Karin Park
Spirit Animal
by daniela trujillo evb
With her new album Apocalypse Pop, Karin Park continues to use her music to explore the darker side. We sat down for a talk.
Our interview was scheduled for a Monday morning. As if we don’t all already wish Monday had a face so that we could punch it, I had just flown in from Berlin the night before, so once I arrived to the interview, I immediately apologized to Karin for looking a bit ‘homeless’. She laughed and assured me I looked nothing of the sort. After her humble comment and smile she confessed that she too was feeling a bit tired. Her flight from London the prior evening was delayed and she was running on only a couple of hours of sleep.
I giggled and let out a sign of relief. Within the first few seconds of our interview we had both established and shared that we were tired, had just flown in from another country the day before and well, that at least I didn’t look so hot.
After this opening exchange, I took the liberty of mentioning that I had flown in from Berlin and had been at Berghaim – one of Berlin’s most famous clubs – right until the last moment, at which my friends looked me in the eyes and reminded me I needed to get into a cab, get to the airport and make my flight home.
No ice needed breaking, but Karin still followed my confession by telling me that she has played Berghaim twice, with another scheduled date on her upcoming tour.
I was impressed. Berghaim is notorious for a great many things but the DJs and artists who are asked to play there are only the best of the best and Berghaim is highly selective – in both who plays and who gets in.
Along with her brother David, the Swedish-born singer, songwriter and model who has lived in Japan, Norway and England, has been making music since she was a child. Raised in the small town of Djura in Dalarna and with strong religious roots, she began singing in church.
When I asked her when or how it was that she knew this is what she wanted to do with her life she replied, “I always knew I was good at singing but it wasn’t until the Eurovision with Carola Häggqvist that I realised ‘this is what I am going to do’.”
Her music has been described as electro-analog, new retro, industrial pop and more. Out of curiosity I asked Karin which genre title she would give her own music and she responded as if she might suffer from slight synesthesia.
“Someone told me that my last album sounded like a mix of Kraftwerk and Björk. I try to think of my music as a landscape or a film. I like warmer, humid and dark climates. They turn me on, and that’s what I feel like my music, and especially the new album embodies.”
I can dig that description, and I notice that through out the entire interview, Karin – without trying – uses diction that truly does reflect her music or the visuals made for her tracks. Words like ‘dark’, ‘mysterious’ and ‘heavy’ are only a few of the words I noted.
A confession. During my preparation for the interview I took a listen to her latest single, Human Beings, and it brought tears to my eyes. I asked Park about the track and shared how it affected me.
“When I wrote Human Beings, my boyfriend has just been diagnosed with cancer . And I wrote that song when he got ill and got really down about that.,“ she explains.
“My music has always explored subjects that weren’t necessarily talked about so much growing up. I like to explore the things that are hidden away.”
I teared up as she told me this. Luckily, her boyfriend is back in good health and with the mood and topic ready to progress I look Park in the eyes and ask her two things:
Firstly, what would you be doing if you weren’t a musician or musical artist of any kind?
She answers without hesitation. “I would be a perfume maker! I am obsessed with perfumes!” She shares a bit about her favorite fragrances and her backstage ritual of spraying every one in her band with a bit of her choice scent from perfumer, Francis Kurkdijan.
And secondly, tell me something about yourself that only those close to you know. Do you have a phobia? A spirit animal?
A bit confused, but entertained by my request Karin laughs and tells me that she’s got a thing for ‘mixed animals’.
Taken aback, I ask her what the hell that means. Suddenly, we are both laughing and she breaks it down for me.
“You know when people on the internet Photoshop two different animals but as one? You know like the head of a lion with the body of a seagull type thing? Well, when I am in a bad mood I trawl the internet and look at those images.”
Without a doubt, it takes two to tango and there is no exception in the world of interviewers and interviewees. What began as a stressful Monday morning gracefully became an uplifting and inspiring professional exchange. Karin – in the first instance I can recall as a journalist – surprised me by asking me some questions and caring about who I was, almost interviewing me at one point.
I left our interview moved. Her humility, her talent, her demeanor and the trust she invested in our interview left me secretly wishing that this woman wouldn’t just be a professional encounter but one day, and maybe in another universe, a friend.
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If you want to catch a glimpse of her spirit and presence onstage then don’t miss her show April 1st at Södra Teatern. We will certainly be there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0rECShBxrg&feature=youtu.be
