Name: Maggot Heart
Members: Linnea Olsson (vocals, guitar), Olivia Airey (bass), Uno Bruniusson (drums)
Interviewee: Linnea Olsson
Nationality: Swedish (Linnea)
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: The new Maggot Heart album Hunger is out via Svart / Rapid Eye.
Recommendations: I love Dick by Chris Kraus, which is a book, and The Infamous by Mobb Deep which is an album.

If you enjoyed this interview with Maggot Heart and would like to keep up to date with the band and their music, visit their official homepage. Rapid Eye Records are also on Instagram, and Facebook.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I am sensitive to music, it affects me deeply. If I’m unsettled or sad I don’t listen to it, at all. It holds a lot of power, I have to be ready to take it.

I do not see any shapes, objects or colours, and I’m quite happy about that to be honest, that seems intense.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

Everyone is an artist. Everyone is born to create. Sex is creation. Science is creation. Cooking is creation. I really despise the idea that there are some sort of criteria to be an artist, other than actually creating something.

Having said that, talent is innate and skill is buildable. I had an innate talent as a child, but it was not perceived as something I would make a name for myself doing. I played the piano, flute, saxophone and sang in choirs, and went to an elementary school with music theory on the curriculum. I taught myself how to play the guitar at 13, I borrowed an acoustic from a neighbour and then a year later started my first band.

I think I would probably have advanced faster if I would have gone to a music oriented high school, but for some reason I didn’t. And it would take me a while to find the confidence to truly admit to myself and others that music is my calling and what I would like to do in life.

In some ways I’m glad I’m somewhat of a late bloomer, because to be vulnerable - which is really the core of being an artist - can be brutal. But all in all I am happy for all the experiences I’ve made towards becoming the best songwriter I can be.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

During those years I was completely and utterly obsessed with rock music almost in a spiritual sense. I think it represented freedom to me more than anything else.

I still feel the same when listening to the same records, that stuff stays with you. But I have a vaster palette of music these days.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

I think connection is probably one of the biggest reasons I do this. Connection to the “source”. Connection to myself. Connection to the listener. It makes me feel part of something.

I approach music with total instinct and from the gut. I am not a person who likes to analyse too much in the stage of writing. I don’t think music should be intellectual. It’s supposed to make you feel something.

I think the first idea is most likely the best and even though some songs take a long time to finish, I don’t like to jam or mess around too much. If you lose that moment where it clicks, it can be very difficult to get it back.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I’ve received it.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

Not sure what he means really, it’s impossible to listen to your own music in any kind of “overall” way.

But yeah, obviously the “room” that you step into as a listener, has to be the right one. You don’t want to aim for a cold cellar and then find yourself on the balcony.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

I don’t hear a lot of animal noises except for my dog whining in the mornings. I live in the city, so there are no ocean waves here. I am actually sensitive to sensory input over all, it can be overwhelming for me. I have started to use earplugs in my everyday life because of this.

I think my most moving experiences have been from and in silence.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

The perfection of a one-riff song, or a one-beat track is magical, when it’s the right riff or the right beat. Simplicity is the most difficult thing to get right. I think it really shows the true capability of an artist when there is nothing to hide behind.

Liz Buckingham from Electric Wizard once said to me that anyone could learn how to pull off an alright guitar solo, but writing a good riff is another ballgame. It’s so true. I like rap for this reason, because it’s so immediate - a good beat. And it shows so much confidence to build a whole song on top of that. Same with great techno, it’s incredible how much you can do with so few components. I see no difference really between these genres and punk music.

At the same time I like music that is quite complex, one of my favourite bands is Voivod. They are able to unite complexity and simplicity in a way where the punch in the gut is not diminished by the technicality.



That goes for great death metal as well, be it Morbid Angel or whatever. I guess it has to come from a place of rawness.



Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

Sure. I had the chord progression for the chorus of “This Shadow” down in a few minutes. It’s very melancholic and euphoric at the same time, those notes. I sang the vocal melody on top without lyrics in my living room for over a year.



It is, in my own humble opinion, a banger of a chorus. I wanted a real pop chorus feel. Because of this, you need the perfect words, or it’s ruined in an instant. I often have the syllables and melody down first and then painstakingly have to find words that make sense. This proved more difficult than usual, and took a really long time.

“Every star on the sky is a liar” has a nice ring to it, even if it’s grammatically incorrect! The intro riff could theoretically be played over the entire song, from start to finish, as in - it fits over all parts of the song.

This is another common trait of my music. In fact, that riff was intended for another one of our songs - called “No Song”, which came out in 2021.



It fits over that tune from start to finish as well, but we decided to take it out. If you are a guitar player you can try it out yourself, it’s very simple. When you write songs like this, it becomes a pretty fun puzzle of “let’s keep it here but take it out there”.

The verse is very simple as well, and for that reason it took us a minute to find the right arrangement for drums and bass, there was some work put into it which paid off. I think what Olivia and Uno are playing on there is perfect, simple enough to let the vocal melody shine, but interesting enough to create dynamic here and there.

The whole song comes across as immediate, but it’s quite complex. It’s also difficult to play and sing live, but it’s a nice challenge. I hope with some more practice I’ll be able to get through it without getting so out of breath.


Maggot Heart Interview Image by Sara Gewalt

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Definitely not.

Our drummer Uno does it in his solo music though, he uses numerology and polyrhythms.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I think my way of making music most definitely says a lot about my inner conflicts, struggles and victories in life in general.

I am very headstrong and stubborn, and quite perfectionist, and I find it impossible to compromise on what I feel is the right way forward. I don’t mind playing to the tune of other people’s vision, it can be very rewarding to take the backseat and less pressure. But if I’m investing myself in something, then I go all in. It’s either or. I don’t think all ideas have to come from me, but I will know immediately if it works or not.

I also have long periods of total stagnation and inability to create, mostly because the whole other side of being an independent artist - the administrative side - is so draining, and because the energy input of my own music literally leaves me exhausted. This is sometimes a very bitter pill to swallow, the fact that one's reward does not always match the investment. There is a balance to be learned there.

I also think my way of making music says something about my sense of outsidership in general. I don’t really think it fits into any specific genre, as cliché as that might sound.

I am not sure there is much to “understand” about music on a deeper level, but the experience of music, whether listening or creating, is a spiritual practice, I think.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

If you want to see how a person plays music, check out their cooking style. Is it sauce on sauce on sauce? Probably a maximalist. I’m a less is more person, keeping an eye on the recipe because it’s there for a reason, and then improvising a little bit on feel.

I do the same on stage. I don’t go off script too much, I like structures to be upheld, but still staying in the moment, never on autopilot.

When creating from scratch I like to be surprised by the spirit, I’m all ears.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

I think anybody who has been on a techno dance floor knows that intent behind music does not have to be communicated verbally. Having that said, the ones that come to mind now are not instrumental.

There’s literally hundreds of pieces to list, they all touch something in different ways, but I have a soft spot for a certain kind of sad euphoria, like “Smalltown boy” by Bronski Beat or “Love like blood” by Killing Joke or “Unknown Legend” by Neil Young.



If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I would like female musicians to be not just tolerated, but celebrated.