Azilda
New single 'till u hurt me (love this city)'
Since winning the Danish X-Factor in 2016, Azilda's solo career has included a great placement on Denmark's biggest radio channel P3's Upcoming List with the debut single 'Come Over'. Both that and the follow-up-single 'Green Light' emanate from Azilda's unique way of mixing life-affirming afrobeat with catchy pop. But on the upcoming single she shows a new and more profound side of her huge musical capabilities.
The song also marks the start of a new collaboration with producer Malthe Seierup, who has enjoyed wide acclaim for his work with artists such as Svea S, SOÉL and Jonahh.
"We've found inspiration in artists like NAO and Thirdstory, and I'm really excited for people to hear this side of me as an artist," Azilda explains as a big smile spreads across her lips. "My previous songs have been very upbeat party music, but on this upcoming song I'm inviting people into my deepest self", she elaborates.
At first glance, the song sounds like a declaration of love for the Danish capital, which Azilda moved to in 2021 after spending most of her youth in Holstebro and Aarhus. But beneath the surface is a more dispirited - and sadly zeitgeisty - narrative.
"'till u hurt me (love this city)' is about having experienced so many defeats that you finally don't dare to give yourself 100% to love anymore. What if the next one hurts me too? It's about getting to the point where you always hold back a little from telling the person how you feel. Eventually you lose them because you never get to say it," Azilda says of the background to the song.
At the age of 4, Azilda Kaputu fled to Denmark with her family. Growing up in Holstebro, she and her family looked different from most others in the area. Azilda herself says that as a child she dreamed of a career in music, but she didn't think there was room for a girl like her in the media.
However, the rebellious spirit of her parents, who ended up forcing them to flee to Denmark because of their active opposition to the Angolan regime, has clearly been passed on to Azilda. For she is the type to take up the fight. If there wasn't room for a couple of African girls in the media spotlight, the space had to be made, and you have to say she got it done in tandem with her sister when they won the X Factor in 2016. Here they secured victory by, among other things, singing "Frit Land” (Free Land), which contains a thinly veiled comment on the Danes' self-aggrandising view of their own openness to cultural diversity.
In 2021 Azilda went solo, and since then she has released the singles 'Come Over' and 'Green Light', which have attracted attention on various Danish radio stations and media in Denmark and abroad. Alongside her solo career, Azilda is also a backing singer for rapper Icekiid, when she's not voicing various characters in Danish renditions of Pixar films.
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