius), a soul-stirring reflection on climate change, survival, and the future’s uncertainty.
Why so violent
Please be silent
The kids need their sleep
And once the water turns our gold to paper
We will make some more and buy a skyscraper
Won’t we?
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Skyscraper,” Signe Vange’s first song of the year and the lead single off her upcoming third EP, Dinosaur. Based in Copenhagen, Vange is an indie folk singer/songwriter making music that hits at the core of our human experience. Her atmospheric and ethereal sound is delicate, intimate, and yet all-consuming.
In featuring her sophomore EP Human back in 2021, Atwood Magazine praised the singer/songwriter’s ability to marry bold, resounding messages with soul-stirring music: “In five fragile tracks, [she] enchants the ears and warms our hearts with an alluring, immersive exploration of the challenges, and the beauty, of life,” we wrote at the time.
Her first record in a decade represented a quiet, but deeply meaningful return for Vange; the five songs off that EP dealt with the present moment in time, the ongoing destruction of our planet, and opportunities for change.
Dinosaur, she says, is something of an extension of the reflections expressed in Human, “although slightly louder and more outward-facing.” This is immediately apparent as “Skyscraper” gets underway and Vange douses listeners in a dreamy blanket of anxiety and yearning.
Life we take it
Luck create it
For we have it all
It’s time to be happy
And once the water gets to our high road
We will make some more and buy a houseboat
Won’t we?
“‘Skyscraper’ is a song about water, houseboats and of course.. skyscrapers. I am a concerned citizen of this world, and the song arose from my frustrations over the passive stance society has taken on climate change and the rising tides,” Signe Vange tells Atwood Magazine. “The song is a duet with Lise Westzynthius, a prominent Danish singer and songwriter who has been an inspiration of mine for a very long time. Back in my early teens I created an anonymous Myspace account, uploaded a rough recording of a song and befriended a handful of my idols, including her. To my surprise she got in contact. Lise has since become both a friend and sort of a mentor to me. I am so happy to have her sing with me on ‘Skyscraper.'”
“The track came to life in the studio with the same group of musicians who also helped make my last EP, Human. This time we already knew each other well and the whole process was even more free and intuitive because of it. Working on a tight budget with limited time the production is practically a mixed jam session recorded live.”
“The music video was shot at a family holiday in Sweden by my sister-in-law Danish video journalist Simone Lilmoës. The boy in the red sweater is my son. Including him in the project felt difficultly fitting for this one.”
And once the water turns our gold to paper
We will make some more and buy a skyscraper
And once the water gets to our high road
We will make some more and buy a houseboat
Won’t we?
“Skyscraper” may not offer concrete answers to present-day issues, but it does bring to light a sense of longing, existential angst, and urgency that so many of us feel on an all-too frequent basis. Vange’s emotions are palpable; her stories deeply human and easily relatable. Together with Lise Westzynthius, she creates a breathtakingly intimate experience that moves the heart and sends shivers down the spine.
Stream Signe Vange’s new single exclusively on Atwood Magazine, and stay tuned for more as she continues to tease her upcoming EP, Dinosaur.
“Skyscraper” is out everywhere October 20, 2023.
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:: stream/purchase Skyscraper here ::
:: connect with Signe Vange here ::
Stream: “Skyscraper” – Signe Vange ft. Lise Westzynthius
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© Sara Galbiati
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