TWO YEARS AGO I met Freja again. It’d been a long time since I met her the last time. I always thought she was an incredibly interesting and beautiful human being. First time a saw her I was on a producer course in Copenhagen, Denmark. We heard knockings on the door and in came this backpack chick with messy hair and a skateboard. She had some songs, if any of us wanted to produce them? Hell, this seems interesting, sure, I’ll give it a shot. The two of us spent a few afternoons, made some really bad songs and it faded. Couple of times we met up again, nothing good came from it.
A few years later I meet Freja again to a Skrillex ‘concert’ which meant yelling how are you and trying to figure if to high-five or hug. Two weeks later we wrote “Forever” which later became the first single of “Monophobia”.
In the beginning Emil (Towity of Granity, red.) and I were, like, we don’t have time to produce your stuff but we can help you write a few songs if you want to. Of course Freja knew she could talk us into committing, and I’m pretty fucking happy she did. Apart from writing, I started out kind of on the level-mentoring and advising (what most people today would call artist development); really just asking questions that she needed to be asked, and being a friend who happened to know a bit about the industry. I remember this process made me think this girl keeps getting more interesting. Her profile and attitude is so damn clear you think you know her in the second you see her, but new sides keep coming. Surprises every corner, depths, levels. You’re never stuck. A goldmine for a songwriter, really.
Of course the energies of the universe led us to The Marcus Liliequist (one of those guys you won’t even try to describe of pure awesomeness, as my brother would say. Best drummer since drums (Marcus, that is – not my brother. As far as I know) and one thing led to another.
The process of this album was perfect: artists hook up, close their eyes, create, cry, laugh, love, travel, feel, develop, go wrong, go back and forth and back, and one day there’s an album. No precautions, no deals, no orders. Once the album is done you pick a team (management, record label, booking, musicians, graphic designers, event planners, and a few more) of people who love it as much as you do – and as it is – and voilà. One very genuine and good for the gut-way of working, if you ask me.
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And here we are. The album is done, last details have been fucked over and over for the last time and we’re all exhausted, and happier than ever. I won’t try to describe feelings, but when you spend two years writing about fucked relationships and dying parents, I guess you can say you get kind of a special bond. Have you ever had sex so good that you can’t wait until the next round, but at the same time you’re terrified of performance anxiety and debilitation? Can you live up to your and their expectations, and is this gonna be so exhausting you don’t know if it’s worth it? I know that the next Freja Kirk album will be a walk in the park full of tears, and I can’t wait.
Emil, Marcus, myself and Freja
Get “Monophobia” here:
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1gsWV5S
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1juJxfv
TDC: http://bit.ly/1kX9TIv
WiMP: http://bit.ly/1eEnrHj
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