Swedish star Anna Ternheim shines on small U.S. stages

Already a star in her native Sweden, Anna Ternheim is now starting to turn heads stateside with the release of her third album, Leaving On A Mayday. Recorded with Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn and John fame, the album darts deftly between orchestral torch ballads, austere acoustic material and delightfully dark gothic pop, with Ternheim’s icy and penetrating alto always the driving force. Prior to her performance on Oct. 9 at 7th St. Entry opening for Asobi Seksu and Loney, Dear, Ternheim talked with The A.V. Club about splitting time between New York and Stockholm, her willingness to slug it out in America’s indie-rock trenches, and the “melody and mystery” of the English language.

A.V. Club: Is it difficult coming to the U.S. and playing tiny clubs to audiences largely unfamiliar with your music after doing tours in Sweden where you’re a Grammy winner and playing to packed theaters?

Anna Ternheim:  I’ve always done that. I’ve been touring for a long time and playing in new places for new people is what I enjoy. I’m fortunate that things have gone really well for me in Sweden and that all happened relatively quickly. I still tour smaller clubs in other parts of Europe, and things are still growing for me in the States. To me that’s exciting. I wouldn’t want to do the same show over and over. The size of the venue has nothing to do with the magic in the room.

AVC: How do you approach translating Leaving On A Mayday's epic, cinematic sound to live performance? I assume you’re not in a position to tour with an orchestra anywhere just yet.

AT: I’ve already done a couple of tours behind this album, and each time the approach is different. I did some shows in Sweden with a full band and multiple backing vocalists and a really big sound. Then I went and toured France and only had two people performing with me, so we changed the arrangements completely.  For this tour of the States, Loney, Dear will be backing me up. I think all of the different combinations can work for this set of songs because ultimately all of them were built around the vocals from the start. To me the songs are simple; if you take away the vocals there’s just atmosphere.

AVC: The last few years have seen independent Swedish pop making serious waves on the American scene. Is there a sense of community among the group of Swedes making a go of it musically here in the States?

AT: There definitely is. Before I always felt pretty alone, but since my music has come out in the States I feel much more connected to other Swedish musicians. We all work with the same people, go through the same channels, help each other out. Sweden is a very small country, especially when it comes to more alternative pop music, so I’ve had the chance to meet and work with a lot of great people. The work itself of songwriting is still a very lonely profession, though.

AVC: You moved to New York City during the making of this record. How did that experience shape the final product?

AT:  Even though most of the songs were written in Stockholm, moving to New York had a big impact because that’s where we did all the final mixing and recording. Two songs ended up being unexpectedly written in the studio and added to the album, and that was just a result of all the energy generated from being there. The most important thing for me was learning to let go and let Bjorn focus on the producing and arrangements so I could just concentrate on singing. That was totally new for me. In the past I always played guitar and wrote my songs with that as the starting point, so it was very freeing to get away from that.

AVC: Are you still splitting time between New York and Stockholm now?

AT: I am, for the time being. It’s hard. It doesn’t really feel like I have a home anywhere now. I pretty much live in a suitcase and have for the past year. I sat down the other day and figured out that I’ll have played 120 shows by the end of the year. It’s tough being on the road that long. I’ve grown from it. Touring has helped me figure out what I really need in life, what makes me feel good. I’ve learned that when it comes down to it simple things can make me really happy.

AVC: Like a lot of Swedish artists, you choose to write and record your songs in English rather than your native tongue. Why?

AT: It never felt like a conscious decision. I was hugely influenced by American and English pop music growing up. I was actually living in America for a year as a teenager when I formed my first band and started writing songs so singing in English felt very natural. I enjoyed the way it sounded, how the words felt in my mouth. The melody and mystery of the language allowed me to keep things really simple. I tend to use too many words and make things too complex when I write in Swedish. The meaning in music is always about more than just the words. It’s about finding your own voice and style. I also write songs in French—which I know even less of than English. As long as I’m communicating the feeling I want, it doesn’t matter what the language is.