Videos from Earth Hour March 26!

Hi guys!

How are you doing?

Here are some videos from Earth Hour March 26.

Watch 'The Anger'
Watch 'Tired Of Running'
Watch 'New York'

All Love
Sophie

Little Reminder

Hi guys,

Long time no post, sorry about that!

Anyways, don't forget to vote for Carl Norén - The Anger on GOTV!

To vote, go here! 


Also, don't miss out on Carl playing in Stockholm on Saturday (Earth Hour). Attend the event HERE! 


All Love
S

Flyer/Poster/Sticker Mission for Sweden

Hello hello Villagers!

We created Flyer/Sticker/Poster artwork for you to spread and to promote the remaining gigs in Sweden.

How to get hold of them?
Just get in touch with the ambassador of Sweden via this email adress: viktoria.carlvillage@gmail.com and tell her, that you'd like to receive the PDF files to spread the word. She will send the artwork + the instructions of how to make them to you!
Note: Mission is only for Sweden! Mission for other countries will soon be up too!

Important note concerning promotion: If you'd like to leave flyers/poster in a restaurant, bar, store etc, ask the owner first if it's okay!!

That's how the artwork looks like :

artwork black

artwork grey

artwork white

Let's spread the word now!

And: Don't forget to take pictures of attending this mission and send them to carlvillage@hotmail.com!

Love

Brilliant Interview with Carl - and Chat with Gustaf!

Fellows!!

Watch this! Probably one of the best interviews so far.

The chat between Gustaf and Carl very honest, very cool!

Watch it HERE

Love
S

Carl Norén & Earth Hour

Hi guys!
On Saturday, March 26th, Carl will play (amongst others) at Katarina Kyrka In Stockholm, to celebrate Earth Hour Day.

More info can be found here!

Gig review on svd.se

Carl Norén got a very dark voice when he speaks. It shouldn't be that surprising, a lot of singers got a completely different voice when they speak. But when the blonde manboy is on stage and talks about how he almost got beaten before the concert in Rättvik, the history gets funnier by the fact he doesn't sound like Prince - more like a lumberjack from Dalarna.
In a sporty leather jacket, John Lennon's New York City t shirt, a necklace with an owl and a Hagström guitar, Norén performs the songs from his debut album Owls and chit chat between the songs. Behind him there is a choir with Lisa Skoglund, a band who play analog instruments and a bunch of synths. Although it's 13 years since Sugarplum Fairy took shape - the band Norén and his band hail from - they are still bright-eyed and energetic like if they still were teenagers.
There are a lot of Swedish music right now that point to the Prince direction but end up with a sound like Gyllene Tider. Norén's 'That's the way I like it'oaks to the Monkees direction, which actually is a much safer way to go when it comes to bubble gum. On album, the music can despite that become ingratiating cuddly. But live, a messy Saturday night, it works perfectly as entertainment. Norén and Skoglund got some cinematic Gainsbourg & Birkin moments, and Norén is so utterly comfortable with everything that goes on on the stage and in the audience that he's basically Tom Jones in sweatpants.
The whole concert feels a bit like finally going back to the graduation prom in one of the girly high school movies that came out in the late 90s. The only difference is that instead of rattling, the band play disco pop with funk tendencies and strings of synth.

Published: on svd.se, translated by Celine Jacobs

Reveal Pt. 1

Navigation looks like this!

Something's in the middle here, we won't reveal what it is....yet 

That's how it looks like if you follow the home page link ;-)

Love

Carlvillage Homepage - Coming Soon

Hi Villagers!
How's the weekend?

We know we said this many times, but an official Carlvillage homepage is coming soon! No more facebook needed to stay up to date - finally!

Stay tuned on this blog we will soon reveal first pictures of how it will look like ;-)

Enjoy the concert in Stockholm tonight (well those who are attending it) and check out a few pictures from Åsa from last night HERE

Love
L&S

English translation of the interview on Sydsvenskan.se

Most people are aware of the fact Carl from Sugarplum Fairy is going solo now. The debut album got released February 23. Tonight he'll play at Mejeriet in Lund.

