Post by rd on Oct 29, 2016 22:52:24 GMT
Translated by: rd
Her name predestined her current status as a pop star in her native Norway. Aurora is only 20 years, she’s self-taught, she was at “Rock en Seine” late August, pursues an international tour thanks to hits like Runaway, and enjoys the support of Katy Perry.
If it has the name, Aurora has neither the ego nor the inclinations of a pop star. She flies from city to city, from Paris where she was at Rock en Seine late August to New York where she will play in December. As her seniors could do. Because this young Norwegian celebrated 20 years last June. Never pushed by her parents but by her own desire to write and sing her lyrics, Aurora Askens immersed herself in music for more than a decade.
The first concert she gives in her high school at the age of 15, the music she delivers seems already mature. She will have to wait a year before being spotted. She didn't visit any castings or producer offices, because her purpose is not to become a star. Aurora records a title for her parents as a gift for Christmas day. A friend and without Aurora's knowledge broadcasts the piece on a streaming platform. A few months later, she signed with a Norwegian label.
Represented today by Capitol Music in France, a label of the Universal Group, she chains success with songs such as Awakenings, Runaway or Running with the wolves. Before making it on the set of “C à Vous” program, we met Aurora in Paris. She tells us about her creative process, evokes a certain schizophrenia in her writing and musical tastes and explains why she would make the worst of celebrities.
You played at Rock en Seine late August, tell us.
It was amazing. I love playing in France because the audience always give me a lot of love and energy. It was also the first time that we did a French festival this late. And it was awesome because we were playing at dusk. We started under the light, then the sun progressively evaporated. We ended up in complete darkness and it was great to see this change.
That had an influence on your performance?
Yes, a lot. We are more timid in the light, and wilder with the darkness. So, it helped me first but also the spectators. It was magical. I prefer to play at night because everyone feels less exposed and more free to sing, dance, scream and do what you want.
How did you go from high school in your hometown to the scene of a big festival?
It's the fruit of a lot of work. I was signed by my manager at Bergen in Norway at the age of 16, and since then, I have traveled, recorded and published songs. Then I started to perform on stage with a band in February 2014 at Oslo. People started to know me in Norway through that and I received a lot of attention from the radio. it's a beautiful thing to be built as an artist on stage.
Do you continue to write songs on tour?
I write all the time. I write at home too, it's very quiet, I can look at the mountains and the ocean, I write very slowly, soft pieces, sometimes sad. On tour, it's more agitated, I write faster, more unruly sounds.
How would you define your music?
I think that at the present time, it's more alternative-pop, rather dark, but also informed, because some are sad and others are happy. There is something a little schizophrenic if you can call it a genre. Schizo-pop? [Laughs] I think that this will change, because I'll change too. I don't really know how, but I'm starting to get tired and I want to try something new.
I read that you were inspired by Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, but do other contemporary artists inspire you?
There's this artist Enya, she sings like an Angel, she's Irish. her universe is magical, I love the way she uses the voice in her songs. I also love heavy metal, including a French group called Gojira, they are amazing. Their Wild Child album is great. I want to try to make my music a mix between something very extreme and something very calm, between heavy metal and the angels.
Katy Perry has supported you on twitter, what do you think of her music?
I understand that people appreciate her. I like the fact that she can write commercially but keeping this personal stuff. Firework is a beautiful message for example. I think she really helped a lot of her fans by offering them a song like that. But I don't listen to that kind of music, I often listen to quiet, classic music. I don't even know if I would listen to my songs if I was someone else.
On the cover of your album, you have butterfly wings but your body is still trapped in the cocoon. Is this a metaphor for your career as an artist?
Yes, exactly. Some of the texts have been written when I was 16, others when I was 11 years old. What's weird about this first album, is that it doesn't only represent the Aurora of today but also Aurora when she was 9 years old, and that was 10 years ago. I have this feeling that even though you can fly with your wings, you can do everything and you think you know exactly what you want but the day after, you want something else.
Finally, regarding me, I change my mind constantly. When you're a butterfly, you still have more to accomplish, and you can evolve, improve yourself and get to know it better. I am sure that the larva does not know it will become a butterfly. When you're still in the womb, there in no awareness of what is going to be. And that's my philosophy. We don't know what can happen, and it's amazing to be able to say that there is something then. We can't judge its potential before having tried everything.
Is that why you wanted to try gray hair?
I have them for a long time. I started to do so when i was 14 years, I just loved the idea that there is no distraction on my face. My hair is very blonde, but I couldn't wait to see them turn gray by themselves. I also discolors my eyebrows so that they don't attract too much attention.
Are you trying to build a character to protect you from celebrity?
I meditate a lot and do a lot of yoga. And I think I must be protected because I don't think that any human is made to be famous, it isn't something natural. and you saw as well how many people have been destroyed by fame. Because it's too difficult to bear alone. But I think that someone somewhere is watching over me.
And aren't you just afraid that this may destroy you?
Yes, and this is something very strange. When I'm at home writing or in my bed, I really didn't realize that people are listening to my music, I can't really see it. I think that i realize again how everything went fast and the proportions that it took. And I don't think I would make a good celebrity. I don't like the red carpets, it is not natural, and I'm not comfortable with hem. But I think that if you want to be a musician, it is an integral part of your business. But I didn't really choose it, I just want to write music, and I hate to be a public figure at the same time. But it's like that. I think I would be the worst star of the world.
How did you want to grow, both as a person and as an artist?
