San Francisco's AURSJOEN channels her Nordic roots on 'Apollo' - Watch the video.

May 7, 2025

San Francisco-based ethereal artist AURSJOEN presents 'Apollo', the third single from her sensual and mystical debut 'Strand' EP, released via Stratis Capta Records and produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith and the Muse, Mephisto Waltz, Christian Death) at 13 Studio in Chicago.

AURSJOEN is the project of Ria Aursjoen, who is vocalist and keyboardist for critically acclaimed post-punk outfit Octavian Winters, whose 2023 debut EP 'The Line or Curve' was followed by 2024's double A-side single 'Nebula / Velveteen' with electronic legend Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated). A classically-trained singer and multi-instrumentalist, her musical past is steeped in genres ranging from Celtic and Nordic folk to darkwave and progressive metal.

Written by Aursjoen 10 years ago, 'Apollo' features a guest performance by Stephan Bryan Salit of Octavian Winters on guitar. As with the previous two singles - the ever-haunting 'For Want Of' and her ethereal debut 'Nytår' - the new video is the work of filmmaker David Kruschke, showcasing his masterful capture of light and colour.

“Apollo” was written a few years ago and the idea was inspired by Dave Wyndorf (Monster Magnet). I always found Dave’s use of his voice absolutely masterful, with phrasing fit perfectly to the lyrics, and with this sort of dangerous edge to it. An incredibly evocative voice, with a sort of dark shamanic power. It started me thinking about the voice as a weapon, from everyday life and how we can so deeply cut into people, to magickal practices, summonings, rituals and so forth," says Ria Aursjoen.

"David Kruschke and I played with the idea of a sort of summoning, or perhaps a sort of ecstatic possession… in it, I discover a mask that seems to be a gateway to – or for – something. Apollo is the god of music and poetry, of course, but also the god of prophecy and that altered oracular state."

These ideas all relate to this collection of work as AURSJOEN, which heralds Ria Aursjoen’s emergence in a new direction, without leaving behind her ongoing work with Octavian Winters. Lush, layered and sweepingly cinematic, this dynamic slice of ethereal gothica is dark and light in equal measure. While Aursjoen’s voice and composition are distinctly recognizable and unique, the performances and sweeping arrangements somewhat recall Faith’s work with Faith and the Muse.

“This record is very special for me, as this is the first time I have had free creative rein to release work that is entirely my own. I have always enjoyed collaborating with other musicians, but I had built up a huge amount of my own material that had nowhere to go. It’s very exciting and fulfilling for me to bring all that together into one package. The listening arc of this EP represents many different times of life for me. William Faith and I have woven everything together with a recognizable sound that has continuity as well as variety.," says Ria Aursjoen.

"What I really love is to create music that is more than the sum of its parts, where the interplay (either harmonically or rhythmically) between different motifs gives birth to something extra, something “meta” that you can’t predict or engineer. I think those two states of feeling did that in my life too… a different self, a new era was born for me out of that ice and fire."

As someone who has synesthesia, Aursjoen experiences sound as visual structures, colours and textures. As a child, she wrote her musical ideas down in a unique system of notation she created, based around her visual perceptions of music. A published writer and visual artist, Aursjoen also won two national art competitions by eight and illustrated a children’s book. She creates much of Octavian Winters’ artwork and currently works with inks and parchment velum to create palimpsest-style art.

The 'Strand' EP is out now digitally everywhere, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.

EP CREDITS
All songs written & performed by Ria Amenti Aursjoen
Arranged by Ria Aursjoen and William Faith
Guitars on 'Lilypad' & 'Apollo' by Stephan Bryan Salit
Produced, recorded, mixed & mastered by William Faith at 13 Studio in Chicago
Published by Airdaughter Music BMI
Released by Stratis Capta Records
Cover artwork by Ria Aursjoen
Videos filmed by David Kruschke
Special appearance by Steve Devaney
Mask provided courtesy of Steve Devaney
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR

Keep up with AURSJOEN
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San Francisco's AURSJOEN releases debut 'Strand' EP (ethereal / post-punk)

November 15, 2024

San Francisco-based ethereal artist AURSJOEN presents her debut 'Strand' EP, released via Stratis Capta Records and produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith and the Muse, Mephisto Waltz, Christian Death) at 13 Studio in Chicago.