- It's an incredible rush of adrenaline to enter the stage and play in front of 50,000 people. The rush is so powerful the everyday life can get boring afterwards, says Carl Norén when he talks about how megalomania and hubris easily gets on a young artist.

He's glad he has experienced the thing between teenager and 20-something when he toured with Sugarplum Fairy. He thinks that it was good that he got to experience that then and not now when he's almost in his thirties.

- The everyday life and calmness becomes more interesting, I've already experienced the other thing in an early age, says Carl Norén.

But all Carl's concerts haven't been of the monstrous size. When Musikhjälpen last fall collected money to stop child trafficking, Carl offered some auction items. One of the things was a home gig where the winner got a concert with Carl Norén at home.

It's a huge step from a venue with 50,000 people to a home gig, but Carl Norén sees the allure of the small things in life.

- Such things are fun to do, we did a similar thing in Lund before christmas, where we played in a student hall. It was someone who had won a competition. To do such small gigs at peoples' houses is very rewarding. A little more focus on the music when all the people get to sit down and listen to the songs acoustic, says Carl Norén.

Carl Norén often gets questions about his brothers' music careers. The two years younger brother Victor Norén is also known from Sugarplum Fairy, and currently with his solo project Viktorious. One of the frontmen of Mando Diao, Gustaf Norén, is Carl's two years older brother. He doesn't get questions about he cousin and hip hop artist Prop Dylan (Per Norén) very often though.

- He's a very talented rapper and works with DJ Premier now, so he has also succeeded with the music, says Carl Norén.

He's sick and tired of the preconceived ideas which get spread about him and his brothers. He thinks they get portrayed as arrogant 'louts' and 'retro rockers'.

- Last Saturday, someone who was going to review my gig twittered that he was going to listen to 'the lout rocker Carl Norén'. I'm 27 years old now and play folk music, so I don't know if I'm a 'lout rocker'. We're not arrogant, we're pretty decent guys and none of us listen to retro rock, all of us got a quite modern taste of music and listen to hip hop, Carl Norén tells us.

The Borlänge son lives in Stockholm at the moment, but it's not a city where he sees himself in his hat for the rest of his life.

- I would like to live in a smaller city. Live in a house. I would consider living in the south actually.

Carl Norén actually recorded his first record with Sugarplum Fairy in Lund, so the link to Skåne is there.

- It was so calm and nice to have the lowland around us, especially when you're used to being in Dalarna. It's really beautiful, says Carl Norén.

Published: yesterday at sydsvenskan.se

Translated by Celine Jacobs

Interview with Carl on sydsvenskan

Hi folks!

Here you can read an interview with Carl. It's in swedish, but translation will come soon :)

We are thinking of all the people in japan!!

And also thinking of Carl who will play in Lund tonight. People who are there: Enjoy :)

Love

Introducing - The Village Council

Names: Laura & Sophie
Last Names: Vanoni & Ganzmann
City: Basel
Country: Switzerland
Ages: 21&21


Laura's Motivation:
Well, I guess my motivation is pretty much the same as yours, I fell madly in love with Carl's songs the minute I heard them for the first time. I got completely addicted to his voice and the lyrics. The lyrics especially grew on me. I want as many people as possible to hear them...So here I am trying to reach that goal, and the fact that there are so many villagers we can count on, that Carlvillage became a friendly place keeps me going.
(P.S. that Sophie and I started that Street Team was kinda a coincidence, we're still amazed by the growth of it, so a BIG thanks to you guys!)
Sophie's Motivation:
Well, I have to walk down memory lane a little bit. Ever since I heard Sugarplum Fairy for the first time, I fell in love with their music and especially with Carl's voice. And I must admit, I always wanted to hear more from Carl. So when I read about his solo project in his blog, it was like a dream coming true. Then, when I heard him live for the first time (solo) and heard the heartbreaking 'Going Out Tonight' I was crying like a baby up until Mando Diao started their show (Laura has to add: If you were at that Mando gig in Munich, yes we were the two girls who couldn't hold their tears back:P). And then I knew: This man has so much to give with his music and I want to do whatever it takes to make his music heard. And that is why I put so much effort in the promotion of Carl's music. 


