In November 2024, Ria Aursjoen released her solo debut, the excellent ‘Strand’ EP. Although the material shared some common links with the artist’s band Octavian Winters, the six songs explored a lighter sound in places. With Ria adding elements of folk and dreampop to her rocky sound, the EP very much captured an artist sounding a little more mature.

As part of the ongoing promotion for the release, a video clip has been made for ‘Apollo’. Despite being one of the release’s harder edged numbers, it still captures a lot of atmosphere  A droning guitar sets a dour atmosphere in place, from which a very mechanical rhythm is allowed to grow. Aursjoen’s voice arrives last, and it shares a slightly crooned delivery that offsets the musical mechanics brilliantly. There are moments during this number where her chosen tones sound like the legendary Siouxsie Sioux; others where Ria latches onto a bigger sound that’s reminiscent of Sinead O’Connor midway through the classic ‘Mandinka’. When heard alone, that voice has a real purity; when heard in a multi-layered arrangement, it’s got a defiant power, and the banshee wails used in place of a traditional chorus hook create something rather beautiful. With the droning guitar making a return to fill a short coda, this track feels like a complete listening experience packed into a really tight five minutes. In that respect, it’s a superb digital single and a great showcase for the EP itself.

Watch the video clip below.