Swedish alt-pop powerhouse NONONO, release (27th April) an acoustic version of their latest single ‘Friends’. This acoustic performance was recorded at Atlantis studios Stockholm and is accompanied by a live video, stripping the original track back with stunning effect.

NONONO’s infectious single ‘Friends’ was released on March 23rd through Warner Music Sweden. It marked the start of the new year for the trio from Stockholm – Stina Wäppling and producers Tobias Jimson (Astma) and Michel Flygare (Rocwell) – with further singles to come, leading up to their second album this Autumn which Pop Justice proclaimed “Swedish trio NONONO’s second album — due out later this year — is shaping up to be quite spectacular.”

“The song is about gaining strength by accepting your weaknesses. It was shaped by the great contrasts of the music; the melodic melancholic calm feeling that meets the fast, energetic, vibrant, and the way they interact. To me, that completely shaped the outcome of the text and melody. I began to calmly and melodically sing about pain, but when the pulsating part of the music came in, it all got filled up with an energy and I felt a joy over the fact that the sad and painful weaknesses was allowed exist. To me, it has been a weakness to not be able to make it all by myself or to be dependent on another person. Therefor it felt good to sing about it, that I don’t have to do it by myself, I can do anything with a little bit of help from my friends!”, says NONONO’s Stina Wäppling.

Directors Joakim Envik and Erwin Semler have created the video for ‘Friends’. Aside from being filmmakers they are also professional dancers, which they incorporate in their productions. In their work, they focus on how feelings, situations, and emotions can be illustrated through choreographed staging where the context of the room, the body, and the direction can be just as powerful ways of communication as a facial expression or the performed act itself.

The Stockholm trio – NONONO – consisting of singer-songwriter Stina Wäppling and producers Tobias Jimson (Astma) and Michel Flygare (Rocwell) – made a comeback in Autumn with the single ‘Masterpiece’, after two years of intense touring and promotional work worldwide. Having racked up numerous plays at national radio station P3 for ‘Masterpiece’, in November they released the stunning single ‘Lost Song’, which was the first song to be created after the band’s reunion. It is about finding trust in yourself after feeling lost and it was inspired by the band’s inner journey during the last years. It didn’t take long before ‘Lost Song’, described as “ludicrously catchy” by The Line of Best Fit to become #1 on HypeMachine.

NONONO was one of the biggest Swedish musical exports in 2013-2014. The big breakthrough came when ‘Pumpin Blood’ was released followed by the release of their acclaimed debut album ‘We Are Only What We Feel’. With more than 2.000.000 singles sold, a performance at The Tonight Show with Jimmy Kimmel, US tours alongside Twenty One Pilots and Foster the People as well as appearances at Lollapalooza Festival, the trios plethora of international gold records (including the USA) and multi-platinum sales in Scandinavia speak for the intense international hold NONONO has commanded with their sparing yet impactful careers to date.

After a couple of intense years, the band needed to take a break to get new inspiration. Tobias and Michel went back into the studio and produced songs for artists like Madonna, Maroon 5, Tove Lo and Zara Larsson (where they recently received the “The Song Of The Year” awards at the Swedish Grammys for Zara’s “Only You”). Stina spent several months traveling around in Sri Lanka, India and Bali, where she surfed, played guitar and wrote songs. When she returned to Stockholm, full of inspiration, insights and new impressions, she decided to resume her studies in psychology while writing and recording her new music with the band. They’re now readying the release of their second album this autumn.

‘Friends’ is out now on Warner Music Sweden.