Which song on Owls grew especially to you?
Laura: Gosh I guess I have to get really cliché.... Cause I can’t decide .So here my try to answer:

The song which means the most to me is Going out tonight, it brought my safely over many rough patches since I heard it the first time

The song which ALWAYS takes my breath is spirited away

And the song I like the album version of it the most is definitely Tired  of Running...

Sophie: You know, I hate this question. If I answer this question based on my emotions it must be Going Out Tonight. If I answer this question based on my own musical talent it must be Tired Of Running. If I answer this question based on my love for Carl’s voice, it must be Dawn. 

Best Carl moment/concert so far?

Laura: Definitely when I heard spirited away fort he first time at the recordstore gig at P&L 2010... I’ve never been so happy/sad and lonely while being with so many friends ever before, kinda a special, strange and magic feeling/moment.

Sophie adds: I was kind of confused during this song. She looked so sad and at the same time so happy so I didn’t really know how to act :P

Sophie: Well, for me it’s also the gig at the recordstore P&L  2010, but for a different reason. There were not many people, it was a very intimate concert and when Carl sat into the crowd, I guess this was one of the most amazing gestures I’ve ever experienced a musican doing. 

Guesses about the future – where do you see yourselves in 10 years? ;-)

Laura: I’m so boring, cause 10 years from now I will still love music, My favourite thing to do will still be spending time with my loved ones and If everything works out according to that famous ‚’’ life-plan’’ i’ll have a couple of kids and be an Elementary school teacher...

See sooooo boring ( but I love the Idea of it :P)

Sophie adds and asks herself: how can life be boring as elementary school teacher with all those bracelets wearers with jam on their hands? ;-)

Sophie: Okay, where I would like to see myself in 10 years : practically I still want to be doing the same thing. Promoting an artist whose music I love and adore and earn my money with it. In Sophie’s dreamworld: I will be rocking the stage with my own music ;-)

Laura adds: In Laura’s dreamworld (which of course will become reality ;-)  ) Sophie will Rock the stages of the world too :P

And last but not least: What do we actually think about each other?

Laura says about Sophie:

Sophie's one of the most creative persons I know. She's been a close friend for years by now. She's always fun to be around. She's addicted to music and coffee, and it's suicidal to take either one away from her. We've been to many many concerts together over the years and it sill amazes me how she seems to suck in good live music like a drug ;-) She's in with all of her heart and soul once she decided a project (like Carlvillage) is worth her time. All in all she's the best team mate one could wish for to be with, while working on a project like Carlvillage. 

Sophie says about Laura:

Laura has been the first female person I got a long with. What connects us? Apart from many things: the love for music. You could say I educated her musically. I filled her Ipod with all kind of artists she didn't know, made her go to concerts with me. Hehe ;-) One of those artists she didn't know was Sugarplum Fairy btw. You can really depend on her, if you need her, she's there, no questions asked. That makes it so great to work with her on a project like Carlvillage. We get along and understand each other blindly and everything goes hand in hand. Her being as crazy as I am is another plus in this collaboration ;-) 


All Love,
Laura and Sophie :) 

Long interview with Carl + some before unpublished photos

Carl Norén, who has just released a record, is the 'middle brother' of three musical brothers from Borlänge. After eleven years in the band Sugarplum Fairy with his younger brother Victor, he tests his own wings with the new album Owls which is produced by his older brother Gustaf's Mando Diao colleague Mats Björke. Rodeo meets Carl half an hour between the release and tour to talk about Russian literature, reviews and music that makes him happy.

CARL NORÉN, WHO ARE YOU APART FROM THAT 'HANDSOME GUY'?
- Haha, is that a general perception? I'm a person who is curious, quite funny, happy and who likes to hang out with happy people.

