Name: Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser aka Tuvaband

Nationality: Norwegian
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, producer
Current release: The new Tuvaband album New Orders is out via Passion Flames. Order the album on vinyl at Tigernet.

If you enjoyed this interview with Tuvaband and would like to find out more about her music, visit her official website. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and Soundcloud.  

For an even deeper look into her thoughts on music, visit our earlier 15 Questions Tuvaband interview.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I just know it makes me really happy to create music; it’s like a hole which is being filled up.

So I’m happy I started to make music, to find out that I could fill this empty hole, and then feel filled up with something amazing. When I’ve been focusing on other things in my music career for a while - touring, mixing, release plans etc., not spending time creating - I might get this feeling of something missing after a while. Then I realize that I need to be filled up again by creating a song.

I think this need is coming from the fact that I might not have a good enough filter of what I perceive from the outside; songwriting is a way for me to process feelings, thoughts and experiences about what’s going on in the world, personal relationships, mental states, and everything surrounding me.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I feel good both by having an idea, but also without any ideas. As I had a long break from making music until November 2022 (because of a way too long mixing process), I’ve hit a record in writing down ideas I want to test out for the next album. I’ve also made too many and too long inspiration playlists; one for drums, one for bass, one for overall production, one for sound, and one for catchy songs.

These days when I’m making new music, I get stressed out because there are too many ideas. I can’t get them down all at the same time. And «what idea should be with this other idea», and so on. So I just had to start creating four songs at the same time, switching between them the days I work with music.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I don’t really need anything to be creative, but I’ve actually noticed that my cycle is really influencing how creative I am. So there are something like two weeks where I’m wondering where it all comes from. Later I can be like: «WHAT?! How did I make this?». These days when I’m in a different phase in my cycle, I’m struggling for three whole days to find the right bass line for a song, and can’t seem to be satisfied.

I probably should just put it down for now and get back to them next week when I’m in the good phase again.    

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

I always write the lyrics before I make the music for them. So I can’t just start composing without having any lyrics. And even though I say I can make music whenever, I can’t write lyrics whenever. I need to have something to process or something I’m thinking about a lot.

But on the album I’m working on now, I have this idea that I will try the other way around: like most people I know make songs: start making the music and a vocal melody without words, and then add the lyrics later. I want to try different approaches to each song this time.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

I’m usually not too aware of lyrics when I listen to music. When lyrics are really visible / obvious in a song because they’re very literary, I hate it when they’re not written in a way that I can like. That can put me off because I hear them too well.

When I’m writing lyrics these days, I’m trying to make them open to interpretation so that they can mean more than one specific thing. Cause when I do listen to lyrics, I like it if they’re not too specific when they are all about emotions / feelings. Of course if they’re about politics etc., then it’s ok to be more specific.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

I always need to have a good vocal melody, together with chords which enhance it, before the rest is put down. Then I try to make the drum rhythm. After this I’m trying out bass lines, synth melodies, and guitar.

This whole process doesn’t take too long, but after this I spend months on testing out various arrangements, sound design, re-shaping, adding and removing details, and maybe even changing the melody slightly if I’m already tired of it.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

If I feel nothing or tired of one of the songs I’m working on after some months working on it, I need to figure out what’s wrong. What I can change. Often the songs I’ve felt less for during the process, are turning out to be among the best, because I gave them even more than the rest.

So yes, a song could change completely. And I did experience this more than ever on my new album, cause I was more determined to make all the songs the best they could be. I didn’t want one song to be ok.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

As I work for months with all of the songs, switching between them, I also continuously listen and write down comments of things I need to change and try out. When the list is empty, and I listen through, and there are no new comments, then I’m done!

When it came to the mixing process of my new album, the list of comments was never ending, and it felt like I would never finish. But I finally did.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

I couldn’t let anyone else take the producer role in my music, as this process is intertwined in my songwriting. And I feel like the production has always been what keeps the various songs and genres on my albums together. And my sound is one of the few red threads in my music over time.

I used to do the sound design myself, and set the volumes between the recordings on the level I wanted, but then send it away for the technical mixing. With the new album I found someone in Norway to do the technical stuff, so that I could sit next to the person to learn. But as it turned out this person wanted to be creative, and said no when I asked if he could please only touch the technical stuff; I ended up mixing it myself. He gave me feedback on the two first singles, which was good; just to know I hadn’t lost my mind.

Then eventually another friend gave me feedback on the whole album mixing. Without this I would have gone crazy and blind. I always use the same person for mastering, and it feels safe: Philip Shaw Bova.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

In the past I could feel empty after releasing something, because you work on something for so long, and then wait in excitement for the release day. And then it’s just done. Even if people listen.

But this doesn’t happen anymore because I realized it helps celebrating. By having this whole process marked by a «ceremony», it feels better. Even if the ceremony could just be saying «cheers» with beers or sparkling wine.

I’ve always started working on a new album before the release of an album. Cause there’s always a long period between finishing and releasing.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing 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?

I love to make food, and I do other creative things as sewing in my clothes and painting.

But for me, the pleasure I get from creating a song is beyond every pleasure in life. It’s like being crazy and happily in love, with butterflies, and I can’t stop thinking about it.