First Transmission: Korantemaa, Matches.

Matches may well be the first you’ve heard from Korantemaa – née Johanna Karlsson – although the nascent Swedish artist is already of real YouTube repute, with both originals and cover versions regularly maxing out six figures. And it figures: Karlsson’s deftly finger-picked acoustic takes perfectly complement her velveteen, truly serene vocal as she makes occasional, coy eye contact with what may as well be a webcam. But such is her readily discernible versatility, that her voice makes a sublime match for more contemporary tracks also, with her latest strikingly reminiscent of Empress Of, Jessy Lanza, et al. Although the voice – at turns smoky and showy – is what conquers your undivided attention, as she’ll longingly reiterate: “I just want to be what you are to me,” the leitmotif painfully encapsulating the lovelessness of modernity. Much to love within this one, though.

Matches is available now.