Music

The Norwegian alt-pop visionary invites us into her fantastical realm with her electro and machine funk-charged mix, and speaks to Megan Townsend about absurd emotions, Donnie Darko, and the "rebirth" that led to her debut album ‘Dreamer+’

• Words: Megan Townsend | Photos: Bryden Bowley
• 21 January 2026

Two days ahead of the release of her debut album, and Sunniva Lindgård - AKA Sassy 009 - still seems to be splitting time between the real world and the fantasy realm of her own creation, which acted as a catalyst for the record. While sophmore albums are, by nature, a watershed moment in any artist’s career, the Oslo-born multi-hyphenate admits she went slightly off the deep end; four years in the making, with Lindgård taking the reigns as not only a singer and songwriter, but a producer, and instrumentalist — a record completely of her own design, she describes the experience of creating ‘Dreamer+’ as being “layered with so much stress, but also joy.”

Much of the turmoil around the record, she admits, comes from her painstaking work in fleshing out ‘Dreamer+’’s fictional premise: A “character” is sent on a mission to a “dreamlike forest” where she meets the love of her life, though in a supernatural twist - both of their “instrusive thoughts” become the reality, signalling the death of her romantic interest. “She’s on a journey all of a sudden, mourning the loss of a stranger,” Lindgård says. “It’s about the absurd emotion of feeling responsible for something that is abstract. It’s a whole world built around love and finding your compass, and feeling like you’re in a state of mind that is dreamy in a neutral way — not aspirational, but in a darker sense.”

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Having burst onto the music scene in 2017 with ‘Do You Mind’, created alongside former bandmates and classmates Teodora Georgijević and Johanna Scheie Orellana, Sassy 009 resumed as Lindgård’s solo project with 2019’s ‘KILL SASSY 009’, and ‘Heart Ego’ in 2021. With a reputation for woozy electro-pop riffs, combined with fizzling indie guitars, audiences have been waiting in the wings for Sassy 009’s debut full-length project, which sees her incorporate nods to shoegaze, grunge, hyperpop, and electro into her fantastical narrative.

Ahead of the release of ‘Dreamer+’, we caught up with Sassy 009 to talk about breaking free from the studio bubble, using fiction as a way to explore personal feelings, and how Norway inspires her melancholic soundscapes. Read the interview and listen to Sassy 009’s edition of The Mix below.

Your debut album ‘Dreamer+’ came out last Friday. Can you tell us a bit about the process of creating the record? When did it all start?

Four years ago, I applied for a creative grant in Norway, and in order to do that, you have to plan out what the album will be like, sonically — so, I already did the work before wrapping my head around what I wanted to create in the studio. When I actually started the writing and production part of the process, I had this story that I wanted to tell. It was a very intuitive, fun way of working for a long time — that’s how I tend to function best, discovering new directions, blasting out lots of ideas, and then structuring it. But the deeper I went into that process, I was losing touch of what should be in there — and what shouldn’t. If I had removed this ambition of what I wanted to create earlier on in the process, then I could have been more free, but I was starting to feel almost trapped in having such a clear idea of what ‘Dreamer+’ needed to be like. But, the music will just sound how it sounds; there’s no perfect way of presenting a song.

So a little bit of perfectionism then?

I think so, yeah. I was trying to prove something to myself, and I wasn’t sure what it was; I wanted to produce the album myself, I wanted to be in charge of every aspect — it was abstract to me what I was trying to achieve, though I still had a strong vision. It was an absurd landscape to operate in at times.

How crucial was the cultural grant for you in being able to make this record?

When I started this project, I was in a weird in-between stage of having to establish a new structure around myself as an artist. I had a few key people around me, but at the time I was leaving the label I had been with previously, so I had to figure out the structure of people to facilitate my career while also working on this project. What the grant allowed me to do was keep on working at least, instead of having to take another job, or shift my focus entirely on something that isn’t linked to what I’m best at. There are many different grants [In Norway], you can get a grant for recording music, writing music, touring, marketing - every single thing you need, you can apply for funding to make it happen. I’m not saying I’ve been getting all of those, but it’s been so helpful - especially as an independent just trying to hold onto my career, and keep on working toward being in a better place.

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How did the record develop over its four year creation?

It changed quite a lot, mostly because I was working on this fictional story that I was writing down — not lyrics, but the narrative itself. I wanted to make music that would tell this story. I wasn’t sure exactly how, but I was leaning into going in heavy conceptually. But then, down the road, I realised that what I’m best at is making songs, and not necessarily “sound books” [laughs]. I was forced to let go of making music as abstract as I was envisioning; now the record is more of a soundtrack of the moods of the story.

Do you find embedding yourself within a “fictional world” is preferable to focusing on totally real-world inspiration - or is it somewhere in the middle?

This was the first time I’ve ever worked in this way, and it gave me a sense of deep meaningfulness. It felt like I was able to channel some of my personal emotions into a story that I can be in charge of, it’s almost theraputic in a way. But then, now, looking back at what the process felt like over those years, it was meaningful but also very intense. Such a huge challenge, it was almost like I was creating this problem that I was trying to solve. So now, I really enjoy making music in the simplest form.

