Ida Wenøe is a Copenhagen-based singer-songwriter. The artist recently started a solo career, after the end of a group she was part of – Boho Dancer. Ida went, just like the other members of the group, her own musical way and the beginning of her solo journey is really interesting.
Ida had already played some solo shows – for example in Aarhus during the SPOT Festival weekend. Then she went to the UK and was one of the acts playing at The Great Escape Festival. Not so long ago she released her first solo single – „Death Wish (of Nicholas Urfe)”.
At the beginning of the solo road Good because Danish had a chance to ask Ida Wenøe a few questions about her new song, plans for the future and differences between playing in a band and solo.
Good because Danish: Ida Wenøe solo – is it more scary or exciting, after spending some great time as a member of Boho Dancer?
Ida Wenøe: It is both! But mostly it’s exciting. In the beginning it was very much like watching a horror movie that you can’t take your eyes off, though everything inside you is trembling of fear. It was something I had to do, and closing my eyes, going back to what felt safe and familiar was not an option. There’s a quote by Charles De Bois that says “The important thing is to be able to at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become”. That’s been quite a mantra for me these last couple of months.
Your first solo single was released some time ago and it has the intriguing title “Death Wish (of Nicholas Urfe)” – can you tell us more about this song and the story behind the lyrics?
Nicholas Urfe is the main character in the book “The Magus” by John Fowles. Nicholas Urfe is a young poet. He believes he’s got it all figured out while dreaming of all the success he will get, the greatness he will be known for, and forgets about the process. One day he feels the strike of reality: “the truth rushed down on me like a burying avalanche. I was not a poet”. He tears all his poems to pieces and feels there’s only one thing left that he can possibly create, and be known for: his own death. So he goes out in the woods to kill himself. He sits there for hours, acting practical about the suicide, how to hold the gun, which angle etc. But then somewhere he hears a voice singing. He never goes through with it. When I wrote the song I didn’t know that it was actually also a metaphorical prophesy of what to come. I was actually about to commit my own musical suicide with the band, and at the same time my own resurrection: going solo.
How is it to stand alone on stage – what’s the biggest challenge of it? Or does it maybe not matter if you play solo or with a band?
When you play solo, you can only rely on yourself. It’s much more scary, but in a way also more freeing. It is a thrilling feeling to stand there all alone. It’s a huge responsibility in a way. You have to deliver and there’s no one else to pick you up or support you musically! Everything stands AND falls with you. But I love the excitement in that! I’m kinda addicted to it.
You stepped into the road of classic singer-songwriters now, what are your plans for the nearest future?
Right now I’m working on my forthcoming album “Time of Ghosts”, recording through out the summer, releasing it around the beginning of 2015. It’s such an interesting process to be in, putting all my ideas and visions into it. One concept on the album is that I can only invite one musician per song, the rest has to be played or sung by me. So in the end it’s going to be a very personal album. I realized how important it is to please myself without thinking about what others might think of it first and foremost, which is also really about trusting myself on that journey. In the end I think that will make it a better and more honest album – for me at least.
How would you describe your solo project? If you would be introducing your music to a total stranger who never heard about you – what would you say?
It’s about telling honest stories. It’s more stripped down compared to my old band Boho Dancer. It’s expressive and delicate at the same time. I’ve embraced the sound of silence. It’s light and it’s dark.
In Ida’s solo work there are echoes of Boho Dancer’s music atmosphere, since she was the one behind the vocals and lyrics in the band. But it’s not the same as the band’s work. Listen to the song “Death Wish (of Nicholas Urfe)” and get into Ida’s world. We’re looking forward for more wonderful sounds coming from her!
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