PAULA JIVÉN TALKS WHAT ARE YOU HUNGRY FOR?

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 Coast TalksDaniel John

You’ve played the violin since you were three, along with the piano, accordion, and guitar. You grew up with choirs and in opera houses. I assume you don’t really view this first single as a “debut” either, since this has always been a part of your everyday life?

I have pretty much always been doing music, ever since I was little, and when I was around thirteen, I came to the realisation that it was something I wanted to work with. I applied to Sweden's Got Talent, which was a really fun experience and which has laid the foundation for what I do today. Because it's basically since then that I've been working towards this launch. It feels so incredibly good to finally get to release the music I've been working on for such a long time, and it's absolutely fantastic that the song is getting so much love.

Are you glad that you waited, that you didn’t start releasing music immediately after Sweden's Got Talent?

I’m so glad I was able to take the time to grow into myself and my creative work before I started releasing music. If someone had told me back then that it would take nearly another four years, I probably would have refused, but I’m glad it turned out this way. It’s not just about publishing your work, you also need the stamina for it. I also don’t think I really knew what I wanted, and that’s when things can easily go wrong.

This song was also written some of years back. Do you still relate to the song as much now as you did when you wrote it?

There is a lot I wrote back then that I can barely listen to now (laughs). So, yes, a lot has definitely happened! But somehow this song has stuck around. I still really relate to the version of Paula who wrote it. I actually think I’ve grown into it, and into everything it means. But I definitely don’t feel like an adult!

What was it inspired the song?

I wrote 'What Are You Hungry For?' for a friend, who was going through a fairly serious eating disorder. I wanted to offer her some kind of comfort, but I also found it difficult to understand it. I haven’t been ill myself, and I can’t speak for everyone. But in her case, she lost a lot of herself, and I wondered if she didn’t want more than that.

Do you think it touches on self-doubt or is that something different?

I can understand if parts of the song might be perceived as some form of self-doubt, and I certainly think there’s room for personal interpretation but for me the “self” isn’t the central part of the song. It’s more of a a comfort song.

As a teenager today, you’ve inevitably grown up with social media culture. Likes, followers, and whatever happens to be trending at the moment. In a world defined by TikTok hits and Minecraft-related streams, how do you define success in music?

I think social media is a fantastic tool for building a platform and reaching people, but it’s so easy for your mindset to shift in the wrong direction. Naturally, you want things to go well and to get lots of views, but when the focus shifts entirely to performance, I find it can take over the creativity. In fact, things often turn out best when I'm just coming up with things in the moment that I think are fun.

Is it important to sometimes write “badly”, just to get it out of your system, and get things moving?

Absolutely! Maybe not for the sake of it, but it’s important to allow yourself to make bad things as well. I don’t know if you need to consciously make something bad, but I do suppose the important thing is not to judge the ideas before you’ve tried them.

With your management team also representing artists such as Seinabo Sey, Vargas & Lagola and Billie Eilish, you have a lot of talented people around you. Is there anyone in particular you would especially like to have a writing session with?

I've been lucky enough to have written with so many amazing artists and songwriters! So honestly, it's above all people I miss and would love to write with again. But a dream collaboration would be to write film music with Labrinth.

Is the Spice Girls-Paula in the music video for this single indicative of the musical frame of reference you have?

I think I draw inspiration from all sorts of places! I'm actually a little too young to have experienced the Spice Girls properly, but nineties pop has still had a big influence on me. I love writing super-poppy music with catchy hooks, but I also love breaking the rules, and surprising people.

A music video that, by the way, was filmed in Paris. Dis-moi tout!

Bien sûr! Serapis, also known as SJD, who I made the video with, has played a big part in the visual side of my first EP. He was the one who came up with the idea for the video, which in itself has two main ideas. The first is the visual journey I go on, from the already-mentioned Spice Girls-Paula, to a teenage rebel, and finally a Femme Fatale-Paula. The second is the giant teddy bear, Marcus, who symbolises my sick friend, whom I'm singing to. Then you realise there is something more to it, too. I'm throwing the teddy bear against walls and hitting him, so there's more to dig into there.

What we’re hungry for is more songs. When's the next track coming out?

I’m hoping for more as soon as possible! The next single will be quite a contrast to 'What Are You Hungry For?', it’s a bit more uptempo. I’m really looking forward to releasing it!