It’s incredible how many textures and influences a song can have while not straying from its primary genre. Ocean by Danish singer-songwriter Emilie Thorsby reminds me of tracks from Enya or even The Mummers Dance by Loreena McKennitt. While neither of these artists share Thorsby’s dance-pop aesthetic, the lush arrangements, and immersive production create a similarly transportive experience. The song’s strength is in its sonic layers and various influences that come together.
Famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once said, “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” That’s fitting because, from the first notes, Ocean draws the listener into a weightless, meditative space where sound and emotion intertwine. Thorsby weaves together layers of almost shoegaze-like, saturated guitars with an electronica arrangement that feels as limitless and fluid as the body of water it seeks to represent.
Thorsby’s vocals carry the song along in a smooth, relaxing fashion. Her voice soars above the instrumentation, adding to the song a sense of openness and expansiveness, the sense of drifting in the ocean. The lyrics to the song are about expansiveness, community, and the wish to belong to something greater—paralleled in the song’s airy, expansive construction.
Emilie Thorsby has created a song that captures the majesty of the ocean and all it inspires. In doing so, she’s shown herself as an artist capable of transforming music into something truly transcendent.
