Hi Hilde, can you tell me a little about who SKAAR is? Hello! Yes, I can definitely try, haha! SKAAR is a 23 year old artist and songwriter from Stord in western Norway. The artist and the person go extremely hand in hand, so I can already switch to the “me” person here! I make pop music with hints of […]
/ 10/12/2021 / Kristian DugstadHi Hilde, can you tell us a little about who SKAAR is?
Hello! Yes, I can definitely try, haha! SKAAR is a 23-year-old artist and songwriter from Stord in western Norway. The artist and the person go extremely hand in hand, so already here I can switch to the "me" person! I make pop music with hints of indie and sometimes folk, and the music is what I would call an explosion of emotions. I have always had my emotions on my body, so when the artist SKAAR started to form, communication and taking feelings and experiences seriously became incredibly important to me. I hope my music can help people take themselves and their feelings seriously!
What is your musical background?
I grew up with two older siblings who listened to a lot of music. They introduced me to bands like Coldplay, Foo Fighters and Florence + the Machine, who are still some of my biggest musical role models. I started playing guitar at the cultural school in the fifth grade, and for me it went hand in hand with writing music. It became a habit early on to play guitar and write when I was going through things, something I used as therapy for myself. Apart from an inner musical drive that actually came out of nowhere, I also went to the music class at Stord VGS where I became more and more comfortable with myself and more sure that music was the only thing I wanted to do!
You debuted as a solo artist in 2018 with the song "Higher Ground," and since then you've been in the spotlight. Can you tell us a little about your journey?
The journey has been long but at the same time terribly short, haha! There have been an incredible amount of ups and downs and being a new artist and trying to establish yourself in such an industry has not only been easy. It's absolutely crazy to think about how little I knew when I jumped into the music industry and how steep that learning curve has been. There's so much you have to know as an artist in today's society, I often feel like a jack of all trades. One day I'm an accountant, another day I'm a songwriter and artist, and most of the time most people expect me to be a media house haha! Even though there's an incredible amount of different things going on constantly, I think it's absolutely fantastic. I think I have like five adrenaline rushes every single day!
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What is it like to work as a songwriter and artist?
It's incredibly fun! I love my job and I think about music, songwriting and concept about 99% of the time. Still, it's hard to find a balance and I've gone through an extremely large number of processes within myself that have been painful and confusing when you tie the music and the artist so closely to your own person and sense of self. But what has kept me going in all periods has been the general belief that this is what I want to do, and that it's actually more fun than it is boring. And not least a desire to communicate and write about everything I experience. You never stop experiencing things, good or bad, so the plan is to keep going for AT LEAST 80 more years, haha!!
From the very first song you have collaborated with talented songwriters. What is the writing process like?
The writing process is very different from time to time! My strength in songwriting is melodies, so I usually start by finding melodies that capture something interesting or a feeling I have that day. Other times we start by just talking about our lives, and that's how we automatically find lyrics and themes. Other times I come into the studio with an idea and then we work on it. I usually listen to my gut feeling, that's how I work best!
Do you come up with finished sketches of songs, which are then worked on collaboratively in the studio, or do you write collaboratively with others?
This is very different! Sometimes I bring sketches and sometimes I start from scratch. It all depends on the mood in the room! I always think about what everyone wants when working together, because I want it to be enjoyable for everyone involved. It may not always be easy, but it will definitely be a better experience for everyone, and I think that goes hand in hand with a better product!
How do you experience writing with others, versus alone?
Very different. I'm still trying to figure out how I like to work, but it can be really hard at times! I like to be as honest as possible in my songs, and it can sometimes be painful to open up in a session with others. I find that I'm more free and vulnerable when I write alone. But it's a lot about self-confidence! I work every day to dare to take more space and be as open as possible in sessions!
You have collaborated with talented producers Askjell Solstrand and Fredrik Svabø, among others. To what extent do you feel that a song can change its character or expression during production?
I feel a song can change incredibly much in relation to the production. A song can go from one meaning to a completely different one with the help of production as I feel the music and the feeling in instrumentation and mixing can say as much about the story as the lyrics. However, when it comes to my own perception of it, I usually hear the song or demo with the potential or the end result. Since I often hear how a song can stay in my head, it doesn't have much to say about how a rough bounce is! I often trust my imagination, at least when it comes to music!
In your music we find both songs in emotional acoustic guise, and heavy pop productions. When and how do you know which expression suits a song? To what extent are you involved in producing your own songs?
