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New 7"- Vinyl: A reinterpretation of Scandinavia’s dark folk dance
Felix Havstad Ziska is a Danish/Swedish musician and composer with roots in the raw nerve of punk rock and Nordic folk music. He has contributed to three Grammy nominations, received a Danish platinum record, and worked on soundtracks, including the international Netflix success Stranger Things.
The first 7” vinyl single featuring the tracks lower and Kronborg Polska, composed and recorded by Felix Havstad Ziska, will be released on the newly founded Handjob Records. The single will be followed throughout spring and summer by two additional 7” vinyl releases, culminating in a full LP release in autumn 2026.
The album is a collection of dark folk dances that, over the past ten years, have struck Felix Havstad Ziska’s violin like lightning from the sky. Since childhood, he has carried an inner melodic universe deeply marked by Nordic melancholy and folk tradition — subconsciously and faithfully embedded in his foundation. Accompanied by his enduring fascination with drones, tension, and release, he invites the listener into some of the darkest and most beautiful places of the North.
With both respect for and unawareness of the tradition he seeks to write himself into, the forthcoming album emerges as an intuitive outsider’s take on what Nordic folk music was, is, and may become.
7″-vinyl release:
lower (Side A)
(Composed, performed, recorded, and produced by Felix Havstad Ziska)
lower is an improvisation-based exploration of the Scandinavian ganglåt tradition. The melody serves as a sonic translation of the constantly shifting limbo state a person may inhabit when caught in the “dance” dictated and sustained by psychological violence.
Kronborg polska (Side B)
(Composed, performed, recorded, and produced by Felix Havstad Ziska)
Kronborg polska is based on a meditative improvisation rooted in the steps of the traditional polska dance. The melody was written with the imagined discomfort of the prisoners beneath Kronborg Castle in mind — those who served their sentences in the damp, drafty, and bitterly cold stone dungeons.
Udgivet med støtte fra Koda Kultur.
Listen here:
lower
Krongborg Polska
Released 26. February, 2026
Recorded at Sjællands Odde, June 2025
Composed, performed, recorded & produced by Felix Havstad Ziska
Cover artwork by Felix Havstad Ziska
© Handjob Records 2026
℗ Forlaget Forglemmigej 2026
Something Broke - out now on limited handmade cassette
When something broke, we could either repeat a pattern or change – adapt, and look for beauty among the shattered pieces in our hands. Something Broke is Felix Havstad Ziska’s homage to the broken, and to the only certainty we can trust: everything will break.
“In recent years, many things broke. I broke too. And so did the tube in a precious microphone I borrowed from a dear friend. In the midst of chaos, I felt calmed and understood by the predictable, yet ever-changing sounds of this broken little tube. The three recordings on this album capture a small fragment of the ongoing storm within – I hope it might comfort you as it comforted me.”
Something Broke is an accepting, meditative, and devoted capturing of the moment – not the moment planned, not the moment expected, but the moment needed – the moment felt.
Felix Havstad Ziska is a versatile Danish/Swedish musician, producer, and composer rooted in the nerve of punkrock and the vocabulary of Nordic folk music. He has contributed to three Grammy-nominations, received a Danish platinum record, and has worked on soundtracks such as the international Netflix success Stranger Things. As a performing musician, he has moved effortlessly between widely different stages – from DIY and underground venues to some of Europe’s biggest festivals as well as concert halls such as the Royal Danish Theatre and the Danish Radio Concert House.
Cassette release:
Limited edition [first pressing 50 copies] 2 handmade cassettes include unlimited streaming and download of something broke via the free Bandcamp app.
1. Side A: 27:26
2. Side B: 29:26
3. Side C: 30:16
Listen & download here:
Something Broke
Released November 28, 2025
Recorded at Sjællands Odde, November 2025
Composed, performed, recorded & produced by Felix Havstad Ziska
Co-produced by Asta Plum, Sally Santana & Mads Rehof
Coverphoto by Felix Havstad Ziska
Printed by Pauline Hoch & Steen Andersen
© Forlaget Forglemmigej 2025 & Handjob Records 2026
Tak til Peter Sloth
Serenader - music box release out now on cassette
With Serenader, musician and composer Felix Havstad Ziska invites listeners into the nostalgic sonic universe of the music box through a meditative and immersive work. The album consists of a series of semi-improvised pieces performed on five manipulated music boxes, forming delicate sound collages built from the tonal fragments of familiar evergreen melodies.
Felix Havstad Ziska is a versatile Danish-Swedish musician, producer, and composer whose work is rooted in the raw energy of punk rock and the melodic language of Nordic folk music. He has contributed to three Grammy-nominated releases, received a Danish platinum record, and worked on soundtracks including the international Netflix hit Stranger Things. As a performer, he has moved effortlessly between DIY and underground venues, major European festivals, and concert halls such as The Royal Danish Theatre and DR Koncerthuset.
Cassette release:
Limited-edition cassettes include unlimited streaming and download of something broke via the Bandcamp app.
1. Side A — 34:10
2. Side B — 30:09
Listen & download:
Serenader
Released: 22 March 2025
Recorded: 22 April 2024
Composed, performed, recorded, and produced by Felix Havstad Ziska
Cover artwork by Felix Havstad Ziska
Piano: Ardmore
Mastering: Brian Mørk Hansen
Distribution: Den Eksterne Båndserie #3, Afvikling Kassetter 2025
© Forlaget Forglemmigej 2025 & Handjob Records 2026