Just because THE SOUNDS frontwoman MAJA IVARSSON grew up in Sweden, it doesn’t mean she was raised on At The Gates and In Flames. She spent much of her childhood listening to the ’80s pop and rock that her family was into-leading to a lasting affinity for the likes of Depeche Mode and Bruce Springsteen. Fresh off their tour with No Doubt, Ivarsson spoke with LUCY ALBERS about the music that’s influenced her and the people who continue to inspire her.



If you made a playlist of your earliest influences, who would be on it?

Well, I think you would have to go back and look into the LP boxes that my older brothers and sisters had–and my mom, too. I think that’s basically what I listened to the most and I think that was my biggest influence. Obviously they were a little bit older; They were growing up in the ’80s and I had a lot of that kind of music in my house growing up. And that’s what I still like: Stuff like Depeche Mode and the Cure, but also like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Dire Straits and Bruce Springsteen and stuff. I think I’ve got very mixed influences, but it’s all still very pop/rock. I wasn’t listening to like world music, reggae, samba or anything like that.



Coming from Sweden, did the language barrier influence what music you listened to?

Absolutely. I mean, throughout my early relationship with music, I didn’t have a clue what [English-speaking bands] were singing about. I remember asking my older brother to translate some Depeche Mode songs for me and when he translated it into Swedish, it made no sense to me. I already thought the song was awesome and I really liked it. But when he translated it to me, I thought it sounded so cheesy. Sometimes when you translate an English song to Swedish, the lyrics sounds really weird. I thought, “Man, that sounds so bad. I prefer not to know what they’re singing about but I still like the song.” It was quite fun when you actually do learn English and get a new kind of relationship to all those old songs that you had as a kid. Now those songs mean so much more to me. I remember one time my brother fooled me into singing “Eternal Flame” by the Bangels, and I was just trying to sound English and I had no idea what I was doing. It was like a made-up language.. He laughed his ass off because I sounded so stupid singing that song.



Do you remember one of the first concerts you went to?
One of the first shows I went to and paid for myself was in Stockholm-it was the Smashing Pumpkins on their Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness tour. That was pretty cool. I mean, I went to local shows and stuff like that, but for a big arena tour, that was my first tour.



Which musicians influenced you as you were starting to get into bands?

I started a band when I was 13 or 14 that was an all-girl band. The older I got, I began to think some girl bands weren’t as good anymore. As a girl, I think you need to be twice as good as the guys. There were only a few girl-bands that I had respect for. I liked Hole when they had Live Through This, and I liked Blondie. I thought those women were really cool. I also thought Janis Joplin was a cool lady. But I also think I listened to the kind of music that all the guys in the Sounds did as well. We have many different influences. We like Johnny Cash and a wide range of bands. I think what we have in common is a respect for good songwriting. I mean, it could be a Britney Spears song, but if it’s a good song, it’s a good song. Songwriting is what you become a fan of once you actually start writing songs yourself. The joy of having a different chord change or good lyrics, I think that’s what you pay more attention to after a while.



What other females in the industry now do you admire?

I’m not necessarily the best vocalist and I’m totally aware of that. But I think, when you see other women performing sometimes, they look so uncomfortable. I’m not going to say it’s everybody, but they look like they’re trying to be something they’re not and they look unnatural sometimes. I want to be like Freddy Mercury was. He owned the stage and felt so natural being up there and looked all relaxed. That’s what I want to be–I want you to go to a Sounds show and be like, “Fuck, that blew me away.” As for influences though, I think because of everywhere we go and all the bands that we’ve been out with, Gwen Stefani is a great inspiration for me. Everybody in the band learned so much from being on tour with No Doubt. It was one of the best tours we’ve done. Gwen was a super-cool girl off-stage; very grounded and cool, but also a very great performer. That blew me away every night.



Are there any bands from Sweden or Europe that you like?

There are a lot of good U.K. bands, but Sweden has had a good couple years now with artists. There’s this band called First Aid Kit. I think they’re very cool and interesting and original. And I have a friend named Moto Boy from my hometown. You should definitely check him out. His voice is just amazing and he’s a great guy and performer.



Your song “Rock’n Roll” from 2003’s Living In America references Bryan Ferry and the Roxy Music song “Love Is The Drug.” How has that band influenced you?

I have a big crush on both Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music. I think, with their songs, you can listen to them when you’re up or down, happy or sad, young or old. I was very influenced by the keyboardist Jesper Anderberg, too. I think “Love Is The Drug” is a really great song. I thought it was funny to make some kind of reference, and just some people would know what I mean, but not everybody. That makes it more fun. [Laughs.] alt

The Sounds Wouldn’t Exist Without:

THE KNIFE: I remember when I first got their album Deep Cuts. I got it in Sweden, and then I went to New York to do some promotion and stuff and I couldn’t stop listening to it. I had it in my CD player all the time and it just kept growing on me. It’s such a great album and I fell in love with it.



BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: This is for more of a nostalgic reason. I grew up with my mom and she was a single parent, and she had a big flag with Bruce Springsteen on it in her bedroom. My sister bought it for her as a joke. But she was always listening to Born In The U.S.A. when she was cleaning the house. It’s one of those records that I still love.



ROXY MUSIC: I love them for about the same reasons as Bruce Springsteen. It’s very nostalgic for me, but maybe more so for later on in life. They’re good to listen to before we go out and stuff.