In the first of a two-part series, escdaily interviews Melodifestivalen 2011 participant Anniela to talk about her experiences, her new album and what the future might just hold for her!

escdaily: What did it feel like to participate in Melodifestivalen 2011, especially alongside artists like Sanna Nielsen, Elisabeth Andreassen and Christian Walz?

Anniela: The whole Melodifestival rollercoster is crazy, in a good way. It’s a different world, so different from everything else I’ve ever done. I loved every part of it and most of all I am so thankful that I got to do that show, it was amazing and I’m so proud of it. I would love to do it again. I had a blast. Being there with those talented artists, I was kind of nervous, cause I admire them so much, but very humbling. They are great, as artists AND people.

E: For our non-Swedish speakers, what is the message behind Elektrisk?

A: Elektrisk means electric. It’s a clubsong and it’s all about the chemistry on the dancefloor, and the electricity you experience when the dj plays that one popsong that just makes everyone go crazy. For example “I Gotta Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas; the song is quite old now and you’ve heard it like a million times but when you hear it on the dancefloor you just cant NOT love it. However, a friend of mine who’s inlove at the moment asked me if it could be about love and I said “yes, if you want it to be”.

E: Your performance at Melodifestivalen 2011 was extremely visual – how did you come up with the idea of “electrocuting yourself” at the end of the song?!

A: The whole idea of the performance was to create that electric feeling, with a dynamic and sexy choreography. I love theater and most of my performances concains that in some form. I said “I wanna be born on stage and then electrified and die”. We were very inspired by the Frankenstein movie from 1931.

E: It certainly looked like you were inspired by that film, particularly the beginning! Now, how excited are you that your new album is being released this week?

A: I am so proud of this album, most of all because it really speaks for me and my personality. I love popmusic, I love dancemusic and I love electro. Putting them together creates magic in my ears and I get these amazing shows in my head.
It is very experimental. There are songs you probably wouldn’t expect on the album. They’re a little crazy, and some are a little odd. Just like me. I got to work with such amazing songwriters and producers who I admire and who inspire me so much. I am thankful!

E: How much time did you spend recording the album?

A: I dont know exactly when we started working on it, but we’ve done it for almost a year. It started with a coffee, and then we created magic. Sthlm Syndrome and My Confession were the 2 first songs we recorded, and they’ve been the red line through the creative proccess.

E: Is there any country, or countries, that you’d like to release your music in?

A: My dream is to travel, living in my suitcase. I wanna be everywhere, I wanna meet people from everywhere. And I already have deals in some of my dreamcountries, Russia, Poland, China, Korea, India. But I really wanna go to the UK. It’s been in the plans for such a long time, but it just hasn’t happened yet. But soon I hope.

E: Do you think that you’ll enter Melodifestivalen again in the future?

A: I hope I will, I really want to. I feel like I have so much more to give and so much more to show of myself. Don’t know if it will be in Sweden, but somewhere.

E: Finally – what is that green thing you wear around your neck in the performance of Elektrisk and on your album cover?!

A: It’s some broccoli haha! At least, that was the reaction from the crowd when they first saw it. But no, it’s a collar made out of silk. The vision was a flower but we didnt really have a clear vision of what we wanted it to look like in the end. We tried so many different looks, and this is what it became.

E: Thank you Anniela for answering our questions! Best of luck for the future and with the album!

Did I give you waaay to long answers? Hope not. Thanks for interviewing, always fun talking about my work. Great questions!!