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 Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Early life

Nilsson grew up in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Both of her parents were

communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

. She began her creative pursuits in comics and writing. Soon she began experimenting with a friend's keyboard and transitioned from visual media into songwriting.

Music

Nilsson moved to Berlin to pursue music. She worked in the cloakroom of Berlin nightclub

Berghain Berghain () is a nightclub in Berlin, Germany. It is named after its location near the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain in Berlin, and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.

, while saving money to write songs on weekends. She released her first album in 2008 titled ''These Things Take Time'', which she released on CD-R with just 500 copies. In 2009, she released another self-produced album, ''Europa''. Nilsson gained more visibility in 2011 when her song "Hey Moon" from ''These Things Take Time,'' was covered by

John Maus John Maus (born February 23, 1980) is an American musician, composer, singer, and songwriter known for his baritone singing style and his use of vintage synthesizer sounds and Medieval church modes, a combination that often draws comparisons to ...

for his album ''

We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves ''We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves'' is the third album by American musician John Maus, released on June 27, 2011. Its title is derived from French philosopher Alain Badiou's "Fifteen Theses on Contemporary Art". Maus said that he ...

''. After releasing another album, ''Zenith'', in 2015, Nilsson began a world tour. Nilsson produces and performs her music on her own, though she co-releases much of her music on Dark Skies Association and Glasgow's Night School Records. Nilsson's style features minimalist arrangements of synthesizers and drum beats and is often categorized as dark pop or lo-fi synth-pop. She cites solitude as a necessary and important part of her creative process. During live performances, Nilsson often sings over a CD of her own work. One of Nilsson's heroes is Polish socialist

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...

, the subject of Nilsson's song "Obnoxiously Talented". In an interview with ''Tribune'' magazine, she said: " art from her work and legacy, I've really developed a relationship with Rosa Luxemburg on a human level. It's great to find people in history who can give you an example of what’s possible, or how you can live your life, or what you should strive for." Nilsson's album ''Extreme'' (2022), was released on the date of Luxemburg's death, 15 January.

Discography

Albums

* ''These Things Take Time'' (2008) * ''Europa'' (2009) * ''Follow the Light'' (2010) * ''History'' (2011) * ''The Travels'' (2013) * ''Sólo Paraíso'' (2014) * ''Zenith'' (2015) * ''Imaginations'' (2017) * ''2020'' (2018) * ''Extreme'' (2022)

Singles

* "Ugly Girl" / "Wrong Boy" (2016) * "About Somebody" / "Quit (In Time)" (2017) * "Hey Moon" / "Silver" (2021 - charity re-release for

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

)

References

Swedish pop singers Musicians from Stockholm Musicians from Berlin Swedish expatriates in Germany Living people Swedish women in electronic music Minimal wave musicians Year of birth uncertain 1984 births {{Sweden-singer-stub