WHAT DO YOU USUALLY DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORKING [WITH THE MUSIC]?
- I study. And then I read and look tings up. I usually start with different projects to conquer a topic or a subject. Like when I decided to read almost all Russian literature I could find.
WHERE DOES THE FASCINATION OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE COME FROM?
- I come from a family where reading has been respected, a bit too highly, and mum always bragged about her reading all the classics already at the age of 13. So after I began listening to classics on CDs I decided to read them instead. The Russian books were the most difficult ones, so I started off with them. I read a lot of them and eventually I found it fun.

"A review is for people with no taste of music, a person with a taste of music doesn't need to read reviews."

CAN WE FIND TRACES OF THIS IN THE SONGS YOU'VE WRITTEN NOW? SINCE IT'S VERY ROMANTIC AND EMOTIONALLY CHARGED , DOES IT GOT SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE LITERATURE?
- Yes, it definitely has. I guess we're afraid of being romantic in this way as it is today. Always what's cool, but the things that haven't been changed is romantic, or love, or real emotions, or children who are ashamed of their parents. Some feelings are constant and those are the feelings you can relate to.

IS IT DIFFICULT TO TAKE CRITICISM ON A RECORD THAT IS THIS PERSONAL?

- No, not at all. I don't know the people who wrights them [the reviews]. If they don't like the music, it's not for them. Music is as subjective as something can possibly be, you hear a tone and get an emotion (inside of you), and that emotion is completely unique for everyone. Reviews are for people who doesn't have a taste of music, a person with a taste of music doesn't need to read any reviews. They all know that Lykke Li's new song is good, they don't need to read in the newspaper that it has gotten 5 out of 5.
YOU GOT 3 OUT OF 5 IN DN, DOESN'T THAT MATTER WHATSOEVER?
- Oh, okey. Three, mhm okey. I don't know what that means, three out of five, well, that's good. I didn't expect to get more than that.
SORRY I THROW IT IN YOUR FACE!
- Nah.. Sugarplum for instance have never recieved anything more than 3 out of 5 in DN, so they won't suddenly throw four or five to you. If they have said you're 3, then you are.

SO WHAT YOU MEAN IS THAT YOU'LL ALWAYS BE CLASSIFIED AS THAT AND THAT CANT CHANGE?
- Then that would require a major change. But of course new generations of critics will appear.. and if I get 3 in DN then maybe I can get 5 in Germany or Japan. If I go to the US then maybe I'll get 5 there, or a minus, maybe I get a minus in other countries and then 3 in DN will be something great. In a way it's completely unnecessary to care about it. I never read any reviews, because in a review you often get to read "that was good and that was less good", and to get that in my head and start thinking about it.. then I would become schizophrenic. "I can't write that because DN wouldn't like that", that's not what you're going for.
SO YOU HANDLE IT BY AVOIDING CRITICISM?
- Yes, but it's a bit silly with reviews since no one buys any records, and no one spends any money on an unnecessary product. Then it's more "don't go online on Spority and listen to this in five minues". But time isn't that valuable that we don't have time to listen to music. If you read a review of a play for instance, you can't find 3 or 5 there. Because they think a literary play is higher, it can't just be reduced to a number. What they should do with the reviews is to remove the numbers, just wright a text and review what is high culture. As long as they'll put numbers we will always be oppressed to the popular culture.

"My music is more like home cooked meal and his is more like in the way they try to analyze what food the customers want to have with plenty of professional chefs cooking it."

TELL ME ABOUT YOUR RECORD OWLS!
- It's a very honest and creative record. It's made without any money whatsoever which means we had to conjure all the time. But then it's also a record made without the plan to ever get released. It was meant for a few supporters, for family and friends or the fact I just wanted to make a record. I didn't have a record deal when we made the record, no advances or anyone who paid for it. I just took a job and started. I wrote the songs when we had finished up with Sugarplum, so I wrote them for myself as well. It's a big difference and it doesn't turn out that way very often.

