Enfnts Terribles

How was your day so far? What have you been up to?

I feel like I had the most dreamy, maybe even most cheesy day. We came to Brussels and got to the hotel, where I took a really long bath. I was reading my boyfriend’s new book and listened to Brigitte Bardot. Later, I went out, ate some cake, and went to a book store. I was walking around dreamily thinking I was the star of an indie movie.

So it felt more like a chill city trip instead of being on tour?

It was super chill. Through the years, I learned how to completely tap out of the whole extraverted thing because touring is a super extraverted thing to do.

Would you say that there are two different characters, the one on and the one off stage?

I don’t think there are just two people inside me. I would even say a thousand characters because there are so many versions of existing. There are several versions of existing on stage. Some days, I walk on stage with no expectations or much motivation but end up not wanting to leave the stage. Other days, I go out with a desire to rip everyone to piece. It’s so much of my life that I feel like saying there are just two characters would be a bit too simplified.

Would you say that there’s a big difference between your writing process compared to your first album? How would you explain that evolution?

It’s definitely way more conceptual and—I also say this with fear of being judged—more intellectual. In the beginning, my creative process was innocent, and it was sometimes more a coincidence. I have this big mood board inside my head with every album I make. I have stories, secrets, or specific authors I’m very inspired by. One of them is Roberto Bolano, who I have a tattoo referring to, or Marcel Proust.

I’ve read À la recherche du temps perdu last year and was really inspired by the whole format. Slowly through my work the past ten years, I have practiced bridging the gap between the physicalness of creating music. You can’t think melody or grooviness, it has to be physical. For a long time, I couldn’t mix that with my intellectual ideas or more philosophical thinking. I’m slowly figuring out where the parallels are, and I’m still learning.

Is there an author or a book that was the main inspiration for the album or a specific song?

Roberto Bolano did a book called 2666, which is a very interesting novel that has a weird way of telling a thing. He circles around it and points at it but never shows you the thing in the middle. It’s a very long book. In the end, you know what’s in the middle even though it’s never said. You don’t know but you know. Having so much secrecy in a piece of work, I know that Bolano knows 80% more than he’s telling. I wanted that same feeling on an album. I wanted to make an album where I already reveal 20% of what I know about all these different storylines, characters, and concepts. That was the mission for Capacity.