For Popkanon, distance has never been enough to stop a good song from finding its way back home. What began as a friendship between three classmates growing up in Asker, Norway, eventually stretched across continents, with Paal settling in Chicago, Morten living in different parts of Europe, and Tomas remaining in Norway. Yet the connection between them never disappeared. Years later, that friendship found a new creative life.
During the pandemic, online concerts brought the trio back into a shared musical space, eventually leading to the creation of Popkanon Sounds LLC in 2022. Since then, they have released 22 songs while continuing to build a growing library of ideas and collaborations. Their latest release, “More to Give,” captures much of what makes their story interesting: reflection, friendship, experimentation and an unwillingness to believe that the best moments are already behind them.
The song began during one of Morten’s regular walks around a lake near his home in Asker, where the changing autumn season prompted thoughts about the past and the possibilities still ahead. Those reflections became the foundation for a song built around a simple but meaningful question: do we still have more to give?
For Popkanon, the answer is an optimistic yes. “More to Give” moves from its guitar-led, reflective opening into richer synth textures and an uplifting EDM-inspired second half, with contributions from RarriQUESO and Chicago producer Jack Flash helping the song evolve beyond its original form. That willingness to let collaborators reshape an idea is central to Popkanon’s creative philosophy.
Rather than chasing a fixed sound, the trio treats every song as an opportunity to discover something new. Their approach values experimentation over formulas and gives each collaborator room to leave their own mark.
In this INTERVIEW WITH Boostrin, Popkanon talk about the friendship that started it all, the inspiration behind “More to Give,” working across Norway and Chicago, collaborating with RarriQUESO and Jack Flash, and why, after 22 releases, they still believe there is plenty more to give.
First of all, for anyone discovering Popkanon for the first time, can you take us back to how the trio came together and how your different backgrounds between Asker, Norway and Chicago shaped the way you began making music together?
We all grew up together in Asker, Norway, a suburb along the Oslo Fjord, and ended up in the same class at Risenga Middle School. Music was our first connection, and the three of us quickly became close friends. Throughout middle school and high school, we played together in various bands, and that friendship has lasted ever since.
For college, Paal moved to Northern Illinois University outside Chicago to play soccer, where he met his wife; he now lives in Chicago with his family. Morten also moved abroad after high school, living in Newcastle, Dublin, Bordeaux, London and Barcelona. Tomas stayed in Norway and formed new bands, but the three of us remained close, meeting whenever vacations allowed and staying connected by phone.
During the pandemic, Morten was back in Norway, and we started attending online concerts together. That brought back the itch to collaborate musically. In 2022, we established the publishing and production company Popkanon Sounds LLC and began writing and producing again. It has been a continuous creative journey ever since, resulting in 22 released songs and a large online library of ideas still in development.
“More to Give” began with an autumn walk in Norway and a reflection on life’s challenges and possibilities. What was going through Morten’s mind during that walk, and how did that personal moment eventually become a song?
Morten has a favorite trail around one of the lakes near his home in Asker. Several times a week, he takes brisk walks there, and that time outdoors often sparks reflections, ideas and lyrical themes. Many Popkanon songs, including “More to Give,” have grown from those walks. On this particular autumn day, the changing seasons prompted him to reflect on the past while also thinking about fresh possibilities ahead. That contrast became the foundation for the song.
The central question of the song is whether we still have more to give, and the answer is an optimistic yes. What does “more to give” mean to each of you personally, and why did you feel that message was important to share right now?
“More to Give” is a little like the idea of seeing the bottle as half empty or half full: you can dwell on what has already happened, or stay open to what might come next. Past seasons hold beautiful memories of love, but also pain and struggle. Those experiences can bring you to your knees, but they can also become a source of strength and curiosity about what is around the next corner.
That message matters to us because many of our songs look backward, while we are also committed to experimenting and pushing ourselves toward something new. We could have spent our phone calls simply reminiscing about our youth and the good times we shared. Instead, we decided to make the most of where we are now and start creating together again. In that sense, the song reflects Popkanon itself: our friendship and our love of making music are not distant memories; they are experiences we can keep living. The broader message is universal—everyone has a story to tell, and Popkanon is ours.
The production starts with strings before gradually moving into richer synth-driven textures. What made you choose that progression, and how did you want the changing arrangement to reflect the emotional journey of the song?
The song begins simply, with guitars, reflecting Morten’s original walk and the stripped-back idea of thinking about the seasons. We wanted to keep the rhythm steady while gradually adding color and texture to the journey. The second half was intentionally designed as a contrast: the first part is reflective, while the second opens up and becomes more affirmative, reinforced by the backing vocal confirming, “Yes, we have more to give.”
