Open Water
Swedish dance/pop duo Bonalt & Hadi are back after a creative hiatus with “Open Water”, the first song in a new series of singles featuring upcoming Swedish topliners. Certain tropical house influences are still present in this release, but they’ve chosen a more traditional pop song structure this time. This approach is similar to what Swedish EDM duos like Bomberjak and Jeff Riv3r & Mike F have been doing recently.
Bonalt & Hadi decided to collaborate with singer-songwriter FRIDA on this release, who has been mostly known for her acoustic YouTube covers and original compositions with a piano sound. While she explores new territories through her performance in “Open Water”, her lyricism gives an emotional touch to the song.
The metaphor of the sea serves as a vehicle to talk about a weird comfort zone in dark moments: “I don’t wanna spend my life without it/Still I don’t wanna be here caught inside of this water”, FRIDA sings, referring to a kind of loneliness or depression.
After finishing high school in Malmö, Anthon Bonalt and Abul Hadi became part of a DJ/producer duo that grew into a SoundCloud sensation with their breakthrough remix of Ed Sheeran’s “Supermarket Flowers” in 2017.
The success didn’t stop there: Their original song “Blessing” was featured on Spotify Editorial playlists the likes of “New Music Friday Denmark”, “Tropisk House”, “Tropical Vibes”, and the highly influential “Pop Right Now”.
The duo got signed to Rexius Records soon after. Flash forward to 2021, and now Bonalt & Hadi are making a comeback as a dance/pop duo. We’ll hear more about them throughout 2021, with their new series of singles. “Open Water” will be available in February.
