Project Description

Interview with

AURORA

Interviewer – Amy Smith

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Much like the enchanting light display with which she shares her name, AURORA, the prodigiously talented 22-year-old singer, songwriter and producer from Norway, is an inspiring spectacle. Since  releasing her debut album All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend in 2016, she has attracted a legion of fans worldwide with her angelic voice, dark lyricism and sunny personality. Following over 200 million streams and huge sales with her debut album, the singer dropped the second LP in a two-part project. The first part, entitled Infections Of A Different Kind (Step I) dropped last September. A Different Kind of Human: Step II is set for release this June. 

AMNplify’s Amy Smith caught up with AURORA when she was in Australia last month, between her Groovin’ The Moo Festival and Headline shows to discuss  how she ‘Hunts’ for songs, what it is like being a woman in the music industry, stressing out the The Chemical Brothers and much, much more.

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Hi Aurora! My name is Amy, I’m calling on behalf of AMNplify today. How are you?
I’m good thank you. I am a bit better now. I’ve been a bit sick, so I had to cancel (ED: The interview a few times). My nose is still a bit stuffed, but at least my voice is OK.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me, even though you’re unwell.
Oh! No problem.

You are in the country as part of the Groovin’ The Moo festival. How is the tour going so far?
The tour is going really good. Australia has a very lively crowd. A very lovely crowd. They give us the energy that we need. So it’s been really nice.

I’m very glad to hear that! You also have some headline shows while you’re here. What are some of the things that you think about when putting together a live show?
I don’t really think about much. I just want to do the songs that I feel I like the most at the moment. Sometimes it’s different every night, sometimes it’s not. I try to accompany my own mood. And, of course, I try to include a bit of every emotion so that people can go on an emotional journey together with me. 

I have been very, very lucky to have had the opportunity to give A Different Kind of Human: Step II a listen. I can really hear how you’ve evolved as a producer with many different soundscapes and structures. It really is a wonderful piece of work, congratulations! I often hear something new on each listen and often wonder how you produce some of these sounds!
Thank you!

In the past, you have likened the process of songwriting as ‘Hunting’. Could you please tell me a bit about how you ‘Hunt’ for songs?
I hunt with my instincts, like every hunter should. I go with my belly emotions, as I like to call it. You know if it feels right. If it doesn’t feel right, I move on and I hunt more. I’m not easily satisfied with things. It’s interesting, It’s quite instinctual actually because when you make music, every minute you make a decision. If you’re not sure that you like what you have because you know that you can do better, I just continue searching for the right melodies, words and sounds until I know 100% that I love what I’m left with. It’s an instinct thing. You know when you got it right. It’s really exciting, Step II was produced in a very different way than the first step. In a much more minimalistic space. Much less equipment around me. So it’s kind of both simpler and less complicated. I’ve been recording sounds with my I-Phone and quite bad microphones but it kind of creates the right sound. It’s been really fun to work with the lack of equipment and even more with your imagination. Like, hitting things around you and making a universe with what you got. 

What did you do differently when producing Step II? What challenges did you face?
Yeah. Well, I think that’s the biggest difference that on Step I,  I wanted to feel really out worldly and the goal is to escape somewhere really beautiful, I wanted feel like I was on a different planet. On this one I needed to go even more within myself. So I was in a room with a purple floor and blue walls together with my drummer, Magnus, and we just stayed in there for a month and we made the album.

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Clear thought and planning goes into how and when you release your music. All My Demons Greeting Me As A Friend was a very introspective, self-healing album. Infections Of A Different Kind: Step I started to look at challenges outside of ourselves and Step II feels like a call to arms! Just how far into the future do you you have planned? What’s next?
I’m already making my fourth album. So my head is definitely somewhere far, far, far in the future. The minute I’m done with an album, like the second I know that I can’t touch it anymore and I can’t change anything, it’s officially done. It’s a few months before the world will hear it,but still that I know that I can’t work on it anymore. So then I have to kind of jump right on to my next project. It’s quite interesting because I always know, like the minute I’m done with the album I’ve been working on, I know what I will do next. I already know the title of my next album almost a minute after I’m done with the album that I just did. I actually finished this album (Ed:Step II) the 1st of December 2018 and then I already knew the title of my next album. I have actually hidden some clues on Step II that point toward my fourth album.

You recently had the opportunity to collaborate with The Chemical Brothers! So cool! Tell me a bit about that experience.
It was really beautiful. I’m a really big fan of them, so it was a true honour to be able to work with them. The first time I went to… I think I visitedTom, fromChemical Brothers, two times to do all the vocals, write the music and all that stuff. The second time I came, I forgot to order a hotel, so I got to stay in his attic. His daughter had a birthday and everything, so I was there on quite a rare occasion! It was really sweet. I went for a long walk, for them to have some peace because it was a birthday and everything. I went out around 8pm for a walk. I walked for like two hours in the woods because they live really far away from everything in England, it was really beautiful. I found this bar and I had a beer and some food and then I continued to walk for three more hours. Suddenly it was really late, it was really dark, it was 1am in the night. So they became really worried about me. There’s no reception where they live, which is really nice, but they couldn’t call me and get to my phone to ask if I was OK. I tried to give them some peace of mind by being away for a bit on her birthday, but I think I just made the night more full of worry! Worried about me being alone in the woods in the dark! So, it kind of became the opposite of what I was trying to do! But, it was really magical. It was really fun. A really good experience for me.