YOUR BROTHER VICTOR, HE'S ALSO GOING SOLO RIGHT NOW. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN YOUR PROJECTS?
- He's using song writers. If you do that, the music turns out more directed and analized. In Victor's case they want it to sound commercial and in this way it somehow gets more professional and some people would say less personal. My music is a bit like home cooked meal and his is more like in the way they try to analyze what food the customers want to have with plenty of professional chefs cooking it.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
- I'm going to release the record in other countries and start touring. And then I'll start with a new record, since it takes a while to make one.
YEAH, I READ SOMEWHERE THAT YOU HAD ALREADY BEGUN WRITING NEW SONGS, IN WHICH DIRECTION WILL THE RECORD BE IN?
- It's almost impossible to make a record that is like the last one, because I don't feel the same way. Some parts of this record is very sad because I felt that I would never play music again, and I don't feel like that now. To make the second record is the most difficult thing you can do, really difficult, especially when you wrote all of the songs by yourself. It's almost impossible, but I'm working on it.

"For some reason Eminem and Lil Wayne now dress like me, with skinny, black jeans and hoodies."

AND YOU'RE WRITING NEW MATERIAL TO SUGARPLUM FAIRY, WILL THERE BE ANOTHER RECORD?
- Yes, I definitely hope so! It would be really nice to make another Sugarplum record as well. I can imagine it will be out about the same time as my second record, which I plan to release in 2012.
WE TALKED A BIT ABOUT FASHION AND MODERNITY BEFORE, HOW AWARE ARE YOU WHEN IT COMES TO STYLE? DO YOU THINK MUCH ABOUT CLOTHES WHEN IT COMES TO IMAGE AND BRANDS?
- No, it's almost like with music, I know how I want to dress myself and this is the way I've been dressed all the time. But then sometimes it's like fashion is catching up on my style and I'm catching up on fashion in some way, and for some reason Eminem and Lil Wayne have started to dress like me, with skinny, black jeans and hoodies. So apparently I dress like a hiphoper now. I go for a nice confortable style, but my jeans are way too skinny to fit comfortably. I gotta buy better jeans.
YOU ARE QUITE AWARE THOUGH!
- That's more because I see things. I'm good at seeing interior and such things, but it's not like I'm interested in buying a bandanna from the 70s because it's of a certain brand, you know?
CARL'S FAVOURITE MUSIC AT THE MOMENT:
Nick Drake
Yelawolf – Pop The Trunk
Chris Brown ft. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – Look At Me Now (absolutely mental!)
PJ Harveys nya skiva
Nick Cave
Leonard Cohen

Published: on rodeo.net, translated by Celine Jacobs

Found: Ambassadors for Sweden & Germany

Hi folks!

We're so happy to announce that we finally found the first 2 ambassadors of Carlvillage. We're introducing to you Alex, she's the Carlvillage -Ambassador of Germany and Viktoria, she's the Carlvillage - Ambassador of Sweden! Congrats, girls.
We think we have found 2 great girls to start with and now we're looking forward to get more in different countries.


What's your job as ambassador? 
You will help us (village council) to realize missions in your home country.

Interested? Send us an email to carlvillage@hotmail.com if you are!
Your application should include the following information:

• current photograph
• last name, name, country, city, age
• Why we shoud pick you
• What your motivation is
• Whether you have Street Team experience or not
• and answer the question: What a mission would look like if you had to create one and how you would organize it

We're looking forward to find more qualified ambassadors for other countries.

Lots of Love
Laura&Sophie

We need your help!

Hi guys!

Radio Virus plays loads of Carl Norén. Now we need your help.

Follow this link and answer this little questioning about 'The Anger'

Choose:
I have heard this song (Ich habe diesen Song) 
before (schon gehört)
Rate it with 5 stars (absolutely genius) and choose
Ich möchte diesen Song häufiger hören(I want to hear this song more often)
Choose gender, age and add your email and click on 'senden' and you're done!

