I first encountered Richard’s work through the excellent group In Deed. Feminist power pop is always good. Now he has released his first solo album, Sounds In English. I found the songs smart, charming, and a lot of fun.
Richard was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.
Andrea Weiss: What made you decide to make a solo album?
Richard Öhrn: When I first started out recording songs completely on my own, I didn’t have any plans of making a record. I just wrote and recorded music for the joy of it. After a while, though, the number of songs were piling up, and some even sounded decent! When In Deed sort of fell asleep again, by winter 2019-2020, I decided to pick a selection of the songs I’d been working on, and to finalize the mixes good enough to make an album. I approached Big Stir Records with the idea, playing them a couple of tracks, and once they said “Yes, let’s do it,” the decision was definite. And now, two years later, it’s here.
AW: Who were you listening to at the time?
RÖ: The songs on Sounds In English have influences from a life of listening to music. Funny, though, during periods of recording and mixing, I hardly ever listened to anything else but the stuff I was working on. There were vague ideas about what to aim for as references – but it never really turned out as I’d imagined anyway, each song took its own turns until considered finished.
AW: These songs are relationship songs--some about break-ups and some about happiness. It’s a good balance. Is that contrast and complement what you were after?
RÖ: The songs were written over a long period of time, and both ups and downs of course passed over those years. I’m glad if it comes across as a good mix! I would have thought the sad and bitter vibes to be dominant. For some reason I have more creative energy when feeling down. So, for example, the song “5th Month Announcement” is a really happy lyric about the birth of my son, but once I started recording it, the whole tune became sort of sad anyway. I’m always tempted to add that extra chord to make things a just little more melancholic!
AW: I do hear the Cardigans in your music, and I know they’re an influence. What did you get from them?
RÖ: I don’t rate the Cardigans as a major influence, although I think they have made some really good songs and albums. When working with In Deed, I guess the reference is closer, with the female lead vocalist thing. I’ve actually played as a support act to the Cardigans, with a former band, The Dubs. I think it was circa 1994, just before they had their big break. Most of the audience came to watch us, not them, at that time, hahaha!
AW: You use ABBA in an unironic way, which is great and refreshing. A lot of these songs sound like “Knowing Me, Knowing You.” Were there any others in particular that influenced your sound?
RÖ: I love ABBA… as much as everyone does. I know there are some elements of sound on my album that can be traced down that lane, perhaps in a song like “Spanish Moon,” which may have a little of “Fernando”… perhaps the intro acoustic in “Take this bottle” has an ABBA sound. It will be interesting to learn what other people hear when they listen to the album. Regardless of sounds, ABBA is a great inspiration for songwriting. They do things that seem so simple but are really complex – and also the other way around, songs that are really simple but give the impression of great complexity. That is genius.
AW: I read that you've always been fascinated by the English language and think it sounds better than Swedish. How does Swedish compare to English? What do you like best about both languages?
RÖ: Hmmm… English is more singable. You can sort of bend the sound of words and phrases more easily, I think. For me, though, when writing lyrics, the obvious limitation is that English is not my native language, so the poetic field is not nearly as big as when I speak or write in Swedish. I have written a few songs in Swedish, and the words are really good, I think! But when I sing them it doesn’t sound quite right. You really need to have a certain quality of voice to make Swedish sound good.
AW: What is the scene like in Sweden now?
RÖ: I can’t really tell, you should perhaps ask my youngest daughter, ha ha! There are some good acts, but mostly veterans and/or groups that have passed their peak days. Some cool and still active Swedish acts are of course The Hives, Bob Hund, Ulf Lundell, and The Greeting.
AW: Any plans for US tour dates?
RÖ: No plans at the moment, but if the record does well, nothing is impossible. I have a musicians US visa valid for another seven years, I think. Would be a waste not to use it again!
