Lykke Li probably doesn’t need much of an introduction these days. But still, here goes: the surprisingly American-accented writer, singer and ex-Swedish television dancer was born Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson to nomadic artist parents in 1986. She hit the big time with her emotive postmodern-pop debut, Youth Novels, in 2008, which broke hearts everywhere and sold plenty of copies in the process of doing so. Now she's now back with her second album, Wounded Rhymes, which is out on Friday. She spoke to LifeLounge's Emilia Terzon.

Where are you right now?
I’m in Stockholm. I just got here from London last night. I’m only here for a little bit. I’m really not that based anywhere, right now.

You're known for your nomadic lifestyle. Your biography kind of reads like a travel diary: New York, California, Sweden, Portugal, New Zealand. Are you going to settle somewhere new next?
I don’t really like to see life through that angle. I do what I do, you know. If I have time off, I’ll be somewhere. Right now, as it’s so cold everywhere, it would be nice to be in California. However, I do like to base myself wherever my loved ones are.

You're currently also crazy busy promoting your new album, Wounded Rhymes. Your debut album, Youth Novels, is still one of my favourites. I love how autobiographical it is, that everything on there really happened to you. What sort of stories are you telling in your new work?
Well, it’s about me just continuing on the same path. It’s me writing out of necessity, out of the urge, and out of the will to write. So it’s still me writing about what I’m going through, but it's one step further.

What about the stories behind specific singles? I’m intrigued about 'I Follow Rivers'.
Oh my god, I could never tell you that! It’s very personal. You’ve got the song… isn’t that enough? [laughs]


Lykke Li 'I Follow Rivers'

You’ve said before that you are able to tell people things in your music that you’d never actually confess to them face-to-face.
Yeah. I feel like it is too hard to actually tell people many things unless it's through music. But ['I Follow Rivers'] is about desire. It's about desire being a nature force that is pulling you in to situations, and when you almost have no voice.

Is it almost cathartic?
I really hate that phrase. It’s so cliché to talk about things like it's therapy. You know, I’ve been through therapy. I know how it works… and it is nothing like writing songs.

So it’s more just like an impulse?
It’s kind of like what I do to survive. It’s like breathing. Some people go out for a run to relax. I write music and sing. It’s not like I feel better after I do it, but it allows me to put something down. It makes me think: “Well, at least I’ve got that."

Your single for an installment of the Twilight series, 'Possibility', was the first we’d heard of you in a while after your debut. It’s a really angsty song for what can really only be described as a really angsty movie. How did you transfer the film's feeling over?
I could really relate to those characters in the movie. There is this young girl who really is still in that belief that love will heal all. It’s about being in that state and knowing that, if that person leaves you, that you just won’t survive. If you listen to the lyrics you can hear it all there: “By blood and by men, I’ll fall when you leave”.

But I get the feeling that it’s not all tears from you. When does your playful side come out?
Yeah, totally. This is just one side of me that I choose to show. I have a whole life and side of me that isn’t in my music. This is my outlet for those kind of emotions, but I’m definitely not a “depressed emo girl” like you’d think.

No, I would never describe you as a depressed emo girl.
Yeah, well, I’m laughing all the way to the bank!

You really wanted to stick to simple melodies with Wounded Rhymes. How’d you focus on this?
I think it’s exactly the same thing with writing. You have to let it come and let it happen. Don’t do anything unless it feels naturally. It’s the same with all great songs – they’re out there and you’ve just gotta catch them.

You also switched between a lot of different instruments. What’s your favourite to play with at the moment?
Well… I can’t play it that well, but I really like the Hammond. We had it laying around the studio and it became my new found obsession. I think everything sounds better with a bit of a Hammond organ.

You wrote this album's lyrics after leaving the party scene of New York ‘cause you’d had enough. I read recently that you also gave up drinking for years when you were younger…?
Well… maybe a year of my life. But I am an old soul. I do think that we are all born with different spirits. I think that age ain’t nothing but a number and experience is definitely more of a valid point. I think I have this kind of soul in me, and [that] also the things I have experienced have made me this way too.

Are you still in lockdown mode or are you back to partying?
I very much have both in me. Touring can really take it out of me. You pour in your heart and your soul and your being… night after night. It can be rather exhausting. 

Your last tour took you all around the globe. Do you have favourite places to play, now?
I really loved Australia, actually! ... I really feel like people in Australia appreciate music. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s so very far away and not many people tour there and you’re just very excited when we actually come. It was a really joyful experience to play there. I also love the sun, you know. You also have great wine! 

I was also reading your biography notes today. I really loved that you got booed off stage in your first performance eve, because it kind of makes me think there’s hope for us all.
You liked that? You took joy from that?!

Not in a sadistic way! I just feel like if you can get booed off stage with your talent, then obviously demoralising experiences shouldn’t get the rest of us plebs down. How did you move through this?
I grew up really reading a lot of rock ‘n roll biographies and so I kind of knew what I was in store for. I could imagine it all. You know, Nina Simone, she couldn’t even get into Juilliard because she was black. So getting off booed off stage was really nothing compared to that! I just got through bad experiences and I did what I had to do.

You also had some great mentors to help you, like Bjorn Yttling [of Peter, Bjorn & John]. How’s that helped?
Yeah, I think it’s so lovely that I managed to surround myself with people who bring joy to my life. That’s probably one of the best things about travelling for music – that you get to meet all these great people. You get to meet kindred spirits. We’re all indigo spirits waiting to be found. Some people I’ve found on tour have become my absolute best friends and they're from the other side of the world.

You’re also known for your captivating video-clips, like for 'Tonight'. It’s one of my favourites... And you also just had a sweet short film published of you frolicking on the beach, 'Untitled'. Is film a medium you’re really drawn to?
Yeah, that was for my 'Untitled' short film. Film is really a medium that I’m in to. I’m also in to photography. The world is a very unusual place for me to be in. When I write my music, I tend to see things as I want them to appear already. I see them very clearly, particularly for the video-clips. As I get melodies, I also get pictures. It’s kind of like creating illusions in your mind.


Lyyke Li 'Untitled'

The video for your last single, 'Get Some', was an especially big hit here. I’m embarrassed to say that a lot of my male friends are now are obsessed with you because of it and consider you as a sex symbol. What do you think about that?
That’s a bit disgusting because it’s exactly what I didn’t want! The whole point of that song was trying to do the opposite of that. I was trying to take a stand against objectification. So I have never thought about that before… about me being a sex symbol. It’s actually the first time somebody asked me that question.

To me your music is actually very feminist and strong. I once read an article that said you wanted to be the next Madonna. Is that really true?
That was misquoted in that article. A lot of the time journalists seem to just have an opinion and then they just write it. I once said to a journalist years ago that, when I was seven, I wanted to be Madonna. But I don’t any more, and it keeps coming up.

So what sort of women do you really idolise?
A lot of my favourite female artists are actually writers, like Anaïs Nin or Virginia Woolf or Joan Dideon. 

And what sort of woman do you want to grow in to as you think about the third album?
I’m sort of at a crossroad. My first album was about the beginning and now the second is about wondering where to go to from here. So time will tell. Only time will tell.

Emilia Terzon
Originally posted at Lifelounge