CLICK HERE to check out the screenshot :)

Thank you! More missions will come soon,

Love
Sophie

Tour kick off - TODAY!

Carl's tour in Sweden starts TODAY, be sure to attend&share the events I just created on Facebook!
You might recognize some familiar faces up on stage ;-)

Tonight: Norrtälje, Moberg!

Enjoy the show and take pictures ;-)

Love,
Sophie

A quiet observer - Article/Interview

"He felt the need to say how it was. The conflicts, the anger, the fights - everything was going to be put in light. When one of the frontmen of Sugarplum Fairy, Carl Norén, went solo he did it without a censorship. And with a wise owl next to him."

He's sitting on a chair and is watching 16 curious listeners. Above everyone else. He keeps them on the gridiron. Carl Norén’s student corridor tour has arrived in Gothenburg and the host of the evening is spirited but a bit restless.
- Can’t you play something we can dance to? I’m in a party mood!
- That atmosphere we’re going to get rid of, says Carl and a calm, acoustic version of 'The Anger' begins.
Carl was a Wednesday child and a 'middle child'. He had a safe childhood in Borlänge with his brothers and his friends. They hung out and constantly acknowledged each other. The music was also there in early days with a piano in the living room. Above the piano, you could find the cover of With The Beatles framed – four guys with the same haircut as the three boys. When mum got to decide, the style was of course the potty haircut, in true Beatles style. But it wasn’t until the first gramophone got broken that the three brothers began doing their own music.
Years past by and the safe atmosphere back home got changed into the insecure teens – knitted sweaters to wide and loose-fitting hooded sweaters in hip hop style. When Carl had reached 7^th grade, hip hop was everything for the Norén brothers. They were listening to Tupac and started the hip hop band Thug Brothers. Carl and his younger brother Victor were West Coast, West Side and spent the days in the shopping mall Kupolen in Borlänge, where they were checking out girls. It was also at that point games and jokes started to get serious. Different gangs took shape, some of them more cold blooded than others. The Norén brothers stayed on their side and stayed out of it and got to see how the city started to look more and more like a lawless country. They saw 14-year-olds who started with criminality, violence and drugs. When Carl was 15 years old he got offered to deal drugs.
- It was odd. We were still messing around but had ended up in a tough atmosphere, he remembers.
Eventually it had gone too far and Carl and Victor let go of the hip hop. A movie about The Doors with Val Kilmer showed the way to the next step and at the end of the 90s the brothers had become hippies and Sugarplum Fairy began to take shape.
But the gangs were still there. Carl remembers that the fights were many between gangs and other groups, who were still pretending to be gangsters. There could be fights because of what you looked like. At the end of the 90s and at the beginning of the next decade, Borlänge had a dark chapter.


Tired of the fights
The 16 listeners have now accepted the calmness and the darkness and are now listening carefully and with wide eyes when Carl starts to play songs from the forthcoming solo debut. The lyrics which suggest frustration oaks out in the 25 square feet small room. He’s tired of hunting, tired of improving himself, tired of the anger and the fights. Everything relationships bring to you. The album 'Owls' point towards the problems and has been given the appropriate release date February 14. The line 'tired of the anger' keeps coming back. In one moment towards a girl, in another towards a friend or towards the brothers. In our meeting earlier this day I asked if the album is a kind of protest, a call for help about reconciliation, and Carl approves the thought. But the reaction from people close to him hasn’t ended up in discussions.
- No, it hasn’t. After a while it all gets better. And besides, some of the songs does show a more hopeful side. That you would like to do something about it. But most of the time you choose not to do anything about it and leave it behind instead. What’s how it works in Sweden. We’re afraid of conflicts.
Carl talks slowly. He talks about the worst sides of a relationship. With vivid descriptions, well thought through sentences and with an accent that screams Dalarna he tells us why it was time to go solo and the good sides of not having to compromise. It’s not until now Carl feels that he’s doing what he’s intended to do. Music without commercial shortcuts and music containing themes which have grown inside of him for a long time. He doesn’t want a label guy to change that.
- I don’t want the focus to be on looks or presentation. The music should be free from preconceptions and shouldn’t be in a particular 'group'.


