Sunday 6 March 2016

"A SHIFT OF GRAVITY" - NORA MIHLE

Nora Mihle (26), a multiinstrumentalist, composer, and songwriter from Norway, holds a degree in music and live electronics.

The Trondheim-born musician loves finding solutions to tricky questions and learning new things. The body of her work combines fierce vocals, electronics, and transformed flute sounds. 

Right now she is focusing on her own solo project ”Mihle”.  

Only recently, Beehype, listed Mihle’s song “fear” as one of Norway’s best songs in 2015, and you lucky Berliners get the chance to see her live in Berlin at Mme Claude in a couple of weeks! 


Photo: Kristina Othelie Bjørnholm Farstad


When writing music, what is the most important aspect you are focusing on?



I’m all about lyrics, I can write and rewrite lyrics for ages before I’m content. I always begin there, then the melody needs to be just right. I’m a sucker for good hooklines! The rest is decoration. 



It is rather seldom that musicians combine flutes with electronics and pop music. At least nowadays, it is rare. What fascinates you about this mixture?


That may be because it takes a shitload of time and patience to learn! 

Sadly, I don’t really use it live with Mihle, as I also sing there. But acoustic instruments are a way to compliment the electronics, to soften the sound of machines. It’s something so physical about flute, actually breathing music, and with all its imperfections it works lovely with electronics.






Where do you find inspiration?

Everywhere. Books and poetry, a situation or a new observation. My own relationships with other people are a constant source.

 The difficult part is preserving it, finding a way to hold on to those little sparks of something bigger. I always carry a notebook and recorder. 





What kind of music gets you excited?

Music that gives me something new; it may be a shift of gravity, a new timbre or another way to phrase an emotion. It can be music I’ve listened to a hundred times, and suddenly I discover something different because I’ve changed. 



Mihle | Fährmannsfest 2015 | Hanover (GER) | Photo: Axel Herzig


Has living in Berlin influenced your songwriting in any way?

Definitely. I came here completely alone, I didn’t have anywhere to live and knew absolutely no one. Building up a new life from scratch has made me vulnerable, sharpened my senses in a way. I’ve lived here a year and a half now, and I still sort of feel like I’m traveling.
 

It’s hard to separate what I learn as a human being and songwriter. To sum it up: I may not be better, but I’ve definitely grown to be bigger since I’ve moved here.



Mihle | Fährmannsfest 2015 | Hanover (GER) | Photo: Axel Herzig















How would you compare being a musician in Berlin to being one in Trondheim?

How would you compare being a musician in Berlin to being one in Trondheim?

I love my hometown, I love so much about the music scene, but at the same time I just had to leave, get some space. Some things are easier for me to get done there, as I have a good network and access to great musicians. I do miss the intensity of it, playing with others all the time, in their weird and diverse projects.
 
On the other hand, I have a bigger audience here. I have access to a level of the music industry that just doesn’t exist in Trondheim. I’m a much smaller fish in the pond, but I have more headspace. 
Berlin is big enough to find new people if you tire of the old ones, and there’s a freedom in that.



 






Any must listens?

Jenny Hval’s debut album “To sing you apple trees”, released under the alias Rockettothesky.






www.mihle.net

Interview: Victoria Trunova


Thursday 15 October 2015

"DREAM BABY DREAM" - MATTI AHOPELTO

Helsinki based composer Matti Ahopelto (28) studied film sound at the University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, before he decided to strike off into the musical universe in many different directions. Matti likes autumn, running, and creating strange noises. He dislikes the growing lack of empathy and “too much drama”.
Mostly known for being one of the founding members of future electro pop band Zebra & Snake, he also formed the concept rock band Siinai with Markus and Risto Joensuu (Joensuu 1865), and Saku Kämäräinen. His musical brilliance was not only verified by a cooperation with Wolf Parade singer Spencer Krug (alias Moonface), but also in interdisciplinary art projects with artist Tuomas A. Laitinen, which were shown in the Espoo museum of modern art, Emma, Residency Unlimited in New York and also in Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiasma. Matti spent some time in Berlin when recording with Zebra & Snake, Siinai and Moonface at Kaiku Studios Berlin.

Matti with Zebra and Snake by Ilkka Saastamoinen

Sunday 12 July 2015

"THE ICE CREAM IS GOOD IN BERLIN" - INGER WOLD LUND

Inger Wold Lund is a Berlin based artist and writer born in Bergen, Norway. Her passion for language and its different spheres, like structure, ways of story-telling and its change over time is mirrored both in her writing and art. And is always the starting point of her work. Beside pub-lishing her first book early this year she exhibits also in Slovenia, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany. 

Inger Wold Lund | Photo: Heidi Furre


You first studied Literature and Medicine and then changed to Art.Was there certain reason, person or event that influenced you to do so?

There was not one specific reason for me changing fields, and truth be told I find it a bit difficult to pinpoint the events that made me change directions. In many ways I am still interested in the same things that spun me towards medicine in the first place: Looking at things very closely, trying to figure out how they are connected. 

YOU MAKE ME FEEL BETTER WHEN YOU SAY MY LIFE IS GREAT, 2014 | Audiotour, 25 minutes | Available in Swedish and English. Translated and read in Swedish by Jana Fröberg. Part of the exhibition Tre Systrar curated by Filippa Pettersson and Anders Nilsson, Vrångsholmen, Sweden | Photo: Inger Wold Lund

Where do you get your inspiration from? And what influences your work? Do you consider other artists or art influential? Is there somebody you admire?

