Completely by happenstance, I seem to be featuring a lot of new solo acts lately (three just in the past week), and am now pleased to introduce a fourth to my readers: Skar de Line. Born and raised in Sweden and now based in London, England, Skar de Line is the music project of singer-songwriter Oskar Abrahamsson, who’s also frontman and lead vocalist for London alternative rock band Heist At Five (a band I’ve featured on this blog several times). Fascinated by the concept of boundaries and the human obsession for self-understanding, Skar de Line fuses his love for cinematic soundtracks by such composers as Hans Zimmer, Junkie XL and Ramin Djawadi with hip-hop, rock and electronic metal to create dark, unconventional music that takes the listener on a sonic adventure.

With that in mind, Skar de Line has just released his debut single “In Charge“, along with a fascinating video. About the song, he explains: “‘In Charge’ is about the human need to understand and control its surroundings. Even if you can predict your own future, you can’t predict everyone else’s chaotic and unpredictable choices, and therefore the world you know and got worked out in your head is no longer the world you live in.”

The first thing that struck me when I listened to “In Charge” was its big, cinematic sound, with lush, sweeping orchestral instrumentals, so it was gratifying to learn that that’s exactly the vibe Skar de Line was after in writing and arranging the music for the track. He uses dramatic stop-start breaks and melodic change-ups throughout the song, creating tension to symbolize the many twists and turns in life, and our inability to predict or even control our environment, the people around us, and to some extent even ourselves.

Waiting for that day when everything will fall in place
And only by then realise that everything has changed
Because simply no one understand what the fuck is going on
That’s the worlds dirtiest secret you’ve stumbled upon

Devoting all this time
(To make sure no-one would bring you down)
Getting everything in line
(To make sure no-one would bring you down)
But when the bullet pierces your heart
(To make sure that you’re hitting the ground)
Tell me, do you feel in charge?

I love Skar de Line’s deeply emotive vocals that run the gamut from earnest vulnerability to seductive croons to impassioned cries, all with his charming Swedish accent shining through. Assisting him in bringing his gorgeous song to life were David Marvelly on additional production and sound design, Jules Gulon on mastering, and SERENA and Angelica Munkvall with their mesmerizing backing vocals.

The spellbinding video was written and directed by Skar de Line, and filmed by his sister Elin Abrahamsson, who also appears briefly in the video. He explains that the dark and dirty room is a metaphor for the unknown in our lives and things outside of our control. As he breaths in and touches things around him, he understands and starts to shape the world around him, making him the one in control. The influence of others over his life vanishes as his surroundings fall under his control, so that by the end he is everywhere, fully in control, and cutting connection with the rest of the world.

Ultimately, he addresses the viewer directly, breaking the 4^th wall. He states “We realise everything we have seen until that point have been going backwards, and as we see everything happening again in its right timeline, we now instead see the progression from control to total chaos, with the viewers themselves being left in the mud in the end, just as how we started. This shows the loss of control from the viewers perspective, and a loss of trust as even our own point-of-view perspective can’t be trusted.”

Connect with Skar de Line: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
Stream on Spotify / Apple Music
Purchase on Google Play / Amazon