Second of three articles on Danish artists making it outside Denmark these years presenting singer/songwriter Aura, who ever since she was a child has dreamed of taking the world by storm with her music. Now, the 22-year-old songbird is able to spread her wings via a major deal with Sony BMG in Europe.

The word “Aura” is of Greek origin and is said to be a field of colored energy. It is a description that also applies nicely to the singer Aura Dione, a folk- and country-inspired singer who incorporates discreet electronic undertones and is fueled by pure pop energy. She has a certain undeniable affinity with other creative female artists like Kate Nash, Feist, Kate Bush and Emiliana Torrini, but Aura is most definitely her own woman.

Talent, hard work and will power
The applause that greeted her debut album ‘Columbine’ in Denmark has given the young singer a taste of the success that she hopes to emulate in new European territories with the help of her new multinational backer: Sony BMG Continental, the European department of the record label Sony BMG.

‘Columbine’ – including two brand-new songs, ‘Stay The Same’ and ‘Lullabye Goodbye’ – was released in the rest of Europe in January with the local departments of Sony BMG in France, Finland and Germany particularly enthusiastic about the Danish singer’s questing and quirky pop, not to mention her strong visual identity.

Why do you think Sony BMG Continental fell for you?
“I hope, of course, that they think I’m a good, talented singer and songwriter. I’m also sure that they see and feel how much I put into this. As well as my musical abilities, hard work and willpower are among my main characteristics.”

Sweet wrappers and hankies
Creativity has been a big part of Aura’s personality since childhood. She grew up on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Her French/Faroese and Danish/Spanish parents met at the Roskilde Festival in the early 1970s, when her mum played in the hippy girl band Flora.

The family home offered free access to countless instruments and a huge record collection. On the school bus, Aura would make up lyrics for the songs running through her head, jotting them down on sweet wrappers and used hankies. Later, she transposed her ideas to the guitar.

“To start with, my dream was to make music my life’s work, but it seemed unrealistic to want to be a pop star,” explains Aura, who isn’t motivated by fame but by the total freedom to make music that success can bring.

Musical dreams
In Denmark, her debut album ‘Columbine’ was released by Kenneth Bager’s label Music For Dreams in January 2008.

“It appealed to me to be signed to an independent like Music For Dreams,” says Aura. “They give you plenty of elbow room. It’s not far from idea to reality, and I am able to do things on my own terms. That’s very important for me.”

Aura met label-owner Bager in Ibiza three years ago. The dialogue between the two was informal until the day she invited him round for coffee, sat him on a chair in the kitchen, picked up her acoustic guitar and played 30 songs. Bager immediately insisted that they start recording the album that would later become ‘Columbine’, on which he is also credited as producer.

As well as Europe, Aura also dreams of performing and releasing music in America. “I think the USA and I would go well together,” she says with an arched smile – although for the time being her eyes are fixed upon the European musical battlefields.

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Boom Boom Magazine – The Sounds & Visions of Denmark