I generally find myself lucky to have good friends in my field whose work I find very inspira-tional. Of artists with a Norwegian background I can mention Camilla Steinum and Hanne Lippard, who are both also based in Berlin. Also I find great inspiration in artists from previous generations like Mary Kelly, Lee Lozano and Sophie Calle. And I enjoy the work of writers like Anaïs Nin and Marguerite Duras. I could go on mentioning names. One of the things that I like about the field I am in is that somehow it is like a continuing conversation between peers that have lived different lives different places at different times. 

YES. I KNOW. , 2013 | 12 stories, 754 words | Risograph print on paper, 210 x 279 mm, mounted behind glass | Part of the solo exhibition Now. Here at Percival Space, Oslo | Photo: Inger Wold Lund / Aeron Bergman

You work both as an artist and as a writer. Do you work separately with your profession or do you combine them?

My work always has its starting point in language. I am interested in the repetition of certain stories in the time we live in, the structures of the language that we use to tell these stories, and especially the metaphors in the language that contribute to make the difference between the individual and its surroundings diminish. In my work I look into how language itself is fictional by nature, and how, as time goes, memories change, and we reinvent the stories that once used to be our reality to fit the landscape of stories that we have heard before. Having had the possibility to publish with literary presses has been great in terms of taking my work to audiences I would not have reached otherwise. But my work stays the same, although the reading of it might change slightly. And I do not prefer one reading over another. 

MISE EN ABYME, 2014 |Sunset at Sukkertoppen (Sugarhill)| 1280 m.a.s.l.| Directly transfered and shown on a screen as the end of the festival The Cosmic Cesspit. The work lasted for approx. an hour, and was curated by Melanie Matthieu | Photo: Melanie Matthieu (screenshots)

Can you describe your art process? What is your work philosophy?

I get up every morning. Almost every night I go back to bed.

You live in Berlin right now. Was there a particular reason and has it had an impact on your work?

I moved here after receiving a small grant from Norway, and thinking the money would last longer here. Liking the city I decided to stay I am very happy living in Berlin right now. But I do miss the sea.
I think everywhere you live impact who you are, and who you are impact your work. Here I have come in contact with a scene that is interested in many of the same things as I am interested in. And the ice cream is good in Berlin.

YES. I KNOW. , 2013 | 12 stories, 754 words | Risograph print on paper, 210 x 279 mm, mounted behind glass | Part of the solo exhibition Now. Here at Percival Space, Oslo | Photo: Inger Wold Lund / Aeron Bergman

Is there a difference between the German and the Norwegian art scene?

One of the differences that it is easy to pinpoint is that Norway has a well developed system for funding of the arts. Germany has more of a tradition for a commercial art scene, although Berlin is not the city where this is most visible.

What are you working on right now and can you explain it?

Right now I am working on a series of erotic audio tours. For the next one I am teaming up with sound artist Claire Tolan on making an one that will be available for free download online and will provide stories and sounds for you to listen to while circling Berlin on the ringbahn. I should mention that I have a chapbook coming out on Ugly Duckling Presse later this summer as well. It is a collection of short stories under the name "Leaving Leaving Behind Behind". The press is based in New York, and the book will be released in London, but if you live in one of the other larger western cities it will soon be available in a bookstore near you

For further informations about Inger check out her co-website here and about her first book release in English "leaving leaving behind behind" go here.

Interview: Skadi Borchert
Editing:   Rosalie Delaney

Friday 5 June 2015

"I THINK , I AM VERY POLITE, BUT I'M HARDLY A COSMOPOLITE" - BIRTA GUDJONSDOTTIR



Birta Gudjonsdottir is a real Wunderkind. Now relocated back to her hometown Reykjavik after having worked and lived widely in Europe as an artist, curator and lecturer. After curating over 30 exhibitions indipendently she is currently working as chief curator at the National Gallery of Iceland and is one of the co-curators of Momentum 8 - Nordic Biennial of Contemporary Art in Moss, Norway. 

 
Curator and Artist Birta Gudjonsdottir | Photo: Sigurdur Gunnarsson


Sunday 19 April 2015

“ENFANT TERRIBLE AND CONTEMPORARY HERO PAR EXCELLANCE" – JANI LEINONEN



Visual artist and enfant terrible Jani Leinonen from Finland is a revolutionary soul, who is not afraid to point out social injustice and abuse. His work reflects the issues of political structures and capitalism as well as questioning the democracy we live in. He has exhibited several times in Berlin at Salon Dahlmann and is now running as a candidate for the Finnish election as a protest against “behind closed doors – politics” and the lack of political engagement.

Sunday 29 March 2015

“HOW TO FIND YOUR OWN BERLIN” – JUHANI SEPPOVAARA


Helsinki (1947) born Juhani Seppovaara is active in many creative areas. The photographer, videographer, writer and journalist belongs to the Berlin creative scene as much as the TV Tower belongs on the Berlin skyline. For over 30 years he has been documenting the landscapes and culture with his camera, leaving unique reports of a creatives’ view not only on Berlin, but also many other places. Juhani has published 20 photographybooks, of which some have been translated into English, French or German. Besides Finland, his photographs have been on display in Paris, Madrid, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. Meet the person behind the documentary about the Berlin café Kohlenquelle!

Self-portrait | Photo: Juhani Seppovaara

Sunday 15 March 2015

"SOCIAL MEDIA IS BECOMING SO INTEGRATED IN SO MANY ASPECTS OF OUR LIFE" – MARIE HOUGAARD

Berlin based social media manager Marie Hougaard moved from Copenhagen to Berlin in 2013. After studying Danish linguistics and media studies, she is now working in advertising. Within this field she can nurture her interests in both network communication and user behaviour relative to social media. On top of that she's passionate about yoga.

Marie Hougaard | Photo source: Marie Hougaard