You have mentioned Justin Bieber’s vocal techniques as an influence alongside the Scandinavian pop and EDM sounds associated with artists such as Avicii and Kygo. What specifically do you admire about those influences, and how did you translate them into the Popkanon sound?
RarriQUESO shares some of the qualities we admire in Justin Bieber’s approach to a song: an intimate, vulnerable and emotionally direct vocal style. Bieber also moves comfortably across pop, from stripped-down guitar ballads to more upbeat tracks with EDM elements. He is only one of many influences, but for this song that versatility felt especially suited to the message.
Kygo and Avicii are Scandinavian artists operating on another level, creating music that can make you want to dance while still delivering an emotional lift. With “More to Give,” we wanted to capture some of that same feel-good energy without losing the personality of Popkanon.
RarriQUESO returns as a collaborator on “More to Give,” adding another verse and reimagining melodies around the original composition. What made you want to bring him back for this song, and how did his contribution change the track?
RarriQUESO has become a great friend of ours, as well as a talented and highly imaginative collaborator. We have worked together on several previously released songs, including “Bar Colombia,” “Save Your Cry,” “Smokescreen” and “Vas a Caer.” Our upcoming single, “My Baby Has Gone,” is another collaboration with RarriQUESO that we are very excited about.
A big part of the Popkanon philosophy is treating songwriting as a journey. We deliberately give our collaborators room to contribute to lyrics, melodies and production so that each track can develop its own character. Some songwriters and artists work within a very specific method, sound or genre—which can make sense when the goal is to serve algorithms, playlists or radio formats. Our approach is different. We want the music to stay as open-ended as possible and to benefit from ideas contributed by many people. RarriQUESO’s input helped take the song somewhere we would not necessarily have reached on our own.
Jack Flash played an important role in adding the synth textures and mixing the record. What was the creative conversation like between Popkanon, RarriQUESO and Jack Flash, and how did the production evolve once everyone brought their ideas into the process?
Jack Flash is one of the best producers in Chicago, and we feel fortunate to work with him. He has collaborated with major names in the industry, particularly in Chicago and Toronto, and he brought a distinct perspective to this track.
Jack shaped much of the second half of the song as it moved into more of an EDM space. The process began with our melody and core idea, and he elevated it through synth work and production choices. There is still a guitar thread running through that section, but the sound is driven largely by Jack’s work with synthesizers. He took the melodies we had in mind and gave them a scale and polish that transformed the track.
“More to Give” was recorded between your home studios in Asker and Rockwell Studio in Chicago. How did working across two different locations affect the creative process, and did the distance between Norway and Chicago bring any unexpected ideas into the song?
The original version stayed close to what is now the first section through roughly the 1:53 mark, but it had a very different ending. Once we recorded the new verse RarriQUESO had written, it became clear that the second half needed to be rebuilt around it. The EDM direction emerged from that reworking. We then went back to the opening section and introduced subtle EDM and string elements so the entire track would feel connected rather than like two separate ideas. Working between Asker and Chicago encouraged that kind of evolution—the song kept changing as new contributions arrived.
This is already your 22nd release, and you describe every Popkanon project as a new sonic experiment. After creating so many different collaborations, what have you learned about songwriting, collaboration and knowing when a song has found its identity?
Our north star is simple: we keep creating until the song feels right to us. Collaboration brings new perspectives, and staying open to them always carries some risk—but it can also produce the biggest rewards. We have learned that when a track is allowed to keep developing, that sense of discovery can help it stay fresh.
By contrast, locking too tightly onto an early demo and trying to reproduce every word or melody exactly can make the final record feel less alive. It may also prevent a collaborator from working in a way that suits their own strengths. One of our biggest lessons is that performances tend to become stronger when everyone has room to shape the process and leave an individual stamp on the song. That is often when a track begins to reveal its identity.
The song encourages listeners to block out negativity, embrace new experiences and take chances because life is too short. As Popkanon looks toward its next releases, what new experiences or musical directions are you excited to explore, and how much more do you feel the collective still has to give?
One of our guiding principles is to step away when the excitement is not there. During the summer, we often pause songwriting and production because we are busy traveling with family and enjoying life. Then, as soon as a fresh idea appears, we jump back in. We do not want to force the process. Popkanon is not a nine-to-five job for us; it is more of a passion and a lifestyle.
We hope to keep collaborating and creating for as long as it remains fun and rewarding. There is something special about building this together while living on separate continents, and sometimes a Popkanon meeting is simply a chance to catch up rather than write a song. We have never designed Popkanon as a live act. Our main ambition is to write songs for other artists and support them, while occasionally releasing Popkanon records of our own because we enjoy doing it. As long as the curiosity is still there, we believe we have plenty more to give.
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