Darin visited the Swedish radio program Metropol 93,8 some days ago. Firstly, they talked about his songwriting process, and about how the hard part of it was not to "change mindset" to Swedish, but rather that songs in Swedish might become cheesy.
How did you pick the memories for Ta mig tillbaka?
"We brainstormed in the studio. I sat there with Ollie Olsson and David Lindgren Zacharias. One of them had a guitar, and the other sat by the piano, while I was by the computer and wrote the lyrics. We thought 'what did you do in the nineties?' and we came up with those things; I listened to my first album, a lot of Whitney and Michael. 'And what did you do back then?' You played video games, and played in the woods with your friends, knocked on their doors.. "
You have a kind of smoother voice in this song.
"It's a different pitch. This song is supposed to be very soft. Even though it rises in the chorus, it's only a soft falsetto. I've sung all the musical parts as soft as possible."
How did you record it? We talked about it during the song, that you had a secret recipe.
"I don't know if I wanna reveal that, but it's a funny thing actually. I've recorded the choirs and most of the vocals with a regular headset, regular white earphones. The funniest part was that I recorded the demo version with those, so that we could hear what the song would sound like with vocals. Then we recorded new vocals with a real mic, and it didn't get better. No matter how much we tested and tweaked it, the demo recording with the regular headphones turned out much better, so we kept it."
You have Kurdish origins. Have you ever considered singing in Kurdish?
"It's not impossible, actually. I've thought about translating Ta mig tillbaka to both English and Kurdish."
That's my next question! What would it sound like - Ta mig tillbaka in Kurdish?
"That's why I haven't sung in Kurdish yet, because I haven't found the right style that suits Kurdish. Not all music styles work in Kurdish. It's a special language to write songs in because you can't write in the same way as in Swedish and English, where you can write in "spoken language" - you can't do that in Kurdish. Instead, you write in a more poetic language. I only speak "regular" Kurdish, I can speak it like I'm speaking Swedish right now. Not the poetic kind with difficult, nice words. But a cousin of mine writes lyrics in Kurdish, so he might be able to help me with that."
You're saying that it gets a little weird if you translate it literally?
"Yes, you can't do that."
So you can't sing it in Kurdish here, right now?
"No, I can't, haha."
How does your expression change depending on which language you write or sing in?
"Sometimes, but not often, it's possible to translate literally from one language to another. It gets a little weird; it must sync with the melody and it you can't use too many words, so you have to rewrite it a little bit. I want the song to be about the exact same thing, but I will probably rewrite the sentences and put it in a slightly different way."
The difference between English and Swedish then?
"In a way, it's easier to write in English because you can write about pretty much anything and it still sounds cool. In Swedish I really have to think it through, because I don't want it to turn out cheesy, I want it to be more authentic."
Is it more difficult to write in Swedish?
"It is, but I still had a good flow when I wrote in Swedish. It feels like I could put the thoughts and feelings I had into words."
You have been very successful these 10 years. Why do you think people that like what you do?
"I am extremely passionate about music, I always have been. I think people can see that. I work so hard, and sometimes I might even put too much pressure on myself, but that's a good thing, I think. That's why the result turns out good. If you're passionate about something, you work hard for it."
They talk about Darin being a perfectionist and asks him if that's hard for him.
"Sometimes it is. I'm happy about it too, because it brings good results, but it can be hard too."
In what ways have you changed as an artist after all these years?
"A lot of things have happened. Micheal Jackson and all the artists I listened to growing up have inspired me musically. I listen to an icredible amount of music which I try to take in. And of course I've developed as an artist even more. I go in different directions and find new styles - that happens for every album. But this is the biggest musical change from what I've done before, from album to album. When it comes to the sound as well, not only the lyrics."
They talk about what he is most proud of, which is the creative process. He says that he always strives for coming up with new things, and he mentions highlights from his career such as Så Mycket Bättre and the concert at Stockholm Central Station.
What will happen in the nearest future, except for the album release this fall?
"The album is what I focus on the most right now."
Is it finished yet?
"No it's not. I've written the lyrics and the melodies. Now we're about to record strings with an orchesta of 29 people. It's gonna be really cool."
After that, then, later in the fall?
"I haven't planned anything about the fall yet, except the album release. Probably a lot of things will happen then, things connected to the album."
Will you release a video for Ta mig tillbaka?
"Yes, actually. I've just recorded it, it should be finished in about 2 weeks."
Will it be in black and white?
"Haha, come on, I'm not that old."
Those who'd like to see you live then, where can they see you perform? "I'm not gonna do any concerts, actually. Probably later in the fall or in the spring, maybe."
