Interview: Robyn
I love pop, but it's sometimes hard to defend a genre littered by would-be media moguls running amok with vanity clothing labels and signature perfumes. So I was especially excited to interview Robyn. She's got an authentically eclectic foundation that informs her creativity, and she's thoroughly engaged with the disparate projects that comprise her career. Oh, and the music -- her work's been high-fived by both The New Yorker and Pitchfork Media while genuinely appealing to loads of others who spend more time dancing to music than reading about it.
- Roni Brunn
RB: How did you make this tour different from previous ones?
R: It's a more visual tour with video projections and more lights. I worked with some amazing people. One of them, Ellen Ruge, is a light designer who works a lot with my dad, who is a director. Ellen usually works with theatre and opera performances.
RB: What do you like about performing live?
R: It's a an exercise, and it's like nothing else you do as an artist. You are in the moment, and the interaction between me and the band and me, the band and the audience is the main focus.
RB: What do you value in music?
R: Core, humor, sensitivity, attitude.
RB: What do you aim for when writing music?
R: Good songs that describe my world, no holds barred.
RB: What inspires you?
R: Really living my life, beats, athletes, Prince, stupid things I do, modern dance, my parents.
RB: How do you write?
R: No rules. It's different every time, in different periods.
RB: How do you step outside your life as a musician and relate to your listeners?
R: I just do what I think is good and hope they will follow.
RB: What music do you listen to these days? Has that changed over time?
R: The first music I was exposed to was my parents' and their friends' music taste. As a child, I loved David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, The Police, and Prince. But there was also a lot of Beatles, Laurie Anderson, Leonard Cohen, and Nina Hagen. As a teenager, I got into Janet and Michael Jackson, TLC, Brandy, Neneh Cherry, Mary J Blige, and then hiphop. Then I discovered Prince again and Little Richard, Björk, D'Angelo, and list goes on... Right now, I'm fascinated by AC/DC.
RB: How did the collaboration with the Knife come about?
R: They sent their album "Deep Cuts" to me, and I loved it. I called them, and we decided to try to work together.
RB: What motivated you to write Darin's "Money for Nothing?"
R: I wrote "Money for nothing" with three other songwriters as well, Remi, Ulf Lindström and Johan Ekhé. It was written years ago for me, but never made it to the recording sessions. Darin found it and made it his.
RB: What's next?
R: Lots of Swedish Grammys, I hope, and maybe an international release, if I find the right record company to work with. To start writing again.
RB: You started your career at a very young age. What's your perspective on that?
R: To start to specialize in something at an early age is only positive, I think, but fame is tricky, and it took me some time to figure out how to deal with that. I also found it hard to learn how to balance being so inexperienced in certain ways and so experienced in others. But my ten years as an artist are the most important base for me today as a record company owner.
RB: How did you decide to start your own label, Konichiwa Records?
R: It was an idea that I got from seeing how the Knife works. Can't tell the whole story here, but I gathered a lot of information before I started. I wanted to make sure I didn't get myself into something I couldn't handle.
RB: What do you like about running the label?
R: That I have somewhere to try my ideas. I can do things now that nobody would let me do before, and it works!
RB: Have there been surprises?
R: I had to learn many new things this year; making fast decisions is one.
RB: What's in the future for the label?
R: I just signed the first artist to Konichiwa Records -- Daniel Boyacioglu, a poet from Stockholm. He has made music out of his latest poems for his new record and is the opening act for me on my fall tour. But there are no other plans on expanding at the moment; I just want to release my own music.
RB: Some people say marketing is the downfall of popular music, but do you see it as another way to express yourself, or is it just a fact of doing business in this era?
R: Economics affect everything, even my possibilities in the studio. Maybe I want more time, or maybe I think a song is finished, while major labels wouldn't have the guts to release it and, with no second thoughts, are willing to spend 50,000 dollars more that I have to take responsibility for in the end. My record company is good for my creative freedom, my protection and for my economy. Marketing is important. With Konichiwa records, I finally can control and make sure my music is received in the way I want it to be.
.:About the author:
Designer/musician Roni Brunn dreams of Stockholm while residing in Los Angeles, where she runs a math club. Of course.