Part 2 of our continuing research into the artists that are carrying the torch for the ever-growing Norwegian Folk/Country genre (Nordicana). We spoke with Live Miranda Solberg (aka Louien) about her stunning album NONE OF MY WORDS and how one single, posted on Soundcloud, created the momentum for local and international exposure beyond her wildest dreams.
The decision to upload your single ‘Demo No.1’ to Soundcloud in 2017 proved to a career changing progression. How did it come about?
Well, I recorded that song after a studio session with my band Silver Lining - I’d just written it and I was really excited about it. I felt like I’d made something very authentically me. But then I let it sit in my computer for quite a long time, until a friend of mine was playing a show in Oslo and I was to open for her - that’s when I felt like I had to put something out there to show what I was about. You could say it was a long time coming, but it was kind of a coincidence that it happened at that exact time.
The reaction was nothing short of exceptional. Apart from attracting invitations to perform at major festivals in Norway and kick starting your career, did its sudden impact inspire your writing or was much of the material for your album NONE OF MY WORDS already underway?
Yes, it was kind of crazy, I never saw all that recognition coming! It inspired me a whole lot, I wrote some of my best songs to date in that period. ‘Heart and Mind Alike’ was written just days before my first proper solo show at Mono (legendary bar in Oslo, now sadly closed), because I needed a few more songs in my set. I was very inspired and had a lot to get off my chest. Some of the material for the album had already been written, but most of it was written between 2016 and 2018.
You’re on record describing the album as the first phase of a grieving process after the passing of your father. Tell me about the album title. It suggests that the songs ‘came to you’ as if otherworldly?
Yes, it was certainly a time of immense grief for me. The album title came at a very late state in the making of the album - it’s taken from the song with the same title, which is the last one I wrote for this body of work. It’s actually more about how nothing I can say or do will be enough to help this person I’m singing to/about. It might be describing a feeling of hopelessness, but also anger, that this person just won’t listen to reason.
Even though the motivation for the material came from loss and sadness, the album is uplifting and joyous in many ways. Did the ability to create such passionate music in itself reward you with positivity and a sense of stoicism?
Absolutely! It’s such a gift to be able to express pain through music. I’ve grown up with so much music around me, and singing has always been a way for me to feel better. Also, to me, an emotion is almost never just bad or just good. There is so much nuance in grief. It felt natural to accompany the sadness in the lyrics with more uplifting and beautiful melodies and music, to show that things can be good and bad at the same time.
How different was the writing for this album compared to the band Silver Lining which includes three other songwriters?
The writing in itself is not much different - it’s just me and my guitar, trying to express whatever is going on within. But when the song is done, I normally know which project I want to use it in. In Silver Lining we’ve shared the space much more - we’ve all brought songs to the group, worked on them together. One of the premises for the band is that everyone has an open mind and not be overprotective of the song - we’re a democracy, all four of us have a say in how the songs should be “solved”. In my solo project I’m the boss, I call the shots, so that’s a completely different way of working.
How important was it for you to write this solo album rather than incorporate the songs into a Silver Lining album?
It was the only right thing to do. Some of my songs just needed to be just me. I also feel like I’m quite dual when it comes to writing music - some of my songs are more traditional Folk/Americana, and so they fit Silver Lining very well. The odd songs that don’t really fit in anywhere else are the ones I include in my solo project.
The album could have been quite stripped back without the addition of the strings to lift the music to an altogether different level. Had you initially intended to reach for such a full sound?
I’m not really sure what I aimed for initially, but when I met my producer Øyvind Røsrud it became very clear that I could bring all my strange and kind of wide spread inspirations into this project. He just gets me musically, and so we had a lot of fun playing with ideas and just going with what seemed fit each song. It was his ideas to have THREE cellos on it, and I just love how that turned out to be perfect for this album.
Given the different musical layers on the album, do you attempt to recreate that sound live or offer more stripped back versions of the songs on tour?
I’ve done both: for my release concert we were 11 people on stage, cello, guitars, drums, piano, harmonies - the works. But mostly I play solo or with a guitarist, so very much a stripped-down version of the songs. It’s essential to me that the songs can take on any format and still work - that’s when you know a song is really good.
Was it intended to be a ‘one off’ dealing with particular issues that presented themselves? And given the glowing reviews it has received; do you see it as a stepping stone to further a solo career?
Actually, no, I just wrote the songs, expressing how I felt at the time, and then when we went in the studio, we understood that all the songs were kind of about the same thing. I definitely see it as both a work that can stand alone and a stepping stone. I’m working on new songs as we speak, and I really hope they will become an album too, sometime in the not so far future.
It’s not easy to categorise your sound. How would you describe it to someone who was about to explore your music?
Ha, always such a hard question to answer! To me it's definitely singer-songwriter and folk at its core, and then I guess Americana, alt. folk and sometimes pop could be other words to describe it. And it’s definitely melancholic!
Were your influences specific artists growing up or a particular music genre?
I have grown up with music around me all the time. I loved (and still love!) Abba, Spice Girls, Hanson when I was growing up. My dad was big into classical music, and always played it loud in the mornings - Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart. My mom listened to Portishead, Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell. My step dad introduced me to Lauryn Hill, Sonic Youth, Dolly Parton. At summer camp we used to sing Tom Petty, Neil Young, Bob Dylan. So, I was influenced by all that. And then I started listening to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix in high school. I discovered Gillian Welch in my early twenties, along with Alison Krauss and that whole scene. I’m always looking for new music to listen to, there’s nothing I love more than music that resonates with me! My favorites at the moment are Courtney Marie Andrews, Erin Rae, Fleetwood Mac and Amason.
I’m intrigued and indeed hugely impressed by the quality of music coming out of Norway. Are you conscious of the Nordicana (as its being labelled) genre emerging over the past twelve months and has there been a conscious effort by your label Jansen Records to seek new markets outside your homeland?
Yes, it’s such exciting times! So many amazing musicians in Norway right now, in all genres really. I’ve been conscious of this group of “Nordicana” musicians for a long time. To me it all started when the DJ’s in Die With Your Boots On (which is now a record label under Jansen Records) started hosting a Country/Americana club in Oslo about 7 years ago. The played records, and two emerging bands from the scene played at each event. So many people showed up for it! The musicians became aware of each other, and how many other people were into making this kind of music. Many great collaborations started in this period, and the community has grown significantly and since then. It’s definitely been a conscious effort by Jansen Records to reach a broader audience as well, they’ve worked at it for so many years, and I think they are amazing at it!
Interview by Declan Culliton