The Norwegian singer explains what really inspired her new album, Innocence Is Kinky. Federici, Bifo, Nina Power, Tiqqun, Zizek, Occupy books—books I’ve wanted to read for a long time.
1. 1 Night in Paris
If you’re not into celebrity sex tapes, Rick Salomon is Paris Hilton’s ex, the one responsible for her infamous sex tape, 1 Night in Paris. In 2011, I worked on a trash TV project that later found its way into my album. 1 Night in Paris presents itself as about Paris, but it’s actually about Rick— his cock, his eyes, his manic chewing of gum. The more I watched this video, the more I lost interest in Paris and took interest in his stressful, somewhat desperate staging of himself.
2. Chris Kraus
Some time in 2012, I started reading after not reading a single book in many months. (I was writing a book at the time, so that was probably why.) I started with Chris Kraus; I Love Dick and Torpor are the best books I’ve read in years. She is revolutionary. Instead of trying to explain what she’s doing, I’ll give you a clue in her own words: “Why do people still not get it when we handle vulnerability like philosophy, at some remove?”
3. Getting up early (to read political theory)
While we recorded the album, I had to do something that wasn’t music every day—if only for an hour—to not shut down completely. So I got up at 7 am every day to read books, mostly political theory. I read Giorgio Agamben, Silvia
4. Music criticism
I sometimes write music commentaries or record reviews, and I’ve realized how hard it is to say something interesting about contemporary music, something that isn’t just a pile of references or a nostalgia trip, but makes sense here and now as the music is playing. Hardest of all is to say something about energy, gender and identification. Last year I got obsessed with two pieces about this: Luke Turner’s review of the Swans live album [We Rose From Your Bed With The Sun In Our Head, written for the Quietus] and Mark Richardson’s piece on Grimes and Bill Callahan [for Pitchfork]. Recommended.
5. My inferiority complex
While making this album, I wanted to sing like Nick Cave but was trapped in my own body. I wanted to feel like Michael Gira but was trapped in my own emotions. I wanted to make sound installations but had no experience with visual or sound art and felt like a loser because I made narrative, melodic music. I wanted to improvise, but I couldn’t free myself from lyrics. I wanted to write in English, but I was Norwegian and couldn’t find the words. I tried all these things anyway with varying degrees of success. — read other installments of Recording under the influence with M83, perfume genius, how to dress well and more. ST—013