Bo Henrik shares double singles, “Soneva” and “Lay You Down,” via 604 Sessions
Vancouver, BC-based artist Bo Henrik has teamed up with 604 Records and Light Organ Records to unveil a dual single, “Soneva” and “Lay You Down.”
Through the 604 Sessions song camp, Bo collaborated with producer/co-writer Jared Manierka and 604 Records artist Madisyn Gifford to write “Soneva,” while “Lay You Down” was self-produced by Bo and co-written with Colin Janz and 604 Records artist Mathew V.
About the dual release, Bo shares that,
“together these songs are a time capsule of how I was coping at a moment of a lot of turbulence in life. It was like my drink was spilling everywhere, I put on my seatbelt way too late and the path I planned for myself was set far off track by an unforeseen storm.”
“In the title track, I’m referring to Soneva, a tropical island in the Maldives,” Bo explains. “When I wrote this track both my girlfriend and I were struggling to get by. I had recently lost some music work that I needed to stay afloat and she was under heavy pressure to keep working a job she hated to help her family. Just paying rent in the city gets tough sometimes, so now and then it’s fun to dream about fucking off to a paradise island.”
On the second half of the release, Bo shares,
“Lay You Down is about escaping the pressure cooker of the outside world with some good sexytime with your girlfriend or boyfriend. I wrote the song with the super talent Matthew V and producer extraordinaire Colin Janz.The session was a vibe. I wrote Lay You Down no more than a couple of weeks after Soneva, which I think is why these songs fit together.“
The 604 Sessions song camp was created to foster an atmosphere of creativity and opportunity for unsigned artists and offer creative services to the greater community. Applications for the 2022/2023 program and now open, with the deadline extended to June 17. Artists can apply here.
Check out the dual release below and learn more about Bo Henrik via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Bo Henrik! I’m a producer and Pop/RnB artist from a small town in Southern Sweden. I started out as a hook writer and guitarist for an indie/hip hop label in Europe, but as of the last few years, I’ve been mainly based out of Vancouver, BC. My sound mixes hard beats, jazzy chords, and stories from traveling and my love life. Recently I’ve been into wearing 70s-style pants and eating fried chicken with Japanese mayo.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
My most recent release is a two-song release via 604 sessions, the title track “Soneva” and the second song “Lay You Down.” I felt very blessed and lucky to get the opportunity to write with 604’s writers and producers right when I did. I just returned to Canada after losing my job and some big freelance projects that I was counting on for the rent. Life was very intense at the time, and I was scared. It couldn’t have been better timing to go into these sessions to make some new fresh music with hyper-talented people and just let some steam away from the chaos.
In the first song, I’m referring to “Soneva,” a tropical island in the Maldives. When I wrote this track, both my girlfriend and I were struggling to get by. I had recently lost some music work I needed to stay afloat, and she was under heavy pressure to keep working a job she hated to help her family.
Paying rent in the city sometimes gets tough, so now and then, it’s fun to dream about fucking off to a paradise island. Before releasing this song, “Soneva” had become our anthem where we fantasize about stress-free days and sharing icy rum & cokes on a get-away island. Now that the song has been released, it’s for anybody who wants a little 3min and 3 seconds escape from all the pressures of adulting.
I wrote the song with producer Jared Manierka and songwriter/artist Madisyn Gifford. Our writing session was as smooth as they come. I knew what chords I wanted to play, and I had a lot on my mind before the session started, which is a great place to start any session. That, combined with Jared moving quickly to expand and add to the productions and Madisyn’s lyrical genius, made for a great time. The final vocals you hear in the song were recorded on the spot that same day, capturing the energy and how I felt that day. It felt really honest, and I had a good time doing it.
The second song, “Lay You Down,” is also about escaping the pressure cooker of the outside world but doing so with some good sexy time with my girlfriend. I wrote the song with the super talent Matthew V and producer extraordinaire Colin Jenz.
The session had a vibe. I wrote “Lay You Down” no more than a couple of weeks after “Soneva,” which I think is why these songs fit together. This song, like “Soneva,” is a time capsule of how I was coping with the world at that time. It was an insanely stressful moment. Sometimes, having great sex after surviving the day was what I needed more than anything.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
Sometimes I get inspired by writing chords and melodies on my guitar that make me feel something new. I also sometimes get a melody, or a beat stuck in my head that I just have to figure out what to do with. I can be pretty restless with that kind of thing. Lyrically, I’m usually using songs as an opportunity to say things that are too scary to say in real life or just talk about what’s happening around me.
As cliché as it is, writing can really help you sort your things out. As my life changes, so do the things that inspire me. All I know is that I’m guaranteed to write many songs anytime a significant life event happens, whether it’s a brutal heartbreak or a massive achievement.
Do you have any upcoming shows or festivals you’d like to tell us about?
I am playing the Ruins Of Pella Festival in Whistler, which should be awesome! It just got postponed to the 1st or 2nd week of August due to the weather. I’m also playing Car Free Day in New West on August 6th, and Adewolf and I will likely be playing more summer shows on the outdoor stages soon! Stay tuned on my Instagram for the details as they’re announced!
What’s your goal for 2022?
I have so much music written that I want to release this year. I would like to remain as unfiltered as possible in all the places I put out music and make art. My venue gigs have also been growing in a really promising way for the last two years, so I am hoping to bring my show to some bigger stages and ideally open for more prominent artists locally or on tour!