Just waiting in that Gojira collaboration now!
*Laughs*

I think an Aurora and metal band collab would be amazing! I saw that song that you recently did with Wardruna too, that was beautiful!
Yeah! Yeah! I’m a really big fan of them too! In general, I like really dark music. So I’m a big fan of them.

In previous interviews, you have talked about writing music from a very young age, music seems to be a natural talent for you! However, you didn’t picture yourself being a singer as a career. What would you be doing now if you weren’t a singer? Did you have any specific dreams growing up?
I did want to be a scientist. Maybe be a researcher on molecular technology. That’s what I originally wanted to be because Chemistry and Physics really interested me as a child. It all made sense, it makes more sense than people! But, I had to quit school and everything because I was too busy with the music. I would still be writing music, I think, because music is just something that I have to do. It’s still something that I do for myself because it makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I know why I’m here, it makes me feel meaningful. 

How is creating music different from performing it?
Creating music is kind of like all the best things together. Like having sex. And being on tour is kind of like having the child. It’s also beautiful in another way, but you have to be less selfish because there are so many more other people involved; It’s about the crowd, not about me. Like when you have a child, it’s about the baby and not about you. It’s still nice, but a bit more exhausting than the intercourse itself. I like to be in the studio, I like being in the studio the most because it makes me… it’s weird because it can keep you awake. And you forget to eat. And you forget that you have to pee. It just makes you forget everything else that you need to do. Because it’s the only thing that you like doing. It’s just a really, really magical thing. Sometimes that can happen live, but it’s very rare. I do have fun on stage though!

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What is your experience as a woman in the music industry? I personally know some women who work in the industry, both in bands and who work behind the scenes, whose skills and knowledge are often minimised. I’m wondering if you face any similar challenges?
Well, I have. I was born with a lot of determination. I’m very strong minded naturally. I take my space if it has to do with my own child, my own music, my own career. But, that’s just good luck that I am like that! I know definitely that I am very well equipped for this business, just like when comes to being able to stand up for yourself. You have to be very clear. I noticed that very young. Luckily, I have gained respect from people. I feel like, in this industry, I have gained the respect that I demand and need and want. I’m really happy about that. But I do notice a very strange rule that when you write music, if there’s other people in the room, even if they don’t write anything, it says that they have written the song with you even though they haven’t. When I produce, I notice often that, as a woman, the world often thinks that you don’t produce. Which is really annoying because it is such a big part of making music! And it’s such a big part of my identity and why I love being in the studio all the time. I do notice that it is very difficult to be credited as a producer on my own music, even though I have been producing it. On many of my albums, I’m not even listed as a producer! It’s really strange! That’s definitely a thing that I have noticed. I read an article, long ago, about Bjork saying the same thing that, in the beginning, she wasn’t listed as a producer either on her own work. That’s really strange! That’s definitely one of the things I’m really annoyed about and can feel the problem. That’s the thing that I’m ready to fight even more for!

In this fast-paced, noisy world, it is often difficult to find peace and quiet. What are some strategies that you use?
I am very addicted to peace and quiet. I need it a lot. Often, when I’m the the cities, my head can get really tired and I forget to look across the road before I cross it because I get so busy from all the people, sounds and smells. It is definitely, I would say, a problem in most places. I have learnt, in the last few years, that you can find that peace and quite within yourself. We have earphones. We have relaxing music. Noise cancelling earphones I find really helpful! I think it is important. In every city, there is some park or maybe just in your room if you have a wall where there is not too much stuff, where you can find a bit of simplicity. Just close your eyes in your room and just try to find a quiet place within yourself. I like to close my eyes a lot. If I’m in the streets, I like to put my fingers deep into my ears, so I can’t hear a thing and just look up in the sky. I like to sit in my hotel room and I like to close my eyes, breathe in really deep and just imagine that the room is really high and that I’m on top of this pier and the ground is really far down. That’s really nice, I think. It’s nice to kind of imagine myself being in the middle of this huge space. Or, I really like taking baths. When you put your head under the water, it’s completely quiet.You can hear your own heartbeat and I find that really relaxing. I would recommend that.

Is there anything that you feel that I have missed over the course of this interview that you would like to add?
No. I think you’ve asked quite nice questions. I’m very excited for the release (ED: A Different Kind Of Human: Step II). I’ve hidden many clues. And, you’re right, it’s all very connected, all the way up to my first album to now. It’s all a part of this big, emotional process. Step II has a really big voice! It’s getting quite political now. It’s very exciting!

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Follow AURORA

Facebook | Instagram | ​Twitter | Spotify | Apple Music

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