Introducing: Menke
Let us introduce you to Swedish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Menke who has recently released her debut EP 'Till Havet' via Size/Cosmos.
'Till Havet' has a deep atmospheric feel to it, the sort that digs into the shadows between your heart and the soul. You can sense that was Menke's intentions with this EP, as she draws in influences from the poets Karin Boye and Rudyard Kipling as well as German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche when it comes to her writing.
Menke took some time with us to explain further into the EP's existence -
Where was the EP recorded? Are there any behind the scenes stories?
The EP was recorded in many different places, from big studio productions to small bedroom sessions. For the main tracks the bass, drums and strings were recoded live in the old EMI Stockholm Studio in Skärmarbrink together with Erik Holmberg and Willem Bleeker. The strings are arranged and conducted by Erik Arvinder. The vocals were recorded by myself alone in my home studio. The guitars, glasses and the saw parts were recorded in Steve Angello´s studio Väntorp in Ulriksdals Slott. Some piano and organ parts were recorded together with Erik Holmberg in the K51 studio in Stockholm. The final arranging and post-production of the songs took place in TEN Music Group Studios together with Grizzly. And the interludes – ‘Till Havet’ and ‘Havet’ - were recorded by me in Grizzly's home studio. So every studio location has really played its role and contributed with a certain mood and flavour on the EP.
Some songs were very easy to write, but difficult to record, others were very easy to record, but difficult to find a suitable melody. ‘Nattskärran’ for example has been everything from a down to earth banjo song to a recording with a lot of multiple piano tracks and then it finally landed in taking all of that away and just keeping the vibraphone, the bass and the drums and add the strings and guitars.
What is the inspirations and concepts behind the tracks?
For this EP, the main inspiration is Karin Boye´s poems. I didn’t need anything else to inspire me while working with these tracks. Looking back, I realise that it has been a pure pleasure to write, record and produce these songs. It really has!
When it comes to inspiration for writing my own songs, I often find it in all kinds of artistic impressions. Art, paintings, architecture, photography, philosophy, literature, film, dance, performance. I use this impressions to get a spark and get myself started. Once I’m in the right mood and the right state of mind, then it all comes so natural and easy for me to work, write and produce.
How would you describe your sound to someone who hadn't listened to you before?
That’s something I get to do almost everyday and yet find so hard to do. I never seem to find the right words or the right sentences to describe my music the way I want to, or the way I feel it should be described. It's really frustrating for me! But. I guess that I usually end up with some poor explanation about it being melancholic, soft, mysterious, cinematic, indie, folk. Please, help me out on this! How would you describe it?
What are you plans for the next few months? Which bits are you looking forward to the most?
I have some really nice shows and interesting collaborations coming up that I’m very excited about and really looking forward to. I’m also going to spend some time in the studio working on new songs that hopefully are going to be released later this year.
Feature created by Ant Adams