Fallulah Interview August 2011

Here at MTTM Towers we’ve been loving Fallulah’s music since she stepped foot in the UK in June. After the excitement of her debut show had worn down a bit, we caught up with her to be greeted with a lot of onomatopoeia before learning more about her live performances and her nation’s pessimistic rules of life…

MTTM: How would you describe your sound to someone who’d never heard your music before?

Fallulah: Boom boom boom, stomp stomp, banjoes, clap clap, electric guitars, melotron-samples, selftaught singing and stories from this head o’ mine.

MTTM: Is there much of a difference between the UK and Danish music scenes?

Fallulah: Well, size matters you know. And Denmark is so small compared to the UK, which means that there ‘s less music coming from here. But the Danish music scene is quite flourishing at the moment. I’m glad more of us are doing personal original stuff, instead of trying to sound like something that’s been done over and over.

Very few Danish artists make in internationally, and it has very much to do with the Danish mentality, I think. We have this thing called the Jante Law, which is a set of “rules” many Danes live by. Basically it’s “Don’t think you’re better than others”, “Don’t think that you’re special”, “Don’t think you’re good at anything” etc.  Luckily, I didn’t really grow up with that, so I feel that everything’s possible, as long as your heart is in the right place.

There’s also a lot of soulless, crappy, 90’s-sampled dance music going on at the moment, but that’s not just in Denmark, that’s everywhere.

MTTM: Having been at your Hoxton gig, can you explain how on earth your hair fell perfectly back into place after your epic hair flicks?

Fallulah: Really? Must be because I only played such a short set. Usually, by the end of a gig, it’s like a wet tangled nest on my head.

MTTM: Oh, and why was there a giant triangle? Are traditional sized triangles not enough?

Fallulah: I actually wonder the same! My keyboard player Nicolai, was recently described by Dermot O’Leary as “The Tasmanian Devil”. He’s here, there and everywhere, and he’ll sneak weird props onto the stage. Unfortunately he’s only playing with me on my summer tour, so the giant triangle won’t be a part of my stage show on a regular basis.

MTTM: You’ve performed (as a guest) on the Danish X Factor, would you have ever considered going down the TV competition route?

Fallulah: No, I never would. The most important thing to me as an artist is being a creator. Expressing myself through music is very sacred and personal to me. I take pride in the long and tough journey I’ve endured, in order to experience success. I’ve worked darn hard, and I’ll continue that way.

I also think that Danish X Factor is quite different from the UK X Factor, in the sense that Denmark is such a small country, and the mass of talent simply isn’t big enough to pull it off. So it becomes incredibly mediocre and boring, and everyone who’s ever won it, is completely forgotten 3 months after. You simply can’t win a career.

MTTM: After your show in Hoxton, do you have more plans to return to the UK? If so, when?

Fallulah: Yes. I’m coming over for a few weeks around the release of my debut single I Lay My Head at the end of August. I don’t have any gigs planned out yet, but I’m working on it as we speak.

MTTM: When can we expect an album from you?

Fallulah: I’m hoping and planning that my debut album The Black Cat Neighbourhood will be released early next year.  I’m not signed yet, so I just kinda have to get that part settled too.

MTTM: What’s your favourite song you’ve ever written?

Fallulah: It’s hard to choose, but I’m probably extra pleased about Give Us A Little Love and Bridges. They’re two very different songs, but I feel they really capture my essence.

www.fallulah.dk