You know that thing when an artist just fully leans into their own world, paints it pink, adds glitter, a few existential spirals, and a space cat? That’s basically what Ester Skála just did.

After teasing us with singles since her 2021 debut ‘Unicorn’ (which literally won an award in the Faroe Islands), she’s finally dropped a full-length album. Also called Unicorn, because branding is important and also… it slaps. Out now on TUTL, the record is a sugary hyperpop dream with just enough emotional depth to keep you spiraling on a Sunday afternoon. Ester goes all in — sparkles, serotonin, emotional gut-punches and all. The album digs into some real stuff — heartbreak, neurodivergence, grief dressed up in a smile — all wrapped in melodies that sound like they could’ve come from a bedroom studio on a cotton candy planet. It’s hyper-emotional, hyper-produced, hyper-her. We caught up with Ester to talk about how her pink-pop universe came together, writing from a deeply personal place, and why her cat may or may not be the emotional support guide we all need – and yes, we also talked vinyl, because of course we did.

photo by Kateryna Vishchak Joensen

Hi, Ester! I’m really glad we get to talk — I’ve spent a lot of time with ‘Unicorn’, and honestly, it’s a fascinating album. It feels soft at first, but the deeper you go, the more layers and hidden corners you start to uncover. You open the album with a track that originally came out years ago. It’s the song that started it all. And yet, between that first “Unicorn” and this full-length project, there’s been a real evolution — in sound, in approach, in tone. Why did you decide to come back to that song and make it the title track? Was it about closing a circle, or did you just feel like it deserved a second life? 

Dear Indie Boulevard.  Greetings! It’s great to hear from you  I’m glad you’ve put your heart into diving deep into my sonic pink pop universe. where you recognize the soft, bubbling sounds and tight bpm  And that you see the message in my music has more to it, and that you should dive deeper to discover even more.  I’m stuck in a wonderful gray sky nature of the Faroe Islands, since I live here everyday, I’ve still needed to add some pink and bubbles to my music and my head in everyday life; and that’s where the rest of my songs come from: Having a mind full of bubble. 

There’s so much detail packed into the production — backing vocals with weird effects, glitch at the end of phrases, digital noise that fades in and out. I’m more than sure that’s not accidental. It really sounds like you or your producer sat there thinking, “Okay, let’s distort this part just a little, and sharpen this one into hi-fi.” Do you get deep into the micro-layering yourself, or is that more Kristoffer’s domain? 

I definitely think Kristoffer is a person to say a big thank you to:) I have made all the lyrics and the melody myself, which is a thank you to me Usually I make demos with Ableton or Logic and do my best to show what taste, style and music universe I am looking for: And Kristoffer, with his magic hands, reaches real life. Me and Kristoffer work really well together. When two calm gentle souls meet to have fun and record while being serious about it, it is definitely the best combination! Love his humor and I am always excited to see what he has created from my ideas. Kristoffer has not made this type of music before, and I had no idea he could make such a big work out of it! I am always excited to see what his hands and mind create from my ideas. I have helped Kristoffer by telling me what universe I have been looking for, But man.. Such a good producer!

When it comes to your lyrics, you almost never say anything directly. Even when you’re tackling something heavy — like in ‘Become’ — it’s always filtered through imagery, poetry, unusual metaphors. Do you ever worry that people might not get what you’re really talking about? Or is it more important to you that each listener finds their own meaning? 

I think the most important part is that people’s minds latch on and float away in waves of my music. Sometimes I enjoy when people don’t really know, and I love when people are left with a sense of curiosity at the end and want to know more. It’s really better. People really don’t need to know everything about you. Give them a little, not too much, and they’ll want more. Normally you think you have to be everywhere all the time, showing everything all the time, sharing media all the time, talking all the time. Sometimes when you don’t show too much and talk too much, people will start to recognize the “atmosphere” of you. Usually the atmosphere speaks more than anything else. I’d rather make music that’s too short than too long, to leave the audience with a little, wonder, curiosity, and leave them wanting more. 

‘Mellow Cat’ is that one moment on the album where things kind of drift out of orbit. You drop the typical pop structure and take us into something that’s almost like a storybook — but deeply personal. The visuals, the rhythm, even the shape of the song — everything moves on its own terms. I got completely stuck on that track. When you wrote ‘Mellow Cat’, did you already know it would stand apart from the rest of the album’s texture? 

I always knew this song was different. Mellow Cat definitely adds an edge to the album where you get this spacey vibe and has more dark colors combined with spacey pink, purple and stars. That song is definitely a song I would leave with a mystery. You have to guess a lot to find the meaning of the song; or even create your own story. There is a lot of mystery. I think it was good to have a variety to the album and let people know that I am not just cute and pink all the time, but that there is a real person behind this whole “Barbie world“. 

photo by Kateryna Vishchak Joensen

Some of your songs sound intentionally sweet — but under that cuteness, the themes get pretty dark. How important is that layering to you — the contrast between soft sound and heavy emotion? 

I really love that combination! It’s something I’m really drawn to. I think that song, like I said, can leave a mystery and everything. But I think light music with a superficial message is too much whipped cream. We need a bit of sweet earthy flavor. I love putting a depth to the message so that people can deeply relate;.. if they solve the mystery.. Because even though I’m making this pink pop music, I want to add something personal and sensitive in this than something superficial. 

