” I love creepy, disgusting and morbid things”
Oct 29, 2016 12:05:22 GMT
AURONRA, aurorafan, and 10 more like this
Post by AksWarrior on Oct 29, 2016 12:05:22 GMT
Original article:
www.artiestennieuws.nl/60998/interview-aurora-tivolivredenburg
Interview – Aurora:” I love creepy,
disgusting and morbid things”
written by: Jasper, october 25th 2016
It's Thursday, October 19th. On this bleak and cold autumn day in Utrecht the only 20-year-old Norwegian singer Aurora will be performing at TivoliVredenburg. Before the concert, we have the honor to speak to her. This covers among others the advantages and disadvantages of fame, the Norwegian language, her favorite animals ... and heavy metal!
In a well-stocked greenroom we are waiting for Aurora. Her tour manager tells us that she wandering about, somewhere, everywhere. We wait patiently, because it’s not every day you’re bestowed the honor to interview a super talent like Aurora. After a while a small young woman with braided silvery hair and cheerful striped stockings comes walking in. There’s no doubt: this is Aurora. The artistic singer sets herself at the table, somewhat uncomfortable, and slides her phone, decorated with a frog sticker, to the side in order to focus on our questions:
Fame, lyrics and music.
Have you been able to see some of the city?
"Yes, I've been here a few times before. I find it a very beautiful city! I do not always have the time to see the area when I perform somewhere, but if I get the chance, I wander around. "
You have become well known in a relatively short time. Doesn’t that feel a bit overwhelming at times?
"It feels strange sometimes, but fortunately I do not always feel all the attention I get physically. I only feel it when I'm on stage and when people in the street ask for an autograph or a picture. But I don’t really feel it when I am at home or in the car, or while having lunch in a weird place in Utrecht, haha. I think I'm actually glad that I do not always feel it, because I'm not sure I'd like that. "
“I think I would be the worst famous person,
I don't think I'm destined to be really famous.”
I don't think I'm destined to be really famous.”
Do you sometimes find yourself longing for the times you weren’t in the spotlight so much?
"Oh yeah, absolutely; I think I always will. But I think that it's worth it because it is the price you have to pay. On the one hand, I can not do what I like without my fans; I need my wonderful fans. But I can not walk around like a normal person, because I have fans.
So it's a little weird sometimes, but I think most fans understand that I am who I am. Especially in Norway they understand that; they look and stare sometimes but leave me alone; I really appreciate that. "
You released your debut album this year. But there are songs, such as My Heart Is a Storm, that did not make the album. Do you think that’s a shame?
"Sometimes, but I’m not in a hurry. There are even many songs on the album which I have rejected at first. I said, "I think they can be better, so I'll wait." I like to take some more time to fix and perfect my 'babies'. "
The songs that didn’t make it on the album are still options for future albums?
"Yes, definitely! If I think a song is good and I 'feel it', like with My Heart Is a Storm, I want to create the best possible “atmosphere”for it. "
We also wanted to ask you about a specific older song, on the “Running with the Wolves EP”: In Boxes. Could you tell us more about the story of the song?
"I really love horror and creepy and disgusting things; I'm very morbid, I like morbid things .. Sometimes I put pretty disgusting metaphores in my songs.
I even wrote two new songs for the same woman as in boxes, so you will hear more of her story in the future! But she's so very lonely, and she goes hunting for men who can keep her company. She cuts the favorite parts of men, such as the hands and eyes, and put them in boxes. It makes her happy, for a while,.... because she has so much company, but ultimately she remains lonely. She does not really understand what she’s doing or why she feels lonely.
I like to have a woman as a dangerous villain, not just a scary man. It makes it more interesting; she is a beautiful and charismatic woman who can seduce men and then… just kills them. The woman is obviously a criminal, but has not been arrested by the police. She is very strange and very dangerous. She does not do it to be mean, it's just ... what she likes to do. She shouldn’t do it, but she does anyway, and I háve to sing about it, hah!
It's actually a terrible story, and my mother hates it too. She always says: Why do you need to write about such horrible things?"and then I say, 'oh, I just love morbid stories, haha."
Norwegian language and nature.
