Guest DJ: AURORA On Her Love Of Heavy Metal And Leonard Cohen

Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of the artist. Courtesy of the artist.

I first saw AURORA in a small club in New York City three years ago. She was just 17 years old, but her performance was mesmerizing. Her frail, blonde figure mirrored her enchanting voice and words. The young singer from Norway put out a dramatic and beautiful record earlier this year called All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, AURORA — now 20 years old — plays DJ, choosing songs that inform her life and music. Some mirror the emotions in her own music, like Leonard Cohen, Enya and the mechanical, organic music of Wintergatan. She also surprised us by showing her love for metal music, including Mastodon.

We had an emotional conversation. AURORA is all about touching hearts and expressing her feelings through song. Below are the songs she picked and some edited quotes from the interview, though it's best to give a listen to the full show so you can fall in love with her music and her passion for performing and connecting with fans.