Almost all of the vocals on the album are processed in some way. Sometimes the autotune becomes part of the melody, sometimes your voice nearly dissolves into synth textures. Do you feel like “bare” vocals limit you, or is it just that you’re more into sculpting your voice as part of the sonic palette? 

I think I’m into shaping my voice for live performances. I’m aware of what kind of specific voice I want, and I would say that I already have it in me 🙂 I don’t like high sweet thin voices, but I’d rather have a voice that can have depth and a sweet high note, sweet tone at the same time. As you can hear in the songs, the voice has depth and a sweet sound at the same time. A vocoder would definitely be nice to try :)! 

There’s a sense that you’re not really operating inside traditional pop structure anymore — especially on this new album. A lot of the tracks don’t have a “hook” in the classic sense. You build a vibe and just hold it. When you’re writing, are you thinking at all about how a listener will respond? Or is it more like: “I create the atmosphere, and if you get it — great”? 

I think I realize that I wanted my songs to be relaxed uptempo in some way. Even though I’m into pop music, I like to have it a bit niche with the flavor of synthpop and hyperpop: Or pinkpop, which is what I call my genre. I like when people can independently wrap their own minds around things when it comes to my music and art. It’s fun and I like the curiosity I get out of it myself 🙂 Some songs I would say have a light hook that the audience can sing along to. For example “Ooh Ooooh” (Blue Eyes) “Become, become, become, become” (Become) I’ve had the audience sing along with “I blink, I think” to Unicorn and “Mellow Caaaaaaaaat” (to Mellow Cat). Which is great! But still, like I said, it’s definitely a bit niche out of mainstream pop. 

The artwork for ‘Unicorn’ — just wow. I honestly got hooked on it before even pressing play. The vinyl design, the fonts, the color palette — everything is put together with this wild sense of taste. It’s not just “pink and cute,” it’s a fully-formed aesthetic with a personality. How did you approach the visual side of the album? Were you deeply involved in the process with Súsanna and Jón Sonni? And overall — did the visuals grow out of the music, or were you building both at the same time? 

Me and Susanne have worked together before, where she had photoshoots of me. For this vinyl and publishing project, I had Susanne take pictures of me with a green screen. First I met Jón Sonni in a second-hand dressmaker’s worksroom. It simply means that there is a second-hand shop, and on the top floor you can come for free to sew your own clothes with recycled things. Later I found out that he was a very good artist. I found his art in a magazine at the Faroese Art Museum. There he had an art section called “Industrial Bondage“. There he had some pink fluffy things going on, where I knew he was the one I was looking for. 

photo by Kateryna Vishchak Joensen

I went to the dressmaker’s workshop again and told him that I admired his work and asked him to be my graphic designer. He said yes, and then Susanne took the green screen pictures and sent them to Jón Sonni, where he made the beautiful graphic design for the album. I loved the result!: You can recognize that in the front I am in a blue dress with a pink sky. And on the inside sleeve it is the opposite: Pink dress and blue sky: It contrasts with each other, which I think is very nice! And then you have the “disc” in the heart of the Vinyl, which is pink again = The soul of my music. 

I liked the results so much that I asked him to graphic design other Susanne’s images for the single releases. I showed him my ideas on pinterest and he made it into real life. I definitely built the musical and visual parts at the same time. I really like having the “whole package” with me. I wanted to create this Barbie world in a more artistic and aesthetic way. 

You’ve got a few live shows coming up this year. You’re set to perform at G! Festival in July— from the 17th to the 19th in Syðrugøta — and you also have a free album release show on May 2 at OY in Tórshavn as part of the Summartónar series. How are you preparing for those shows? Is there anything special you’re planning to bring to the stage this year? 

The release concert in OY on May 2nd went really well! I was really focused on having a great light show and making the audience feel comfortable. Even though this music is pretty much out of this world, I really needed to make the audience feel like their heads are in the sky but their feet are still on the ground. The audience was lovely and complimented the concert very well. Gurið Hansdóttir (also called BYRTA) – A big well-known pop artist in Faroese told me that this concert and my music really touched her heart in a special way. She is an artist I really look up to and I felt very proud when she said that. 

I also prepared some dancers, but they couldn’t make it that day. But after that concert I had another performance where the dancers were in and it went really well! Two days later we went to perform singing and dancing them on Faroese television: It will be shown on May 25th. To G! festival, summer festival and other venues. I want the dancers and the good light show with me and last but not least – My heart with me. 

And last one — let’s get a little dreamy here. Imagine you wake up tomorrow in a world that runs on the logic of your music. Everything’s pink and soft, people talk in rhymes, and cats drive trams. What’s the very first thing you’d do in that world? And most importantly — what kind of dessert would they serve in the school cafeterias? 

The world would definitely be a better place. The street would have cherry trees growing all around the side-streets. Every morning there would be this lovely orange sunrise with pink clouds. It would be sunny every day with the perfect temperature. People would walk around and have the jobs they always dreamed of. Having the perfect number of hours at work that suits their strength and mental health; I don’t believe in laziness if people do what they really love to do. People would go to the beach or nice pastel cafes in their free time. In the evening there would be a purple sunset with stars near the dark blue night sky. We would all be on the beach, some dancing and others drinking milkshakes and talking about our perspectives on what life is really about; It’s an endless mind-wandering.

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