This is the third time Herald K and Lina Louise collaborate. The first song involving the two was the duet 'Light Of Your Eyes' from Herald K's 2019 album 'Strange Delights'. Later, the single 'Arethusa' (2022) involved background vocals by Lina. Viennese singer-songwriter Lina Louise released an EP of her own songs, 'The Little Things' in 2020. Vienna-based Norwegian singer-songwriter Herald K has released one album, and is now in the process of preparing the second one, 'Mythologies' (of which 'Echo's Song' is a part), to be released in May 2023.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Photo: Funky Eye
Kamil: Hey Herald K and Lina Louise, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. Firstly Herald: How has the time gone for you since our last interview?
H: Been busy, with stuff connected to the latest single release, and the upcoming album launch. Have also played a few local gigs lately, getting back into more live performing again.
What role does the artist have in society?
L: In my opinion the job of an artist is to be themselves and to creatively express their way of thinking, their feelings and their views on society for others to experience. An artist makes people think and feel, and, if it's their wish, might even help solve some of the great problems of society by creating awareness.
H: I agree with Lina. A good thing if it helps raise awareness. But Prince is gonna give you a very different kind of awareness than, say, Pete Seeger. Yet they're both great artists I'd say. Artistic expression also often seems to work well when it's intuitive and playful, without too much concern with what it ought to do.
Your latest song is 'Echo's Song'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
H: I wrote it really quickly one sunny day a few years ago, alone, sitting in a park. As it is quite a long one, I wasn't really sure if I would ever perform it much, so it almost ended up on the shelf. Luckily I decided, on a whim, to record it, and when Lina, Stephan (nyckelharpa), and Nikola (piano) added their contributions, I was sure glad I did!
L: First of all, I was very happy when Herald asked me to join him on a song again. What might be unusual about the process, is that we never actually recorded together. As Herald lent me his microphone, I could record my vocal takes from home and just send them to him by email. I'm amazed that the song turned out so great!
How did the collaboration with Lina Louise come about? Can we expect more songs done together?
H: I had heard her at a couple of open stages, and liked her singing a lot, so I summoned up courage, and asked her one day if she'd be interested in recording a duet. When she agreed I was so happy! I love singing with Lina, so I hope we'll get to do more of it! But we're already performing some more songs together, so if you get the chance to see us live...
L: When Herald first asked if I wanted to join him on a song of his, I felt very honored that someone who didn't know me, liked my voice so much that they wanted it in their song. That was the start of a long collaboration project with more tracks recorded and quite a few shows played together. Our voices fit together so well - it would be a shame not to record more duets!
Can you tell us something about Stephan Steiner and Nikola Stanosevic? What role did they play in the song?
H: They are both really experienced musicians, and it was a privilege to get to work with them. Stephan is a multiinstrumentalist, who can also play a range of styles. I asked him to play nyckelharpa on 'Echo's Song', told him a little about what I was looking for, and he just delivered exactly what the song needed! With Nikola we went to a piano studio one day. I had given him a few ideas, and he just recorded a couple of takes and nailed it!
L: I got to witness Stephan playing his instruments at the concerts the three of us gave, and I'm so amazed by what he can do! With Nikola, I didn't get to work, but when I heard his piano playing in the final version of the song I was impressed!
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
L: Listening to music and singing together with my brother, mostly on car rides with our parents.
H: Music on family car rides... That's one of my vivid ones too! But I'm gonna say being out in a small boat with my grandfather, fishing. My grandparents had a little cabin on a small Norwegian island.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
H: Creating a song is really a solitary thing for me. I say solitary, as opposed to lonely, because I actually quite like being alone. Then performing is kind of hypersocial, yet can feel lonely, in that you're the only one in the room that has to produce your thing, while the audience can all just sit back together and absorb. I don't counteract these lonesome moods. I feed off them sometimes instead.
L: I feel similar to Herald on this. I think it is only lonely if you want it to be, as there's plenty of opportunities to make art with others. For me it is important to be alone while writing, but I don't feel lonely.
What is your dream project?
H: A free and loose and fun one, like the one that Bob Dylan had with The Band back in that house 'The Big Pink' in the 1960's.
L: I'd love to sing in a concert hall or a big venue like that one day. It would also be really cool to sing in a band sometime.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
L: 'Just show up, and let the world know what you've got.' This is hard for me too sometimes, but always so worth it.
H: 'If this is what you want: Keep at it!'. It is also what I keep telling myself by the way...
What can we expect from Herald K and Lina Louise in the near future?
H: Stage appearances.
L: Yes, playing gigs.