'- A line of text must first of all rock when it is spoken - before it is sung.
/ 27/05/2014 / codexText and photo: Kenneth Hätta
Torun Eriksen is not afraid to lean on others in the creative process.
– Where needed, get help – so the music inside you comes out, says Torun Eriksen.
Few of the songs on the critically acclaimed jazz musician's breakthrough album Glitter cardfrom 2003 was created at the piano, because she didn't feel strong enough there yet. The 36-year-old primarily wrote lyrics and melodies, which were taken to patient collaborator and bassist Kjetil Dalland to be arranged and finished.
– I imagined chords, sounds and voicings when I was creating the melodies, but I wasn't fully aware of it, and somehow I wasn't able to put it down on a form. There were many rounds looking for the right chords, where I sat – no, not that one, not that one – yes! That one!
– Quite helpless in a way, but better than not doing anything. It was a song, and I still believe that it is important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses in order not to get stuck.
– I want to avoid setting up obstacles for myself in the creative process. Not focusing on everything I can't do or am afraid I won't be able to do, and that prevents me from writing further. It's so important to finish something – at least finish enough to see what it can be – before considering whether it's good enough.
You are a worthy songwriter.
– Furthermore, I believe in showing what you do at some point in the process. I have someone I always show my texts to. It is important that the person likes it. your wayWhat you need is not to be put down, but loving and honest feedback.
– It is also wise not to constantly question whether you are worthy to call yourself a songwriter. It's not hard to talk yourself down and far away. There's so much vulnerability in making music. If it were just writing to a template, it would be fine.
The first song
We are sitting in the noise at the café at the Holmlia shopping center in Oslo, where Torun Eriksen lives with her husband and two children. When the family has settled down at home, the stereo is usually turned off.
– I love listening to music, but at home I do it in small doses at a time – short and intense. I have melodies in here that I would like to have peace to work on, says Eriksen, pointing carefully at himself.
She herself likes to use the piano in addition to her vocals as a working instrument when writing songs. She wrote her first song in music school, where she took lessons from both a classical singing teacher and jazz pianist Roger Jeffs, who asked the 18-year-old Eriksen to write the lyrics and melody, while he was writing the chords.
– And it became a song. We even performed it. It was a special experience to have created something myself. And it got me started as a songwriter.
– When I look back, one of the most important things that happened to me was that I went from just hearing other people's voices when I wrote, to eventually being able to recognize something that was my own. That's still what I'm looking for when I write and sing.
Must rock before it's sung
– Besides the story, the lyrics are my most important rhythmic tool and largely control the melodic choices I make, says Eriksen.
NRK's reviewer has described her lyrics as «sharp and deep, the images precise, funny and inscrutable at the same time».
When Edgar sings the anger of a thousand hearts dissolves. His own heart comes alive and let his body feel its pulse. And to this blend of beat and voice no one remains immune. And for a moment even Edgar's face turns gentle and seems less filled with gloom(between Edgar's Blues.
- A line of text must first and foremost sway when it is spoken - before it is sung. In addition, it must balance the amount of words and information. Here, the text can work both alone and together with the music. In terms of content, this is an attempt to describe a small moment that creates big changes in many people, but which has a touch of involuntaryness and surprise about it, and which no one has complete control over – least of all the person it is about. When I think I manage to clearly convey what is between the I am satisfied with the lines.
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Self-confidence
– I think it can be rewarding to dare to make the music you want without trying to predict whether it will be a hit with listeners. It has to sell, I want to reach as many people as possible, but without being controlled by what I think is necessary to achieve this. For me, it is important to have an undisturbed focus. By not being defensive and instead making what you intuitively want, hopefully your personality will come out the most.
– For me, it's a lot about having self-confidence and believing in yourself, and going for what feels right.
She thinks that those who are new could benefit from knowing that.
– It is important for new songwriters to know that those who are experienced, and who in their eyes have been successful and got it done, they struggle along too, with ups and downs throughout the writing process. It's part of making music. In terms of perseverance, it helps to have experienced that you reach your goal, but the vulnerability you can feel when trying to create something is equally present in everyone, I think.
The voice leads the way
– I still largely sing my way to the melodies I choose to use. Together with the lyrics, my voice leads the way. At rehearsals, they are presented to the band by clapping and singing. But over the years, I have become more independent when writing, and have trained myself to follow my ideas further.
The interlude on Passage of Passage From The Past from 2010, according to VG the best song on the album, where Eriksen sings in unison with the piano without lyrics, she couldn't have made it when she was younger, she believes. Today she has also become more daring when it comes to holistic ideas about arrangements.
– I try to stretch myself a little more each time I write, because a lot of it is about challenging yourself and not being afraid to land head first. At the same time, I work in a way that is natural to me. For example, I never start with the whole and go inward. I lose track. Maybe I am a typical non-producer. I work from the inside out. But then again, never say never. In a few years, I may master the opposite.
Most things can be learned
– It's not that you either know something or you don't. It's possible to train yourself to become a songwriter who constantly explores new areas within your own writing process, Eriksen believes.
She is now writing songs for a new album.
Telemarking's last album, Visits, contains only covers. After releasing three albums of self-written material, as well as the Christmas album Songs for Joy and Peace Together with Frøydis Grorud, Torun interprets a bunch of already well-known songs this time – originally performed by artists such as Glen Campbell, Prince, Tom Waits, Coldplay, D'Angelo and Pink Floyd.
– I really wanted to interpret other people's songs and stories this time. But I also did it to find inspiration to continue working on my own.