With critically acclaimed debut album Sucker Punch, you basically performed globally for four years, and then the pandemic hit, bringing everything to a halt. How did you adjust to the drastic change?
It is difficult for everyone. It’s weird because I’m so used to this high tempo. It felt almost like being on top of the world — go, go, go — and then suddenly, I was there in my childhood bedroom in my parents’ house. But it’s also good. I had time to go skiing and hiking and do other things, like get off the carousel for a bit, which I thought I needed. It’s really easy to burn yourself out in this industry, so with the time I’ve been through it shows me how much I love my job and how much I want this. Music is my favorite thing in the world and I’m really happy to be back. In the past, seeing my schedule would sometimes frighten me. I would get really nervous — like, How do I get over this? I was on the edge a little bit. And now, I’m really excited looking at my busy schedule. I’m ready, and I want it, and I feel stronger in a way. It sounds cheesy, but I can handle the schedule in a better way.
Your second album, How to Let Go, is out this month. How does this collection of songs reflect your personal position as an artist?
I think this record is lyrically honest and hits me more deeply than ever. I was 100% honest about Sucker Punch, but now, I’ve written a lot of songs and really got into it. The record is about what is the title. It is about letting go and letting go of insecurities and doubts. … I mean try [to let go], because it is a question, How to do it? I’m still trying to figure it out. I can be self-critical at times, as we all can, and afraid of doing the wrong thing, making the right decisions. Sometimes I can get overwhelmed. But it’s also quite positive. I’ve always liked to write songs that come out of a frustrated state of mind because that inspires me a lot. That’s usually when you want to go to the studio and write is when you’re feeling some frustrating thoughts. But then, I’m always trying to find a solution to it because I’m thinking, “I’m going to be touring this album for a long time. [I] can also make it interesting. There are some simple sad songs in there, but not many of them. I feel like they all have this positive view. It’s my calculation just because I want to have fun as I sing it night after night.
So the idea of letting things go, where did that come from for you? Do you feel like you’ve reached a breaking point where it’s like, “I need to figure out how to make this happen”?
This is not a story I made up. It is very natural where it comes from. We’ve been writing most of the album in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the last year or two, and it just keeps coming up, this “loose” thing. It will appear in almost every song at some point, and there will be a slight hint of letting go of something. Even lyrically, there’s “you have to let it go” in “Burning Bridge,” and then there’s “Grow,” and the literal chorus, “How to let it go, how to let it go.” So there’s a lot of stuff, and all of a sudden, we’re like, “Well, you’ve got a lot to let go of,” so that’s where the title comes from. I think it’s a matter of age. Sucker Punch and that era was a lot about expanding into the world, and I was also 19 and 20 when I wrote that album, so the themes are very in that space and era. While this record – because I’m writing all these songs about me and my personal life, of course – it will have a second theme of being an artist. My work is my life, so that’s what I write about. But also, there’s a second layer where you’re 25 years old or 23, 24, 25 years old and what happens and the way you see life might be a little bit different because you’ve been through your washer and dryer. early 20’s.. You’re in your 20s now, and you know a little more, but you still feel like the more you know, the less you know. So it’s just written from an older perspective. But I’m still a kid in many ways!
