This week will be an extremely busy week: I’ll be covering the 2024 New Colossus Festival. Over the course of the next five days and four nights, I’ll be catching an eclectic array of bands across Manhattan’s Lower East Side. So understandably, my posting — both here and on social media — may be a bit sporadic until the festival’s conclusion on Sunday. But in the meantime, there’ll still be a handful of scheduled posts for your enjoyment.

Over the course of the last handful of years, the Roskilde-born, London-based singer/songwriter, musician, producer and JOVM mainstay Marie Dahlstrøm has developed and honed a reputation for being one of the most prolific and acclaimed artists in contemporary, indie/underground R&B. 

The JOVM mainstay’s third album, last year’s A Good Life was a deeply personal album that was informed and inspired by the recognition that she contained multitudes, thousands of different selves co-existing and contradicting each other — simultaneously. For the Danish-born artist, she’s an acclaimed singer/songwriter and producer. Producer Dan Diggas‘ romantic partner and creative collaborator. A mother, and on and on. 

“These different pockets of life also create friction,” she acknowledges. “I’ve been figuring out where I belong, what I’m supposed to do and how I fit into all of this — because I am so much more than an artist. When you have big dreams or goals and you see time being taken away from achieving them, and going towards something else — how do you make that a positive experience? There are always challenges, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good life.” 

Fittingly, A Good Life thematically explores dismantling the long-held idea that your validity as an artist somehow diminishes when it’s not the focal point of your life and that somehow being a parent negates creativity. Of course, that can be said for artists, who have to support themselves and their creative endeavors with a day job not even remotely related to their passions. 

The album also featured collaborations with Jay Prince, Kofi Stone, Cory McKenzie Tribbett, Delleile Ankrah and Sipprell among a list of others, and production from Conor Albert and her partner Dan Diggas. 

A Good Life Deluxe is slated for release next week. And the deluxe edition will will feature two previously unreleased tracks, as well as two new remixes and reworks of album tracks “If I Belong” featuring contributions from Samson Jatto (drums) and Jay Asafo (bass) and “Now my Own,” featuring frequent collaborator, London-based rapper Aligo.

“Nothing On You” feat. Odeal, one of the previously unreleased tracks, is a song anchored by a shimmering, looping guitar line, reminiscent of The Isley Brothers‘ “Footsteps In The Dark,” a sinuous bass line and a swaggering four-on-the four, atmospheric synths and twinkling bursts of keys an driven by Dahlstrøm’s and Odeal’s yearning yet effortlessly soulful and gorgeous solos and harmonies. While sonically being a remarkably contemporary bit of neo-soul tinged R&B, the song thematically harness back to classic soul — a sweet and earnest longing and desire for a deeper, sustainable connection with that special significant other. 

“This song was made in the very first session Odeal and I had together. It was such a natural and smooth process,” the acclaimed JOVM mainstay explains. “Daniel’s production provided the perfect foundation and it felt really natural to develop the song. The song is a true love song – feels like a nice way to start the year.”

The album’s second previously unreleased single “Glass” features a lush and soulful arrangement of twinkling and celestial synths, a swaggering groove-driven four-on-the-floor and squiggling bits of funk guitar paired with Dahlstrøm’s gorgeous and soulful vocal. While channeling early 90s R&B and hip-hop soul — Mary J. Blige, 702, 112 and the like — the song sees Dahlstrøm reflecting on vulnerability and accountability, from the perspective of hindsight and bitterly hard-won wisdom.

“Glass is written from a retrospective angle, reflecting on past mistakes,” Dahlstrøm says. “It’s a song about accountability. I hope this song will allow people to feel vulnerable and open up – even about their own flaws.”