Artist Interview: AiramFM
In the fast-paced world of alt-pop, Danish artist Airam stands out not just for her dreamy, cinematic sound, but for her incredible independence. Since her debut in 2022, Airam has established herself as a completely DIY force, writing, recording, and producing a staggering 23 singles right from her living room studio. Her work has always been deeply rooted in personal experience, exploring vulnerable themes of grief and mental health. Now, with her latest track, "Cold Hearts," she's turned her gaze outward, delivering a powerful political protest song. We sat down with Airam to discuss her unique creative spontaneity, the biggest challenges and freedoms of her independent control, the melancholy that defines her "AiramFM sound," and what motivated her to finally speak up about the "state of the world."
Tori: "Cold Hearts" is described as your most political song yet—a protest song. What specifically motivated you to shift your songwriting to address the "state of the world," and what specific message do you hope listeners take away?
Airam: I’ve been wanting to create a song like this for a while, since I’ve been very active on social media like Threads, about my political views. I had a melody idea which I thought felt fitting for the theme, and that’s how Cold Hearts eventually came to life.
Tori: Can you walk us through the creative process for this track? Was it different from your more personal, experience-driven songs?
Airam: It was pretty much the same - my ideas often come suddenly, for example a lyric or melody line while I’m showering. It’s not something I think much about, it’s pretty “freestyle” both when it comes to writing lyrics, melody and recording vocals. Whatever feels right in the moment - and then finetuning that.
Tori: Were there specific musical references or moods you were aiming for?
Airam: In this specific song I didn’t actually have a strong inspiration from other artists, whereas you could say a song like Tears and Blood is more heavily Lana Del Rey influenced - Cold Hearts is a pretty unique song, I think. It’s difficult to pinpoint other artists that it sounds heavily influenced by. At least in my opinion. Others might think differently. When it comes to mood, it was important to me, that it felt ragey in lyrics, while still sounding beautiful sonically. I didn’t wanna hold back on my message in any way.
Tori: How has the reaction been to "Cold Hearts" compared to your previous, more inward-focused singles? Are you seeing a different kind of dialogue or connection with your audience through this political lens?
Airam: Interestingly, the reaction has been even better. I think people are craving that artists speak up, rather than staying silent. I have gotten more streams in the first 2 weeks than any of my previous songs. I think it’s because so many of my target audience share the same political views - and human values, that I do.
Tori: As a completely DIY artist, writing, recording, and producing 23 singles from your living room studio since 2022 is an incredible output. What are both the biggest challenges and the greatest freedoms of maintaining this level of independent control?
Airam: The biggest struggle is getting that totally polished, radio-ready sound. Some people say Cold Hearts is that already, but as a perfectionist and certified self-critic, I can definitely hear that I’m still not there yet. However, it’s not my main focus. Especially with so much AI music coming out, my main focus is keeping it real, authentic and raw, rather than being too polished or perfect. The great freedom about it is that I have such a specific vision for my music, and I feel like I know best how to achieve that. I’ve tried working with mix/mastering engineers or producers before, and as talented as they of course are, and more skilled than me, I can also feel that it’s difficult for them to embody my very specific vision, so it’s always ended up with me having to back out, because I preferred my own version more. That’s not to take away from their talent and skills at all - it’s just how I am. (Capricorn sun, Virgo moon, haha).
Tori: Your music is deeply rooted in personal experience, particularly grief and mental health, stemming from the loss of your mother. How do you navigate the emotional toll of constantly revisiting such vulnerable and profound feelings through your art?
Airam: I’ve always been very good at talking about the pain and trauma I’ve been through in life. I’ve learned from a young age that keeping it in will only do more harm, and the more you talk about it, the more natural it will feel - and allow you to revisit memories about my mother with a smile (and tears) instead of only painful tears.
Tori: You've been compared to artists like Lana Del Rey, Billie Eilish, and AURORA. While flattering, how would you describe the unique "AiramFM sound" in your own words, and which elements of the alt-pop genre do you feel you are pushing or redefining?
Airam: I do have those dreamy, cinematic alt-pop vibes that they do, but at the same time, I’d say my voice is still very different and has its own sound. I don’t think I sing as “whispery” as many famous artists in the indie pop/alt pop genre, I take some elements from other genres as well in the way I use my voice. I also often experiment with my beats - they can sound rather electronic and mix elements of pop, indie, orchestral and even hiphop sounds. That’s probably pretty unique. For example, you’ll hear strings with edm-like synthesizers with hiphop beats.
Tori: Melancholy is a defining feature of your sound. Do you ever feel pressure to write a 'happier' song, or do you see the exploration of complex, darker emotions as your essential artistic purpose?
Airam: I have felt the pressure to write happier songs sometimes because people say my songs are too moody, too slow. So to experiment, I made a song called Ocean Paradise, which has pretty happy lyrics, but even then, sonically it ended up being more on the moody side. So even when I try making a happy song, it’s not gonna sound happy and upbeat the way you hear songs on the radio, because that’s just not who I am. That also brings me back to Tears and Blood, which is - and was supposed to be - a cute, romantic song. Yet I end up singing lyrics about pain and death in between the romantic lines, because somehow the melancholy always finds its way when I’m writing songs.
