Molly Lilly Maria Nilsson (born 14 December 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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Early life

Nilsson is from Stockholm; she was born in Gröndal and grew up in

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

, in a non-musical family. Both of her parents were

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

. She has described her father, a graphic designer, as her "biggest fan". In school, Nilsson had some piano lessons and a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band with friends, where they "played a little bit", but mostly "just hung out". Growing up, she listened to a lot of 1970s punk from the United Kingdom. As a teenager, she sometimes worked as a DJ. 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 and is a short walk from Berlin Ostbahnhof main line railway station.

, while saving money to write songs on weekdays. 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 Europa may refer to: Places * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliffs, Alexan ...

''. Nilsson gained more visibility in 2011 when her song "Hey Moon" from ''These Things Take Time,'' was covered by John Maus for his album '' We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves''. After releasing another album, ''

Zenith The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...

'', 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 ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...

, 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

Studio albums

* '' These Things Take Time'' (2008) * ''

'' (2009) * '' Follow the Light'' (2010) * ''

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

'' (2011) * '' The Travels'' (2013) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Imaginations'' (2017) * ''

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

'' (2018) * '' Extreme'' (2022) * ''Un-American Activities'' (2024)

Extended plays

* '' Sólo Paraíso'' (2014)

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 (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Molly Swedish pop singers Swedish women pop singers Musicians from Stockholm Musicians from Berlin Swedish expatriates in Germany Living people Swedish women in electronic music Minimal wave musicians 1984 births English-language singers from Sweden