Luwten (NL)

About

Rotterdam singer songwriter Tessa Douwstra records under the name LUWTEN, and her sound sits in that intimate, carefully crafted space where the songwriting does the heavy lifting. She first appeared on record as a vocalist on San Holo's track Hold Fast in 2015, but it was her self titled debut album in 2017, led by the single Go Honey, that put her on the map. That year she played Noorderslag, and 2018 brought festival slots at Eurosonic, Lowlands and Down the Rabbit Hole, plus a deal with US label Glassnote Records. Her second album Draft, released in April 2021, turned out to be a real landmark moment: in December of that year it won the 3voor12 Award for best Dutch album. Around the same time she put out the EP Generations and toured the Netherlands, Canada and the United States. She had also teamed up with De Staat for the single Tie Me Down back in 2019, showing a willingness to stretch beyond the solo format when the right collaboration comes along.