More on: Lykke Li

Lykke Li recently made a brief visit to the UK, where she wowed those who were lucky enough to see her at the Camden Crawl, and did a whistle stop mini-tour.

The Swedish 22 year old has a debut album, 'Youth Novels', under her belt - recorded with Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John fame - due to hit these shores on 9th June.

We caught up with Lykke Li the morning after her support slot with Sebastien Tellier, where she tells us why she felt she had to leave Stockholm for New York at the age of 19, and why it's important for her to have her own label.

You had quite a nomadic upbringing - where is home for you?
Home is where I have fun. At the moment I'm at home in my hotel room!

Where in particular did you enjoy living?
I loved being in New York. I love being here as well, in London. Barcelona, Puerto Rico... everywhere!

Why did you go to New York when you were 19?
I felt Stockholm was too slow, and to go and learn something. I had to go to New York because that's where the streets are. I did open mic nights, and just hung around nightclubbing, walking the streets, watching weird shows on television.

Did you have any songs in place at that time?
Yeah I had four songs that I did every night. But those are not on the album!

How did you meet your producer Bjorn?
I got back from New York - it wasn't so successful being there as I didn't have a demo. My visa ran out so I came back and started work on a demo, producing songs myself and started sending them around. I got in contact with Bjorn and started working with him. I had a lot of songs already written but we did some together for the album. He was crucial to the soundscape and the instrumentation - he was very good at arranging drums.

Did you always want to make pop music?
I don't know if I'd call it pop music - I think it's probably eclectic music. I don't see it as a genre, I just wanted to make good music.

Why did you decide to start your own label LL Recordings?
Because everything's changing and you have to move forward - you can't expect things to be as they were before. And watching my friends getting really screwed over by big labels. I wanted to have control over my own music - it's your music and you have to have the rights. I think it's crazy that you don't own the rights to your own music. So I just wanted full control.

How have your live dates in the UK gone so far?
It's been good! Because they don't know the songs here, people are watching the show, staring back at me! I enjoyed Underworld in Camden, and I had a good time in Manchester too.

What's the strangest thing to happen to you on tour?
Every day there's something - I fall off the stage, I get stuck in some of my clothes, people screaming weird things at me. I did a gig in Birmingham and it was a seated audience - the first time I've ever played to one. My music's quite... [dances] and the people were really close to me, and they were so quiet. I was dying - I had a really bad cough. So I started coughing over one of the nicest ballads!

How does the reality of life as a singer compare to your dreams as a child?
It's not at all what I thought it would be. It's a lot of hard work. You think of life as a singer, you think it's going to be something you enjoy, and a lot of the time it's just travel. And I'm always looking for the next level. I don't really live so much in the moment, I'm always just focusing on the future.

What plans have you got for the future?
Just to keep evolving. I don't have the time at the moment to write any new songs. I am collecting inspiration though!

Lykke Li releases her next single 'I'm Good, I'm Gone' on 2nd June.

Becky Reed

Lykke Li Official Site
Lykke Li Myspace