FIFTY3FRIDAYS: SONNEN BLUME – TRACK BY TRACK

I came across the music of Sonnen Blume when the mysterious artist submitted “Satellite” to Fresh On The Net which went on to be voted as one the week’s Fresh Faves. I was very taken with the song and included it last month in a short round-up of some of my favourite tracks from 2025. “Satellite” is the lead track from a self-titled collection released by Sonnen in November, bringing together songs written over the past 10 years. It is as impressive a debut as I have heard in some time and I was delighted when Sonnen Blume agreed to write a track-by-track commentary for us.

I feel that this is a record that should be heard by a far wider audience than I can offer so if you like what you read and hear please share it far and wide. You’ll have to be quick though as a follow up album is due out at the end of March. Sonnen Blume likes to keep an air of mystique around her/their identity. The credits say that words and music are all from songwriter V J Brady, I sense a female voice in the lyrics to match the vocal but there may two people involved in the project. That’s quite enough idle speculation… over to Sonnen Blume, in their words.

Satellite

If you listen closely to the chorus, “Satellite” steals a few notes from Dexys’ “Come on Eileen” and was written the morning after hearing it on a pub jukebox while it was stuck in my head. For a while it sounded a bit like a Strokes song but got rejigged for a more 80s feel. The lyrics are about going out with someone who is becoming a bit too reliant on substances and not having the courage to confront them about it.

Spaniels

This is one of my favourites from the album. I think it’s because it’s a little happier than the others! It’s about looking back to the start of a relationship and all the excitement that comes with that. Also, a memorable Tony Soprano quote is referenced in the chorus: “Remember when is the lowest form of conversation.”

Making Coffee

Got a soft spot for this one too. The lyrics are pretty sad and full of regret. It was written a few years ago, but when we produced it recently, we added in the more hopeful outro.  Musically I think I was listening to a lot of Lou Reed. The chord progressions also remind me of some songs from Blood on the Tracks which was on heavy rotation at the time of writing. In addition, a big influence on the writing and mood of this song and quite a few of the others were Angel Olsen’s Big Time and Paolo Nutini’s Last Night in the Bittersweet, both of which came out in the summer of 2022.

Tschuss

Written around 2015 for an old band. It never really had proper lyrics, and I struggled a bit trying to come up with new ones until we tried them in German as a little nod to Nena! [She of the “99 Red Balloons”. This has a bit of a Eurovision feel to it too – Ed].

Chungking Express

The opening hook was written about a decade ago in my Gran’s kitchen when I used to live with her. I had just watched the film Chungking Express and was inspired by a few quotes from it: "We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears.”  The opening guitar riff even predates the lyrics and has been knocking around for about 15 years so it’s a relief to finally use it. The 2nd part of the song after the breakdown was aiming for a New Order - Temptation vibe. A fun song to make!

Gongoozle

For anyone that doesn’t know, a gongoozler is a lover of canals and barges. ‘Gina’ in the song was a character in the Basquiat biopic that was on in the background while I was messing around on the guitar. Bit of a theme here! I liked the original demo on my phone so much that it was quite difficult trying to recreate that vibe.

Vitosha

The oldest song here - goes back to, maybe, 2012. Never really recorded it properly or played it live so it’s really cool to finally have a version of it out in the world. It’s named after the mountain that overlooks the beautiful city of Sofia, Bulgaria. I would have been listening to a lot of Johnny Cash at the time and I think this was the main inspiration for it.

10th December

This was written in my Mum’s shed when I went home for Christmas a few years ago. My friend challenged me to write a pop song and this was the result! The ‘waiting by your phone’ line is very real and something I’m sure a lot of people can sadly relate to.

Neon Hearts

A last-minute addition, this was another one that I wrote for an old band going back to 2015/16. It was pretty much finished until I came up with a new chorus a few months ago. I have always struggled a bit with the guitar riff before the chorus so it will need a lot of practice if it’s ever played live!

The Clock

This is named after the famous clock in Glasgow Central station under which many a Glaswegian couple have arranged to meet on their first dates. Most towns will have a similar landmark, I guess. It was written in 2020 during the Covid lockdown. Despite having a lot of free time that year I struggled to be creative and only wrote three complete songs: this one, “Marshmallows” (Christmas song) and one called “Strange Year” which is on our new album coming out on 27 March.

Thank you for reading and thank you to anyone who has given the record a listen! SB

Meanwhile Sonnen Blume by Sonnen Blume is out now, available to stream, digitally download or physically own on CD and possibly vinyl. Find it on Spotify HERE.