PLAYKNOW links with Kim Rysstad

Hailing from Hamar in Norway, PLAYKNOW is the musical project of songwriter Hans Petter Stormoen, an artist with a readily apparenty affection for melody and a steadfast appreciation of the sounds that have shaped modern pop. Drawing on the melodic stylings of the 70s, 80s and early 90s, PLAYKNOW brings those influences into a modern setting, moving through nu disco, synth pop, new wave, retro pop, funk and soul.

Driven by the simple belief that the song always comes first, PLAYKNOW’s music revolves around stories of people, everyday life and the world we share, with each release given the space to find its own voice and character. By not locking into one fixed sound, Hans brings different artists and musicians into the process, while producer and musician Frode Berntzen remaining a regular creative collaborator, resulting in a project that treats genre as a musical sphere to explore.

That philosophy is already clear in PLAYKNOW’s first two releases; following the debut single “Mehr Als Ein Treffen” in July, he now returns with “Is It So Hard To Be Good,” the sophomore track which takes a deceptively simple question and twists it into the centre of an increasingly relevant musical statement. “Is It So Hard To Be Good” is about kindness, consideration and the way people treat one another, asking a question that sounds almost impossibly straightforward, yet becomes more pointed the longer it hangs in the air. Why is being good to each other so difficult and what happens when understanding and humanity are pushed aside?

Before penning its lyrics, Hans started working on a fictional opinion article about a society in which public attention increasingly appears to reward outrage, division and putting others down rather than respect and understanding. Somewhere within that process, one question kept returning, Is It So Hard To Be Good? Eventually, that question stopped being simply part of the article and became the creative spark for the song itself.

Written last autumn, the track carries an uncomplicated ambition to make a small difference, aiming to encourage the listener to pause, consider its central question and perhaps carry it beyond the final note. Opened by the stretch of hazy instrumental textures as flickers of airy notes ring out, the track shifts with pulsing synth tones, the steady punch of crisp percussion and smooth sax lines, crafting an engrossing synth pop soundscape. Then there’s Kim Rysstad, the renowned Norwegian artist who brings his warm and distinctive voice to the song, but his role goes considerably deeper than that of a conventional featured vocalist.

Hans wrote the track with a very particular voice in mind, capable of bringing exceptional warmth, genuine connection and emotional impact to the material. Capped by his soulful vocal performance, “Is It So Hard To Be Good” rolls with dreamy instrumentation, intoxicating melodic leads and transportive atmosphere, resulting in an anthemic musical experience cut with stunning sax leads and lively drums.

For PLAYKNOW, it is another step into a musical world where different influences can coalesce in spectacular fashion, musicians can shape the personality of each release and the songwriting remains the guiding creative compass. “Is It So Hard To Be Good” may be built around a simple question, but its answer is left where it arguably belongs, with the listener.

Listen to Is It So Hard To Be Good below

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