You can listen to the whole interview (in Swedish) at this link (minute 1:08:20).
How did you pick the memories for Ta mig tillbaka?
"We brainstormed in the studio. I sat there with Ollie Olsson and David Lindgren Zacharias. One of them had a guitar, and the other sat by the piano, while I was by the computer and wrote the lyrics. We thought 'what did you do in the nineties?' and we came up with those things; I listened to my first album, a lot of Whitney and Michael. 'And what did you do back then?' You played video games, and played in the woods with your friends, knocked on their doors.. "
You have a kind of smoother voice in this song.
"It's a different pitch. This song is supposed to be very soft. Even though it rises in the chorus, it's only a soft falsetto. I've sung all the musical parts as soft as possible."
How did you record it? We talked about it during the song, that you had a secret recipe.
"I don't know if I wanna reveal that, but it's a funny thing actually. I've recorded the choirs and most of the vocals with a regular headset, regular white earphones. The funniest part was that I recorded the demo version with those, so that we could hear what the song would sound like with vocals. Then we recorded new vocals with a real mic, and it didn't get better. No matter how much we tested and tweaked it, the demo recording with the regular headphones turned out much better, so we kept it."
You have Kurdish origins. Have you ever considered singing in Kurdish?
"It's not impossible, actually. I've thought about translating Ta mig tillbaka to both English and Kurdish."
That's my next question! What would it sound like - Ta mig tillbaka in Kurdish?
"That's why I haven't sung in Kurdish yet, because I haven't found the right style that suits Kurdish. Not all music styles work in Kurdish. It's a special language to write songs in because you can't write in the same way as in Swedish and English, where you can write in "spoken language" - you can't do that in Kurdish. Instead, you write in a more poetic language. I only speak "regular" Kurdish, I can speak it like I'm speaking Swedish right now. Not the poetic kind with difficult, nice words. But a cousin of mine writes lyrics in Kurdish, so he might be able to help me with that."
You're saying that it gets a little weird if you translate it literally?
"Yes, you can't do that."
So you can't sing it in Kurdish here, right now?
"No, I can't, haha."
How does your expression change depending on which language you write or sing in?
"Sometimes, but not often, it's possible to translate literally from one language to another. It gets a little weird; it must sync with the melody and it you can't use too many words, so you have to rewrite it a little bit. I want the song to be about the exact same thing, but I will probably rewrite the sentences and put it in a slightly different way."
The difference between English and Swedish then?
"In a way, it's easier to write in English because you can write about pretty much anything and it still sounds cool. In Swedish I really have to think it through, because I don't want it to turn out cheesy, I want it to be more authentic."
Is it more difficult to write in Swedish?
"It is, but I still had a good flow when I wrote in Swedish. It feels like I could put the thoughts and feelings I had into words."
You have been very successful these 10 years. Why do you think people that like what you do?
"I am extremely passionate about music, I always have been. I think people can see that. I work so hard, and sometimes I might even put too much pressure on myself, but that's a good thing, I think. That's why the result turns out good. If you're passionate about something, you work hard for it."
They talk about Darin being a perfectionist and asks him if that's hard for him.
"Sometimes it is. I'm happy about it too, because it brings good results, but it can be hard too."
In what ways have you changed as an artist after all these years?
"A lot of things have happened. Micheal Jackson and all the artists I listened to growing up have inspired me musically. I listen to an icredible amount of music which I try to take in. And of course I've developed as an artist even more. I go in different directions and find new styles - that happens for every album. But this is the biggest musical change from what I've done before, from album to album. When it comes to the sound as well, not only the lyrics."
They talk about what he is most proud of, which is the creative process. He says that he always strives for coming up with new things, and he mentions highlights from his career such as Så Mycket Bättre and the concert at Stockholm Central Station.
What will happen in the nearest future, except for the album release this fall?
"The album is what I focus on the most right now."
Is it finished yet?
"No it's not. I've written the lyrics and the melodies. Now we're about to record strings with an orchesta of 29 people. It's gonna be really cool."
After that, then, later in the fall?
"I haven't planned anything about the fall yet, except the album release. Probably a lot of things will happen then, things connected to the album."
Will you release a video for Ta mig tillbaka?
"Yes, actually. I've just recorded it, it should be finished in about 2 weeks."
Will it be in black and white?
"Haha, come on, I'm not that old."
Those who'd like to see you live then, where can they see you perform? "I'm not gonna do any concerts, actually. Probably later in the fall or in the spring, maybe."
You can listen to the whole interview (in Swedish) at this link (minute 1:08:20).