RIVER - Infected mind
- 1RIVER - Infected mind
014
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Open edition
Released January 14, 2026
Following the rapturous response to her brilliant single “I AM CANCER”, Swedish alt-pop innovator RIVER returns once again with her evocative new single “Infected mind”, a richly textured offering that confronts the artist’s past self with unflinching honesty.
Carrying the ghostly echoes of dream-pop and avant-garde soul, “Infected mind” finds RIVER engaging in a dialogue between who she was and who she’s becoming. The track’s swirling guitars and shadowy synths envelop her distinctive vocal, creating an intimate world in which reflection becomes release.
“‘Infected mind’ is my attempt to recognize and engage in a dialogue with my younger, deceived self,” RIVER explains. “It’s a passage between past and present, where forgiveness and separation can finally take place, simply by bearing witness to and understanding the harm I inflicted on myself out of ignorance. It reflects not only on the trauma of the past but also on the painful process of admitting how I’ve been deceiving myself - and ultimately surrendering to that deception in order to heal.”
Raised in Gothenburg and now based in Stockholm, RIVER is a boundary-pushing alt-pop artist whose music explores grief, identity, and the complicated beauty of being human. Drawing from a rich palette of influences including Portishead, Mazzy Star and Prince, her songs fuse cinematic instrumentation with fiercely introspective lyricism.
Growing up with low self-esteem and a fear of expressing herself, RIVER’s path into music began after the loss of her father at seventeen, when she set out into the world, playing on the streets of Australia and Mexico and shaping the voice that would later define her art. Since then, she’s become a uniquely visionary voice in Sweden’s underground, known for her emotionally charged performances and genre-blurring soundscapes.
Following a period of self-reflection, RIVER’s work now reflects a reclamation of selfhood and truth. Her debut EP ‘STILL IN LOVE’ introduced themes of sexuality and attachment difficulties, but her new material goes deeper, confronting trauma, shame, and the possibility of healing.
Following the rapturous response to her brilliant single “I AM CANCER”, Swedish alt-pop innovator RIVER returns once again with her evocative new single “Infected mind”, a richly textured offering that confronts the artist’s past self with unflinching honesty.
Carrying the ghostly echoes of dream-pop and avant-garde soul, “Infected mind” finds RIVER engaging in a dialogue between who she was and who she’s becoming. The track’s swirling guitars and shadowy synths envelop her distinctive vocal, creating an intimate world in which reflection becomes release.
“‘Infected mind’ is my attempt to recognize and engage in a dialogue with my younger, deceived self,” RIVER explains. “It’s a passage between past and present, where forgiveness and separation can finally take place, simply by bearing witness to and understanding the harm I inflicted on myself out of ignorance. It reflects not only on the trauma of the past but also on the painful process of admitting how I’ve been deceiving myself - and ultimately surrendering to that deception in order to heal.”
Raised in Gothenburg and now based in Stockholm, RIVER is a boundary-pushing alt-pop artist whose music explores grief, identity, and the complicated beauty of being human. Drawing from a rich palette of influences including Portishead, Mazzy Star and Prince, her songs fuse cinematic instrumentation with fiercely introspective lyricism.
Growing up with low self-esteem and a fear of expressing herself, RIVER’s path into music began after the loss of her father at seventeen, when she set out into the world, playing on the streets of Australia and Mexico and shaping the voice that would later define her art. Since then, she’s become a uniquely visionary voice in Sweden’s underground, known for her emotionally charged performances and genre-blurring soundscapes.
Following a period of self-reflection, RIVER’s work now reflects a reclamation of selfhood and truth. Her debut EP ‘STILL IN LOVE’ introduced themes of sexuality and attachment difficulties, but her new material goes deeper, confronting trauma, shame, and the possibility of healing.
