February 7, 2009
Success doesn't faze Lykke Li
By -- Sun Media

Swedish pop singer Lykke Li Timotej Zachrisson, known simply to most as Lykke Li, is near the homestretch of touring behind her debut album Youth Novels.

But you wouldn't suspect the singer is aware of a groundswell or growing fan base for her brand of quirky, electro-leaning dance music.

Well, not by her response anyway.

"I don't know, I just feel like doing dishes at home," Li says. "I don't know what the buzz is or what the word is around town."

Putting household chores aside, Li, performing at Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre on Friday, recorded her album with producer Bjorn Yttling of pop trio Peter Bjorn and John.

The album has since gone on to have some hit singles such as I'm Good, I'm Gone, Breaking It Up and Little Bit. However Li says the songs capture what she was feeling at the time of the recording.

"It was about a period of time in my life that was very special," she says. "Although I could say that vocally I was not very happy with my performance on the album, it reflects a time in my life where things were just moving and they were not supposed to end. It was like almost like a photograph and you can't always change a photograph. Just like in life, you can't change everything."

Li, 22, says there were many challenges in making the album from the writing to the finished product, but one thing which might have worked in her favour was time or, more importantly, the lack of it.

"We were working on a very tight schedule so we had to do it at a certain time and we knew that we wanted these songs," she says. "It wasn't like we recorded 30 songs and then we chose.

"I kind of like it working with a time pressure. We didn't have a lot of money at the time so we could only use the studio for a certain amount of time. There's a kind of schedule as far as what's a good time or a good month to do an album so we were kind of fitting that together."

As for the album, Li says she Time Flies is her personal favourite but also enjoys Little Bit, a song about "a situation I was going through with a certain man in my life" which came together rather easily.

Li believes the quirky I'm Good, I'm Gone was fuelled by some strong lyrics and a good riff but perhaps most by having an axe to grind.

""I was feeling kind of bored with life and I wanted to get the f--- out of there, so it was like my revenge song almost," she says.

The artist has a North American tour and more European dates but expects to stop touring behind Youth Novels after the summer so she can return to Sweden, a country whose music scene Li says is a bit misunderstood.

"People have a certain idea of Sweden that's not really accurate, it's not like we're all in bands and we all have jam sessions," she says. "Some people have bands and of course they stick to their bands. There are some good musicians out there. I mean, it's a very weird climate musically, it's very small."

Li says album two isn't even being thought about yet after the recent rigors of the road, but she's enjoyed performing her music wherever she goes.

It's just the coming and going that seems to be a nuisance for her.

"I don't enjoy flying so much, but it's been hard on my health and my life, you know," she says. "I just want to take a break, do my laundry, find a place to live and just breathe."