Reykjavík Grapevine - 17.10.2008, Side 18

The Forget-Me-Not Burger – Simply Magical!
Bergþórugata 21 – 101 Reykjavík – Tel.: 5517200
From Norway through way of Stock-
holm, Sweden, comes Ane Brun, a sing-
er/songwriter who burst out of nowhere
a few years ago to dazzle both critics
and the record-buying public with her
sweet sounding melodies and a voice
that contains all the innocence that you
would care for from a grown up woman.
Ane agreed to answer a few questions
from the Grapevine Airwaves regarding
music in the Nordic region.
Your Wikipedia.com entry states
that you only started to play guitar when
you were 21. Is that true? That sounds
like a very old age to begin, isn’t it? Did
you play any instruments before that?
I went back to my hometown for
Christmas just before my 21st birthday,
and I brought the family guitar with me
back to Oslo where I was studying at the
time. I fell in love with it and played day
and night after that… So it’s true. Dur-
ing my teens I played some piano but
I was more of a sports girl back then...
I was top five in Norway in Rhythmic
Gymnastics at the age of 15. Actually,
I’m thinking of adding some new tricks
to my show.
In 2005, you were nominated for
the Norwegian Song of the Century.
Considering that at the time, only about
5% of the century had actually passed,
can we assume that Norwegian mu-
sic has peaked for at least the next 90
years? Are you really that good, or is
Norwegian music that bad?
Well, I am really that good... but by
the way, it was actually the last 100 years
(1905-2005) that they were thinking
about at the time.
Ok, but why did you decide to move
to Sweden to pursue your music career?
What is it about the Swedish music in-
dustry that makes it so much more ef-
fective than the industry in Iceland or
Norway? And whatever happened to
Kent anyway?
Actually, I didn’t move because of my
career, it hadn’t really started yet at the
time, but I moved for a better reason –
love... As far as the difference between
the countries; the Swedish music in-
dustry has a longer tradition of success-
ful artists, and somehow it’s easier for
Swedish acts to get international suc-
cess. I don’t hold the answer to why it
is so. Kent is alive and well, as far as I
know!
Molde, Bergen, Stockholm, what is
the best party town?
Bergen for clubbing, Stockholm for
concerts... Molde for getting high on
nature!
Ok, it’s time for a little Nordic Coun-
tries pissing contest. Representing Swe-
den: Agneta Faltskog and Joey Tempest.
From Iceland: Björk and Jónsi. From
Norway: Morten Harket and... who ex-
actly? Ketill Stokkan? They would make
a nice couple, wouldn’t they?
Hmm… I can t́ really see it... but love
is blind.
Anyway, who would you rather
spend eternity with on a desert island,
Joey Tempest or Morten Harket? What
about Burzum?
I think all three would be interesting,
actually.
Is Norwegian Black Metal the last-
ing music legacy of Norway?
Let ś hope it can have a wider range
than that..
When can we expect a new album
from you?
Well, I have just released 2 albums
this year “Changing of the Seasons”
and “Sketches.” But, right now, first
there will be a live-DVD coming out in
a couple of months After that I can’t re-
ally say.
Ane Brun
FRi
DAY
A NORWEGIAN SWEDE PUTS IT ALL ON THE LINE
IN A NORDIC COUNTRIES’ PISSING CONTEST
I KNOW you’re from Gothenburg as are so many of the big names in the Swedish music scene like Jens Lehk-man and Jose Gonzales. Why do you think this city has
become such a hotbed for music as opposed to Stockholm,
which is a much larger city?
There’s always been a difference in the two cities I think.
Years back, Gothenburg was pretty known as the rock city but
in the last few years it seems that there has been an emer-
gence of a new style, something in Sweden we call the West
Coast sound. It’s a sound that’s very mellow and electronic
but organic. There is also a kind of psychedelic touch to it.
It seems like that sound has been affecting a lot of music in
Gothenberg lately. There’s also been a strong wave of small-
er independent artists and do it yourself artists like me and
Jens. We all started doing our things on our own and built it
from there. That’s quite common in Gothenburg compared
to Stockholm.
Is there anything specific about Gothenburg that makes it
unique to smaller artist?
I think Gothenburg has a second city complex. Living there
has an ambiguous kind of feeling; you want to get out of there
but you’re fine where you are. It’s that you have to strive for
something and maybe when you’re in a bigger city like Stock-
holm or anywhere else, you’re more satisfied and more at ease
and happy with where your are. A certain amount of dissatis-
faction creates some kind of urge to build your own kind of
world, or you own soundscape or your own fantasy of some
kind. That’s what I do when I write music.
For your latest album, From the Valley to the Stars, you men-
tioned that you were trying to reach a timeless space. Why
was this so important to you and how were you trying to
achieve that?
In everything I do with my music I try to catch a timelessness.
That’s what really gets me going. When I did the first album I
was very into the music of the 50s and the 60s. I was into that
kind of romantic time and this time I wanted to go even fur-
ther back. I wanted the kind of feeling that my music would
evoke if it were played in a small village church some where
in Sweden, somewhere around the early 20th century. That’s
why I used the instruments that I used, the organ and a lot of
f lutes. Those sounds have a lot to do with the simple almost
nursery rhyme songs that I used to sing when I was a child.
There seems to be a strong romantic element coming from a
lot of music from Sweden and other places. Why do you think
this is becoming so popular?
I just feel like there is need to build a world of your own where
things are good, or to try and see the good things. That’s al-
ways a reoccurring theme in my life. I need to find and to hold
onto good things. Also, it is a way for me to hold onto the child
in me, my playfulness and imagination.
At the same time, there is a deep undercurrent of sadness in
your songs. Is that something that you strive for?
Definitely, that is one of the absolute key elements to my mu-
sic. I think that music and lyrics have to have a kind of tension
between good and bad or between beautiful and harsh where
you don’t really know what you are supposed to feel. If the
songs were to be totally sweet and very naïve, it wouldn’t really
be interesting to me. It wouldn’t ring true. I think the tension
is very important.
At the same time, you have said that you wanted to use naïve
lyrics or expressions to get to the very core of what you are try-
ing to express. Can you tell me a little more about that?
I think I’m after the language of the heart and I try not to over
analyze things. But there’s a definite process I go through
and I’m very aware of what I’m doing. I still try to keep the
balance of not over working the lyrics while holding on to the
initial feeling that I had when I felt what I felt. For me, poetry
and lyrics have a lot to do with aesthetics. It’s choosing the
right words with the right sounds in them that will go along
with the music. That’s what I mean when I say that I try to be
honest but it still has to be in the right form with the style that
I use. It’s like a tool that you need or the right kind of paint
brush to go with the right kind of colour. It’s that kind of feel-
ing you have when you’re working.
EL PERRO
DEL
MAR
a new wave Of
rOManCe
wOrDS bY DeSiree anDrewS
THE GRAPEVINE AIRWAVES MET WITH THE
SWEDISH SONGSTRESS EL PERRO DEL MAR TO
TALK ABOUT THE GOTHENBURG MUSIC SCENE,
HER WRITING PROCESS AND WHY ROMANCE IS
COMING BACK.
inTER
ViEWS
wOrDS bY Sveinn birKir bJÖrnSSOn