SPOP: FILIPPA TALKS NÄR FESTEN TAGIT SLUT

Behind the Coastline

You are reading an independently published interview-series published and carefully curated by Swedish pop-culture journalist Daniel John. Ever since its start in 2015, the core curiosity remains the same, surfing the creative currents of music, film, fashion and everything else on the pop-radar, catching the waves of culture as creative

Culture Coast TalksDaniel John

After a summer that had pop-Sweden a little addicted on you, it’s hardly a surprise you’re continuing into autumn. Have you basically been living in the studio for a fall just as full of music?

Thank you, what a compliment! Yes, this summer there’s been quite a lot of music-making, but I’ve also taken a lot of time off since the spring became pretty intense leading up to the EP. We have a few more releases planned for the fall, which feels incredibly exciting! But I also have many more exciting songs in my little “bank” that I’m just longing to get out.

What is this new song about?

'När festen tagit slut' is about a relationship that is quite unclear and you are trying to find some kind of sense of safety in it, despite everything.

If all the songs on the EP were a collection of thoughts and feelings which you had been carrying with you for several years, when did you write this one?

This one has also existed for quite a long time, just like the others. But it was recorded last winter so it feels quite fresh to me.

Do you usually carry songs with you for a long time before releasing them?

Some songs, like 'Svartsjuk', were only written a week before the EP was going to be finalized. But for another example, 'Beroende' had existed for the entirety of two years before it was released. So to answer your question, both yes and no.

Your last song was celebrated with a TikTok-hang before its release. How will you be celebrating this release?

Yes exactly, before the EP there was quite a big TikTok-show, and I would have loved to do that again, sometime. But this time it will be more stripped back. Though I will still do a release live on TikTok to celebrate the release together with everyone who listens.

What does it mean to you that so many people are actually listening?

It feels incredibly big to have so many people listening and I’m very grateful that what I create is appreciated.

With lyrics coming from the very bottom of your heart, doesn't it ever feel a bit scary to share such big parts of yourself as you do in your songs?

I would really say that I am quite nervous before every release. For others it might just be a song they can relate to, but for me it is kind of my life. Things I’ve actually experienced and that I am sharing. So, yes, it can be a bit scary, but at the same time I get so much love, and that makes it all worth it!

Everything seems obvious in hindsight, but maybe a few years back it wasn’t at all a given that you'd be where you are now?

Music has always been a very big part of me and my upbringing so in my head it has actually always been given and obvious that this is exactly what I'm going to do. It might sound a bit strange but I’ve always been sure that music is my path. I’ve always loved performing since I was little, wrote my first song when I was eight, and from the time I turned fourteen I’ve constantly tried to put myself in situations with people who work with music. So, during a large part of my teenage years I hung around in many different studios and got to know people in the industry that way.

You’ve now found your own voice, a voice that’s especially easy to fall for if you love Swedish–pop of the slightly ambiguous kind, where emotional highs meet emotional lows and make you want to dance your sorrows away. But before that you really did spend a long time doing collabs?

Thank you, what a lovely description, that’s exactly what I want to achieve with my music! I really think it has played a big role for me, partly for my development as an artist myself, but also as a way of getting to know myself as a music creator, since I’ve met and gotten to spend time with so many different people, I’ve been able to see a bit of this and that and now know what works for me and how I like to work. And thanks to other artists I’ve also gotten a lot of inspiration and many friends.

Is there any artist you would love to get to write with now, whether within your own music or by stepping into their world?

Yes, there are so many. The one I think of like right away is Benjamin Ingrosso, who has always been a really big inspiration for me. I'd also have loved a chance to get to write together with Daniela Rathana.