You started making music and writing lyrics at a young age, when did you start writing in English? Did you initially just write in Norwegian?
"I've never told anyone this, so you are the first to know!
I started writing songs and poems in Norwegian when I was 6, 7 and 8 year old. When I was 9, I had already learned some English, because they teach us English in Norway starting at the age of 6. But I already spoke pretty good English, because I read a lot of English children's books, watched English movies; it's quite easy to learn in Norway, because the language is everywhere.
So I think I started writing in English when I was nine, because I thought, 'my heroes write in English’. And moreover it is a very poetic language. "
But did you sometimes have words or phrases in mind that sound good in Norwegian but do not translate well to English?
"Oh, absolutely! Because in English you sometimes don’t have enough words. In Norway we have three words for 'I love you', to indicate that you really love someone, or that you love someone as a friend and even that you like a family member. "
"The English 'I love you' is not enough when it comes to
expressing different kinds of love, which I find strange.”
expressing different kinds of love, which I find strange.”
"However, I sometimes still write in Norwegian. And I think that, maybe, on my second album I will be releasing a Norwegian song to get people to know my language. "
In your music, videos and album art we find many animals and nature. At a young age you were probably inspired most by your local natural surroundings but are there are other types of places in nature that you find inspiring, now you are traveling around the world?
"Oh absolutely! Because nature in Norway itself is quite nice; For example, we have very dramatic mountains and fjords. However, from afar they look very small. And when you go into the woods, it is very full; the trees are very close to each other, and there are many plants. It is very cluttered in the forest, it is not open. However, I have been to places now, even in the mountains, where it is very wide and lonely. And I like that, I really like to be in open areas: especially in Iceland, in many places in Canada and in North America.
I feel very attracted to cold spots. I take in nature so much more when it's cold, because when it's hot I become stressed. Then I look down all the time and I want to go back to bed to be alone, where no one can see me. "
"I don’t like it if it’s very light, sunny and warm,
I feel naked….."
I feel naked….."
So this is probably your favorite time of year?
"Yes, yes, I really feel it in my belly that I'm so happy! When I see the rain outside and everyone says "Nooo!" I shout "Yeah, I love autumn! '"
Now we're on the subject of nature; do you have any favorite animals?
"The Frog! And polar bears. I do like big animals and the polar bear is it my favorite. Among the little animals I love so the frog, and my favorite insect is the moth! "
Inspirations, live performance and dance.
Often artists are asked about their favorite artists. But do you also derive inspiration from artists that most people would not likely expect you to?
"I actually think I got the most inspiration from those. For example, I do not have iTunes or Spotify, and I really do not listen to most things that many people listen to. I do not listen to pop as often, although there are some pop artists I like. But pop can mean so many different things; I will listen to alternative pop, Scandinavian pop, and people who choose their own path.
"But I particularly like heavy metal a lot! I like Gojira, Tool and A Perfect Circle, which is almost the same. And I also love Mastodon. They are mostly very melodic, which I like."
"I've even seen them play live, about five years ago when I was only 15, haha. I also love Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, but I tell that to everyone everywhere! "
Let's talk a bit about your live performance, your dancing on the stage: Do you think about what you’re going to do or does it all come naturally?
"Well, sometimes, but not very often. Usually it just happens, because I can not stand still; that would be really weird. I think, for the most part, I want to communicate to people what I mean by the song. I'm trying to pull out all the stops to make people at least understand what the emotion of a particular song is.
I have danced at least for 10 years: from my 6th until my 16th I danced three times a week. I actually wanted to become a professional dancer, but my management said it would be better still to write music. It's still have it in me to dance, I enjoy it very much. If I was not a singer, I would therefore likely become a dancer. Or a writer or a painter, at least something artistic, hah! "
With these beautiful words we conclude the interview. After we thank Aurora, we get up to leave. The singer has a question for us:
“Would you happen to know where my stage for tonight's show is?”
If we tell her we’re not entirely sure, she decides to go look for it herself. She says “thanks” once more and then disappears from view, almost like a moth in the night ...
Text: Jasper and Kartien www.artiestennieuws.nl
Translation: AksWarrior