Jouska is the dream-pop meets ambient-shoegaze project of Norwegian artist Marit Othilie Thorvik. The name “Jouska” refers to a hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head, a concept that seems to resonate with Thorvik’s music. It is sonically engulfing, capturing the feeling of introspection and internal worlds. There’s a sense of weightlessness and emotional drift, as it unfolds like a half-remembered dream that is familiar, yet elusive. Hazy guitar textures, ethereal vocals, and ambient swells echo the quiet intensity of inner dialogue.
The artist’s new single “Flower Moon” is the first new music since their 2023 acclaimed sophomore album, Suddenly My Mind Is Blank, and a potential precursor for more music in the works. It was produced alongside close collaborator Hans Olav Settem, who also contributes backing vocals, guitar, bass, and synth on the track. Thorvik and Settem are joined by Elias Tafjord (with whom Jouska performs live in Sassy 009) on drums, Bård Kristian Kylland (GiddyGang) on Rhodes, and Fredrik Svabø (Aurora) on pedal steel. Oslo-based label Koke Plate will be releasing the track.
“Flower Moon” instantly steeps you into a melodic dreamscape with a rhythmic guitar that slowly sways you back and forth. Lush layers envelope you into Jouska’s atmospheric sound world. Born from a season of inner conflict and lost identity, the song lyrically and sonically echoes the weight of feeling confined and emotionally detached.
“I wrote this song while I was in New York, trying to push through a difficult period. I kept cancelling sessions, overwhelmed by anxiety and distracted by things unfolding back home. I felt suspended—physically in one place, emotionally in another—disconnected from both, and missing out on all of it.”
– Marit Othilie Thorvik (of Jouska) on “Flower Moon”
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