MUSIC INTERVIEW: MISS LI

From Charismatic Cabaret To The Sound Of The iPod Nano A Blend of Commercial and Credible

By: Harris Decker

September 29, 2009

Go ahead, start to hate me now. Just because I love Apple and all of their fantastic products doesn’t mean I have to choose their songs to fill my iPhone with. The company just happens to have their finger on the pulse of the pop community. Any song that ends up in a commercial (especially an iPod commercial) automatically experiences great success. Regardless of which way the process works, last week’s song is simply fantastic.

I’ll have to be honest — I had to do some extensive research to actually figure out who sang “Bourgeois Shangri-La” and then who Miss Li actually was. Stemming from Sweden, the pop singer has had songs featured in Showtime’s Weeds and ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. Regardless of her status before September 9, 2009, rest assured that now she will gain a tremendous amount of fame with the iPod Nano ad being played dozens of times per day on American television stations.

Although it might seem a bit cliché, most of the information I found out about Miss Li came from her Wikipedia page, and with that in mind, I contacted her for an interview. She obliged and answered a few questions for The Truth About Music from Sweden.

Harris Decker: Until now, I don’t think many people in the United States had heard your name. Could you give us a little background about yourself and your music?

Miss Li: I guess it all started about four years ago, when I moved from a small town called Borlänge to the capital city Stockholm. I had been singing before, but when I moved, I decided to write music on my own for the first time. I didn’t know how to play piano, but I just decided I wanted to learn.  I bought a piano and started writing. The songs turned out quite okay, and I managed to sign a record deal quite soon, and a few months later, I released my first album. During that year, I was so inspired to write new songs all the time, and I released three albums in 11 months. That was a little bit crazy…but funny! This album, Dancing the Whole Way Home, was my fourth album, and I wrote it together with the talented Sonny Boy Gustafsson. I felt that I didn’t want to repeat myself and what I had done on the first three albums.  I feel that the Miss Li-sound developed with this album, and I’m quite pleased with the result!

HD: How did Apple approach you about using “Bourgeois Shangri-La” in the iPod Nano campaign?

ML: They contacted me through my agency. In the beginning, I didn’t think they were going to use it. (I knew) it would be a good thing for me, but I never thought it would actually happen.

HD: Do you or did you use Apple products before this?

ML: Well, I don’t, but I guess I will now. [Smiles largely]

HD: In the United States, there is a huge amount of buzz around any and all iPod commercials. Have you seen an increase in sales and buzz in Sweden since the commercial came out?

ML: I’m on vacation at the moment, but I guess I will notice when I’m back!

HD: Are you planning to promote yourself in the United States now that your first song is well-known here?

ML: Maybe. We’ll see what happens now when the commercial is released! I’ve been in the U.S. twice. The band and I were playing in New York and at the House of Blues in L.A. last year, and it would be fun doing a larger tour in the states, maybe in the beginning of next year! But we’ll see what happens! If the Americans want me to come, I’d love to!

HD: Did you have any creative input into the ad?

ML: Not really. I don’t think it’s common that the artists are involved in the creative parts. We just write the songs, and hopefully someone likes it. [Smiling largely again]

HD: I haven’t heard your latest album yet, but what can I expect to hear once I get it?

ML: Sonny and I, who I’m writing with, are quite into the ’60s. I think you can sense that when you listen to the album! But it’s also inspired by the ’40s. Maybe you’ll hear a little bit of soul and cabaret as well, but in the end, it’s produced as modern pop. It’s so hard to explain, but I guess you notice when you listen to it!

HD: What is the most embarrassing song on your iPod right now?

ML: [Laughs] I don’t have an iPod — at least not yet — but in my phone, I have some songs that are quite embarrassing. For example, I like Coldplay, but I don’t really tell any of my friends that I like them because it’s not that cool.

HD: What type of view do folks in Sweden have of American music? Any favorites?

ML: I don’t know. It’s different! Of course there are people in Sweden that love Britney Spears, Pink and that type of modern music. It seems like America is very into making products right now. The huge record companies don’t really seem to care about releasing good music. They just want to make a lot of money. But that’s not really music, in my ears. If you ask me, I would prefer Bob Dylan, Neil Young and old blues, like Robert Johnson, Skip James or Sonny Boy Williamson, or soul from the ’60s like Nelson Sanders, James Brown and Otis Redding. And when it comes to new music, I love to listen to White Stripes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.