An Interview With Norway’s Ai Phoenix (page 2 of 5)

The problem was, simply, the difference between doing something because it breaks your heart in a good way when you achieve that specific version of a song, or doing it because it is cool and makes a certain impact on the audience. In spite of nervousness and fumbling, we’ve always been a very self-conscious band.

KR: Mona, you have a unique and intimate vocal style that I love, but Patrick’s voice is also pleasing, yet so different. Your voices sound great together. But how do you decide who sings lead? Like on “Bird Whispering” and “The Song From Moulin Rouge,” it’s just you; there are no harmonies but the result is gorgeous. Do you and Patrick alternate by plan, or do you just instinctively get a feel for who should sing something?

MM: In the beginning, Patrick presented his songs by singing them to the rest of us, and then he insisted that I should sing. Mostly I did, but some of the songs definitely suited his voice and performance better. Then we had to convince him to do it himself. If he wouldn’t, these songs would mostly be put aside. On ‘Lean That Way Forever’ he has become comfortable with his own voice. Sometimes, when he presents a song, I make this other voice if it comes naturally, and then we both sing, like on the song ‘Elvis’. If I’ve written the song I sing it alone, probably because he used to dislike the singing. I guess it becomes obvious to us all pretty quickly what suits the song most. None of us have had any great idea about being the front figure, either. We also exchange instruments and, when it comes to this matter, we’ve never worried about the “identity of the band”. Of course some songs don’t work at all, and we all have the right to refuse to play them. We are a pretty anarchistic band in many ways, or democratic if you like.

Previous page - Back - Next page