As artistic mediums, songwriting and acting are clearly very different. And few singer-songwriters can claim that they had appeared in a movie production. You are listed among the cast of the movie Lilla Jönssonligan och Stjärnkuppen.
There may be a difference between how your creative mind is inspired by music when you sit down to write a song, compared to how acting inspires you when you sit down to absorb a character in a movie script. How do the two artistic mediums inspire you in different ways? Has your work as an actor influenced your songwriting? Have any particular movies inspired you to write music?
[edith backlund]
[indiessance]
Your MySpace page states that you write songs about women with seduction in their eyes and daggers in their purses. About fallen war-heroes and her fear of dying. To me this imagery is cinematic—it definately pops. What other strong imagery inspires your songwriting? Do you have a dagger in your purse at the moment?
[edith backlund]
Haha! No dagger and not even a purse. Like I said earlier, I find inspiration in watching the news. One strong imagery that inspired me was the combination of newsflashes from when the US invaded Iraq. I had some friends who had enrolled in the US Army and it really made me think about how fragile every life is. And I wrote a lot of songs and lyrics based on those images.
[indiessance]
Your lyrical expression also reveals that you are a person who is open and honest about your feelings. And 'Skinny' could be considered painfully honest. Can songwriting, at times, become a musical catharsis for you?
[edith backlund]
Absolutely. That really shines through on my CD from 2006 Merely Daydreams where some of the lyrics where actual diary cut-outs. I was at an emotional low-point at that time and I felt like I had to tell the whole world about it, put it all out there and get the filth out of me. Today I am a much happier person and my songwriting today tends to concern other people and their emotions. Skinny is about my 17-year old me. I had to look through old diaries to find her and that’s what I do when I want to put myself in the emotional state of my old me again. I do that because my old me knew how to write a sad song. And I love sad songs.
[indiessance]
All of your latest tracks, including the A-side True Believer, reveal your lyrical talent. In your opinion, how important are lyrics to a song? Have you written lyrics for other artists?
[edith backlund]
I think that a song can't be great with crappy lyrics. The melody can be out of this world but if the lyrics suck, the song sucks. But great words can save a bad melody. I have not yet written any lyrics for other artists. That, however, is something I can definitely see myself doing in the future.
[indiessance]
Listening to the band's tracks, I can hear layers of acoustic guitar and piano, orchestral elements, vocal tracks, sound effects, etc. Your band has built a strong baroque-pop sound in the studio. Are there any particular sound engineers or producers who have helped develop your sound? How has your experience in the recording studio helped you develop as a musician?
[edith backlund]
Funny you should say that because the only people playing instruments on the tracks are me and Pär Wiksten. Oh, and of course: Pär’s daughter Elsa helped out with some vicious handclapping and toyclicking! The studio was Pär’s apartment in Stockholm. We didn’t have a huge budget... actually we almost didn’t have a budget, so we couldn’t bring the band into a studio. The result: me and Pär had to do everything ourselves. It took a long time but the result was worth it!
[indiessance]
The last I read, your band's latest project Death by Honey was scheduled to be released this month. You co-wrote the album with Pär Wiksten, who has been with the Wannadies since 1988. Regarding potential hit songs, I think the musical chemistry is there between you and Pär. Has he helped you grow as an artist? How do the two songwriting styles compliment eachother?
[edith backlund]
Pär and the Wannadies where the soundtrack of my youth. So it was quite strange to meet him in person. We met as songwriters and clicked as people, had some coffee and wrote True Believer on the first day. Pär has been everywhere and done everything and he still manages to stay grounded while I tend to want to float off. When I do, he brings me back to the ground again. I think that's important if you want to last as an artist, to keep a clear head. In songwriting me and Pär are very much alike. It’s like we have our own musical language.
The A-side on Edith Backlund's latest album, Death by Honey, is easy to resolve, but a potential B-side has more than one possible choice. And compositional diversity has brought this songstress up to the next level through hook injected choruses and thoughtful lyrics.
Beginning with balladic introspection into the apparent force field of vanity emitted by any household mirror, Skinny builds up to a baroque-pop romp accentuated by a powered up instrumental bridge fuelled by the chorus. Such a formula compliments Backlund's style.
mirror, mirror on my wallInstead of a politician or a journalist, Backlund chose to become a songwriter. As a singer/songwriter I can be as ego-centric as I please, Edith Backlund told Sony/ATV.
ruthless to your victim
suiting you is all I know
a slave to my reflection
In 2006, Backlund played the character Linda in the Swedish movie Lilla Jönssonligan och Stjärnkuppen.
In November 2008, the track Suburban Bliss, from Edith's latest album, was featured on an episode of the TV drama One Tree Hill. Check out the YouTube video below. And, if you like that song, please pump some bucks into PayPal and buy it. While you're at it, might as well grab the cell phone and order a triple-cheese bacon pizza from the local parlour.
Edith Backlund Tour Dates
- Home Page: Edith Backlund.SE
- FaceBook: Edith Backlund: Songs
- MySpace: Edith Backlund: Songs
- YouTube: Edith Backlund as Linda in Lilla Jönssonligan och Stjärnkuppen
- YouTube: Edith Backlund: Suburban Bliss
- YouTube: Edith Backlund: Much to Cry About
- YouTube: Edith Backlund: Rosie
- YouTube: Edith Backlund: True Believer
- YouTube: Edith Backlund: Waste Another Day
- YouTube: Edith Backlund: Waste Another Day
- SV.Wikipedia: Edith Backlund
- YouTube: Wannadies: You and Me Song
