You recently relocated from Sweden to New York City. Are you here permanently or just here for your upcoming tour?
I think I’m going to stay here for six months, and in the middle of that I’m doing a tour. I just felt I want to try and live here.
Are you liking it so far?
Yeah. There are things that don’t work so well. Sweden is very well organized. Everything works, and here doorknobs don’t stick in one place. Everything’s a bit shaky. Not very well built, I guess.
Yeah, it’s all very old here.
It’s old in Sweden too. Also, the radiator doesn’t work properly. It makes funny noises.
I heard you recently DJ’ed at an Au Revoir Simone show in New York. Do you DJ often?
I’m trying to. I enjoy that.
On your upcoming co-headlining US tour with El Perro del Mar, you guys are switching headline slots for each show. Have you played shows or toured with El Perro del Mar before?
She’s a very good friend of mine. She sings on my album, all the backing vocals. We’ve never done a tour before, but she has sung with me a lot.
For the upcoming tour, are you performing solo, or are you performing with other musicians?
I have a few Swedes and one American.
Is it a four-piece?
There are four of us, plus me.
You recorded your second album, East of Eden, in Pakistan. How did the idea come to fruition?
I’ve been very tired of the conventional way of recording, going into a studio, and I wanted to travel with the music. I had listened to lots of Sufi music, and Indian and Pakistani music.
How did you first get introduced to Sufi music?
I’ve always been curious about different cultures. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I think it’s very interesting how they use music to get into a trance.
I’m sure there were many barriers on your trip. How did you deal with the language barrier?
We had a host who translated for us. I said what I wanted, and he translated. Sometimes he didn’t get it right, and I would have to sing what I wanted.
How many languages do you speak?
Swedish, English, some French, and some Italian. Some French and some Italian is some.
What was your experience as a woman traveler in Pakistan? Did your experiences politicize your views of Pakistan and women’s rights? Or were politics not an issue during your visit?
I think it’s very directly in your face that the women are not treated equally, a constant reminder of that. That almost put me off when I got there. It took away a lot of my enthusiasm at first, because I reacted so strongly to how woman weren’t a part of things. They were just in the shadows. At first some of the musicians thought it was weird how they would greet me and communicate. But after a while, after they heard my music, they started to open up and smile. It was a beautiful meeting.
Did you travel to Pakistan alone?
I went with a musician, guitarist Andreas Söderstrom. He was also the engineer.
How did both go about meeting the musicians you recorded on the album?
It was through the host. He had a big network. He seemed to know everyone from there who was practicing Sufi music all over Pakistan.
How did you get in touch with him?
I read a few articles about him on the Internet, and also through Lonely Planet. He has a hotel where they have Sufi music nights once a week.
When you traveled there, did you have preexisting song sketches for the LP, or were the songs written in Pakistan?
I had maybe half of the album with me on guitar and piano. Then we added layers of music to that. We improvised a few things. “Day By Day” and the last one, “Bekännelse,” where I’m reciting a Hermann Hesse poem over music.
What were some of the major cultural differences and challenges?
I just think the main issue of me being a woman and the religion and also how the infrastructure was just falling apart. Nothing works . . . The electricity went off. I learned a lot from it, about how I recorded before. Everything works, and everyone knows what they’re doing; all the technical things work. Now I had to be more humble, like, Oh great, we got something. I think the expectations lowered, and then we were really pleased when we got something recorded.
Did you return to Sweden for the mixing and structuring of the LP?
Yes, it took quite a while. It took a month. There was so much we had to cut up because some of the people didn’t play in pace with the original music. So we had to cut it up to make it fit.
Who did the mixing and engineering and stuff?
Dan Lissvik from the band Studio. He I and Andreas were the producers.
I was first introduced to your music from a seven-inch that Rough Trade mailed to me of your Guns ’N’ Roses cover of "Sweet Child o' Mine," and your tune “Above You.” I also really loved your Arthur Russell cover you did. You recently did an Animal Collective cover of their song “My Girls,” which you called “My Boys.” What drew you to do the Animal Collective cover on the album, and didn’t you work with Noah on the album?
I wanted to include more of Noah. When he had done the background vocals, I really liked what he did, and I thought, How could I do that? He didn’t have any more time, and I thought I could do something connected to him, and I really love that song. It’s a beautiful song to his wife and daughter, so it is like an homage to him, that cover.
How did the National Geographic mini documentary come about?
It’s weird, that thing. It’s not a National Geographic documentary; they just picked it up. It’s an EPK film that a friend of mine did. I don’t know how they got to see it. They liked it and asked Rough Trade if they could show it. It doesn’t say any credits to my friend that he had made it.
Maybe they should put some credits at the end of it. That’s kind of sad your friends aren’t getting credit for it. Who are these friends? We can give them credit.
Marcus Söderlund. There are a lot of journalists who ask how the National Geographic thing came along. They had nothing to do with it. We did that with EPK. Also, I didn’t want people to see it. I was a bit embarrassed because I sit and talk English, and it is not my first language. It was meant for journalists to back up the information for interviewing me, so I didn’t have to say the same things over and over. It’s hard to talk about the experience in Pakistan. It was a heavy experience. So we did that because of that, and the same day we filmed the video for “My Boys,” so we just did it in a couple of hours. The Swedish television wanted to show it, and I had to say no since it was just a press film, really.
I read you have a YouTube video called “The Temptation of Victoria” set to the song “Temptation” by New Order. I tried to view it, but the video is no longer viewable on YouTube. Could you tell us a bit about it?
New Order did a collection of all their videos. It’s called Item, and it’s on there. They asked me to direct something, so I directed it, and I starred in it, and I wrote the script. I made it together with their video producer, Michael Shamberg, because they needed a video for it.
I found the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72V9JV5RJxA
What are some of your favorite foods you’ve discovered in New York?
Mexican food, I guess. Where we were supposed to go.
El Portal.
Yes, my guitarist is coming, and I’m going to take him there. Dumplings. I went to Dumpling Man on St. Mark’s.
There’s another great one over by the Grand subway stop. I can’t remember; it might be called the Dumpling House. I think the Queen of England eats there when she comes here.
The one on Eldridge Street?
I think so?
I think I’ve been there. It’s nice too.
Have you tried La Super Rica? I mean, La Esquina?
Super Rica I’ve tried in Santa Barbara. I love that. It’s my favorite. I go every time I pass there. I was there this summer. I’ve tried La Esquina . . . not the same lovely avocados, though, as in sunny California.
Tour Dates with El Perro del Mar:
13 Feb Union Hall, Brooklyn
14 Feb World Café, Philadelphia
16 Feb Le Poisson Rouge, New York
17 Feb The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn
19 Feb Cambridge YMCA Theatre, Cambridge
26 Feb Triple Door, Seattle
20 Feb Il Motore, Montreal
21 Feb Mod Club, Toronto
22 Feb Schubas, Chicago
23 Feb Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis
27 Feb Biltmore, Vancouver
28 Feb Doug Fir, Portland
02 Mar Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco
03 Mar Troubadour, Los Angeles |