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Swedish singer and electro wizard Karl Magnus Martinsson releases his eccentric, deliciously poppy and epic full-length album Tidal Lock. Meticulously crafted over many years, it’s an attempt at expanding the electronic genre and to offer tunes with more musical depth. No guitars were used, instead amped-up electric pianos sometimes give the songs a rocky edge. With his background in art music, Gothenburg underground synth bands and indie, it all comes together in these rich arrangements that blend noisy distorted sounds with stirring strings and lush analog synths. Then add some inspiration from flamenco singers and the vocals come hovering above it all in a rare display of emotion. There’s just nothing quite like it.
From the first noisy roar of Rise With No Other and its experimental harmonics, to the towering orchestral heights of the crushingly huge Grand Finale, Tidal Lock is a 13 track album about emotional obsessions and entrapment. It’s about the lingering sadness of the past interfering with the possibility of happiness. About not being able to receive the love right in front of you.
”Most of these songs almost wrote themselves. It Turns Out was both composed and recorded in under two hours. But then came the arduous journey of making it all work together - and it turned into a nightmare. But all along I knew these songs needed to be finished, to be heard.”
With the release of Tidal Lock on December 4th 2026 that struggle is over and huge pop songs like Know are finally being shared with the world.