The story about Borlänge
Borlänge is a mill city. During the 60s and 70s, boys went to the mill where they got raised by the elderly. The whole tradition disappeared thanks to commercialism, says Carl. It was a big change, people began to work more. The boys were now free and they had to take care of themselves. Absent parents contributed to young people looking elsewhere for role models. On the same time, Vänsterpartiet and Socialdemokraterna had many votes in Borlänge and people wanted to help out. Foster families and rehabs were a big part of the city during the 80s. People got treated and later on they got out to the community and many of them fell back to a destructive way of living.
- So it has been a bit of a social distress during the 80s and due to that, criminal gangs appeared, says Carl.
He got old friends who have taken an overdose; some of them have been junkies since the age of 15-16. But he chose another way. He moved to Stockholm.
At first it was only to run away from a problem which had followed him a while back and locked him up.
- When I moved to Stockholm, I was afraid as soon as the time past 10pm and I was out on the streets. I remember I initially ran. And although he left the city behind him, he had become a part of the city’s attitude.
- You looked at people in a particular way, cold and hard and with your chin high up.
Now when Carl go solo he does it with hindsight. With friends who have come and gone in fresh memory and with a way he has followed his whole life: his own. To be strong enough to ignore external pressure, but on the same time be experienced enough to be humble.
It feels natural that he takes help from one of the nature’s wisest animals. An animal which once upon a time had an important role in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks. The title 'Owl's is in fact a direct reference.
- "The owls are not what they seem to be", like they say and that’s exactly the way it is. A little owl sitting there in the middle of the night and got full control, when others don’t even dare to go out. It has become a symbol for intelligence. The owls are high up and are watching you, with some kind of solution to the problems.
But they don't tell anyone.
- Exactly, they just sit there.


CARL NORÉN VS VIKTORIOUS
There won’t be only one but two records released in the name Norén during the spring. Not only Carl Norén will release a record, Victor Norén aka Viktorious will also release a solo album: I Am Hope.
You and Victor have decided to go for two diametrically careers. As far as I understand you don’t see that as a problem, but how come the two of you took the step towards a solo career at the same time?
- Maybe one of the reasons is because we didn’t do another Sugarplum album, we didn’t have the same ideas. I didn’t want songwriters to write our songs, nur get presented as some kind of an idol, like Victor wanted.
The fact you embraced two different genres wasn’t something you taled through then?
- Absolutely not. There’s no way in hell I would do what Victor does, because it doesn’t interest me. The things I do now, Victor probably could have done if he wanted to, but that doesn’t interest him, that’s not the way he looks at music. His idea of music is having an idol, but I’m a bit too cynical to look at music that way. The only thing I see is the package, that it is a product and the majority of the artists are a bit like that. They move freely. The artists that have got me hooked stand above all that.
Published: In GAFFA (Swedish magazine), translated by Celine Jacobs

Carl Norén Interview - article

There's no way in hell I would do that, to be famous is not in my interest."

It's impressive with artists who are humble to their existence.

That they don't take things for granted and assume that they got the whole world in front of them just because they have released a record. That's my first impression of Carl Norén when I meet him in a small room at Club Nalen in Stockholm. Carl is there to play on WiMP's big lanch in the middle of the day together with Norway's Donkeyboy and Denmark's Vinnie Who.

When I get to sit down with Carl it's right between two interviews with Sveriges Radio and between the soundcheck. I promise the EMI guy that it won't take long, because they have to go get a synth. I tell the EMI guy that "it will probably take 15 minutes" before he hurry to the car which he has parked at a not so good place with a high risk of getting fines.
Carl seems to have the steam since the previous interviews, he talks much and gives me long answers to each question, and he doesn't seem even the slightest bit worried about not having time to get the synth or weather the car is parked in an imappropriate place. For me it's just nice to get the time I need. Then I can get as detailed answers as possible for my interview.
Yesterday, Carl released his record 'Owls', which is his first album as a solo artist.

