Motordrome is MØ’s first body of work since 2018’s much lauded Forever Neverland, which saw her touring the world over off the back of its success. MØ’s career was almost instantly launched into the stratosphere from the very start with her monumental 2014 debut album, No Mythologies To Follow, and a very prominent feature on Major Lazer’s Lean On — one of the most successful singles of all time — soon after. When touring behind Forever Neverland came to a halt in 2019, MØ found herself completely burned out after five years on the road.

She returned to Denmark to recalibrate and recover from the physical and mental exhaustion she was experiencing as a result but had trouble checking out. A serious vocal injury requiring months of rehabilitation exacerbated her bouts of anxiety and a sense that things were slipping out of her control.

MØ, born Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen, hunkered down and did what she knew best—wrote songs. The music that began to emerge bridged the gap between her years as a teen punk touring anarchist squats across Europe and the bright scandipop she’d come to be known for, a darker and more personal take on her sound.

She enlisted friends and long-time collaborators Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding) and Noonie Bao (Halsey, Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen) to help flesh out the songs, with further songwriting and production from a close circle including Ariel Rechtshaid (Haim, Vampire Weekend, Adele), Jam City (Olivia Rodrigo, Troye Sivan), S.G. Lewis (Dua Lipa), Linus Wiklund and Yangze.