AURSJOEN is the project of Ria Aursjoen, who is vocalist and keyboardist for critically acclaimed post-punk outfit Octavian Winters, whose 2023 debut EP 'The Line or Curve' was followed by 2024's double A-side single 'Nebula / Velveteen' with electronic legend Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated). A classically-trained singer and multi-instrumentalist, her musical past is steeped in genres ranging from Celtic and Nordic folk to darkwave and progressive metal.

This music is lush, layered and sweepingly cinematic. This dynamic slice of ethereal gothica is dark and light in equal measure. Octavian Winters bandmate Stephan Bryan Salit contributes atmospheric guitars on two songs. While Aursjoen’s voice and composition are distinctly recognizable and unique, the performances and sweeping arrangements somewhat recall Faith’s work with Faith and the Muse.

"The title 'Strand' holds two meanings, first being something that is spun or drawn off of something larger, like a strand of hair or a strand of a web. There is a sense that it is not only a piece of a larger whole, but also that it has its own emerging existence, reaching outward and beyond. The word “strand” also means beach in Danish. A beach marks the boundary of one’s defined world; it is a place to gaze out, to dream of possibilities and adventures to come, a point of departure for journeys to new places," explains Ria Aursjoen.

These ideas all relate to this collection of work as AURSJOEN, which heralds Ria Aursjoen’s emergence in a new direction, without leaving behind her ongoing work with Octavian Winters.

She adds, “This record is very special for me, as this is the first time I have had free creative rein to release work that is entirely my own. I have always enjoyed collaborating with other musicians, but I had built up a huge amount of my own material that had nowhere to go. This collection includes a piece written 10 years ago ('Apollo') and one written on the spot in the studio ('Strand'). It’s very exciting and fulfilling for me to bring all that together into one package. The listening arc of this EP represents many different times of life for me. William Faith and I have woven everything together with a recognizable sound that has continuity as well as variety.”

In the lead up to this EP, Aursjoen shared the second single 'For Want Of', offering a glimpse into her versatility as an artist and keeping with the cinematic orchestration found in her ethereal debut 'Nytår'. Sensual and mystical, both beauties nod to her Scandinavian ancestry. Both songs are accompanied by a haunting video created by filmmaker David Kruschke.

"What I really love is to create music that is more than the sum of its parts, where the interplay (either harmonically or rhythmically) between different motifs gives birth to something extra, something “meta” that you can’t predict or engineer. I think those two states of feeling did that in my life too… a different self, a new era was born for me out of that ice and fire," says Ria Aursjoen.

As someone who has synesthesia, a rare neurodiverse condition in which senses overlap, Aursjoen experiences sound as visual structures, colours and textures. As a child, she wrote her musical ideas down in a unique system of notation she created, based around her visual perceptions of music. Ria Aursjoen is also a published writer and visual artist, having won two national art competitions by the age of eight and illustrated a children’s book. She creates much of Octavian Winters’ artwork and currently works with inks and parchment velum to create palimpsest-style art.

As of November 15, the 'Strand' EP is out everywhere and is available for pre-order, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp.

CREDITS
All songs written & performed by Ria Aursjoen
Arranged by Ria Aursjoen and William Faith
Guitars on 'Lilypad' & 'Apollo' by Stephan Bryan Salit
Produced, recorded, mixed & mastered by William Faith at 13 Studio in Chicago
Published by Airdaughter Music BMI
Released by Stratis Capta Records
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR
'Nytår' and 'For Want Of' videos by David Kruschke
Cover artwork by Ria Aursjoen

Keep up with AURSJOEN
Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | Press contact

Keep up with Shameless Promotion PR
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Instagram | LinkedIn | Email

San Francisco's AURSJOEN offers haunting sonic alchemy on 'For Want Of'. William Faith-produced debut 'Strand' EP is out on November 15

October 16, 2024

San Francisco artist AURSJOEN presents the single 'For Want Of', the second taste of her debut 'Strand' EP (out November 15 via Stratis Capta Records), offering a glimpse into her versatility as a vocalist and musician while keeping with the ethereal cinematics found in her debut single 'Nytår'. Both of these haunted beauties are sensual and mystical, nodding to her Scandinavian ancestry.

