For his solo musical project, Denmark’s Frederik Sølberg is recording under the name of Rough Days of Diamond Trade. If that sounds like a newspaper headline, apparently that’s because it is/was (as mentioned here). The solo alias of this Copenhagen/Berlin-based musician (ex-Ghost Society, Lake Placid) has been around for a couple of years now and an early track ‘Doubtful Mind’ was released (by Looking Forward) in March 2012 in Denmark (watch the video, directed by Anders Malmberg, below).

Somehow

RDFDT’s international debut EP Somehow was released (by Looking Forward) on the magic date of 12.12.12  in Austria, the Benelux, Germany, Scandinavia and Switzerland. I have to be honest though, that original release completely passed me by. It was only around the EP’s UK release on 18 March 2013 that I heard of Sølberg’s solo sounds (via Projekta), followed by the flurry of press that has been received – including The Guardian hailing it as ‘goth-rock with a Scandinavian pop twist’ (read more here).

The four tracks on the EP treat us to a delicious mix of dreamy electronic pop with a slowed-down sheen. Nothing is too rushed, it’s all luxuriously floaty. It seems Sølberg is a true indie kid at heart who’s not turned off by a bit of melancholia but still likes a beat. He describes his sound as: “The sound of broken hearts on a dance floor. Like dreams marching in time.”

The track names make up a disjointed sentence that seems to give the impression that it all works out fine in the end (Anywhere; Doubtful Mind; Okay; Somehow). From this selection of sights and sounds, I believe it all just works out just fine indeed.

Somehow is available as a 12-inch vinyl EP (with a special diamond cover) from Rillbar and streamable through Spotify. A European tour is set to follow in May and any appearances of RDFDT in NL/BE will certainly be added to the Nordic Vibes agenda – watch this space here for updates.
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Somehow – EP – Rough Days For Diamond Trade on iTunes