Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

Karin: Let’s talk about “Eurovision 2004”. This song is probably our most collaborative one, and we wrote it together in a cabin in the Swedish woods.



I had come up with a distorted synth line and a cool drum beat, but felt stuck every time I tried to write more. During one of our songwriting sessions in the woods, Tyra came up with a great bass line for it and we wrote the lyrics together. Piece by piece we introduced new elements to the song, like the key change and simple synth hook, until the song was done. It took us another 2 years or so until we took it to the studio, where we re-arranged, introduced new elements and took old stuff out.

“Eurovision 2004” was a song we always felt really unsure about, and we weren’t sure we were gonna release it, but it went on to be our come-back song after the pandemic. It’s funny how those things work.

I think the fact that it was such a collaborative song and we made the video into a big project made us all feel very strongly for the song. Sometimes a song needs a lot of attention and love to prove itself.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

Karin: I think I separate my music taste into what I listen to alone and what I listen to around other people.

I listen to certain types of music to feel and get in touch with myself, and that listening will happen when I’m alone or if I’m out on a walk. When I’m around people I will usually listen to songs I would consider ‘absolute bangers’ or music that I don’t have a vulnerable emotional connection to, since I usually don’t aim to be the moody sad person in the corner of a party.

When starting to write music both me and Tyra usually do it alone, and it’s very rare that we would write songs by jamming together. We sit down alone and start working on something that feels right, and when the song has come together a bit more we’ll present it to the others and the three of us will keep working on it together.

I think it’s important for all of us that the core of the song is strong enough before presenting it, not because we’re scared of what the others will think, but because we want the song to be in a state where  our initial feelings and thoughts are solidly engrained in the song, and that the core won’t change once we start arranging together.

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

Norea: I personally don’t think too much about how my creativity relates to the world. I mainly focus on doing what I do as good as possible, and hopefully it’s something that can bring other people some joy (although our music is very depressing hehe).

The role of music in society can be so many things, but I think one of the important things when it comes to live music is that it brings people together and makes them connect. Like a wise person once said, I think especially when times are hard it’s important to have things that bring us joy in life.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

Norea: Most of the time I listen to music for it to give me comfort.

I remember one event when the pandemic had just started and I, under quite dramatic circumstances, had to pack all my belongings to go back to Sweden in the middle of the night. At the chaotic airport, where no one seemed to be allowed on their plane, I was listening to The Beatles to calm myself down. They were the band that got me into music as a kid, and listening to them, knowing every word of every song somehow gives me a lot of comfort.

But I think in general, music has always been there for me as a help to process things I’m going through in life. My music taste also completely changes depending on what season it is. For example, I only listen to punk and 60s rock ‘n’ roll in the summer. Sometimes music can help me process love or loss by giving comfort or by being able to relate to the lyrics or the music.

But sometimes music can also help me snap out of an emotion. If I’m feeling down or depressed and put on my favourite Prince Rama album, that will, at least most of the time, trick my brain into feeling a bit better.



How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?  

Norea: Hmm that’s a difficult question and I don’t know if I have a good answer to that, but what I always found interesting about music is that, just like in science, there are so many rules in music theory.

Sometimes it can even become mathematical, especially for me as a drummer. There are rules about what works and what doesn’t work together and yet some music is created completely ignoring these rules or playing things that theoretically shouldn’t work, but somehow still does.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Norea: I think that performing a piece of music isn’t necessarily different from making a great cup of coffee. I think it all comes down to passion and what you enjoy and what gives you meaning.

I’ve worked both as a barista and as a pizza chef and even though I didn’t get the same kick from that as I do when I perform live music, I could see how some of my colleagues did. Basically, I think that if you put effort into what you’re doing and enjoy it, anything can become a piece of art.

The difference for me between playing drums and doing mundane tasks is that I feel like I’m doing something meaningful that I enjoy and that I’m good at.

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

Norea: I don’t know, I think the combination of lyrics, melody and rhythm is a very powerful tool to resonate with the brain. Music is something that brings people together, but it’s also something that can become very nostalgic and help you to bring out memories from the past.

On top of that music is an extremely accessible art form. We always have music in the background when we do things. Even if you can’t sing, anyone can still sing along to a song, and you can have it in your headphones almost all the time.

With that said I kind of like the mystique of not knowing why.