Atlantica - 01.11.2001, Blaðsíða 56

Atlantica - 01.11.2001, Blaðsíða 56
54 A T L A N T I C A i-site SVALA ❍ that is so far away in my mind right now. I just take one day at a time and I don’t really think about stuff like that. Right now, I’m on tour with Seventeen magazine and the only thing I’m worried about now is not to fall flat on my face while I’m onstage! That would be so embarrassing. ATLANTICA: How do you find the hype that accompanies what you do? SVALA: The hype makes it more exciting and more grand. I’m in the entertainment business so it’s fair to say that everything has to be a little theatrical and dramatic. If you have a sense of humour about yourself, then it’s something that only makes it more fun. I don’t take myself too seriously. I try to take life easy and laugh at myself ‘cause sometimes I can be really silly. ATLANTICA: You recently did a scantily-clad photo shoot for an Icelandic magazine. To what extent is it important to be admired for your looks? SVALA: I always say if you got it show it...But do it in a classy way. I love to see pretty women or cute guys in magazines like FHM and Maxim and I don’t see anything wrong with that. I can tell you this – that it’s important to have your own look going on when you are in the music business. There is so much competi- tion out there, and if you wanna make your mark, you might as well be noticed for both your talent and how you look. This is just the way it is. But of course it’s much more important to me to be recognised for my talent. Because being a recording artist goes hand in hand with modelling, ‘cause we have to do photo shoots and videos and stuff like that, I just try to do my best to emulate that. I love that aspect of my job. I get to dress up and pretend to be a model and do photo shoots...I love it. ATLANTICA: Besides the obvious influence of your father (Svala’s father is a well-known singer in her homeland), who have been your most important musical influences? SVALA: I would have to say The Carpenters, Barry White, Barbara Streisand, Patsy Cline, Ella Fitzgerald, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Whitney Houston. All these amazing peo- ple influenced me in a way I can’t describe. Let’s just put it this way, when I bought Michael Jackson’s Thriller video on Beta when I was nine years old, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and that is to entertain, sing and write music. On this album, I just wanted to bring different elements together and make it very international. The sound I was going for was “soulful pop”, that’s what I call my music. It’s pop music but it’s got a lot of soul. ATLANTICA: Most R&B lyrics centre around love affairs. To what extent is your music based on this theme? Do you think R&B could become a medium for political or social comment, or would that deface its identity? SVALA: My music isn’t categorised under R&B. It’s pop music with R&B influences. I sing about things that I have experienced as a 24- year-old woman – some of it is personal and some of it is some- thing my friends have gone through. So, of course, I sing about love, relationships, sex, heartbreak, feelings and what women go through in daily life. I can’t sing about being poor in the ghetto and trying to get by with selling drugs on the streets ‘cause I’ve never been through that. R&B music has always had a little political mes- sage, for instance Salt-N-Pepa’s ‘Let’s Talk About Sex’, which was about safe sex when HIV was very high on the list of topics of con- versation all around the world. There is also another new band called City High who just released the song, ‘What Would You Do’, and it’s about a girl who has to sell her body in order to feed her newborn baby because she’s so poor. The lyrics talk about what’s right and what’s wrong if you’re in a situation like that...What would you do? If that’s not a political and social message then my name is Slim Shady... ATLANTICA: Where will you be based when things take off? SVALA: I live in LA and will be living there for some time. ATLANTICA: Do you find that your old school friends behave any differently towards you now that your path has been mapped out in a very different way? SVALA: No not at all. I’ve always been in the music business in Iceland because of my father, who is one of the most successful singers and producers in Iceland. I’ve been singing on records since I was seven years old so my friends are very used to me being in music. I surround myself with people that love me and support me so that helps me a lot on my path. ATLANTICA: Have you felt pressured to live a stereotypically rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle? SVALA: No, not at all. I live my life just the way I like to...the healthy way! ATLANTICA: What do you miss about Iceland when you are in the States? SVALA: The long summer nights in Reykjavík. And the CANDY. Nowhere in the world have I found candy as good as in Iceland. Of course, I miss my family and friends a lot and my three cats...Meow. 041-056 I-siteAtl601-rm 23.10.2001 14:45 Page 54
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