Swedish dream-pop trio ViVii release debut single ‘Siv (You & I)’
‘Siv (You & I)’ reminds me a bit of Lykke Li with beautiful harmonies and zither. It's a bittersweet ode to the pains and joys that real life brings – you take the good with the bad and it reminds you that you're still alive. Stream it below!
The song is dedicated to a special figure in the lives of Emil and Caroline (two thirds of ViVii) who said:
“We had this babysitter called Siv who looked after our kids for quite some while, but she passed away two years ago. She had an old zither she played in the church, and when she passed she left it to us. This is the first song we wrote on that zither –that's why it's called 'Siv (You & I)'. It's a hymn for her.”
The trio is made up of Emil and Caroline Jonsson and their enigmatic work partner Anders Eckeborn. Speaking about their relationship Emil explains,
We work with another guy, but he doesn't like the limelight at all...” “Anders is amazing, he loves all noises,” continues Caroline. “It took ages, we were so slow before, but once we met Anders it became easy – we are all slow workers individually but together it's beautiful. It's always so natural.”
Caroline and Emil, who were born and raised in the coastal city of Gothenburg, met at summer camp as children and formed a strong, life-long bond that pulses powerfully decades later. Friendship swiftly blossomed into romance and by their late teens their were a couple; by their early twenties they were wed.
The duo got down to business on their own sounds, fusing tones and melodies and taking inspiration from the music of their youth: the old tunes crackling on grandparents' vinyl records, hymns from church, indie-pop jewels, classical opuses (“Bach, of course,”) and gospel choirs. Still, something was missing...With Anders thrown into the mix, ViVii galloped into life: “he slowly but surely grew into our producer and a third member of ViVii.