Photo Credit: Darren Ankenmann
[Soleima](https://www.instagram.com/soleima/?hl=en) is a “Force of Nature”… literally. With her newest single, the Danish singer-songwriter sings about the importance in self-love, especially during these trying times with the COVID-19 pandemic. Pairing the record with an equally stunning music video, fans are even treated to exciting news: the reveal of her first pregnancy.
Hailing all the way from Scandinavia, Soleima creates her own lane of pop music, with her producer even describing it as Garage Pop. She states, “He described it as someone sitting in her garage hitting boxes and old pots. That’s how he saw our process somehow. \[laughs\] It fits my music pretty well.”
Growing up with her mom and sister in the household, 3 women under one roof, music quickly became Soleima’s biggest love and passion. With her otherworldly sound fueled by her own life experiences, she touches on all relevant topics from politics to love to mental health, and everything in between. With a degree in Anthropology and her involvement with Danish-language hip-hop septet Fldeklinikken, Soleima offers far more than what meets the ear—giving listeners a unique look into her artistry.
_Flaunt_ caught up with Soleima via Zoom, who was walking the streets of Copenhagen at 9:30pm in the evening. Read below as we discuss her musical background, her name, the inspiration behind “Force of Nature,” her alter ego Yvonne, her last album _Powerslide_, touring during the pandemic, her forthcoming strings album, and more!
Photo Credit: Darren Ankenmann
**When did music come into play for you?**
It's always been a part of my life. My mom plays the piano and guitar, she always played a lot for us and with us. I started a band when I was a child, together with 6 friends here in Denmark. That’s how we learned how to be a band, how to write songs, all that. We ended up getting a record deal here in Denmark. We played a lot of concerts. It was such a fun way to learn about the industry and making music together with your closest friends. I feel lucky.
**What's the inspiration behind your name?**
It's something a lot of women in Denmark are called. For you guys, something you’re called as a child when you behave a little bad. You guys would say “hey missy!" Something your father says just before you get yelled at. Somebody would say "Hey Soleima, behave yourself!" But still with a blink in your eye, it's cute. I really like that a lot of people feel ownership of the name. A lot of people have a history with the name.
**"Force of Nature" is about self-love. What were you going through when you recorded this one?**
I wrote that song a long time ago in LA. It’s one of my first real love songs I wrote. I don't think I'd ever written a song so directly a love song as this one. Suddenly I revisited it and rewrote some of it, and it became almost like a tribute or a lost song to yourself. Being in a place in your life where you feel you need and are owed to love yourself.
**What do you do for self-care?**
When it comes to self-care, it's something you sometimes tend to forget. Everyone goes to the dentist, everyone goes to the doctors to get checkups. But when it comes to our own minds, it's more difficult for people. I've tried to break down that barrier through conversations both with my friends and with my therapist, just be better at dealing with those things. For me, that's the core of self-care: to put in the work and really take care of yourself.
**Talk about shooting the visual, how was it revealing your first pregnancy?**
It was amazing, I feel really good. When it comes to the idea of self-care, it's such a big part of being able to bring the person you are at that exact moment to work. No matter if you're pregnant as I am now or if you're going through a breakup. Obviously it's a very natural part of my life and a lot of people's life. That’s exactly how we wanted it to play in the video: a woman going to work everyday, pregnant.
**Best memory from the video shoot?**
Working with the director [Stella](https://www.instagram.com/stellamalfilatre/?hl=en) and the other amazing creatives who were almost all women. In this video, there were 10 women and 2 men. It doesn't have to be divided when it comes to gender but it meant something to me. The storyline turned out different because there were so many women, the whole process changed into something I haven't really tried before. That's definitely the strongest and best memory, not only from the day of shooting but the whole process.
Photo Credit: Darren Ankenmann
**How excited are you for motherhood?**
\[laughs\] I'm so excited—it's one of those things where the day it hits you is the day you realize what's going on. It's so surreal.
**Talk about Yvonne, your alter ego, and how you came up with her.**
Stella the director said ‘oh my God, who’s this new person coming out of you?! What's going on?’ \[laughs\] Relating to the whole theme of self-love in the song, she was this funny and kooky persona that’s definitely very much a part of me. She got her output right there in that video. It really supported the message that is about taking care of yourself. Giving yourself that time to love youself and be stupid, funny, all those things. She's definitely my alter ego, but very much a real part of me I want to explore and develop more.
**How was touring with Electric Guest?**
It was very, very amazing. My first time seeing the States like this, my first time even playing concerts in the States. I feel very lucky and very blessed, a lot of great cities and great people.
**How much do you miss performing?**
Oh my God, it's a very sensitive topic. I miss it a lot. That's something I'm really sad about because my album was just released. It's such an important part of promoting an album, to be able to play it live. But I’ve started playing a few concerts here.
**How was that experience?**
It's amazing because we've all missed it so much, but it's weird because we can only be 500 people together. Everyone has to sit down with 2 meters in between them. It's another kind of concert, but being able to perform is definitely better than nothing. During Corona, I've worked an album with Six Strings. We're going to tour in the spring a lot. I think touring with Six Strings is going to be perfect for this Corona setup.
**What's one thing you want fans to get from _Powerslide_?**
It's an album very much about both the loss of self-control and control of all, also about regaining control. It's been a self-therapeutic album to make: reclaiming power over your life, over your career, over your love. That's what I want people to take from it.
**What would you be doing if you weren't doing music?**
I’d be an Anthropologist. I have a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology. I used to live in Tanzania, I’d go back and do some kind of work there.
**Goals for yourself at this point in your career?**
One of things I've really been wanting to do for a long time is make this string album. It's an album really close to my heart. It's something that a major label might not find has the biggest commercial potential. It's really important to make music for yourself, the music that you think is important because you love to make it. That's how you touch people the most, that's why I want to do this album. Now suddenly I'm seeing this whole new path for my career where I can release songs like this, that don't maybe necessarily fit into commercial radio or focus always on these commercial goals. Being able to tour with only strings is such a dream, it's going to be a beautiful set up.
**What can we expect next from you?**
I hope Corona is gone and I'll be able to tour again, hopefully next summer. I'm going to release a few more singles and a string album in the spring, I'm really excited.
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