I think I want to grow up with a sense that I am no superior to anyone. Regardless of my success or my accomplishments, I am myself and my music is more important than me. I just want to give the best of Aurora.
Who is Aurora, the 20-year-old Norwegian pop star?
If it has the name, Aurora has neither the ego nor the inclinations of a pop star. She flies from city to city, from Paris where she was at Rock en Seine late August to New York where she will play in December. As her seniors could do. Because this young Norwegian celebrated 20 years last June. Never pushed by her parents but by her own desire to write and sing her lyrics, Aurora Askens immersed herself in music for more than a decade.
The first concert she gives in her high school at the age of 15, the music she delivers seems already mature. She will have to wait a year before being spotted. She didn't visit any castings or producer offices, because her purpose is not to become a star. Aurora records a title for her parents as a gift for Christmas day. A friend and without Aurora's knowledge broadcasts the piece on a streaming platform. A few months later, she signed with a Norwegian label.
Represented today by Capitol Music in France, a label of the Universal Group, she chains success with songs such as Awakenings, Runaway or Running with the wolves. Before making it on the set of “C à Vous” program, we met Aurora in Paris. She tells us about her creative process, evokes a certain schizophrenia in her writing and musical tastes and explains why she would make the worst of celebrities.
You played at Rock en Seine late August, tell us.
It was amazing. I love playing in France because the audience always give me a lot of love and energy. It was also the first time that we did a French festival this late. And it was awesome because we were playing at dusk. We started under the light, then the sun progressively evaporated. We ended up in complete darkness and it was great to see this change.
That had an influence on your performance?
Yes, a lot. We are more timid in the light, and wilder with the darkness. So, it helped me first but also the spectators. It was magical. I prefer to play at night because everyone feels less exposed and more free to sing, dance, scream and do what you want.
How did you go from high school in your hometown to the scene of a big festival?
It's the fruit of a lot of work. I was signed by my manager at Bergen in Norway at the age of 16, and since then, I have traveled, recorded and published songs. Then I started to perform on stage with a band in February 2014 at Oslo. People started to know me in Norway through that and I received a lot of attention from the radio. it's a beautiful thing to be built as an artist on stage.
Do you continue to write songs on tour?
I write all the time. I write at home too, it's very quiet, I can look at the mountains and the ocean, I write very slowly, soft pieces, sometimes sad. On tour, it's more agitated, I write faster, more unruly sounds.
How would you define your music?
I think that at the present time, it's more alternative-pop, rather dark, but also informed, because some are sad and others are happy. There is something a little schizophrenic if you can call it a genre. Schizo-pop? [Laughs] I think that this will change, because I'll change too. I don't really know how, but I'm starting to get tired and I want to try something new.
I read that you were inspired by Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan, but do other contemporary artists inspire you?
There's this artist Enya, she sings like an Angel, she's Irish. her universe is magical, I love the way she uses the voice in her songs. I also love heavy metal, including a French group called Gojira, they are amazing. Their Wild Child album is great. I want to try to make my music a mix between something very extreme and something very calm, between heavy metal and the angels.
Katy Perry has supported you on twitter, what do you think of her music?
I understand that people appreciate her. I like the fact that she can write commercially but keeping this personal stuff. Firework is a beautiful message for example. I think she really helped a lot of her fans by offering them a song like that. But I don't listen to that kind of music, I often listen to quiet, classic music. I don't even know if I would listen to my songs if I was someone else.
On the cover of your album, you have butterfly wings but your body is still trapped in the cocoon. Is this a metaphor for your career as an artist?
Yes, exactly. Some of the texts have been written when I was 16, others when I was 11 years old. What's weird about this first album, is that it doesn't only represent the Aurora of today but also Aurora when she was 9 years old, and that was 10 years ago. I have this feeling that even though you can fly with your wings, you can do everything and you think you know exactly what you want but the day after, you want something else.
Finally, regarding me, I change my mind constantly. When you're a butterfly, you still have more to accomplish, and you can evolve, improve yourself and get to know it better. I am sure that the larva does not know it will become a butterfly. When you're still in the womb, there in no awareness of what is going to be. And that's my philosophy. We don't know what can happen, and it's amazing to be able to say that there is something then. We can't judge its potential before having tried everything.
Is that why you wanted to try gray hair?
I have them for a long time. I started to do so when i was 14 years, I just loved the idea that there is no distraction on my face. My hair is very blonde, but I couldn't wait to see them turn gray by themselves. I also discolors my eyebrows so that they don't attract too much attention.
Are you trying to build a character to protect you from celebrity?
I meditate a lot and do a lot of yoga. And I think I must be protected because I don't think that any human is made to be famous, it isn't something natural. and you saw as well how many people have been destroyed by fame. Because it's too difficult to bear alone. But I think that someone somewhere is watching over me.
And aren't you just afraid that this may destroy you?
Yes, and this is something very strange. When I'm at home writing or in my bed, I really didn't realize that people are listening to my music, I can't really see it. I think that i realize again how everything went fast and the proportions that it took. And I don't think I would make a good celebrity. I don't like the red carpets, it is not natural, and I'm not comfortable with hem. But I think that if you want to be a musician, it is an integral part of your business. But I didn't really choose it, I just want to write music, and I hate to be a public figure at the same time. But it's like that. I think I would be the worst star of the world.
How did you want to grow, both as a person and as an artist?
I think I want to grow up with a sense that I am no superior to anyone. Regardless of my success or my accomplishments, I am myself and my music is more important than me. I just want to give the best of Aurora.