Tori: Beyond personal events, what non-musical influences—such as films, literature, or current events—are currently fueling your creativity and shaping the narrative of your upcoming work?
Airam: I think when it comes to inspiration outside of music, it’s probably something that happens subconsciously more than consciously. I haven’t really tried seeing a movie, reading a book or seeing an artwork that made me go “now I wanna write a song about it”. Instead it probably influences my style subconsciously, by shaping me and my creative preferences throughout life. But of course the current events of the world have shaped Cold Hearts a lot directly. Other than that, my songs are usually inspired by my own life and inner world.
Tori: Your loyal listener base is growing globally. As an artist based in Denmark, how important is your geographical location to your sound or identity, and how do you connect with a worldwide audience from your home studio?
Airam: It can be tough making it big internationally when you’re from Denmark. There are not many artists in Denmark who are world-wide-known. There are some, but not many. Mostly people from Denmark make it big in Denmark, but my genre isn’t really the most popular genre here, and also Denmark has a tendency to prefer songs written in Danish, if the artist is from Denmark. So I do feel that I have more listeners globally than I do in Denmark. As for connecting, I use social media a lot to make short form content about who I am as an artist and build a brand that defines me - often that dreamy, cinematic aesthetic. And I’m part of a big music community on Threads, where I’ve made a lot of friends. I also created a groupchat last year called “Hymn of the Goddess” of music creators who are women, where I’ve formed strong bonds with other women in music - a group I wouldn’t wanna be without, and who definitely makes this whole music thing way less lonely.
Tori: You've released two powerful and distinct types of tracks recently, from the haunting ballad of "Cold Hearts" to the dreamy rhythm of "Tears and Blood." How do you decide which emotional/sonic path a specific song idea will take?
Airam: It all comes very spontaneously. It might be the ADHD in me, but brainstorming has never been a thing for me. I get an idea spontaneously - like I said earlier, for example in the shower, and then I freestyle a lot while recording. For example, sometimes I record without having written lyrics, and then I come up with the lyrics as I’m recording. I know it can sound a little bit like I don’t put a lot of thought into my work, but that’s not how it feels for me, it feels more like it just comes straight from my heart and soul, rather than being a polished product. As for melody/instrumentation, I also just try different stuff without thinking too much about it, and I keep what feels right.
Tori: Considering your prolific release schedule, what does a typical writing and production day look like in your living room studio? Do you have a strict routine or is it more reliant on emotional spontaneity?
Airam: I don’t have routines when it comes to music at all. Well, not when it comes to creating music at least. I can go a month without working on music, and then suddenly I get inspiration, and create a song over the duration of a week. I work intensely, but for short periods of time. It’s great for me, because it avoids burnout and getting “bored”, feeling like it’s a chore. This might also be the ADHD in me. It’s important that it keeps feeling like a passion to me, rather than something I have to do. The only “mundane” part of it, is probably the administration work of having to send out press releases to blogs and radios, but even that I actually enjoy, because it relates to my music and I’m excited to share it with the world. I just grab my coffee when the energy is there and get to typing.
Tori: At 26, you've turned profound loss into creative productivity and a platform for authentic storytelling. What advice would you give to other young people struggling with grief or mental health, who are looking for a way to channel those feelings?
Airam: The best thing is to keep talking about it, and not keeping it in. For me, the worst thing when losing my mother, would have been to refuse looking at pictures and videos of her, to push her away because the memory was too painful. That would have made healing very difficult. I think it’s best to embrace grief, rather than push it away. Allow yourself to remember, allow yourself to cry, allow yourself to wallow in it sometimes. Because when you allow yourself to also live in the grief-stage, the life-stage will be so much brighter. As for channeling the feelings, that’s so individual. For me it was music, for others it could be other forms of art, or something completely different. As long as it’s something you like doing and doesn’t harm you or others, no wrong answers here.
Tori: Since your debut in 2022, what has been the most surprising or rewarding moment on your journey as AiramFM, and what did it teach you about your music or your audience?
Airam: When I post about my music on for example TikTok - and people who don’t know me and don’t owe me anything, decide to leave a kind comment, saying they love my music and that they’ve added it to their playlists - that’s such a wholesome thing and it has warmed my heart on so many occasions. Also the community I’ve found while making music. I don’t have many friends in real life, as a person who has both autism and ADHD and can find it difficult fitting in with social settings - I feel like through music, I’ve found my tribe, a place where I feel like I belong, rather than feeling like the “odd one out”. That means the world to me. And it’s taught me that you should always follow your dreams, cause no matter if you make it big or not or succeed by capitalistic standards, it’s worth it all.
Tori: Looking ahead, is there a particular concept, collaboration, or a broader artistic goal—perhaps a shift toward an album format or live performances—that you are dreaming of achieving next?
Airam: I would love to start performing live at some point. Right now I’ve been doing it all from the comfort of my own home. I suffer from severe performance anxiety, and as someone with AuDHD, I get very easily overstimulated and overwhelmed in big crowds. But that’s something I would love to try and overcome, so I could get out there and perform my original music. It would also be awesome to collect my songs into concept albums - I’ve been considering that. But for now I’m just taking one day at a time, creating, sharing, connecting and seeing where life takes me.
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