“Do you listen to girl in red?” was going viral on the internet. A question? A women-loving women code? It’s both. In case you were wondering it’s about a girl — a blond girl with a red turtleneck sweater lying down in autumn leaves. You might see it from single cover art “we fell in love on october” by the Norwegian indie pop singer-songwriter Marie Ulven, better known as “girl in red” reaching 100 million streams on Spotify and now being Gen Z queer icon on Tiktok. But still there remain lots of things to get to know her in the exclusive interview with girl in red by The Noize Team.
The Noize Team: Hello Marie! We are the Noize Magazine from Thailand, Nice to meet you.
girl in red: Hi.
How are you? How was the pandemic?
girl in red: A lot of things was going on. And I was going to do a lot of cool shows like Coachella stuff but because obviously the pandemic hit I wasn’t able to do any of that but that kind of allowed me to take a lot of time actually to finish my album. Even though it’s you know it’s a real tragedy entry situation, I still be able to make something good out of it.
What is your creative process like for song-writing? How do you start writing a song?
girl in red: I usually just say start out with a chord progression or maybe like a little tiny lyric idea and then I… you know just kind of build from there and then I just see whatever I read with the song takes me because every song has a different DNA and different purpose so yeah so like I just like sort of I know every song is actually kind of different so it’s really like no right answer for that but I’m. You know my biggest thing is that I do it, I just make songs.
Do you ever get over the artistic block?
Yeah I get that a lot like I I get that so much and I think this year I’ve been in a real artistic you know sort of. I have not been doubting myself artistically for a long time and I’ve also been I don’t know just been having this like crazy writer’s block which has been kind of difficult with the specially while making the album but now for the first time in a long time I feel like I’m kind of out of that and then the best thing is just like to remember that it’s not gonna last forever. Because thinking that you’re never ever going to be able to write a song again or maybe like take a great picture again or anything that you know write a good poem again or whatever you like do it that really like kills your mojo a little bit. So it’s just about like not thinking it’s going to last forever and then just like going. I guess.
How do you think yourself when you’re 25?
girl in red: When I am 25 that’ll be mine 3 years, wow…wait, that’s weird. That’s so weird but. I’ll just be like touring the world and maybe like even more people listen to my music I honestly don’t really know because I don’t have too high expectations about like I get let down but it would be really cool to like do what I’m doing right now but like at a bigger scale. That would be very cool.
Yeah I think you can definitely do that. I hope the best for you. Because you have so much potential.
girl in red: I hope so.
Is there anyone who you want to collab with? Like anyone who you want to work with?
girl in red: Taylor swift. You got it the aim high for those collab.
Yeah, I know. I mean if I am an artist I would want to collab with her as well. Because she’s like, the GODDESS.
girl in red: She is so good. her song just amazing. I just feel like I would learn so much from her like she would be like a teacher like a legendary music teacher.
I think that a lot of fun because she would have a lot of expert on a music, Right?
girl in red: Yeah. Yeah. that would be cool.
Yeah, it’s gonna be so fun! So next question. What is your favourite album during this month?
girl in red: I’ve been listening to ‘evermore by Taylor Swift’ this month. Album came out I think like early December something, December 13. so I just been play and repeat. And yeah. I’m a hugh SWIFTY.
So which song is your favourite one for you this album.
girl in red: I mean a gold rush and willow. Yeah. Yeah those are like my favorites I think. Gold rush is so good.
Can you give us a hint about your debut album?
girl in red: I think my hands would be that it’s really explosive and that it’s really different than my previous music like I’m really I’m really just doing whatever I want on this record and it’s I think it’s really playful and you can definitely hear that there’s some a lot of creative energy in here because it’s not a very like low album or it has like a little bit of everything and I just feel like it’s really fun and energetic.
We know that you have a song for movies / series and stuff like that, we just wanna know that how it works like how you produced that. Like the turning.
girl in red: Yeah, I did make a track for the turning but that process was kind of weird because I know they reached out and they were like ‘Hey wanna like do a song for the soundtrack’ and then like I kind of didn’t do anything for a long time because I was very busy and then one day I was at the last day I had a LA I just went into the studio and then I show them this thing I had working on the back of the tour and they said ‘we love this’ and then I just finished it in the studio so but I had never seen the movie I did not know anything about the movie so and. That was kind of like I think if I want to in the future if I want to work with you know make music for a movie or series or anything like that I kind of wanna know what I making it for or like I wanna be more a part of it.
Yeah, definitely. That would be a lot helper for the artist as well. Because you can do more for the style and the movie/series.
girl in red: Yes! Exactly.
If you have a 1 movie or director that you can produce the music for. Who would you be or which kind of movie would you want to work with?
girl in red: That’s a good question. I really like this. I don’t think I think her name is Grace, I can’t remember her last name but she directed Lady Bird and Little Women.
Oh that Greta Gerwig!
girl in red: Yeah, yeah. That’s. you hearing that her name is definitely not Grace. Yeah. I think she is really cool. And I watch a bunch of interviews with her and she just seems like a really nice lady and just like really and just really you know talented. Maybe meet Timothée Chalamet. You know, just like making some tune.
Yeah, that’s gonna be fun! Okay the next question is what movie that inspired you? What are your favourite movie that gave you so much inspiration for you?
girl in red: Wait, what movie that inspired me in the past year that inspires me now.
Now would be nice.
girl in red: I don’t really know because I can’t remember the last time I watched. Well. I haven’t been inspired by a movie lately. But I watched ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ in January 2020 like this year and that was that that’s like the best movie I’ve watched this year. I’m like really been inspired this year so it’s kind of like.
There it’s like a lot of things going on this year and stuff, and I get that because I don’t remember the last time that I go watch the movie.
girl in red: No, I mean, there’s a lot of bad movies.
If you have a chance to produce any kind of movie or direct the movie, so which kind of movie that you want to direct?
girl in red: I guess like an indie type of film, with a film like 16mm film that is really, you know, beautifully shot. But I don’t really know what kind of movie but I guess that maybe coming-of-age that talk about book and music and shit like maybe that I would make a movie about Patti Smith’s life, I think I would do that.
Wow, that would be fun!
girl in red: Yeah. I think so.
And that you can make your music for your own movie as well.
girl in red: Maybe not yet.
What did you learn from the tour that you have had in other countries?
girl in red: Being with bands and being with people who listen to my music in a in a real space is incredibly important to me because I definitely miss that this year like I miss being with fans and just like being able to connect in human space kind of like I just really miss that and I also… it really taught me that being a musician is so much more about so much more than just making music so it there’s it’s a lot of hard work and I’ve just gotten so much more respect for any hugh artists that’s like Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes any huge artist that’s touring the world I have so much respect for them.
Which is to just want you to say something to the Thai Fans who waiting for this interview.
girl in red: Okay I mean I really want to go there I’ve never been so I mean I think I think we were actually supposed to go to Asia this year. Maybe next year I’ll be I want to go all around the world if I can. So I love you, I’m coming for you.
Thank you so much it was such a nice time to talk to you. It’s so amazing the work that you have done.
girl in red: Good luck with the interview. And everything. Take care.
Thank you. You too.
The debut album “if I could make it go quiet” is out now and also Make It Go Quiet tour in North American, the UK and Europe, taking place in 2022 is almost sold out. As she mentioned about her dream, touring the world becomes a reality and we hope to see girl in red coming to Asia one day.