In the recent years, Fay Wildhagen has been reflecting on her work as a musician. The more she has pondered, the clearer it has become to her that it’s about being relentlessly authentic.

 “Music should come from the sheer joy of its creation. It should come from fellowship, longing, and melancholy. I want to find sounds that touch the heartstrings. That resonate with the emotions and stir something within”, Fay reflects.

 As a child, Wildhagen would play on her guitar for hours, utterly absorbed in her own realm of emerging soundscapes. She still does that to this day and says that she is constantly looking for the magic that different instruments and chords can create.

Fay Wildhagen grew up in Oslo, Norway and gained prominence when she signed with Warner Music Norway as a 21-year-old and released her debut album Snow (2015) with singles like “Into the Woods” and “We Are”. She was nominated the Norwegian Grammys and P3 Gull as Newcomer of the Year in 2015, and when Fay released her second album Borders in 2018, she had already positioned herself as one of Norway’s most exciting songwriters and guitarists. She was nominated for her work as a producer on the album at the Norwegian Grammys, while playing concerts all over Europe.

 Fay was always hiding in in the background growing up, and it was never a matter of course that she would be on front of the stage. She had to challenge herself relentlessly to achieve her current level of confidence on stage and independence as a solo artist. Fay got her first guitar when she was six years old. She was neither the best nor the fastest, but she discovered quickly that her way of developing as a guitarist, was to pursue an unconventional approach. She soon felt limited by standard chords and developed her own style by tuning her guitar differently. This provided room to experiment with the instrument, and Wildhagen says that she loved experiencing the liberation she felt from the constraints. She learned songwriting by picking apart the songs that she liked, and thus studying other musician’s work in detail.

 According to Fay, she works best when challenged, and she often says yes to requests that comes along the way, despite being uncertain of the methods to pursue them. It certainly has driven her career forward, and her eagerness to solve tasks and evolve as a musician and producer, is one of the reasons why she began composing music for movies. Part of her portfolio includes creating the score for Harajuku with fellow musician Øyvind Mathisen in 2018, and for the feature film Aksel alongside Kristoffer Lo in 2021. The work on Harajuku led to a nomination for Best Original Score at Amandaprisen in 2019, and Wildhagen and Lo received the award for Synchronization of the Year at The Norwegian Music Publishers Award in 2022 for their work on Aksel. Each challenge has made her more confident, and when Fay was asked to produce the album Møtested – en hyllest til Anne Grete Preus in 2023, she agreed – even though she was terrified. The album was praised by critics and Fay received Norwegian Grammy for “Producer of the Year” 2023.

 In February 2024, Fay will release her third studio album Let’s keep it in the family. Apart from the first single “Reason”, which was co-written with Øystein Greni (Bigbang), she has written, produced and arranged all the songs and instruments on the record. Fay wanted to be more personal and authentic than ever, and she sought the magic that arises between musicians when they come together, or when a special sound emerges. She invited fellow musicians to jam sessions in studios and living rooms around the country, and the result is spectacular soundscapes combined with vivid storytelling and great depth.  

 Wildhagen had to delve into her deepest resources to create Let’s keep it in the family and she expresses that delving into the challenging narratives of her past was essential to be as personal and honest as she wanted to be. She believes that it takes great strength to be authentic, but that ultimately it is the only way one can be true to oneself, both as a person and a musician.

 “My compass is to make things that stir my soul. It resonates with me, supports me, and soothes me; and it is just a bonus if it resonates with others”.