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Interview: Tove Styrke

Swedish pop sensation Tove Styrke first made waves in the music world with her self-titled debut in 2010 and just last month she returned with Borderline, her biggest release in close to three years. Her music fuses together the ambiance and pulse of electronica with bubbly, feel-good pop melodies, creating earworms that are impossible to ignore. “Borderline,” title track from her latest EP, is no different, this time showcasing a little reggae flavor alongside her incredible vocal chops. To be clear, this is by no means cookie-cutter top 40 pop, and once we found ourselves hypnotized by her raucously fun hooks, we knew we had to know more.

We recently caught up with the young singer to see what she’s been up between releases. Check out Styrke’s hang-ups with hellos, the luxuries of boredom, and what “bordelines” mean to her.

What differences, if any, do you see in the music scenes in Sweden and the US? Do you feel that pop is universal?

I don’t have much experience of the US music scene, so I can’t really tell… but hit me back in 6 month or so when I’ve spent more time there! In general though, yes I do feel that pop music is universal.

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Almost three years passed with no releases before your recent single “Even If I’m Loud It Doesn’t Mean I’m Talking To You” was released in May.  Besides working on your upcoming EP, Borderline, how have you been keeping busy?

I moved back to my hometown, Umeå, and did basically nothing for almost a year. Boredom is a luxury but few people have time for it, it fuels creativity and it really helped me find that drive again to make music. Since I moved back to Stockholm I’ve mostly been working and writing.

What is the significance of borderlines to you? Are you always searching for ways to blur or skew conventions?

My song “Borderline” is about trying to break free from patriarchal chains. I was thinking about The Matrix a lot when I wrote it, about being stuck in this very narrow idea of what society expects a person to be, as a woman, in my case. That’s one of the great things with pop music, you can talk about big problems in a simple and almost naive way. I like doing that, makes things easier to grasp.

Are there any uniquely Swedish delicacies or customs that you miss while on tour?

No, none in particular. Maybe the hugs and handshakes, because I don’t understand the polite kissing on the cheek. You never know if it’s two or three and then everything gets weird…

What’s the last concert you attended where you weren’t performing?

Linnea Henriksson did a great gig in Stockholm a few weeks ago. It was all color and balloons and joy and fight the power in a beautiful mishmash. Love her.

 

The Borderline EP is out now from Sony Music.

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Interview by Justin Davis. Give him a high-five @yeahjustindavis.



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