A Song Inside My Head, A Demon In My Bed

Posted on 14th Jun 07 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Oh Laura " Interview
Author: Jason Golden

When i mention the name Oh Laura i doubt many folks know who i am talking about but if i mention the Saab advert with the glorious Release Me song then maybe that will ring some bells. Oh Laura is a five"piece band from Stockholm" Sweden" consisting of FRIDA OHRN"vocals" JOCKE OLOVSSON"guitar" JOERGEN KJELLGREN"guitar" RIKARD LIDHAMN"bass and MAGNUS OLSSON"drums. OK so the names may sound alien to us irish but the music Oh Laura create sounds quite familiar" falling somewhere between the lines of Martha Wainwright" Gemma Hayes and The Cardigans

Their album "A Song Inside My Head" A Demon In My Bed" is a pretty impressive debut filled with gloriously fragile" sensuous guitar"plucked melodies" the perfect soundtrack to a summer night pushing all the way through to morning. Obvious stand"out track is Release Me where Frida excels with her haunting rustic lead vocals but further listening reveals quality right throughout the album. A Call to Arms" Black and Blue and Killer on the road show a slightly sinister side to Oh Laura and are also of note.

As the popularity of Oh Laura grows" no doubt we"ll begin to hear more and possibly see the band play a few gigs in Ireland. In anticipation Drop"d chat to Oh Laura to find out more:

For those here in Ireland yet to hear of the band what can you tell us about
Oh Laura"

We"ve been going for about 4 years" mostly writing" recording and rehearsing. It started as some sort of charity really" with Joakim and J"rgen saving Frida from a travelling circus. When we discovered her voice we felt compelled to write something for her. I mean" who wouldn"t"

When and where was your first gig as Oh Laura and how did it come together"

First gig was probably in an Australian bar here in Stockholm. I remember some of us being nervous. I also remember me not being one of them" They served pasta and shots. We were probably not brilliant but we most definitely did not suck. We had a crowd of about 50.

Has the fact that ye are from Sweden been a good or bad thing" regarding the
bands progress internationally"

Its hard to say but Sweden is one of the absolute top music countries in the world so it probably was a good thing. We like to think that we sound a bit Swedish from time to time. Is Gemma Hayes from Ireland" We like her a lot anyway"
Regarding our progress"we"ve taken a long time to decide how we want to sound and what we want to do musically. After that was sorted we went to about three record label meetings and then started making our record.

There seems to be an amazing music scene growing in Sweden over the past few
years" who would ye recommend that we check out"

Lowood" Linda Str"m" The Knife and ABBA.

Does everyone in the band have similar influences of does each member bring
their own piece to the Oh Laura sound"

The influences are pretty diverse actually" ranging from jazz to folk to" eh"dance. For this album though we talked a lot about Roy Orbinson" The Cure" Jeff Lynne and perhaps Aimee Mann" among others. The next album is going to be all about the death metal"

For many people their first experience of Oh Laura was through the Saab
advert which featured "Release Me". How important was this exposure and how did
it happen"

As we were completely unknown before "Release me" one would have to say it was pretty important"although we had already made plans to release our record this spring. Now with "Release me" the timing seems even better.
How it happened was that we were milling about in the studio while someone unbeknownst to us made some calls" pulled some strings and the next thing you know Bob"s yer uncle.

So "A song inside my head" a demon in my bed" is released later this month.
How did it feel to finally get it finished and listen to it"

We have been working really hard with the album so it was a relief to have it finished. But it"s also a bit scary since it is now too late to change anything. We"re really anxious to see what people think about it. Listening to it the first time with the songs in the right order and all that was a real kick. It was a bit like listening to another band. And a good one at that. I remember thinking: Boy that kid knows how to strum a guitar"

How do you think the internet has affected the music industry and the way
bands release music"

For us Myspace has been a good thing. However I think it only works as a booster to something that"s already happening. We get requests all the time from bands that want to be in our friends list. Apart from most of them being absolute crap I don"t think anyone will get a big break out of being friend number 4355 on our list"
Also the feedback from outside Sweden is almost instantaneous through the Internet. It makes no difference if you hear us in Poland or in the UK. You can look us up within 5 minutes and have a new favourite band.
The different music sites such as iTunes also help speeding things up for new bands. You can reach out to a lot of countries in a short time and don"t have to kiss major label ass for years before you get to do a "showcase" in a Chinese restaurant in Peckham.

Have the band any plans to come and tour here in Ireland"

Oh" we would love to play in Ireland. Hopefully this summer but there is no set dates yet. It"s in the pipeline as they say on our label.

What are your plans for the remainder of the year" Will ye be playing any
festivals"

Not sure about the festivals. Probably some. We"ll promote the album obviously so there will be a lot of gigs and perhaps a bit of TV. As we are rapidly approaching full"blown hubris there might be a massive Christmas gig with a symphonic orchestra or something along those lines. Nothing final"

Finally us folks at drop"d work with a lot of aspiring bands" what advice
would you give to people who look for a career in music"

Decide whom you are and what you want to sound like before even thinking about meeting a label. And when you do make sure you are absolutely ace. If an A"R ever tells you that you should sound a bit more like Coldplay just leave right away. Any band that comes out in the wake of another band is doomed from the start. Look what happened to The Inspiral Carpets.

And also" NO SAMPLERS""

To find out more check out www.myspace.com/laurasweden