''Europa'' is the second studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter

Molly Nilsson Molly Lilly Maria Nilsson (born December 14, 1984) is a Swedish singer-songwriter and musician. She is the owner of an independent record label, Dark Skies Association, founded in 2009. As of 2004, Nilsson resides in Berlin. Early life Nilsso ...

, released on 17 June 2009.

Background and themes

The album marked the formation of Nilsson's self-run label Dark Skies Association. The

flag of Europe The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe. Since 1985, the flag has also been ...

is used as the logo of the label. In an interview, Nilsson said the following about Europe and the EU: ''Europa'' was conceived against the backdrop of the

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and the then-incoming

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decade. The album has been described as idealistic, hopeful, and dealing with the ideas of "having no borders to imprison people" and "people coming together to make things better".

Production

''Europa'' was written and recorded in 2009. Nilsson described the album's production as "kind of difficult". It was the first of her releases to be recorded in her own Lighthouse Studios in Berlin. The song "Berlin, Berlin" is notable for being in Nilsson's native

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

, as opposed to her usual English. She has not written any songs in Swedish since.

Release and reception

''Europa'' was originally self-released through Nilsson's label Dark Skies Association on CD and vinyl on 17 June 2009. It was her first release on vinyl, and it marked the formation of her self-run label. The album did not sell as well as she had expected. The album was released as a digital download on 12 March 2021. A reissue on both CD and vinyl followed in April 2021, co-released by Night School Records. For its 2021 reissue, the album was remastered by James Plotkin. ''Europa'' was the last of Nilsson's entirely self-released albums to be reissued on Night School Records. As of 2021, 25% of the album's profits are said to be donated to

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. Looking back at the album in 2022, Nilsson gave a mixed opinion, calling it a "transitional record" and a "middle child" between '' These Things Take Time'' and ''

Follow the Light Follow the Light may refer to: * ''Follow the Light'' (Bad Boys Blue album), 1999 * ''Follow the Light'' (Molly Nilsson album), 2010 See also * ''Follow the Lights ''Follow the Lights'' (released in the UK as ''Everybody Knows'') is an EP b ...

'', while noting that there are "some songs" on ''Europa'' that she loves.

Promotion

A music video for the title track "Europa" was released on 9 June 2009.

Track listing

References

{{reflist 2009 albums Molly Nilsson albums