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Electric Picnic Spotlight: 15 Questions With... Aurora

Over the course of Electric Picnic 2016, we'll be chatting to some of the performers and getting ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

15.05 4 Sep 2016


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Electric Picnic Spotlight: 15...

Electric Picnic Spotlight: 15 Questions With... Aurora

Newstalk
Newstalk

15.05 4 Sep 2016


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Over the course of Electric Picnic 2016, we'll be chatting to some of the performers and getting them to answer our 15 Questions as quickly as they possibly can.

Before she even turned 20, Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora had already been hired to sing the song to accompany last year's John Lewis Christmas advert, for which she covered the Oasis track "Half The World Away".

Since then she's only gone from strength to strength, releasing her debut album All My Friends Greeting Me As A Friend in March of this year to massive critical acclaim, which went on to spawn six hit singles.

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Before taking to the Electric Arena on the afternoon of the last day of this year's Picnic, we managed to corner the talented artist and get her opinions on everything from her surprising pick for the hottest musician working today to the lack of personality in modern chart music.

What is the first album you bought?

I think it was Blonde On Blonde by Bob Dylan.

Which song is guaranteed to get you up dancing?

Oh, there's so many! Probably 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac.

What do you think is the best Bond song?

I really like Adele's one, 'Skyfall'. I really liked that film too, actually.

What is your favourite lyric from one of your own songs?

Oh, I don't know. I sing them every day so I should know! "I would rather see the world through the eyes of a child", from 'Through The Eyes Of A Child'.

What album or song are you loving right now?

I'm listening to 'Winddancer' by Secret Garden (from their 1997 album White Stones) at the moment. I love Secret Garden, and I love that song, it makes me dance. I was making pancakes the other morning and I was dancing to bits of the song in between flipping my pancakes.

Who is the most famous person you have ever met, and do you still get starstruck?

Katy Perry comes to my shows when I play in LA. I don't really get starstruck, but I was a little bit when she came to my show the first time, because she came backstage to say hello. She was very lovely and I think she just really loves music.

If you could work with any songwriter, producer or artist, who would it be?

Leonard Cohen. Or Gojira, who are a heavy-metal rock band from France.

Is Beyonce overrated?

I don't really know who she is. She sang 'Single Ladies', didn't she? I seen a video of her where she was in a very awkward and uncomfortable situation and she handled it really well, so I think she might be a very smart person.

Which song is guaranteed to make you cry?

'Asleep' by The Smiths.

Can you describe your songwriting process in just one word?

Schizophrenic.

Who is the best looking musical artist working today?

I really like the lead singer of Radiohead. I like that one eye of his, I think that's really nice.

Do you have a single favourite memory from one of your live performances?

There was one in Texas where I broke my front tooth. (Aurora then opens her mouth and runs her tongue along her front tooth) There's a little chip taken out of this one, would you like to feel it? ("No, we've been sitting in the grass all day, so best not touch your mouth.") Haha! Thank you! Yes, that was just one of those gigs where everything went wrong, and you think it's going to go really badly, and then everything just works out really good.

What is the best career advice you've ever been given?

That you're often more correct in your opinions that you might think, but also, you're not always right in your opinions. Don't get bent over, I guess.

What is the best thing about music today?

I guess, freedom. We realise more and more than we can inspire people, hopefully in the right way, with our words. The openness and the honesty that we can have. There are things that we can sing about that people couldn't sing about before. Which I guess is a good thing about the world right now, that openness, I do like.

What is the worst thing about music today?

I think a lot of music today has lost some of it's personality. When you listen to a song on the charts, they are all starting to sound a little bit the same, because they are all from the same producers and the same writers. And some of the more original artists don't get the recognition that they deserve.


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