Cornelia is a 20-year-old songwriter and performer from Stockholm, Sweden. With her debut single ‘Siargao’, Cornelia is set to make waves. Having studied songwriting at ICMP in London for the past year, Cornelia had chance to reflect on her experiences of traveling, and wrote ‘Siargao’. Now back in Sweden, she is performing at venues around her area regularly.
Siargao is a tear-drop shaped island of the Philippines, a paradisal place that Cornelia fell in love with on her travels. She sings to the island in this song, and you can feel the yearning to go back there. Cornelia said: “I wrote the mains of this song in October 2018 when I was one rainy day sitting in my bedroom in London thinking back on the amazing trip I had. The island, Siargao came to be so special to me and I started writing down what made it special. Those notes made the foundation of the song. The chorus shows my desire of just letting everything go and travel there again. I will one day”.
Tranquil in its beginnings, soft guitar picking sets the mood for the rest of the song. Cornelia’s voice is awash with delicate and gentle tones, suiting ‘Siargao’ perfectly. It is a song of yearning and love, in the most pure and innocent way, and Cornelia’s voice embodies that effortlessly.
The dynamic throughout the track is beautiful, building slowly with the introduction of cello and broad yet beautifully soft harmonies, holding the song up like a fledgling ready to fly.
In the instrumental break section its the striking BVs that hold all attention, drenched in reverb as if the mountain walls themselves are calling out to her.
‘Siargao’ was produced with Jesus Correderas, also known as Jay Hooks, another student at ICMP. It’s clear that a lot of time was put into the finer details of the song, from the subtle bass to the sweeping strings that breathe in and out.
You can listen to ‘Siargao’ from July 26th on all popular streaming sites, and you can connect with her on social media @corneliamusic_