Part 2

What are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

Of course, we all have natural limits in range, but I love exploring my whole range and usually use all of it in my shows. For me, it’s not about perfection but about emotion and exploration. Every concert feels like a journey I share with the audience—and with my band when I perform with them.

I’ve also noticed how the female body’s cycle influences the voice, as well as sleep and travel schedules. Of course, I’ll sound different after four hours of sleep and an early flight! But I always give my best, and I believe in connecting through energy.

I’m a perfectionist, but I’ve had to accept that no performance is the same. The beauty lies in being present in the moment. Each venue, audience, and atmosphere changes the experience. Using the same microphone (a Neumann KMS 105) helps me feel grounded—it has become like an extension of myself.

The best feeling is when I reach a meditative flow state on stage. Playing piano at the same time helps me let go even more, since I can’t overthink when I’m doing two things at once—it just has to flow through me.

As a singer, it is possible to whisper at the audience, scream at the audience, reveal deep secrets or confront them with uncomfortable truths. Tell me about the sense of freedom that singing allows you to express yourself and how you perceive and build the relation with the audience.

In daily life, I’m quite a reclusive person—an ambivert. I often have very introverted phases where I don’t leave the house or see anyone for days. But then I go on stage and sing my heart out. Somehow, it feels easier to share my most private emotions in front of an audience than in everyday conversations.

Of course, I have close friends and family I confide in, but often I don’t even fully realize what I’m going through until I write a song about it and perform it. Singing and songwriting are my way of expressing myself and also a kind of therapy.

When I sense that my songs resonate with the audience—that they help someone through grief, a difficult time, or simply bring them joy—I feel I’ve reached my goal. That makes me deeply satisfied.

As an artist, I also feel a big responsibility when I go on stage: to give a voice to those who cannot stand there themselves. So in a way, my songs are not just about me, but also about my surroundings, my loved ones, and the people I encounter.

I'd love to know more about the vocal performances for your latest release, please, and the qualities of your voice that you wanted to bring to the fore.

I didn’t think too much about the voice itself while recording this album. But because it’s a solo project, it feels especially vulnerable. Revisiting songs that have traveled the world with me felt very special. I think I now sing them in a more heartfelt, different way than when I recorded them years ago with my band.

I love how Lara Persia recorded my voice—the microphones she chose and the way she mixed it. It feels raw and very personal, which is exactly what I wanted: to show my honest, naked self.

When I was younger, I always felt more comfortable performing with a guitar than with a piano, since the piano was so tied to the classical training of my childhood. Writing songs on guitar and ukulele, then translating them to piano, gave me a new perspective and helped me use the piano in my own personal way.

Now I love it deeply—it’s such a rich instrument full of overtones that bring out warmth in my voice. I enjoy experimenting with its colors.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

I’ve always improvised with a kind of “gibberish English” long before I actually learned the language. Nowadays, I often improvise with lyrics I’ve already written, or with abstract sounds that aren’t real words at first. Later, I put words to them—often searching for words that resemble the sounds I originally improvised.

Yes, every word has to feel right. That’s how I approach everything—recording, mixing, choosing takes—I rely on that gut feeling that tells me “this is it.”

I definitely prefer singing my own lyrics, because they’re so personal. But sometimes I find songs I can identify with so strongly that they become my own. Still, the older I get, the more selective I’ve become. I mainly sing my own songs now, because I want to be as authentic as possible on stage.

There are exceptions, of course—sometimes a song moves me so much that I’ll do a cover at home or loop certain sections I love. Who knows, maybe I’ll record some covers one day.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

Luckily, I’ve never had any major technical problems, thanks to having a solid foundation. But I’m also very careful with my voice.

For me, it’s essential to stay hydrated, sleep enough, have a good monitor sound on stage, and always warm up before a show. If I ever feel like I’ve pushed my voice too hard, I try to take a few days of rest if possible, or at least do only light exercises. I always return to my classical roots and the exercises my mum taught me, which I’ve adapted and modified over the years.

I also love working with belting and chest voice exercises to keep my voice strong. Improvising helps me a lot too—just exploring and playing around with my voice without following any rules. Sometimes I even dance and sing at the same time at home, which feels especially liberating.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

I’m a big fan of beautiful, organic reverbs and vintage microphones. The sound engineer I work with, Daniel Dettwiler, has an incredible collection of vintage mics and unique reverbs that I absolutely love. For me, the voice without any reverb often feels too dry, haha!

I’ve never used autotune and I’m not interested in it, but I really appreciate the editing possibilities we have today. Sometimes, after recording a song and listening back at home, I change or adjust parts of it. That’s something I’m grateful for—it gives me space to refine the music.

I also love the entire studio process—recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. Mixing especially feels like cooking: combining ingredients to create something delicious.

For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What are some of your favourite recordings of your own voice so far and what makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

I’m very happy with how natural my voice sounds on the new solo album—it feels raw and personal. I also loved how Daniel Dettwiler mixed my voice on the last album Ysla, using vintage mics and reverbs.

I think vintage microphones make a real difference, but honestly, with a great sound engineer you can be creative with many different mics. I feel lucky—I’ve always had excellent engineers who bring out the warmth, dynamics, and sometimes even the “crisp, fairy” quality in my voice.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression and culture. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

I feel best on the days I sing—it’s like therapy. Science has also proven that singing improves physical and mental health. But I also enjoy quieter phases when I’m at home, not touring, where I don’t sing for days or even weeks. That feels good too.

Still, I believe the vibrations of the voice are deeply healing. Even my houseplants seem to grow more beautifully when I sing to them! And even if I weren’t a professional musician, I’d still be singing, just like my ancestors did. It’s the most natural instrument we humans have.