With the release of her first two, critically applauded full-length efforts, her 2011 full-length debut and its highly anticipated follow-up Perfect Storm, which was produced by Johannes Berglund, who has worked with internationally acclaimed acts The Knife and I Break Horses, the Stockholm, Sweden-based singer/songwriter and electronic pop artist Ester Ideskog, best known as Vanbot quickly established a reputation for crafting ethereal, hook-driven and deeply thoughtful pop.
“Collide (Krasnoyarsk), ” the first single off her third full-length effort Siberia, which is slated for an April release through Sony Music Sweden and the single while continuing her ongoing collaboration with Johannes Berglund also manages to be a subtle change in in sonic direction as the track possesses a brooding and atmospheric air paired with thumping beats, shimmering synths that twist themselves around Ideskog’s ethereal vocals, and some industrial clang and clatter — and in some way, the song sonically reminds me quite a bit of Niki and the Dove, Moonbabies and others, thanks in part to its hook-driven nature and moody feel. But it’s core is a raw heartache that’s deeply visceral.
As Ideskog explains in press notes, “‘Collide (Krasnoyarsk)’ was written after four days on the Trans-Siberian Railway, traveling through the deepest parts of Siberia. The temperature was just above zero, it was raining and we were passing through small villages and old industrial communities. It describes the collisions and the attractions in relationships, and having no choice but to accept the raw and un-retouched feelings. You know, it’s like the poem of David Jones: ‘It’s both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so very deeply.’”
