Snob's Music: Q&A with: El Perro Del Mar

Swedish indie pop singer El Perro Del Mar, aka Sarah Assbring, comes to Toronto to play a show at The Mod Club this Sunday with countrywoman Taken By Trees. I had the pleasure of speaking with Assbring about the upcoming show and her music.

Here's our conversation:

T.O. Snob: First off, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us. You’re playing the Mod Club on Sunday. For those who haven’t seen you perform live what can they expect?
SA: They can expect something emotional and groovy.

T.O. Snob: I was reading that Lou Reed served as a muse for your new album Love Is Not Pop. What was it about him and his work that inspired you?

SA: I've always been a fan of his work and of him but I think with this album because of what was going on in my life I was drawn to his lyrical work. I read lot of his lyrics and I think that is what inspired me the most. The way that he can always be in this dingy black world and always still have a hope of something better and something more beautiful within this dark world, especially when it comes to the hope of love.

T.O. Snob: Your cover of Reed’s “Heavenly Arms” is absolutely gorgeous. Would you ever consider doing more of his songs?

SA: Yeah definitely. He's done so much great stuff and I'm a fan of a lot of it, especially because of his great lyrics. It's fun and very easy to do his work well. I have nothing planned at the moment but it might happen.

T.O. Snob: You can tell with some artists that they think lyrics or maybe vocals or the arrangement is the most important element of a song. What is the most important element of a song for you?

SA: There definitely has to be a melody there. There has to be something that catches your ear and makes you stick to it, something that makes you want to listen to the song as soon as it's over. You need that instant melody I think.

T.O. Snob: When you write a song is that where you start?

SA: I usually start with lyrics until I've done those. The perfect combination in the song should be a lyrics that bring the song and the heart together with the perfect melody. So I usually start with a phrase or sentence or some word that means a lot to me. Then the rest comes naturally.

T.O. Snob: It seems to me that we in North America get Scandinavian music in waves. In the ‘80s it was mainstream pop like Roxette or Ace of Base, in the ‘90s it was punk like Refused and Millencolin, now it’s indie pop. Obviously that stuff is always going on in Sweden but is there more of an onus on that now, are more people doing it and is that why we hear it?

SA: I think the music climate these days is just more generous and more people can make music. There are a lot of people making great music in Sweden. I'm not sure why it reaches out, there's just something there that seems to be attractive to a lot of people. The music scene in Sweden is very good and inspiring.

T.O. Snob: I've always wondered why someone chooses to perform under a name like El Perro Del Mar instead of their real name. What went into your decision?
SA: First of all the name El Perro Del Mar is something I came up with that had a lot of meanings for me personally. Then when I decided to use it it was more of a chance to hold onto something that was creative instead of something that would be really crass or not very imaginary like my own name. So it's just a means to hold onto some kind of imaginary world or something existing outside reality, which to me music is a lot about.

T.O. Snob: I have one final quick question for you, will team Sweden successfully defend their Olympic hockey gold?
SA: Oh I am so the wrong person to ask. I have no idea. It would be fun if they did but I'll say no.