Interview, Ai Phoenix, 2004 (page 2 of 6)

There don´t seem to be any songs about the sea on the record – or is this a metaphor for travelling?.
Mona: Everyone wants a window towards the sea. It is beautiful, big and relaxing to watch. It represents something about the longing most people have from time to time- to leave your everydaylife, go on holiday, find peace of mind. At the same time the ocean can be unpredictable and deadly. Most of all the sea is a place where people easily are turned into awkward strangers. Travelers are central on all our records, as drivers, sailors, pilgrims, pilots, people on trains, Piccard… The sea is mentioned in the song “Small red heartshaped pillow” where it refers to the attraction and pain most people experience from early childhood on when they try to really grasp elements too big wide deep dark like the sea, space or death.

Why didn´t you use that as a title for the record ?
Mona: We didn’t use it for a title because many wouldn’t understand the meaning (and it is not our intention to be exclusive in any way) and since it is originally french, we didn’t want to translate it. We put it inside because we wanted it to be somewhere for those who might like it.

What does the artwork stand for?
Mona: The artwork emphasizes the filmatic, nostalgic and adventurous theme in many of the songs. The safety pin represents the punk-element (understood as confrontation, honesty, simplicity and rage against the tendency towards glorification of reality) that has to be present to make this more important than beauty and sadness. By the way, the boats are from two old tea-boxes standing in a house that had been left alone for fifteen years.

What did you do differently this time, what was the same?
The main difference is that many other musicians contributed. Also, we used a lot of other instruments. This, I think, have made the album colourful. Another difference is that most of the songs are longer than the songs on the previous record. And some of the songs are more outgoing. For example: "Pilgrim and the pirat sing", "Held into the fire", "Small red heartshaped pillow", "Sing ghost song". But they also have a melancholic touch. Happiness and melancholy. Finally, we always focus on the "ai phoenix universe" when we write lyrics and songs.

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