I always trust my gut feeling! You try things out, go back to an old idea, or you have the path to the song laid out in front of you all at once. For me, it's all about what feels good or not! When it comes to producing songs, I feel like the concept of producer has become more and more blurry. I don't sit at the computer and press buttons, but I like to be as involved in the productions as possible. It's important to me that everything is connected, and I feel that the whole songwriting process in 2021 when you work together is about being a team. Usually everyone is involved in all processes, and that also means that you get more ownership of everything you're involved in. I think that's really great!
Do you have any favorite instruments, physical or digital, or software that you use particularly a lot?
The guitar is my main instrument and always will be! And I love the accordion and organ. I also have a great love for the recorder, but I'm probably pretty lonely in that interest haha!
Your latest single is a cover of Joni Mitchell's legendary "Both Sides Now." What made you want to release it?
When I saw Joni Mitchell had an anniversary year for a lot of her music this year, I got nostalgic and started listening to her music again. Both sides now is a song I grew up with but never really understood. Suddenly this year I understood what it was about, or at least what it meant to me. When it hit a kind of sore spot in me and my experiences over the last two years, I really wanted to record my own version of it. It was a really nice process and I was incredibly proud of the version!
How is it different working with other people's material, versus your own?
Scarier actually. When I always try to interpret it in my own way, you feel like you have someone else's "baby" in your hands. There's a lot of awe in the picture! But then I always remember that it's just music, and music is supposed to be fun! So then it always works out fine in the end.
With Christmas just around the corner, you're on many people's playlists. In 2019, you released the Christmas song It's Christmas After All. A mildly melancholic holiday tune. "I'm just crying in my room, what else am I supposed to do". What's the story behind the song?
The year I wrote It's Christmas After All I had to tell my grandmother. When I was asked to write a song for the Netflix series "Home for Christmas", it felt strange to write a song about the traditional joy of Christmas, when I knew that my Christmas would be different than before. We took on the difficult self-imposed task of writing a Christmas song about loneliness and the feeling of being extra alone when you are expected to be happy. Even though it was painful and the song is anything but happy and Christmassy, I am so glad we did it!
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The song is part of the soundtrack to Netflix's smash hit "Home for Christmas." How did you end up with that song?
I was lucky enough to get asked by my record label Warner Music Norway if I would write for the series. Of course I said yes!
Was the song written specifically for the series?
Yes it was! But when we wrote it it didn't feel that way, because it was so special to me. Now it just feels like a completely normal song I wrote, since the theme and lyrics came from my own experiences!
What is your personal relationship with Christmas?
I love Christmas! I love the feeling of a little light in an otherwise quite dark and tiring time. Every year I try to surrender myself completely to the Christmas spirit, haha!
What Christmas music do you listen to yourself?
I listen to a lot of traditional Christmas music, the big classics. I really like the old Christmas music with bells, long notes and big Disney choirs! I think I'll be home for Christmas, and White Christmas are two of my favorites!
We wish we could finish asking questions about the corona situation, but this week restrictions were introduced again. How have you and your work been affected in the last two years?
I'm really tired.. Just before the first lockdown in 2020, I played two concerts at Bylarm and had plans to play my first concert abroad, go on tour and have that festival summer. Instead, I had to go home to Stord to work in home nursing there. It has been incredibly difficult not knowing if you get to play a concert again and the feeling that all chances are just passing by and that you are sitting and waiting to be allowed to work again. Financially it has been tough, but also mentally because music and working on the project are always my biggest driving force.
In April of this year, you released the acoustic album "Waiting," a prequel to the Spellemann-nominated "The Other Side of Waiting." Is this collection of songs a direct result of the lockdown?
In a way yes and no! I had written some of the songs earlier, but many of them were just sketches. The results of the lockdown were the desire to get something done and produce music that I liked. When I suddenly got some kind of spark again after a year of pandemic, I got the idea to release an acoustic album. It gave me a great desire to look at music as a more pleasurable thing!
We can imagine that you are starving for a proper festival summer. What have you been missing that you are most looking forward to realizing?
I've missed playing concerts and meeting people around! I've never been on my own tour, and it's something I've always really wanted to do. I really want to make it happen!
What would you say is your career highlight so far?
I think it would have to be releasing two entire musical projects. Releasing "the other side of Waiting" and "Waiting" has been so much fun, and not least it has given me confidence in myself and the music. I have always loved the idea of releasing connected projects, and I have been able to do that! And I will definitely continue to do that!
Can you share your greatest music experience – as a listener?
I think my greatest music experience ever must have been Valkyrien Allstars in 2019. Suddenly I dropped in at a celebration for Folk Music Day, and there they were ready to play. It was so incredibly beautiful, raw, moving and fantastically good. It's often the things you don't plan that become the most magical experiences! And damn how cool Tuva Syvertsen is, I hope I'm half as cool as her!