This reverie-infused music is lush, layered and sweepingly cinematic. Dark and light in equal measure, this dynamic slice of ethereal gothica complemented by a haunting video, created by filmmaker David Kruschke.

AURSJOEN is the project of Ria Aursjoen, who is vocalist and keyboardist for critically acclaimed post-punk outfit Octavian Winters, who released their debut EP 'The Line or Curve' in 2023, followed by their 2024 'Nebula / Velveteen' single with electronic-industrial legend Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated). A classically-trained singer and multi-instrumentalist, her musical past is steeped in genres ranging from Celtic and Nordic folk to darkwave and progressive metal.

Beginning from a delicate piano motif, 'For Want Of' builds to a symphonic crescendo. Vocal lines are layered as the song unfolds, reminiscent of how we can hold different and sometimes opposite thoughts at the same time in our heads. While this track showcases her ethereal sensibilities, it also makes clear the true scope of Ria Aursjoen’s voice.

"'For Want Of' was written several years ago. I had just moved into an empty apartment with a baby, a toddler, a bag of clothes and a cooking pot. It was surreal -- one of the most difficult transitions in my life and I had layers of feelings that should have been irreconcilable, even though they existed together. On one hand, I felt empty desolation, and yet at the same time a fiery fullness that felt like a wild animal trying to break out of my heart. I tried to express these in the song as the contrast in vocal delivery as well as in the references to winter/ice and fire – references that show up as part of my lyrical lexicon in other songs as well. Instead of switching off from one to another, I layered them so that you hear them running together, to mirror how it felt internally," says Ria Aursjoen.

"What I really love is to create music that is more than the sum of its parts, where the interplay (either harmonically or rhythmically) between different motifs gives birth to something extra, something “meta” that you can’t predict or engineer. I think those two states of feeling did that in my life too… a different self, a new era was born for me out of that ice and fire."

AURSJOEN's debut 'Strand' EP was produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith and the Muse, Mephisto Waltz, Christian Death) at 13 Studio in Chicago, Aursjoen is joined by Octavian Winters bandmate Stephan Bryan Salit, who lends his creative flourish to the mix, contributing dynamic and atmospheric guitars on two songs. The performances and sweeping arrangements recall Faith’s work with Faith and the Muse, although Ria Aursjoen’s voice and composition are distinctly recognizable as something uniquely her own.

Ria Aursjoen shares, "Regarding the video, initially I had storyboarded another concept, and David Kruschke and I were working on the locations. But Octavian Winters went on tour, and I was unavailable to shoot the video until we were too close to the release date to make it work. The day after I got home from tour, David and I went out to the coast near San Francisco and shot the video as we felt it. This turned out to be a great decision because I was so exhausted from the tour and it was so hot (we filmed during the October heat wave) that I didn’t have the time or energy to overthink any of it -- and what we ended up capturing was a much more untethered performance that felt very true to myself."

As someone who has synesthesia, a rare neurodiverse condition in which senses overlap, Aursjoen experiences sound as visual structures, colours and textures. As a child, she wrote her musical ideas down in a unique system of notation she created, based around her visual perceptions of music.

Aside from music, Ria Aursjoen is a published writer and visual artist, having won two national art competitions by the age of eight and illustrated a children’s book. She creates much of Octavian Winters’ artwork and currently works with inks and parchment velum to create palimpsest-style art.

While the 'For Want Of' single will be officially released everywhere on October 21, it is available exclusively via Bandcamp this week. The 'Nytår' single can also be found there and the 'Strand' EP (out November 15) is also available for pre-order.

