Exclusive Interview with SWEETER THAN SORROW

In 2021, Gothenburg gave birth to a solo, independent project. Initially influenced by Cigarettes After Sex and Sufjan Stevens, among other artists, but with a wide range of influences. You might also hear influences from Nick Cave and other artists who sound similar. But the distinctive voice and original sound are Sweeter than Sorrow’s greatest assets.

Somersaults, A unique song that is dreamy but catchy and probably unlike anything you’ve ever heard. The sensitive voice reveals a distinctive personality. A song that stays with you. Heartfelt and romantic. Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: I’ve had a band since many years, Sombre View, where I sporadically made music, always feeling I could do so much more… and one day, some years ago (2021), when I was out on a walk an idea came to me to make a cover of Alphavilles Forever Young. A slow and quite different cover. I thought it was magnificent and finally something that brought out more of the musicality that I knew I had in me. I almost released it under a new project name but finally it was released under Sombre View. But it was a different sound and I had found a new voice and a new confidence, that I could raise myself and make a new kind of music. At the same time I went through a lot on a personal plane when, among other tragic things in my family, my mother died of cancer. I came through the grief and felt two things; life is too short to care what people think, I know I can write great songs and damn I’m going to do it! A kind of determination that’s hard to even describe now. Later that year I made a lovesong to my wife “Like water is flowing” that also had a unique feeling and now it was no question about it – this was a new sound- I had to start a soloproject.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: I started to play the trumpet at 5 but gave that up a few years later and started to play the piano at 10. I played mostly classical pieces but was interested in making pop music from the beginning and started to make my own songs at maybe 11-12. I later went to a musical school for two years where I studied piano, singing and theory. But the songwriting is mainly self-taught.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘SWEETER THAN SORROW’?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: It’s funny because the earliest strongest influence was actually Alphaville and their smash hit Forever Young (the circle is closed) but then also The Cure, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Pj Harvey and many others. Lately I’ve been influenced a lot by Cigarettes after sex, Sufjahn Stevens and also more darker sounding artists like Nick Cave. Growing up in a family where my father was an organist in church and my mother sang in a renowned choir, I got a lot of classical and choral music in my veins from the beginning. The name Sweeter than Sorrow came to me to describe a music that is sensitive, sweet and delicate but where the sorrow always is present in the background, giving it a depth. It’s also a bit mystical, and I love that! It captures my life and my music.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: I go straight for your heart… Both the delicate piano and vocals that aim to sound and be like every note is carefully considered, heartfelt and sometimes ethereal-like, combined with lyrics that are made to really belong together with the melodies. Each song has it’s own story with sort of soundtrack feeling. The songs are stories, like they were made for movies. You get immersed and travel to another world. The sound is a unique one, with an original voice, combining elements from indie, folk, classical, even sometimes choral music, and many other influences. Some people say it’s too much to combine, but I think it comes together in a unity.

5. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: Yeah, I do, but of course I would like to reach out more. I think my music has the potential to touch more people all over the world, and that is also one of my goals.

6. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: I usually start with some kind of feeling and narrative in my head combined with a short piece of music and lyrics. I develop the songs using piano and vocals. A sort of jamming with myself. I always have a lot of tunes in my head. I work alone, at least until now. Later on I bring in other people, but that’s when the song is quite ready

7. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as FOLK?

SWEETER THAN SORROW:

(I think this is also answered in the questions above.) Well, I’ve made a lot of covers during the years and have learned through that. I have learned through both hard work and inspiration and working with other musicians. I’ve had a poor confidence for a long time but have worked with myself a lot through different therapy methods, teachings of the great mystics, hypnosis..yeah you name it, for years and years. The confidence was always the main thing, in other respects I felt I had it in me. Last but not least, I have learned a lot from my children and my wife. Without them all this would not be possible. They teach me and influence me every day.

8. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

SWEETER THAN SORROW:

I think all of the above is incorporated in music somehow but for me the personal and spiritual development is maybe the most interesting… and I think they are acting also as a kind of social vehicle. However, I don’t like to be very explicit about these things, I want to inspire people in a broader sense to feel that they want to be better people from the inside and out. You could say I want to touch something pure in the individual and in that respect contribute to a better world I guess.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: as said above, the death of my mother. And on another level, it was difficult growing up with ideas around me that said that some kinds of music were more worth than others. I’ve had to work with that for my whole life to finally see that what I do can be worth something, both to me and to others. What has made my creativity explode in later years is that I’ve come through that and out on the other side where I’m able to go with the creative flow. It’s really wonderful.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: The birth of my children comes above everything, of course! There is nothing more wonderful. Musically, all the positive feedback I’ve had from people the last years, but more important than that is the feeling that I’ve been able to write songs I’ve always wanted to write – that satisfaction – to be in the flow where things just feels right and goes right, and I intuitively know what to do!

11. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

SWEETER THAN SORROW: I think I’m at my best when working in a home studio because I feel safe and can try and try again to capture the feeling I want. But if my audience grows even more, maybe I’ll change my mind. To meet an audience that sings along in a song you have written is the most wonderful experience! I’d love to have more of that also.