“EP-opener This Tender Violence is perhaps the most ‘traditional’ track on the EP. The track embodies a modern folk-dimension, an inspiration from American Primitivism, a dream pop / shoegaze context and threads to classic rock. The lyrics are inspired by minimalistic confessional poetry (Raymond Carver, Robert Lowell, Robert Creeley) - how much can you say in a simple everyday language with a simple setting, a few actions and a few chosen symbols, and most important of all, everything that isn’t said - and describes, among other things, anxiety and depression in a disintegrating relationship. These terms are hopelessly overused, but I guess I tried to make a dark, melancholic, dreamy and grandiose track. I wanted to explore if I could succeed with some sort of “big music” or “wall of sound” kind of aesthetic, whether it was possible to combine Robbie Bashoes furious energetic solo-guitar-playing on acoustic steel string guitar with a rock band context. I wanted the sound to be violent, embracing and spirited and having a clear professional sound but if possible retain some of the charm and intimacy of a lo-fi bedroom recording. It’s the first track I ever recorded professionally, and the beginning of Quiet Sonia (in the public eye, at least).” - Nikolaj