Aftermath

A Glimpse into a Fractured Mirror

Niels Rønsholdt’s solo project Aftermath (2023) paints a portrait of crumbling cities, eroded landscapes, and fractured communities. Across 14 songs, the album traces the iconic American highway – from New York through Ohio and Tennessee to Louisiana – bearing witness to the quiet collapse of climate, economy, and human bonds. The road-trip dream of boundless freedom fades into disoriented solitude and regret, yet faint hopes of spring and new beginnings flicker.

© Niels Rønsholdt

Aftermath draws from vivid snapshots: the first signs of spring in Brooklyn, a rundown motel in Memphis, the faded remnants of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Beyond these, it grapples with the towering presence of 20th-century American culture. Where lies the boundary between European heritage and the American identity we’ve inherited across generations?

‘The songs are also a reflection on the encounter with our own distorted reflection as Europeans in the US: So much is familiar, so much points back to deep cultural memories and roots. And yet most of it is foreign and unapproachable. This feeling of having come home and being a visitor at the same time is the basis for the songs and the way they are sung,’ says Niels Rønsholdt.

© Niels Rønsholdt

Rønsholdt has long explored such cultural tensions. In his cello concerto Country (2020), scored for chamber orchestra and a singing solo cellist, he offers a tender yet incisive take on American country music’s stereotypes and quest for authenticity. For Aftermath’s 14 tracks, he taps into Americana and singer-songwriter traditions. A classically trained composer, Rønsholdt thrives on bending genres: ‘I see Aftermath as a natural continuation of my work with what I call 'method composition'. I work conceptually with personas and narratives and here I describe what I encounter in the language of the place itself,’ he explains.