Linnea Hjertén - '' The human experience is universal and timeless''
- Sparky
- 7 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Linnea Hjertén doesn’t just create music. Every note is hand crafted to create an intimate experience that is at times vulnerable and at others full of personal strength. The many layered vocals all a distinct voice that tie the experience of those who came before with her own, the traditional given a unique expression that is harmonious and deeply moving, it is a minimalism full of diverse instrumentation. The latest release ‘’Steg för steg” and is a continual evolution of sound and style.
‘’Thank you. I think the evolution was natural just by writing whatever i feel. Maybe also by being more comfortable with bearing myself and the lyrics to the world.
It is such a beautiful calm album was its creative process the same?
In “Nio Systrar” the songs were more made with the other songs in mind to write an album. They were made together, but in “Steg för steg” they were made as singles that later on made an album, so the process was a bit different.
A natural combination of folk and electric pop and many others. A result of influences and the environment.
‘’I think it's hard to know what influences the biggest impact on a sound have, but I guess it's a mix of a lot of aspects. Environment for sure, biographical location, the melodies we surround us with. The things we currently go through in life, and every step on the way there.
A modern interpretation and transformation of the traditional.
I love honouring traditions but also filter it through myself and make a twist. It's not intentional, it just happens when I let my music be what it is and also be inspired by the people that walked before us and the music they made.
It’s also a celebration of the life experiences, with a connection to the world and nature all part of a journey of recovery and an emotional truth
‘’All the above for sure. My songs are mostly a reflection of something I am going through or a musical key to help me go through something. To find acceptance, understanding or to find courage to take me through, or just to reflect and express. Is where I find the inspiration and the need to create. To calm down and find acceptance of what emotions or situation is present, or even to arrive more to the present in general for me the softness helps, like a mother that sings a child to sleep, to summon the feeling of “giving in” and accepting whatever is going on by arriving to the present moment.
Overcoming darkness, with a combination of melancholy and hope
‘'All my favourite songs or melodies have a melancholic feeling over them, and I think there is hope in all that. The beauty of expressing something painful is like opening a window and letting something captured to be free, it's how we can consciously take the next step. Never overcoming darkness. Accept darkness and give love to the darkness. There is no good or bad, but only two sides that need to exist. One cannot be without the other since I don’t think it's two separate things really, it is different aspects of one existence. Only by accepting the full spectrum can we consciously choose our actions. If there are things hidden in our shadows, it will affect us unconsciously.
Listening back on the album, what colours do you see?
‘’The whole palette of colours. But we can put my colour obsession on top which is lavender.
Music is universal and its themes regardless of the language.
‘’Well, I think the human experience is universal and timeless. The language, clothes, and melodies might all be different over time or in different countries and cultures, but I think the core of our existence or emotions will be the same when we pick them apart. It's mostly all just different experiences that happen when trying to stay alive and want to feel love and trying to find happiness/contentment and then die. And how we express ourselves might differ in extreme ways. The universalness of it all for me seems to be finding acceptance and letting go in different ways, acceptance of hard emotions, acceptance of not having control, and in the base of it all, acceptance of death. Only by stop trying to change the present by either chasing something else or running from the present moment can we actually experience all the possibilities of the present. And I believe that truly is universal and music can be a tool for that.
The artistic freedom that a solo artist offers.
‘’No limit expectations on the creative process? I love the freedom of that, but it has its downsides two that there is no one to tell you to stop re-recording or to discuss ideas with and sometimes I miss that in the process. But there is beauty in trusting yourself for that. Right now, I've been incorporating other people for collaborations, and I really like that combination. Being a solo artist that sometimes collaborates with others is the perfect combination for me.
The result is a true expression of oneself through your music or art.
‘’This is something I think puts fear in a lot of creators or holds us back. I think true expression is very important, but it is also very fluid. If I write something now, it is who I am now and that changes depending how open we are or what we are going though, it can be easy to hold on to the music and never release anything because of that. But also, the fear of not being good enough can hold us back from even seeing our true expression and what we want to say
The new single I Am All Three is out now on all platforms
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