Inside The Credits 064: Elvira Anderfjard & Luka Kloser
A Female Trifecta Of Expansive Saccharine Pop: Elvira Anderfjard x Luka Kloser x Addison Rae
I was really surprised by the new self-titled Addison Rae album. I had heard “Diet Pepsi,” understood why it was popular, and thought the hook was catchy, but wasn’t actually taken by the sound and delivery. Yet, inside the context of the album it made much more sense— it’s the most straightforward pop song in an album that leans much more multi genre and atmospheric, while still maintaining a core of bubblegum.
The whole project sounds like it exists inside the haze of a winding youthful all nighter in New York. One that begins in a Lower Eastside club and eventually traverses through Williamsburg and Bushwick. Rae is cheeky and sly with moments of piercing beauty vocally, but what seals the deal of the project is the world the production builds. There are synths that sound like the perfect old fashioned tastes and drum sequences that boom like a chilled tequila shot. Rae has an all female production team who clearly have a knack for accentuating all her best attributes. In a world filled with men behind the boards, Elvira Anderfjard and Luka Kloser allow, through their cadences, for Rae to be her truest and most unshielded self. There is a security you can feel her having within their sonic pockets, allowing for a boundless charming snark.
Anderfjard has the first set of official production credits from the duo for the artists Malou Prytz and Tove Lo in the year 2019. While the production for these two vocalists isn’t quite as distinct as later with Addison, what you notice is a clear mastery of creating a pulse. There are moments when all four songs open up into a glittery shimmer off a disco ball, making you nod your head even if the style isn’t your favorite.
Kloser had her first set of two credits in 2020 for Swansi and Kid Bloom. “Blood Sugar” by the latter is the first song I really dug by either producer in their early career when I listened back. The rhythm is dirtier and the vocal layering has more of an r&b club twinge. However, the element that Kloser clearly added to the mix is an emotional centering in her instrumental work. Both Bloom and Swansi tap into a more electric vulnerability through the textures she provides them.
2021 and 2022 belonged all to Anderfjard, who went on a bit of a run that culminated in work with powerhouses Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, and Taylor Swift for two tracks on a re-recording of her album Red. This clearly indicates a level up in “down the middle” pop proficiency. However, a sneaky number near the end of this period indicates her biggest sonic advancement. On “Hardcore” by Tove Styrke, Anderfjard added some needed depth to her percussion. The bass hits sound like they are reverberating in a cave and the ping ponging grimey warehouse rave drums connect directly to the haze achieved later with Rae. The track feels like a bit of an epiphany.
Naturally, this moment occurred just a bit before a dual catharsis in February 2023. This would be the first time Anderfjard and Kloser collided on shared production credits. “Green Honda” by BENEE may be the best song in either of their catalogs, even with how great their work with Rae is. The song sounds like an after hours lounge turn up fused with a chaotic pillow fight. It also sounds like a lovechild of the sounds on both producers' best work prior with Kid Bloom and Tove Styrke. As you listen, you can imagine the two of them in the studio looking at one another and realizing “Oh, this won’t be the last time we do this, back in a bit.”
The duo would next have some solo trajectories. Anderfjard would make an album with ALMA and a few songs with Maisie Peters, while Kloser would make an album with BETWEEN FRIENDS as well as singles with Tate McRae, Ariana Grande, and Conan Gray. All this work would have little flourishes of brilliance but nothing, to my ears, quite as exciting as what the duo made together with BENEE and eventually with Rae. The trifecta of three women made magic.
Now, I do want to take a moment at the end here to talk about just how rare this circumstance is. I took a lot of time in the intro of my 2024 EOY list of the best producers to my ears to talk about the lack of female presence inside the credits. Addison, Elvira, and Luka are breaking the modern mold, and in doing so, making as exciting a saccharine pop sound as I’ve heard in recent memory. I couldn’t be more hopeful that the trend they’ve set continues to expand.
ITC 064 Playlists