most Americans have probably heard Marit Larsen’s voice before. She was one-half of the teenage pop duo M2M, whose “Don’t Say You Love Me” was a minor-hit stateside (helped, no doubt, by its inclusion on the Pokemon: The First Movie soundtrack). After the break-up, and years out of the spotlight, Larsen emerged with 2006’s stunning Under the Surface, a record that received both overwhelming critical acclaim and massive sales in her native country and throughout Western Europe.
Far from flirtatious teenage love songs and digitally enhanced bubblegum, Larsen has a knack, thanks to her pixie-ish range somewhere between Gillian Welch and Bjork, for crafting saccharine sweet melodies. Under the Surface boils over with rich and sophisticated pop music; a cohesive document spotted with country accents as on the banjo led “Only a Fool” and soaring piano hooks, found on her biggest hit, “Don’t Save Me,” that could translate in any corner of the world. Stylus caught up with Larsen at the South By Southwest Festival to talk to her about Under the Surface, its possible release in the States, and the next album.
First of all, why are you here playing South By Southwest?
Basically, I’m looking for a label. My record is a really weird pop album and I’m hoping to find someone here that is enthusiastic about my music and doesn’t have enormous ambitions sales-wise. I just want it to be available.
Not to bring up M2M that much, but I wanted to talk about the period where M2M broke up and you decided to become a solo artist. Were you always writing your own songs?
I was always writing my own songs. I started writing when I was thirteen, and I’ve always been writing my own songs just for myself. It’s my way of getting things out of my system. I just never had the courage to share the ones that I wrote all by myself.
So M2M was mostly…
We co-wrote all of that, but when you have two names on a song you can never tell who owns the story.
You and Marion?
Yes, so we co-wrote them, and we wrote with a lot of different people. I mean, we traveled the world for two years and wrote with like 50 different co-writers. It was a good learning experience, but I learned mostly what I don’t want, which is important as well.
Do you find yourself regretting your time in M2M at all?
No, not at all. I play a country version of “Don’t Say You Love Me” but that’s basically it, and that’s a song that I’ve always held close to my heart. But even then, I’ve always had my own songs, and some of the songs on Under the Surface, like “Solid Ground” I started writing when I was 14.
You were talking about what you didn’t want to do as a solo artist, what did you learn the most from being in M2M that has carried over to now?
I think the most important thing I learned is that when you’re standing on that stage and you’re so alone and so naked, it doesn’t matter that the producer was so stubborn or the record company wanted it to be this way or that way, because all the audience sees is you. They’re going think that it’s your opinion, your choices in melodies, and if it sucks it sucks. People won’t buy it.
Far from flirtatious teenage love songs and digitally enhanced bubblegum, Larsen has a knack, thanks to her pixie-ish range somewhere between Gillian Welch and Bjork, for crafting saccharine sweet melodies. Under the Surface boils over with rich and sophisticated pop music; a cohesive document spotted with country accents as on the banjo led “Only a Fool” and soaring piano hooks, found on her biggest hit, “Don’t Save Me,” that could translate in any corner of the world. Stylus caught up with Larsen at the South By Southwest Festival to talk to her about Under the Surface, its possible release in the States, and the next album.
First of all, why are you here playing South By Southwest?
Basically, I’m looking for a label. My record is a really weird pop album and I’m hoping to find someone here that is enthusiastic about my music and doesn’t have enormous ambitions sales-wise. I just want it to be available.
Not to bring up M2M that much, but I wanted to talk about the period where M2M broke up and you decided to become a solo artist. Were you always writing your own songs?
I was always writing my own songs. I started writing when I was thirteen, and I’ve always been writing my own songs just for myself. It’s my way of getting things out of my system. I just never had the courage to share the ones that I wrote all by myself.
So M2M was mostly…
We co-wrote all of that, but when you have two names on a song you can never tell who owns the story.
You and Marion?
Yes, so we co-wrote them, and we wrote with a lot of different people. I mean, we traveled the world for two years and wrote with like 50 different co-writers. It was a good learning experience, but I learned mostly what I don’t want, which is important as well.
Do you find yourself regretting your time in M2M at all?
No, not at all. I play a country version of “Don’t Say You Love Me” but that’s basically it, and that’s a song that I’ve always held close to my heart. But even then, I’ve always had my own songs, and some of the songs on Under the Surface, like “Solid Ground” I started writing when I was 14.
You were talking about what you didn’t want to do as a solo artist, what did you learn the most from being in M2M that has carried over to now?
I think the most important thing I learned is that when you’re standing on that stage and you’re so alone and so naked, it doesn’t matter that the producer was so stubborn or the record company wanted it to be this way or that way, because all the audience sees is you. They’re going think that it’s your opinion, your choices in melodies, and if it sucks it sucks. People won’t buy it.
