There’s nothing better than waking up with your alarm unalarmed. The freshness of the day is captured in those first waking minutes. Your eyes adjust to the light, your sheets feel extra comfy, and the tiny cocoon you’ve carved yourself through the night begins to hatch. Whatever dreams you were dreaming slip away as you try to remember them, and the reality of the new day sets in. It’s comforting, really. Your morning rituals lie just beyond the boundaries of your bed and the hours ahead of you don’t seem too scary. No matter how pleasant your morning may be, though, the world will test you. This is something I’m convinced of; the more confident you are, the more the world will find a way to strip you of it. This isn’t some cynical conviction, though. It’s more of a challenge. If you understand that the world works in contrasts, you’ll know that with each boost of self-assurance, the thicker your armor must be. Prep for battle — that’s really what getting ready is in the morning. Our clothes, what we project into the world is our chain mail, metal helmet, and sword.
Then there are some mornings where confidence isn’t enough and the hours eventually become too much. That’s where songs like Swedish badass Elionor Olovosdotter’s “Down On Life” come into play. This is a track that could easily be your pregame jam, the song you go to when a case of the mean reds comes along, or you just need an extra bit of swag in your step while walking through the city. There’s a trifecta of Swedish girls on the rise, and Olovosdotter’s Elliphant project is easily the brattiest of the group. Icona Pop and Niki & The Dove put out blissful dance-pop tunes (with the former making tracks you can cry to while getting down on the floor), but Elliphant is packing the spoiled, middle-finger-to-the-world chops. “Down On Life” is actually an innuendo She’s not talking about feeling down, if you catch my drift. She’s saying, “Hey, I’m going to take whatever’s trying to bring me down and dominate it, make it mine.” This is all set to some sick dub-influenced, island-y, Euro underground production. Plug in, press play, and turn this track up. Sway with it, lean with it, rock with it, do whatever you want to it.
This track is sonic armor. Use it wisely.
Go down, down, down, down on life.”