Born in Finland and currently based in Stockholm, Sweden, Mikaela Finne is yet another hugely talented country artist from Scandinavia flying the flag for roots music. Her latest album, TIME STANDS STILL, shows once more that country music is very much alive and kicking in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, where the Nordicana genre continues to grow. The album was produced by Brady Blade (Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Patty Griffin) and features the celebrated pedal steel player, Al Perkins. We spoke with Mikaela recently about the album and the challenges and pressures facing artists as we continue to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic.
How are things progressing in getting live music up and running again in Stockholm?
We are not back to normal yet. It’s been very difficult to get back to playing live music here. We haven’t opened up but a lot of mid-level and smaller artists like myself are facing competition from artists that usually sell out arenas because they also want to play, but now they are going to be playing the venues we usually play. It’s a bit problematic.
I understand that metal music was your obsession in your younger days in Finland?
I’m from Vaasa on the west coast of Finland, about six or seven hours drive from Helsinki. Metal was my first obsession; I was a listener first and foremost and then did my fair share of metal performances in bands growing up. It was a lot of fun doing that but not what I was organically looking for. However, I could see similarities with metal and outlaw country, the whole idea of doing what you want. Things became really interesting for me when I began to see and explore the connection between metal and country.
Were you also exposed to country music growing up?
Yes, I grew up with country music. My dad listened to a lot of Dolly Parton and Creedence Clearwater Revival; I was also exposed to country music at home at the same time as my own dive into metal. I’ve always loved both of them. It was totally uncool to like country when I was that age but I wanted to listen to what made me happy and what I enjoyed.
Can you tell me about your progression from a listener to a songwriter and performer?
I’ve always enjoyed writing from when I was young and before I could play an instrument, and I wrote lots of poetry. Once I learned to play the guitar the rest came naturally. I went to music school here in Stockholm and things just evolved naturally from there. I began to play as a solo artist and formed a few bands. I enjoyed playing in bands but I felt that I really wanted to advance my career as a solo artist.
Do you feel part of the Nordicana genre that is coming out of Scandinavia with artists such as Malin Petersen, The Country Sound Of Harmonica Sam and The Northern Belle releasing roots albums?
When it comes to Nordicana or the country music movement, I simply think that we are all going back to our roots. We tend to label country music as American, but what is America? It was built on immigrants, a lot of whom came from Europe. They brought their songs and their instruments. They brought the fiddle, the accordion, the banjo came from Africa. These instruments and songs got incorporated into the music culture over there. We brought parts of it to America but it’s also our roots and the Nordicana scene is us getting back to that heritage. It is growing over here and it is about time that country music got more attention here, because it’s also our music.
Is the music that you and your peers are recording getting radio play in Sweden?
No, it is so under represented on radio here. There is no country music on radio, which does not help to generate a younger audience or following. From my own experience, the audience is probably thirty years old and upward, the main audience is still very middle aged and upward.
You had been booked on an extensive tour with Caleb Caudle last year just before Covid hit.
We were to go out last year for about forty-five dates in Europe. We were to play Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and The Netherlands. Because of the pandemic the tour was postponed and then cancelled. It was massively disappointing but it was so out of our control. I’ve just had to move on the best that I can.
Had your new album TIME STANDS STILL been written pre-pandemic?
The material for the album had been written before that tour was due. The oldest song on the album would have been written in 2018. I picked and chose the songs I wrote after that for the album and the most recent song I finished the week before we recorded the album.
You engaged one of the most sought-after session drummers and producers Brady Blade to produce the album. His clients include Emmylou Harris, Dave Matthews and Solomon Burke to name a few. How did that come about?l
It’s a funny story how I first met him. In 2017 a mutual friend of Brady and mine called me to tell me that Brady Blade was looking for a country singer for a pick-up band to play at a seventieth birthday party at one of the islands here in Stockholm. He had given Brady my name and was checking if that was ok with me, and could he pass on my number to him. My reaction was ‘is this the Emmylou Harris Brady Blade’ and yes, if it is, you can give him my number! We did that pick-up band gig at the party for a neighbour of Brady’s and we just remained friends from then. He was the obvious choice and it turned out great. He knew exactly what I wanted from my sound, the exact vibe I was going for.
He also got Al Perkins on board to play pedal steel on the album?
That was hugely exciting. I’m a big fan of The Flying Burrito Brothers, so for me, it was amazing having Al Perkins play on the album. We laid down all our tracks in the studio and when we were done, we sent the tracks over to Al in Nashville and he recorded the pedal steel in his studio.
On the album’s opening track What I, you describe yourself as independent and stubborn. Is that an accurate description?
(Laughs) Yes, that’s pretty spot on for me. I am pretty stubborn.
You describe yourself as an outlaw artist and include the track Outlaw Women on the album. What female artists, past and present, best represent the title ‘outlaw’
For me an outlaw, regardless of whether it’s a man or a woman, but especially a woman, is a person who does things their own way and are uncompromising with their art. A past artist is certainly Patsy Cline. Emmylou is very much an outlaw artist for me, she does what she wants and is quite unique in her type of artistry. Dolly Parton is one hundred per cent an outlaw woman and, of course, Loretta Lynn. Tanya Tucker is another of course. I saw her at 3rd & Lindsley during Americanafest 2019 in Nashville and if she’s not outlaw, I don’t know who is. She was amazing. These women paved the way for younger artists coming out and gave us the confidence that we do not have to allow someone to tell us how to go about our art. They showed us that we can do in our own way and that nobody knows their art better than themself. Nikki Lane, Amanda Shires, Jaime Wyatt and Elizabeth Cook are also absolutely amazing and, like myself, are very unapologetic in doing what they want, in the way they want to do it. It’s so important. I don’t want to compromise about what I want to sing and write about. That would be unauthentic and I don’t want to be that person.
Tell me about your thought process behind the track and album title TIME STANDS STILL.
Time stands still is a description of an emotion, how it can feel when you are in a moment with someone and everything else seems to have just stopped. It feels as if there is nothing else going on in the world except you and that other person. The song and album title reference the emotion of being so close to somebody that it feels like nothing else is happening around you.
What are your plans to market the album and get to tour it?
The competition for live shows this year is immense, particularly with the larger artists scaling down and taking shows at our venues. Planning ahead, our real focus is for next year. I have a great management team, but it is very difficult, especially now. With the pandemic there is so much pressure on artists to do something special and there is so much music coming out, it is insane. The cloud that you have to get through in order to get exposure is getting thicker and thicker. I try not to worry too much about it, otherwise it would drive you crazy. I just keep faith in my own work, it’s a challenge out there at the moment for sure, but I’m up for it.
Interview by Declan Culliton