Marion Elise Ravn, better known as her stage name Marion Raven, and Marit Elisabeth Larsen unknowingly lived out the viral “meeting your younger self for coffee” trend before it even existed.
The Norwegian singer-songwriters from M2M, a defining duo in early 2000s pop, ran into each other in a cafe in Oslo, Norway in April 2024. After more than 20 years of scant contact, the chance encounter rekindled a connection that had once shaped not just their youth – but an entire generation.
M2M’s distinctive sound was marked by breathy, delicate vocals and feathery harmonies. Their debut album Shades Of Purple, released in 2000, achieved multi-platinum success – thanks in part to its lead single Don’t Say You Love Me, which featured on the soundtrack of the first Pokemon movie, catapulting the band to global recognition.
When their follow-up album The Big Room did not perform well enough, they disbanded in 2002. And up till their serendipitous meeting last year, there were no plans for a reunion.
Larsen and Raven, now mums in their early 40s, still get goosebumps recalling the turning point, awestruck by how life has unravelled since then.
“It was like a magnetic field. It felt like – and we don’t really believe in any of that – it was almost rigged,” Larsen shared over Zoom with CNA Lifestyle.
“Yeah, it felt very meant to be. There was nobody else in the coffee shop. It was just the two of us,” added Raven.
INTENTIONALLY TIMING THE REUNION TO THEIR LYRICS
At the time, while reminiscing on their brief but impactful partnership, they realised there were still over a million people who listened to M2M every month on Spotify – proof that their songs had been kept “alive after all that time”. The numbers piqued their curiosity.
“We really wanted to see what happened if we sent a spark out on the internet, and so we did last year. We sent out a little clip of the song The Day You Went Away, recorded in Marion’s living room – and it (caught) fire,” recalled Larsen.
