For her stunning second album as I Break Horses, Maria Lindén's swapped the shoegaze guitar textures of Hearts for beautifully icy synth sounds. We phoned the songwriter at home in Stockholm, to discuss how David Lynch and a "dark period" in her life inspired Chiaroscuro.
"I think I tend to go into the dark places more often than your average person."
When discussing the new album, you've said your only aim was "to ignore any possible second album expectations." Were you feeling the pressure?
Yeah, I did start to feel some sort of pressure when starting to think about the second album. But then there's always this pressure when it comes to releasing albums, whether that's a debut or your 10th release. You spend so much time alone with the songs, and then you come to this critical point when you're going to let more people in: it's terrifying!
I think it was important to me to focus on something other than that pressure, and when I realised what kind of album I wanted to make it was rather easy to let that go and focus on the songwriting.
Yes, it was. It was much more playful than the debut album. With Hearts, I'd made all the songs out of soundscapes, and spent hours on the production before even starting to find the core of the songs. This time I tried to focus on bringing the production in afterwards, finding the core with a limited set-up of just piano.
It was a faster and more fun way to make an album, I think, because going from first sketches to a finished album only took about six months – from December 2012 to June 2013 – instead of three years like the debut. But then, I had a full-time day job when I was writing my debut, so I can't really compare it!
I think, psychologically, it was good for me that this process was shorter because I had a pretty difficult last year, actually. I was not feeling too well so I really used the songwriting as some sort of therapy? It was a good way of taking me out of that sort of mood, I guess. Listening back to the album now, I can definitely hear that it was a pretty dark period.
What was going on?
I would rather not be specific, but it had to do with some really difficult things that happened in my personal life. But I guess I've always been a sad person… That is, I think I tend to go into the dark places more often than your average person would. (Laughs)
You can feel that sense of sadness in tracks like ‘You Burn', but it's balanced by euphoric songs like ‘Weigh True Words' too. That blend of dark and light is why you chose the album title, right?
Yes. Looking back at the album, I thought "Chiaroscuro" fitted the music, and also the mood I was in during that period of songwriting. There were a lot of lowest lows, and some highest highs, as well.
Why did you chose to focus on synths rather than guitars this time?
I love guitars but I've always been interested in more electronic sounds. Because the overall feeling was pretty dark this time, it felt natural to me to search for colder, electronic sounds to create a harsher soundscape.
Given Sweden's rich synth-pop legacy, did you ever suffer any anxiety that you were now competing against a different set of people?
It's a very good question because there are so many great acts from here doing that sort of thing, but not really, to be honest. I'm only really happy that great music comes from here; it can only be a good thing. And even if the style of music you make is in a similar style to another artist, it will always differ. Also, no matter what kind of music you make, some people will like it and some people will hate it – the way people perceive your music is out of your control.
Do you have a particular favourite track on the album?
I think ‘Medicine Brush' is my favourite because it came from that specific personal thing that happened. And it will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first song I wrote for the album. It directed what followed because it made me realise what kind of album I wanted to make.
You took on a really hands-on approach on this album, writing, performing, recording, mixing and producing. Were you ever tempted to delegate any element of the process?
Well, I did mix this album with someone, so I wasn't alone in that part of the process. That was really nice because something really happens when there's two of you in the room.
[Working alone] can get very lonely at times, and I would love to try to even bring in some production for future records. I spend all my time sitting with my headphones on, just recording music, and I never meet any people, so I'm getting weirder and weirder as a person, I think! (Laughs) It would be really nice to actually collaborate with other artists in the future too.
The thing is, I was in many bands before starting I Break Horses and I got really fed up with that so I had to do something by myself. But now I long for that collaboration again, I guess.
But you had Fredrik Balck with you to help write lyrics, at least.
Yeah, exactly. So that is a collaboration that's very important to this project.
How does the process work between the two of you?
I always write the music, start the lyrics and record the melodies, so that I have a finished arrangement of the song, and then I bring in Fredrik. We listen to the song and write lyrics together, depending on what kind of images we get from the music.
Lyrics are normally the one thing that singers don't collaborate on. Why didn't you want to take sole responsibility for them?
Because I really love how Fredrik writes. He puts down words in a wonderful way that I would never be able to. I think I've always expressed so much feeling through the music, that I've felt a limitation with the words. It's the same thing in real life for me; I've always been very limited when it comes to talking. Fredrik can come in and say, "No, this sucks Maria! Change this round and it will sound so much better and more interesting." And we know each other so well, it really works perfectly.
When discussing the first album, you cited Suicide as a key influence. Were there any particular sonic reference points this time round?
I would say my main inspiration was that I started watching ‘Twin Peaks' again for the first time since I was a kid. Every day I would write music, and every night I would watch ‘Twin Peaks', so I think I was definitely influenced in a subconscious way by the crazy, weird mood in those episodes, as well as the music.
But I didn't really listen to that much music when I was writing this album, because I felt I really had to take a break from it. After our US tour, I was really tired and totally stressed-out and just needed some quiet time. I mean, [the tour] was so much fun as well, but when I started I Break Horses I couldn't even imagine being on stage because I was terrified of performing live. Luckily, the more you do it, the better it feels.
Will you be touring this album, then?
Well we just came back from touring with Sigur Rós but we have a London show on 23rd January and we're looking at organising a US tour.
Beyond that, where would you like to be this time next year?
I've started working on an EP so I'm hoping to have released that. And I'm really hoping to score music for a film, because that's been my goal the whole time.
Any specific project in mind?
No, but maybe something dark like a horror movie? (Laughs) I think my music would suit something scary.
