Anna Öberg interview: ‘It’s Fun To Mix Different Genres’
Swedish music artist Anna Öberg is a creative force, blending the nostalgic pulse of 80s Electro-Pop with the raw energy of EBM. Her sound is minimal yet highly accessible, a captivating mix that stands out in the Electronic music landscape. Although she’s been active for years, Anna remains one of the hidden gems of the Swedish Electro scene. Her latest release, “SIN”, out on Xenophone International, could be the perfect opportunity for listeners to discover this talented and visionary artist. With so much to discuss, I reached out to Anna for a conversation. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: Can you share a bit about your musical background and how you began creating and releasing music?
Anna: When I was a child I started playing recorder and flute. In Sweden there was the ‘municipal music school’ where anyone who wanted to could learn to play. I was in various orchestras and played both classical and medieval music. When I was 13 years old, I started playing with a group that played Swedish Folk music. It was 1978 and Punk arrived. Then I started playing different instruments such as electric guitar, bass, and drums and also making music myself in different groups. But when I bought a Vox organ and a Korg MS20 in 1981, my synth era began. I was in a lot of different bands at the time. For a long period I was a mother and worked regular jobs to support the family. When the children moved away from home, I got the strength and desire to start making music again and I made sketches in first Garage band and later Logic. Before each record, I have since gone to the producer Charles Storm and together with him refined all the songs.
I also have a live band. Its Linnéa Mossberg at Simmons-drums and Adam Olson at baryton guitar.
Q: You’ve released an impressive body of work over the past few years, including singles, multiple albums, and your latest opus, “SIN.” How do you reflect on these releases and your evolution as an artist?
Anna: Oh thank you! I have probably developed both musically and sound-wise. On the latest record, “SIN”, I have been very interested in making bass loops that play both against and together with the other melodies. I also want to bring in Folk music, both Swedish and from other countries. For example, Arabic. This is fun to combine with Pop and EBM.
Then I also started making field recordings that I use together with different effects. For example distortion or delay. I use these both as sound effects or as, for example, instead of a snare drum. It’s fun to make your own drum machines in combination with old traditional drum machines.
Q: You already mentioned the Electro-Pop and EBM influences that come through on “SIN.” Can you tell us more about how these elements are fused in your music? What other influences or references inspire your sound?
Anna: Yes! I think it’s fun to mix different genres. You’re right that Pop and EBM are the ones I work with the most. Now it’s a bit Experimental too. My biggest influences are probably Gary Numan, Dead Can Dance, Massive Attack.
And genres like Medieval, Folk music mixes, Punk and so on.
Q: Could you elaborate on “SIN”? What inspired its creation, and what were the various stages you went through to bring this project to fruition?
Anna: Hmmm… It was over a four-year period. First I made sketches in Logic. I was working on several songs at the same time and did a little here and a little there at first. At first I might make several basses playing different tempos and different sounds. Then I made some melody loops. After that I recorded some weird sounds. In the forest, by the sea when there was ice that I crashed. I put different kinds of stones in tin buckets, porphyry and granite. Then I recorded when I threw the bucket on our balcony. There were different sounds depending on how hard I threw and how many stones were in. I used these sounds in the songs.
Then I wrote texts. I made song melodies and sang in. I tried singing in different ways. Sometimes like a child and sometimes I screamed. Or tried to sing beautifully. In the last year I made my own attempts to produce everything together with different effects and compressed all the bases. But in the end I still decided to get Charles (Storm) to take on this record as well. So last fall we spent a few months in his studio and I got to play all the melodies again on analog synths. And sing all the vocal parts one more time in a real studio. Charles mixed the record and then we sent it to Tom Meyer for mastering.
Q: You’ve chosen to sing in your native language. What themes do your lyrics explore, and how significant are they to your artistic vision?
Anna: For me, it is not at all significant for my artistic ambition that I sing in Swedish (Scania). However, I think it is important to have some form of singing. So it was just a choice I made. Completely unthought of but also necessary. Because it would come straight from the heart but also because I wanted to be poetic. I don’t think the poetic could come if I sang in, for example, English.
I want the texts to be ambiguous. One can interpret both a desperate desire for a better life or fear of loneliness and war. It can also mean that you want to be alone in a relationship. You choose yourself.
Q: The Swedish Electro scene is renowned worldwide, despite being from a smaller country. Why do you think Sweden produces so many talented underground Electro groups? Is there a sense of community among these artists?
Anna: Haha! Maybe it’s so cold in the winter in Sweden and many people are lonely. And at the same time, there are many people who can afford Electronic wallets. They sit in their kitchens and play with their computers. And in combination with the ‘municipal music school’ as I said before, there are many who have a musical background. I don’t know…
Yes, I have noticed, since I released my first record in 2017, that there is a nice community. I have been very warmly welcomed into the community.
Q: When we first connected about this interview, you asked whether there would be a cost involved. You’re not the first artist to raise this concern. How do you view the role of the press and media in promoting artists like yourself, especially when there’s a financial aspect involved?
Anna: Haha! I have to admit I didn’t recognize your name when you contacted me. I contacted Torny Gottberg who told me that you were a great person and then I understood that I was wrong to think otherwise. You get paranoid when you get certain requests from people who just want to sell their own product. So I’m sorry and a bit embarrassed for misunderstood your request. Some larger online magazines want to be paid to do a review. That makes reviews not worth much. I don’t think there is that much risk of a paid review being bad.
Thanks for asking me for this interview.
Listen to “Nästa vecka”:
https://annaberg.bandcamp.com/track/n-sta-vecka
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