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