Norwegian duo Smerz, known for their unique blend of strings and synths, might seem like musicians who were raised on a steady diet of sheet music and lullabies of arpeggios. However, when asked if they play many instruments, Henriette Motzfeldt and Catharina Stoltenberg answer almost in unison, “No, we play the computer.”
Using the computer as their instrument, emotion is the software driving their postmodern pop album, Big City Life. The project is a soundtrack of fragmented memories, pieced together through their experiences in cities like Oslo, Copenhagen, and New York. “These feelings relate to the cities we wrote the album in,” they explain, “Moving between these places gave us different ingredients to draw upon.” The album explores the dichotomy of being both connected and isolated in the modern world, always searching for something just beyond reach.
The duo distils the liminality of long, shadowy avenues, construction sites, flickering bar signs, and overheard conversations into the 13 tracks of the album. Now reimagined further in Big City Life EDITS, the album continues to paint a vivid picture of city life, featuring collaborations with artists like Clairo, Erika de Casier, and ML Buch.
Below, Smerz share five key inspirations that helped shape their album:
Table of Contents
1. Walking Down the Street
Smerz: “When we listen back to some songs, they feel like explorations of memories, daydreaming, or longing. These moments often happen when you’re walking, especially without music or in spaces where you have room to think. Sometimes you feel like you’re stepping into a character or persona, alone yet surrounded by people. It creates your own little world.”
2. Feelings
Smerz: “Feelings are clearer on this album than ever before. Each song captures an emotional situation from the past few years. Some happened while making the album, others reflect past experiences. We create songs partly because they express things that can’t easily be put into words. Many carry a sense of longing—a gentle ache. Even when the feeling is pleasant, there’s this sense that something is missing, something you can’t quite define.”
3. Watching Movies
Smerz: “We’re inspired by the way movies show perspective, how a camera captures something from a specific angle. This has influenced us, particularly on the track Imagine This, where the perspective feels more literal. Watching more movies became part of our daily lives, and we realised some songs were written from an unspecified point of view—almost like observing yourself from a distance. It’s like: this is the city, here are the characters, and as you zoom in, you see them moving around, trying to figure things out. It’s both romantic and humorous.”
4. Making Music in Bed
Smerz: “There’s a feeling in the album of staring at the ceiling while lying in bed. I like to be somewhat detached when making music—not overthinking it. You can create music on your computer anywhere, which feels like a luxury. You’re not at work, perhaps a little disconnected or tired, but you’re still making music. That tiredness changes what comes out.”
5. Plug-ins
Smerz: “Spitfire Labs is a plugin we started using around the time we began the album. It allows us to mix real instruments, so we created an almost artificial band with melodies and drums like you would hear in rehearsal. In our earlier music, we used the computer to make sounds that couldn’t be played on real instruments. This time, though, we tried to create something that sounds like real instruments. We also played around with a site called pianochord.org, which suggests similar chords, helping us experiment with new sounds.”
Through these varied influences, Big City Life reflects the duo’s unique approach to music-making, blending technology with raw emotion to create an album that encapsulates both personal experience and the feeling of urban life.