More new music and this time in the form of MALMØ on the excellent Integrity Records. Her new EP is entitled ‘The Inevitable End’ we found out more about the Danish singer and what she has planned.
Firstly for those that are not familiar with your sound, how would you best describe it?
I get this question a lot and I honestly think it is the hardest to answer. I think the listeners should describe it with their own words, and I would rather have my listeners define my music than myself. But my promoter describes it as Nordic Melodic Art Pop.
“The Inevitable End” is your new EP that is over 20 minutes of beautiful soundscapes – what was your inspiration going into writing it?
We are in a time of change. Of structures getting crashed, wars happening, the pandemic raging. And in all that madness I wanted to create a space to breathe. A light in all that darkness. A whole work of art. From when the vinyl starts turning until you lift off the needle, it should be a complete piece of music. A place to breathe and simply be.
Going through each of these predictions on the vinyl, you move through different problems humanity faces – ourselves. We wanted to create a different world listening to the music. Diving into a place in yourself that is long forgotten but has been there all the time. Like listening to the future and the past at the same time. We need to change. And change fast. Change our approach to nature, climate, food & agriculture and the way we treat each other. How can we change ourselves? And thereby change the way we treat each other and nature? From the inside out. By meditating.
We need to change. And change fast. Change our approach to nature, climate, food & agriculture and the way we treat each other.
The EP also ties in with some future art installations – tell us some more about this and when we might be able to get to see them (and where)?
The Inevitable End – LIVE is an art installation coming to life. Where the EP revolves around the problems we face and the need for change on earth, the installations explore what happens after The End. What happens when the body is dead? It explores the life between lives when you enter the inbetween. It will have holograms, a mirrored floor, large sculptural architecture, performers, a choir, light design and of course music.
Where did you grow up and who do you cite as some of your major influences?
I grew up on the west coast of Denmark with its roaring wild waves and flat planes and eternal flocks of swallows dancing in the night sky. My young childhood up until age 6 was spent by a wide river in the middle of Jutland. Running in knee high grass, playing wild with the children from next door, climbing trees and staying out until the sun set.
My influences are many and from different genres, but major influences would be Björk, Sigur Rós, Bon Iver, Joni Mitchell, Ricki lee jones, The Savage Rose but also Sting and Michael Jackson who me and my 5 siblings listened to on a cassette tape travelling through Europe in a minivan with our parents when I was around 6 years old.
What can we expect next from you?
I may want to dive deeper into the sound and play with the more acoustic sound that I worked with on my debut album “We Come from the Stars” released in 2018. I really love to explore different genres and styles of music and it moves sort of like waves – it is a dynamic thing and not static; ever changing. I think the next thing is to take a deep breath and just be and enjoy summer with my family for a little while. The work with this EP has been rewarding but honestly exhausting as well, so I will give myself time to listen and learn what is next on my journey.
Finally – What is the last movie or TV Series you watched, book you read, and album you listened to?
The last TV series I watched and was strongly influenced by was Outlander. I was – and am – completed taken by the story of time travel between two centuries. I could just keep watching the next episodes until they ran out. When the season stopped I started to buy Diana Gabaldon’s books and read them over days. 5-600 page books. Even entire book series over days. There is something magical about diving into another world in a book that is very dear to me.
The most recent book I read was by Diana Gabaldon – “A Breath of Snow and Ashes”
The last album I listened to was “May” by Danish artist Broken Twin.
Interview by Alex Minnis