LOVE TRULS

The first time I listened to LOVE TRULS’ single “Tell Her,” I was up in the clouds while the plane chased the sunset. There couldn’t have been a better way to experience the 18-year-old Swedish artist’s atmospheric, lo-fi bedroom pop. It was clear instantly that LOVE TRULS defied categorization, instead looking to find “the right sound and emotions rather than defining a specific genre,” as described in his press release.

He first debuted in 2020 with singles “Torn Up Dress” and “ADULT,” which garnered attention from Sweden's P3 Radio, MTV Germany, and Spotify, who put him on the cover of their genre-bending Oyster playlist.

At such a young age, Truls Söderman Carlberg (LOVE TRULS) is making a statement with the release of his debut EP, Kantande Wanai, out now via This is Scandinavia. With most of the songs written when he was only 16, LOVE TRULS captures the essence of being an adolescent growing up a part of Gen Z. This is particularly evident in his lyrics on processing feelings about age and love on tracks like “ADULT,” where he sings:

“Wasn’t planning to get up / Wasn’t planning to grow up.”

The track titles are useful touchstones for where he's at, too, like with "Kantande Wanai," which means "it isn't easy" in Japanese. LOVE TRULS said in a press release, “I guess I’m a pretty timid person, so I’ve really had to challenge myself a great deal to be able to accomplish what I’m searching for with the Love Truls project.”

His talent spans beyond his music. LOVE TRULS draws his own release artwork and showcases his love of filmmaking and script writing in the music video for “Trembling Hands” here.

In anticipation of his EP release, LOVE TRULS picked nine tracks that showcase his expansive musical taste from artists like Arooj Aftab to Little Simz.

1. "Trembling Hands," LOVE TRULS