Coco O.

Cecilie Maja Hastrup Karshø,[2] known professionally as Coco O., is a Danish musician best known as the singer in electronic soul duo Quadron. She released her debut EP Dolceacqua in 2018.[3]

Coco O.
Coco O. performing with Quadron in 2010
Background information
Birth nameCecilie Maja Hastrup Karshø
Born1987/1988 (age 32–33)[1]
Copenhagen, Denmark
GenresSoul, electronic, pop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2009–present
Associated actsQuadron

Early life

Cecilie Maja Hastrup Karshø was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark.[1] Her father is biracial of Tanzanian descent.[4]

Karshø began singing in kindergarten and aspired to sing professionally from childhood.[5][1] She first realized that her voice was received positively by others during a secondary school performance of a Bill Withers song.[4] She names Michael Jackson and Lauryn Hill as early inspirations. Karshø's grandfather was a jazz musician.[1]

Career

Quadron

Performing under the name Coco O., she formed the duo Quadron with Robin Hannibal of Rhye in 2009.[6] The word means "quarter" in Danish and refers to both musicians, who each have a parent who is biracial.[6] Coco O. was the duo's singer and moved to Los Angeles after the release of their debut album.[7] Her voice was referred to by Pitchfork as "sweetly soulful."[8]

Solo work

Jay-Z selected Coco O. to contribute the song "Where the Wind Blows" to the soundtrack for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby.[6] She has also worked with Pharrell Williams and provided featured vocals for Tyler, the Creator, Vulfpeck and Joey Dosik.[3][9][10]

In 2015 she released her first solo single, "Hardest Thing."[8] Coco O. moved back to Denmark in 2018 and released her debut solo project Dolceacqua on May 25, 2018.[11] The two-song EP has a bossa nova sound.[12] The album was written for an ex-boyfriend and named after the small Italian village where they fell in love.[1] ColorsxStudios described it as "featuring mellow, acoustic guitar accompanied by rich, cinematic strings" and noted the sound is a departure from her previous work with Quadron.[13]

Other ventures

Coco O. appeared as a contestant on dancing competition TV series Vild med dans in 2019. She and her partner Morten Kjeldgaard finished in second place.[14]

References
  1. Stinn Kaasgard, Af (2013-08-28). "Mød Coco O: Danmarks nye superdiva". Alt. (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  2. Inger Christine, Løwe (2018-11-27). "Coco O. optræder med spritny musik på bland-selv-festival i København". Politiken (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  3. Fokus, Ritzau (2018-05-25). "Coco O. efter Quadron: Der opstod en lille identitetskrise". Kendte.dk. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. "LADYGUNN". LADYGUNN. 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. "Coco O. Hearts NPR". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  6. Yi, David (2013-05-10). "Listen Up: Quadron's Coco O Performs a Live Acoustic Version of "Hey Love"". ELLE. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  7. "The Okayplayer Interview: Robin Hannibal + Coco O. Are Quadron". Okayplayer. 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  8. Torres, Eric (2015-09-18). "Coco O. Hardest Thing". Pitchfork.
  9. Roberts, Christopher. "Joey Dosik Shares Delightfully Retro Video for New Song "Don't Want It To Be Over"". undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  10. McElhone, Grace (2017-11-27). "Funk Me Up Vulfpeck, FUNK ME UP". widrfm. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  11. Danborg-Aamand, Nanna (2018-06-03). "Coco O: "Lige pludselig kommer det, når man bare lever"". ELLE (in Danish). Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  12. "Coco O. Derives Art From Heartbreak On 'Dolceaqua' | SoulBounce | SoulBounce". www.soulbounce.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  13. Shah, Deep (2018-08-23). "Coco O. - Dolceaqua". COLORSXSTUDIOS. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  14. "Coco O. efter Vild med dans: Troede det var mere farligt at være på tv". www.bt.dk (in Danish). 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
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