Hanne Mjøen
Norwegian artist Hanne Mjøen released her latest single “Hell With You” on April 22nd. Co-written with Karl Zine and produced by Sondre Mjåland, the electronic/pop single is about falling out of love while still being in the relationship.
“Hell With You” is a very personal song that beautifully showcases Mjøen’s magical vocals as well as her honest songwriting.
With an upcoming EP on the way, Hanne Mjøen is sharing her feelings through memorable records.
“Hell With You” is now available worldwide :)
Introduce yourself - what's your story? How would you define Hanne Mjøen, the artist?
Hanne Mjøen is my outlet of emotion, the unfiltered and honest truth. Through my artist project I let myself write about everything that goes on in my mind and heart, and hopefully it will be relatable for someone else too. I’ve never been particularly good at talking about how I feel, so when I realized I could write songs, this was the natural outlet for me. I grew up in a small town, and I was a bit on my own doing music, so this made it both harder and easier for me; No one taught me how to make music, but at the same time no one could influence what music I should make either. So I found my own voice, and started to develop it with writers and producers later on, once I moved to Oslo at the age of 18.
"Hell With You" is your latest single - what's the inspiration behind this single?
I wrote Hell With You in March 2019 with Karl Zine. At the time I recently walked out of a relationship, and I wanted to write about what it was like falling out of love while still being in the relationship, and wanted to describe my inner dialogue in this period of my life. I haven't really heard a lot of songs about that phase before, at least not that honest and straightforward as we wrote the lyrics, so it felt like there was a song that might be needed, and might mean something for someone.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this single? Who helped you create it?
Me and Karl wrote the melodies and lyrics and made a demo, and I knew straight away that this was something special. One of my favorite persons, Sondre Mjåland, who I’ve written with a couple times before, and also play in my band, heard the song, and really wanted to work on it. So we exchanged ideas and stems, and finished the song together. It’s so nice working with people who really know you, and Sondre could kindof make my sound without me having to tell him what to do.
What did you feel when writing this song?
I always find it kinda scary writing so honest songs as this one, it feels liberating but at the same time I’m a bit scared to share my ideas, cause they’re so personal. We shared a document and wrote down some ideas, and once Karl picked up the “Heaven is for girls who play nice”-line I had pinched in the document, I knew we were on the same vibe. I could lose my guard, and start talking about it in the room, and a couple hours later we had the body of the song.
What's your favorite thing about this song?
My favorite thing about all the songs I listen to is lyrics, and the same for this one. I tend to like songs that say something in a different way, and I feel like this song does. Playing around with opposites like heaven and hell, and “feel it when we talk, and don’t communicate”, that’s what I love about songwriting, and makes it the most fun for me to write.
What made you want to release "Hell With You" as a single?
I knew once we had finished writing “Hell With You” that I had to release it, cause it felt so special to me. It might not be the most commercial and relatable song after one listen, but that’s also what I love about it, cause I don't get tired of it, and every time I listen to it I find new elements in the production and new meaning to the lyrics.
What can you tell us about your upcoming EP?
My upcoming EP is a rollercoaster of emotions, and it takes you from one stadium to the next, not leaving a single feeling out. The theme is about taking the rose-tint glasses off and stepping into the grown up world with high expectations, but realizing that life is no movie, and everything that was supposed to be easier once you grew up, is still the same struggle. It’s also in some ways about turning the pain into power, and learning how to deal with life.
What does it mean for you to be an artist?
For me, being an artist means that I have a voice, and have something to say. I’ve never had any sort of dream to be on the big stages and be the “pop-star”, but I’ve had stuff on my mind, that maybe others have had to, and if I can write a song about it that means something for someone, that's more than enough for me. I just want to be myself, and be myself, and if that can help someone through something, that would mean the world to me. Really.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part of being an artist is everything you have to do that’s not music, haha. I love instagram, and I love connecting with fans there, and on other platforms, but during release-periods it can be a bit exhausting having to be so available all the time. I do want to reply to every message, and I really do care, it means a lot, but unfortunately we don’t have unlimited time to be everywhere, we also need to sleep and eat and relax around friends and family, and especially with social media - we are so available to anyone all the time, and it's so normal that we forget to put our phones away and breathe.
This is kind of ironic, cause the best part of being an artist for me is writing songs that mean something for someone, and them letting me know what it means for them, how one of my songs helped them through something really hard and rough. Music connects people, and I think we find comfort knowing we are not alone in feeling how we feel.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
To be completely honest; I have mixed feelings about today's music industry. I love how anyone can put out anything, and that music is so accessible all over the world, but this is also a model that doesn't make it sustainable to be an artist, or a songwriter for that matter. The streaming model we have at the moment, is hard for everyone involved, especially now that we can't play live shows either, and have less income than usual. It’s been bugging me for a while now. I don't feel like I am in a position to speak up about this, cause I still need all the support I can get, everywhere, but it is frustrating how slow this developing from physical to digital music is moving and updating. We should definitely get the same salary as similar performing artists did back in the physical record-time, and I hope that someday in the near future, this can be taken care of.
How would you define the music scene in Norway?
Norway is a great place to be doing music. There’s a lot of really good producers and writers blooming now, and I think it is because of the cold. We don't have that many summer-months, and spend a lot of time inside, so it's easier to become a nerd and deepdive into music over here. The soundscape coming from Norway is also affected by this I think, and we make more dark, interesting and sad songs than elsewhere I think.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
I’ve learned to respect and talk about my feelings, rather than being silent and not saying anything, hoping people would see it on my face whenever something was wrong. I’ve learned to be independent, and not rely on other people to make things happen for me. Follow my own instinct and vision, and if there's someone out there who wants to work with what I am, they are welcome to tag along and work with me.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
Recycle, think before you talk, be true to yourself and be kind.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
Be who you want to be, and don’t doubt your own voice.
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