Earlier, we've seen him as one of the frontmen of Sugarplum Fairy together with his younger brother Victor. After a few disagreements, Sugarplum Fairy got put aside for a while. Victor had signed a record deal and became Viktorious - a 'product' of music producers and songwriters. That was a choice Carl wasn't completely satisfied with. He accepted the way his brother had chosen to do commercial pop music, but it wasn't the way Carl wanted to go himself.

"I started recording songs at home to put them out on Myspace, a bit like a demo band. It transformed to something big when I later on got a record deal, because I never thought I would get one."

It surprised me that Carl Norén, who isn't exactly unknown, was worried he wouldn't get signed as solo artist, but the answer was as smart as it is true:

"How many Noréns do you need? - If my younger brother and my older brother had record deals, the market should be saturated."

But the fact Carl didn't have a record deal when he began writing songs on his own enabled him to focus on creating the music he likes. During the years with Sugarplum there were a lot of wills who would determine. Back then, Carl went for 'less is more' while his brother wanted to make everything so much bigger than they had to be. Arena rock was in Victor's thoughts and he thought that it should be 5, 6 guitars in each song, and Carl had to work hard to convince his brother it would get too much with that many guitars.

Now he didn't have to take in all these influences from different people when he created his own music. As an inspiration, Carl listened a lot to Cornelis, Hank Williams and classical music. He had decided not to be a copy of another band of artist's music.

"When we produced Sugarplum, we tried to get the songs to sound like other band's music. Like 'this song is gonna sound a bit like Velvet Underground', which usually didn't work out because we had a guitar that sounded a bit modern anyway."

All the job with the songs resulted in a record deal with EMI

The best thing with EMI was that they didn't want to change even a bit of what Carl had created. He had previously been to smaller labels to get signed, but those labels wanted to influence his music and make changes and decide which songs were going to be singles, something Carl wan't really up for. It was his music and the music was created in the way Carl wanted it to sound. He got that respect from EMI who took the album for what it was. But on the same time he understands the risks that comes with a major label.

"It's dangerous! They have to show numbers and it's easier to get dropped as an artist then. Right now it's good to be signed by EMI, they are up to date when it comes to Swedish music. They got artists like Me And My Army, Robyn and Lykke Li."
For Carl, the most important thing on Owls is the content of the songs. Where would be no question of catchy songs you could sing along to when you heard it for the first time. His music would convey something. Since he reads a lot and also get inspired by a number of writers, the lyrics are as important as the music.
To make a good album isn't everything though. To have the surname Norén and to be a part of Sugarplum Fairy, it takes a lot of convincing that this isn't the same thing as his old band. Carl seems to understand this and when I tell him I'm surprised the record is as good as it is, he doesn't get even the slightest bit surprised.
He understood that the album would most likely take a punch or two because of his background, but on the same time he was hoping the album would get good response from people when they had finally listened it through. Considering the reviews that have been written, it seems like most people have appreciated the album and that the grades lie on 3 or 4 out of 5. So he doesn't have to take that many punches, because a good record is a good record regardless to which preconceptions people have about the artist.
 Before we leave the tiny room so that he and the EMI guy can go to get Carl's synth, I ask him what he thinks the future holds. Sugarplum is now resting, but can resume when the inspiration is there for both the brothers.
Does he have a wish like so many other artists in Sweden to for example become popular by competing in Körslaget or Eurovision song contest?
"I will definitely not compete in Körslaget! And never in Eurovision song contest! There's no way in hell I would do that, to be famous is not in my interest."
That's something that sums up who Carl Norén is and has always been like. He's the guy who stands in the background and is pleased as long as he gets to do his thing - real music he can be proud of.
Published: on beingblogged, translated by Celine Jacobs

New Interview with Carl

Hi guys!

Check out the interview with Carl. (in swedish)

Watch it here!

Translating will come probably on Saturday! :)

Love
Sophie