Are there particular works of fantasy/fiction that inspired you in creating this record?

I’ve always been inspired by Sci-fi; one of the biggest inspirations for me, both conciously and subconciously since I was a teenager, is Donnie Darko, the core of that film is so relatable for me. Even aesthetically, it’s very beautiful and interesting. That’s a reference I’m definitely processing in this record, and before, I’m drawn to that mysticism and the philosophical questions that are being raised.

We read an interview where you mentioned going back to Norway “in search of inspiration” — how do you feel Oslo has inspired your work?

I think definitley yes, but also it’s very hard for me to pinpoint exactly what it is because that’s where I grew up — it’s sort of all I know in a way, in terms of becoming a person somewhere [laughs]. But walking around in Oslo, it can feel a bit ghostly - there are so few people here, the streets are usually sort of empty. There’s a sense of lonliness to it, but you’re also surrounded by nature and nature has been a big part of my life — it doesn’t matter what the weather is like, you go out still. There are such intense seasons, it’s winter now and its so dark and cold, then summers are so light - there are many contrasts. There’s also an element of shyness, which comes from being in a region where we’re sort of isolating ourselves - even though we should be sticking together in the brutal winters. So yeah, all of those things, I guess, sort of inspire those melancholic soundscapes.

The singles we’ve heard so far vary pretty wildly with their references, with ‘Butterflies’ taking on a pretty shoegaze energy, ‘Tell Me’ exploring grunge, and ‘Someone’ balancing hyperpop/dance music — had you wanted to explore different sonics from track to track?

I feel like I was trying to do the opposite, but I realised during the process that maybe I’m not that kind of artist who is able to have one sound running all the way through. That’s been a part of my craft that I’ve been the most confused about, because I apparently process references very differently depending on the song. Really, I was trying for a long time to kind of force songs into sounding similar to each other, but I wasn’t feeling like those songs were what they should be. So at the very end of the process, I had to dedicate myself to letting go of them being one sound or genre; this is a mix of different interpretations of references.

‘Dreamer+’ has been described as your “true debut”. Why do you think that? How do you feel this record differs sonically to KILL SASSY 009 (2019) and Heart Ego (2021)?

I guess, It is my debut album and the form itself is your “debut”. But this is the first record where I’ve self-produced it and been in-charge of the whole recording process, instead of bringing demos i’ve used myself but then let someone else get into it and bring it hardware. Though I’ve been in charge of my previous records, I’ve been much more open to letting someone else step in. But with this one, I was very much gatekeeping almost every aspect. Though there are so contributors that I’m extremely glad were part of it, but it’s my true debut in that sense, so for me as an artist it was a crucial experience, because now being on the other side I can at least say, I have that work documented and its out – we’ll see what the future brings in if I want to do that in that same way again, or if I want to lean on working with someone more collaboratively. In many ways, it’s been like a rebirth.

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The new record features Blood Orange, Yune Pinku, and BEA1991; how important was it to find the right collaborators for this record?

I wasn’t sure If I wanted to have any features on the record. To be honest, I was pretty set on it just fully being me. But during the later stages of putting it together, I was forced to let go of certain things, and that was one of those things I was forced to let go of – for the better. For those songs, I felt like there were parts I wasn’t able to solve myself, and I was really thinking, if someone is going to be a part of it and solve this, I wanted to be very intentional with who would be doing it. It was specificlly the people who have featured on it that I wanted to be part of it, I think it resonated in both ways - like this makes sense.

What’s coming up next for you?

The next big thing is going on tour in February, which I’m really looking forward to as I’ve been in my studio bubble for years. Although its been fun and exciting to release music so far, there’s something about being in the same physical space as my bandmates and the audience - seeing new places - and all of that, I’m feeling very energised. I’m taking on the challenge of playing bass guitar live, which I’ve never done before - I’m not just going back to being a live artist, but i’m also gonna power it through with a bass guitar in hands. It’s so fun to play and sing at the same time. That’s the big thing. We’ll see where that will take me, but I have a good feeling that fun stuff will be happening.

Can you tell us about your mix?

This is a mix of tracks I’ve both blasted in my headphones and in the clubs for the past few years. Electro and machine funk and breakbeats are all genres close to my heart, but most importantly, I’m a sucker for unexpected turns. This mix represents my playful and non pretentious approach to mixing, where faults are preferred over perfection.

Sassy 009’s ‘Dreamer+’ is out now, you can buy it here.

*Megan Townsend Is Mixmag’s Deputy Editor, follow her on *X

Tracklist Fakethias, Sassy 009 - 5 AM Long Island Sound - Ataria Anz - Clearly Rushing MOY - Wisdom Track Client_03 - Compliance Client_03 - Identity Exploration (Mixed) Aloka - K2 Aggresivnes - I Need A Breakbeat Hankook - Go Back Reptant - Phasics Reflex Aux 88 - Alias Skee Mask - Untitled 279 (DJ Mix) Client_03 - Protection Service Provider Client_03 - Wavefile_Dayjob James Shinra - Anxsrv MIAU, Mary Goodman - Say Meow Aloka - XTX3 Aux 88 - Annihilating the Rhythm Bolam - Break Yo’ Self Yo Speed - HI’R