San Francisco's AURSJOEN unveils 'Nytår', an ethereal Nordic haunt previewing debut album

September 19, 2024

San Francisco-based artist AURSJOEN presents her debut single 'Nytår', a haunted beauty of a track that is both sensual and mystical. A nod to her Scandinavian ancestry, this reverie-infused music is lush, layered and sweepingly cinematic. Dark and light in equal measure, this dynamic slice of ethereal gothica is complemented by a haunting video, created by filmmaker David Kruschke.

AURSJOEN is the project of Ria Aursjoen, who is vocalist and keyboardist for critically acclaimed post-punk outfit Octavian Winters, who released their debut EP 'The Line or Curve' in 2023, followed by their 2024 'Nebula / Velveteen' single with electronic-industrial legend Mark Pistel (Meat Beat Manifesto, Consolidated). A classically-trained singer and multi-instrumentalist, her musical past is steeped in genres ranging from Celtic and Nordic folk to darkwave and progressive metal.

AURSJOEN's debut 'Strand' EP, slated for release on November 15 via Stratis Capta Records). Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by William Faith (The Bellwether Syndicate, Faith and the Muse, Mephisto Waltz, Christian Death) at 13 Studio in Chicago, Aursjoen is joined by Octavian Winters bandmate Stephan Bryan Salit, who lends his creative flourish to the mix, contributing dynamic and atmospheric guitars on two songs.

This first single 'Nytår', which means 'New Year' in Danish, was written on New Year’s Eve of 2022. The world was slowly emerging from the pandemic and still seemed half-stopped. Ria Aursjoen nevertheless felt bright hope nested inside that cold night. Set in the gathering gloom of a timeless winter evening, with crystals of ice flying on the dark wind, this song is a meditative lament that captures the cold and dark before the song rises like the sun itself as the singer invokes the return of the light and warmth.

Ria Aursjoen reveals the origins of 'Nytår': "This song started when I was experimenting with a slow-moving string arrangement that captured my imagination and made me think of walking down a dark road in winter, against the wind. The more I saw the image in my mind, the more it reminded me of Denmark, where I spent years as a child. It especially reminded me of how the world looked and felt when I would go out with my ice skates in the winter twilight to skate on the pond near my house at the outskirts of Copenhagen, so I wrote the lyrics in Danish. Midwinter in Denmark is very dark and very cold with short days. You spend time dreaming of the spring returning, waiting for it. My memories of that time as well as the language itself transported me back to those feelings and guided the way the song evolved both lyrically and musically.”

Aursjoen comes from a familial line of musicians, her grandmother Lillian an opera singer and grandfather Morris a singer and self-taught multi-instrumentalist. Having taught herself to play piano by ear at age three, she considers it her instrument of choice for songwriting; “I have been playing for as long as I remember, so piano feels like an extension of myself, a native language if you like”.

Nevertheless, singing unlocked something even more powerful within her, even to the extent that she was frequently in trouble at school for disturbing other students by constantly singing to herself during class. She shares, “The neighbours would complain about me singing loudly outside their windows while I waited for the school bus. They told my mother they didn’t know what I could possibly have to sing about that early in the morning. Fortunately, my mother never took the complaints seriously and never tried to discourage me. She has been my biggest supporter, and a great friend, and I wouldn’t be here today as an artist if not for her.”

As someone who has synesthesia, a rare neurodiverse condition in which senses overlap, Aursjoen experiences sound as visual structures, colours and textures. As a child, she wrote her musical ideas down in a unique system of notation she created, based around her visual perceptions of music. She admits, “I avoided regular music notation as much as I could. I coaxed my mother (a great sight reader) into playing my piano homework. Then I’d listen and learn it by ear – eventually my piano teacher discovered I had been faking note reading and I had to buckle down and really learn it… I am glad I did, but I still find it clunky and unintuitive, and still write music in my personal system of notation.”

Aside from music, Ria Aursjoen is a published writer and visual artist, having won two national art competitions by the age of eight and illustrated a children’s book. She creates much of Octavian Winters’ artwork and currently works with inks and parchment velum to create palimpsest-style art.

As of September 11, 'Nytår' is available everywhere digitally, including Bandcamp. The full 'Strand' album, out November 15 via Stratis Capta Records, is already available for pre-order.