Interview by Adam Olsson
Can you describe your new EP and what its about?
2U is my debut EP and it’s completely self-made (except the mastering made by Anna Engberg) from start to finish and it’s dedicated to the LGBTQIA community. I want queer music to be seen in all genres and the heteronormativity should be challenged in every field, even in music. I want to give something back, for all these moments when I’ve found strength or something just simply as recognition in a song that you know is queer, you know just to know a song is about queer love, that can mean so much to you because you don’t have to rewrite it in you’r mind, if it’s about straight love from the beginning.
I started writing and doing my own music fall 2017, when I was thinking I wanted to learn myself music production on another level that I’ve done before, earlier I didn’t know the programme much at all. So I started to experiment and produce to find my sound and then these songs came out of me. So these tracks is kinda the first songs that I’ve ever made, to be more specific the last song “U May Love Someone” is the first song that I made, which is also the “main track” on the EP.
Basically 2U is about love, from earlier destructive relationships and heartbreaks. It’s based from a lot of old notes actually, from different people, relationships, contexts, conversations, feelings etc. I’m very happy in love right now so don’t worry, i’m fine even though it seems like I’m dying in my own love misery.
Tell me more about you’r label Cherish and how did you start to work with them?
Cherish Label is an independent platform and music label that works with and releases music written and produced by people who identify as women/trans. It’s such a luxury to be in such a context as Cherish, it’s safe, exciting and also it inspires me a lot, makes me wanna push myself to think and try new things, and it gives me opportunities that I would not get otherwise if I did this all by myself!
Evelina Åslin is the head and the spider in the net behind Cherish and we met some year ago thru some common friends, we’re kinda in the same circles of people and at some point we started to talk about my music, I send some unfinished music over and then she wanted to work with me, I’m grateful that conversation happened!!
How’s your music a part of your life and how would you describe your sound?
Music has always been a big part in my life in different ways, I started to play the flute when I was a child, then I started to learn myself some guitar after my mom showed me how to do the basics, then piano, then drums and then I began to take an interest in DJ’ing and now it is music production. Music has been and is a pretty big part in my life right now, 90% of the time revolves around music in any form as producing and writing new music, rehearsal for future live performances, rehearsal with other people since i’m also playing as a instrumentalist in another constellation with Ambivalensen and DJing with my DJ-partner Ingrid Kempe as Destination Unknown.
I think it’s very hard to label my music as an genre, I don’t need to or neither want to, but when I need to describe it I use to say that I do music in the form om cinematic soundscapes with pitched voices in layers of harmonizes, in contrast to heavy drums and fat base.
When do you feel inspired?
I often feel inspired by other people in different ways – the way they work, play, sing, writes, their sounds or just their achievements. Listening to music inspires me, also go to concerts inspires me so much and always makes me wanna play live so badly! I got really inspired by the serie “Kiss Me First” at Netflix some weeks ago, it made me wanna do a song inspired by it, I’ll actually try to when I have the time and I’m finished with 2U. My girlfriend (HEEDS) inspires me a lot, I really think (completely objective) she’s the best one I know at writing songs, and her voice is unreal, she’s literally a musically genius.
Do you think fashion and music are linked between one another?
I haven’t thought so much about the link between fashion and music actually, I mean music are often linked with some kind of esthetic expression too, and that could absolutely be the expression thru fashion, that’s not so much in my case though, maybe that’ll come later if I develop some specific style I’d like to wear on stage. Right now I’m focusing on some linked esthetic video/visuals to my music for future live set. I’ll do my first live performance at the release party 16/2 actually, I’m excited but scared as hell!
(19-23 at Patricia, free entrance, age 20.)
Besides creating your own music you and Ingrid Kempe are a DJ duo and organizers behind clubs like Pompette, Back to the Future and Destination Unknown. How did that come to happened? And how did you and Ingrid become a Duo?
I started to get interested at DJ’ing in the end of the gymnasium, at that time I lived in Sandviken where I come from, the possibilities to DJ in Sandviken wasn’t enough, they barely existed but then I moved to Stockholm and I started to practise and I got my first gig! Around the same time when I’d just moved here I met Ingrid at “Feministas Acidas” which is a queer feminist, anti racist drumming/percussion band that we started to play in. We linked pretty quickly and started to talk music, turned out Ingrid also was into DJ’ing and after that we just started to practise and play together, just some month later we had our first club “POMPETTE” with art performances at Marie Laveau, (rip). Now we’re playing together as Destination Unknown.
Last but not least .. What is your best fashion advice? (if you have any!!)
My best fashion advice would be to wear the fuck you want to wear, what you feel cute, comfortable, or hot in! I’m pretty specific sometimes when it comes to clothing, so sometimes I want something that I’ve never seen in a store or likely, then just try to do it yourself! I’ve been making accessories and jewelry of things I’ve bought in stores for boat parts or by dog leashes!