Icelandic Artist Axel Flóvent Teams Up With Australian Producer Hayden Calnin For Heartfelt “Picture Of You”

After losing his grandmother a few months ago, Icelandic singer-songwriter Axel Flóvent reflected on his relationship with his grandparents. A mixture of appreciation and regrets inspired his emotional new ballad “Picture of You”, co-written with Australian producer Hayden Calnin and will be on his upcoming EP out next year.

“This summer, a few months ago, my nana passed away, and it made me think about all the things I wanted to tell her and talk to her about”, Axel explains. “We were never close and It was a struggle to change it the older I got. I remember when I was a kid how I wanted to develop more of a bond with her and grandad and didn’t find a way to. So, I wanted to write this song with a message to them. It was a beautiful experience writing this one with Hayden, he opened up the ideas I had and took them further where I felt limited – as a starting point he had this old demo that was a perfect template for me to add ideas to, and he took it to this vulnerable place with all his amazing harmonies and instrumental craftsmanship, so happy we got to work on this one together”.

Stripped down and lush, the emotive ballad draws from the likes of Cat Stevens and Bon Iver, for a layered narrative filled with expressive textures and vocal harmonies. About the songwriting process, Hayden adds: “It was so nice to finally be able to write something with Axel and this was one of those songs that just ended up being so easy and fluid in its creation. What started as an old idea of mine on a hard drive that was probably never going to see the light of day, ended up being transformed and developed into such an emotional and personal song for Axel and myself. Axel had such a way of bringing new life into something that was collecting a lot of dust, and as soon as I heard what he initially did with the song, I was truly just in awe. He has such a way with words and melodies, and it was a real treat to finally write something together”.

Enjoy the single below:

Tour dates:

November 3-6 Reykjavik, Iceland @ Iceland Airwaves Music Festival 2021

February 7 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Ideal Bar

February 8 Berlin, Germany @ Kantine am Berghain

February 9 Hamburg, Germany @ Bahnhof Pauli

February 10 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg

February 11 Köln, Germany @ Artheater

February 12 St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Nordklang Festival

February 13 Zürich, Switzerland @ Papiersaal

February 15 Vienna, Austria @ Chelsea

February 16 Prague, Czech Republic @ Chapeau Rouge

February 17 Warsaw, Poland @ BARdzo Bardzo

February 18 Leipzig, Germany @ Neues Schauspiel Leipzig