FRIDA SUNDEMO's Flashbacks & Futures
2018 IS THE YEAR TO WATCH OUT FOR INTERDIMENSIONAL-POP CHANTEUSE AND SONGWRITER, FRIDA SUNDEMO, WHO CAPTIVATES US WITH HER INTIMATE YET ASSURED INTERNATIONAL DEBUT ALBUM FLASHBACKS & FUTURES.
IN THIS INTERVIEW FRIDA TALKS ABOUT HER FASCINATION WITH SPACE AND TIME, A LARGE INSPIRATION BEHIND HER MUSIC.
PHOTOGRAPHY: VICTORIA INNOCENZI
Wardrobe: I'M BEAUTIFUL by Jin Park Showroom: PR SOLO
Hi Frida, How are you doing today?
Hi! I’m good, thank you. It’s great to be in LA. I love it here.
Do you have any plans while you’re out here?
I wish I had more time out here. But, tonight I have a show at Hotel Cafe. I’m looking forward to it!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself as an artist?
Music has always been a natural part of my life. I can’t really remember when I first discovered music, I started out playing the classical piano and French horn when I was young. Later on, I started playing the guitar. I’d always sung before, but I wasn’t writing music and creating songs with my voice. I preferred writing instrumental pieces. But that changed when the guitar came into my life. I started to write songs and I got myself a home studio and started producing. And that was a big step, because I felt like I could create a musical world of my own. I think producing a song is a huge part of writing it. I love it when you write a song on piano and guitar and it works with the vocals, but I also love it when it’s a whole production and soundscape. I love the contrasts.
When you’re producing your music do you visualize it as a film while you’re making it?
I see pictures in my head and sometimes I look at video clips in the studio and play chords when I look at the pictures. I get a lot of inspiration from motion pictures and visuals of traveling through space, under water pictures as well as drone shots.
What is it that draws you to these images?
I get a wider perspective of the world. I like space because it’s endless and you have an outer body, wider perspective. This puts me in a mood I love. It’s inspiring to me.
Your debut album, Flashbacks & Futures, What is the meaning behind the title for you?
I’ve always been super fascinated by time. Like, what is time? Sometimes it feels like it’s going super fast and then it’s going by super slow. In Flashbacks & Futures, I’m looking at myself from the outside and I see all these parallel futures to come and potential flashback parallel scenarios that could’ve happened. I’m zooming in and out on the timeline of my life in some kind of way.
What do you want people to feel when they listen to this album?
I want people to have all kinds of feelings; happy, sad, angry, confused. I think the main thing for me is to give some kind of hope, a light in the dark in some kind of way.
What was your inspiration behind the music off the album?
I found a lot of inspiration from film composers; like, Hans Zimmer, Thomas Newman and also classical composers; like, Debussy, Ravel, but also electronic producers like Para One or Boys Noize. Also, Coldplay. It’s a good range of a lot of acts.
I’m drawn in by the visuals you created around your music, Gold and We Are Dreamers. Do the visuals or music come first to you?
It’s one whole world that I’ve created in my mind. The visuals and music are all dimensions of the whole picture in some kind of way. I don’t know which came first, they go hand in hand with each other. While the lyrics and visuals are important to me, music is always the most important part to me. Whenever I write a song, I often see the visuals and see the process of that world I’m creating.
Do you feel like you bring something to the US we haven’t seen before? In other words, what makes you an individual?
You’re always so into your own project that it’s hard to see it from the outer perspective. But, I hope that if you trust your instincts and trust what you want to do, which I believe I’m doing, you’re unique in some kind of way. It’s hard to stand out, there’s so much good music in the world today.
What’s some of your favorite musicians out there today?
I’d say it’s a long time favorite Swedish artist and musician, his name is Loney Dear. He’s a real artist.
What’s been inspiring you lately?
I’ve been exploring lots of music and been open to whatever comes to my mind. I haven’t been focused on a certain path. I have some plans of wanting to work with a symphony orchestra and plan big recordings. Where other times, I feel like I just want to do small productions with piano. So, I’m in a period where I just write songs and don’t overthink it and and just see where it takes me.
What can we expect next from you?
In the next few weeks, I’m releasing an acoustic version of a song I did together with another artist, Kaspo, that’s called “Over You” that I’m featuring on. And then, next month I’m releasing the last single off my album, Flashbacks & Futures, with some remixes and an acoustic version.
Top three artists in your playlist right now?
A Brazilian artist, Doris Monteiro, John Coltrane and a Swedish artist, Johannes Räihä.
What advice would you give to other aspiring musicians out there?
Just go for it and don’t give up. Trust your instincts.
If you’re going to have a book, what title would it be?
Astronaut On Earth.
If you will be given the chance and opportunity to help a specific charity, what would it be and why?
It would be UNHCR because they’re supporting refugees in the world and stand up for their rights. I can’t imagine how it would feel like leaving your home, your friends and family.
TEAM CREDITS:
Photography & Interview: VICTORIA INNOCENZI
Styling: MADISON DIXON
Makeup: CAITLIN KRENZ@ OPUS BEAUTY USING TARTE COSMETICS