jun 13 2009
Du vil elske denne sangen
Amerikanske ambeR Rubarth (ja, hun insisterer på å skrive navnet sitt sånn…) begeistret publikum og kritikere etter opptredenen på den gigantiske bransjefestivalen SXSW i USA tidligere i år, og uten hjelp av et stort plateselskap har sangene hennes blitt spilt over en million ganger på MySpace. I kveld, lørdag, tar hun med seg sangene sine til Cementen og søndag spiller hun i Bergen. På grunn av tidsforskjellen mellom Stavanger og New York ble det vanskelig å få intervjuet henne på telefon, men hun tok seg tid til å svare på noen spørsmål via epost. En redigert utgave av intervjuet fant veien til papirutgaven av Aftenbladet i dag, men svarene hennes på originalspråket var såpass sjarmerende at jeg syntes de fortjente å bli lest av flere.
Sangene hennes finnes ikke på Spotify, men en hel del smakebiter kan du høre på MySpace. Flotte sanger og herlige tekster. Jeg har spesielt blitt glad i «You Will Love This Song». Platene finnes for øvrig på iTunes. (OPPDATERT 3.11.09: Sangene finnes nå på Spotify)
Håper leserne bærer over med eventuelle engelskspråklige slurvefeil fra min side. Her er Q & A-runden med Rubarth:
Q: First time in Norway?
Q: I was told that you wanted to see the West Coast of Norway. Why was that?
A: I want to see the West Coast and the East and the North and the South! But yes, I especially love the coast line.
Q: Were you surprised by the praise you got after this years SXSW?
A: Yes! Happily surprised! It felt dreamy to me that I even got to perform at SXSW, and to have such incredible response was a lovely treat.
Q: What’s with the big R in ambeR?
A: It’s a mysteRy. :) I started writing my name like that when I was a kid for a few reasons…..
Q: Will we leave the Norwegian shows with a crush on you like The Boston Globe wrote?
A:Yes. :)
Q: Did you really trade your chainsaw for the guitar?
A: I traded it to the world in exchange for a guitar with my time, energy, and love going from carving wood to playing music. It was a good deal.
Q: On your MySpace page you mention a lot of artists that has influenced you. I noticed that about 90 % of the artists you mentioned are male singers. Comment?
A: Yeah! I don’t really know why. Also about 90% of people I hang out with / musicians I collaborate with are male. I’m not really sure why. There are only a few female voices that I enjoy, I think I tend to like lower tones better and don’t usually like when things are too sing-songy.
Q: Why should we follow @ambeRRubarth on Twitter?
A: Because it will be fun and I will tell you secrets!
Q: When you started performing you were only familiar with the G and C chords. How many chords do you know now?:)
A: Ever since deciding I would try to play the guitar like I play piano and not learn chords but rather find notes that I hear in my head I know a bunch of new chords now; I just couldn’t tell you which ones they are. But I will play them for you. G and C are my first loves stil but I’ve become very attached to some funny jazz chords now.
Q: Why do you think so many people love You will love this song?
A:Because the song doesn’t give them a choice. :) Well, if you want the actual answer it’s funny because a lot of people say you have to write something people can relate to and that song is by far the one people comment on liking the most but it is also the most personal and so detailed that nobody else could really have ahd that experience. But I think there is a vulnerability and honesty about it that people connect with, I was at a point in my life when I wrote that when I felt like I had nothing to lose and felt a deep love for someone and just really wanted to write something beautiful for them. I think it’s the saddest and funniest song I’ve written, all in one. I tend to think those emotions go together well.
Q: You’re know for your doityourself ethics. Any advice for aspiring young singer/songwriters?
A: I started doing it myself because I didn’t know better, but I’m glad I did. I think if there’s one piece of advice for aspiring young singer/songwriters I could give, it’s to figure out what you like doing best (writing / performing / etc.) and then figure out how you can do that all of the time and constantly improve at it. And there’s a lot of work that has to happen around that to make it happen but ultimately if you keep it in mind that you are doing what you love and are passionate about, that is the luckiest thing in the world and the work is well worth it.
Q: Do you know any Norwegian phrases?
A:I’ve only been there for one day so far so I know how to say Hei! and Hvordan har du det? and yes I would like some more lefse… but I need to learn more. Please teach me!! Thanks! I mean, Takk!! :)
