Posted by SKAAR – real name Hilde Skaar – describes herself as a songwriter and artist. An accurate description, though perhaps underwhelming for a girl with pop star quality searing through every piece of work she has ever released.
“I’ve been singing since I could talk, and always had a deep fascination for music. I always sort of knew that is what I wanted to do,” she tells Clash.
Growing up SKAAR’s biggest influence was her older siblings. “Both of them are really into music. My sister was a massive fan of Coldplay, and my brother was a big Foo Fighters fan, so both of those peaked my interest for music”.
Hilde admits she’s still a massive fan of both, and that her greatest dream is to someday do a collaboration with Coldplay’s own Chris Martin, who conveniently enough is signed to Warner Music, the same label as the 21-year old songwriter.
SKAAR waited until she finished school before going full force with her musical career. She was writing songs from an early age, though the subject matter may have changed. As a self-confessed “hopeless romantic”, her first song was a sugar-sweet ode to a school crush she was too shy to actually approach.
Hilde has come far since her first, cheesy brushes with songwriting. Now her focus is more concerned with real emotions and personal references, rather than unattainable love affairs. “For me, the best ideas comes out of the blue in moments when I’m really inspired,” she says.
Though she is exploring more of her own experiences now, she still has a flair for the larger-than-life vibe. “My writing is definitely a little pompous, I like a bit of grandness”, she says. She further explains how blowing emotions out of proportions can feel incredibly therapeutic. “It’s so easy to minimise your thoughts and feelings, and I think that’s sad because you don’t recognise your own emotions. For me it’s great therapy to blow up everything I think and feel, and to make that matter. Feelings are the most powerful we have,” Hilde concludes.
It seems almost impossible for any young, female, Scandinavian pop-star not to be put in a box, and Hilde definitely has had her share of comparison. “I get compared to Sigrid, AURORA and Dagny,” she says. Whilst she recognise the compliment of being paired with such talented artists, there is a definite downside. “It is so easy to be pigeonholed that way, and I’d rather be me. In those comparisons, you might not get the room to play out how you want to. I hope I get the space to make my own path.”
SKAAR’s debut EP is set to be released over the summer. The project is a collection of songs, describing her coming of age. Though most is reflective of her experiences at 19, the songs will still be relevant today.
Going forth, she explains how every song opens up for new discovery for the young artist. “I have a clearer direction and idea of what I want to make now. For every song I write my identity takes more and more shape. You can hear it on the EP, this is SKAAR”.
We can’t wait to hear where this musical endeavour will take her.
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Words: Aurora Henni Krogh
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