Erika de Casier

Born in Portugal, the Denmark-based artist Erika de Casier makes music that’s global in its scope, and combines the intimacy of solo songwriting with choruses that wouldn’t be out of place on early-2000s MTV. She began writing songs as a teenager, while nursing a broken heart over the summer. Painting, her earlier therapeutic outlet, no longer sufficed, and so Erika downloaded some amateur beat-making software, quickly discovering a hidden talent. For proof of the above, look no further than her phenomenal debut Essentials and this year’s Sensational, the artist’s first release on 4AD.