Lovers & Losers: Violet Days Share the Story Behind Their Latest EP & Single ‘INK’ w/ Our Q&A from Mars

Violet Days have just released their new EP via Virgin EMI. Lovers & Losers follows on from the recent single, and EP track, ‘Ink’ – an exquisite example of Violet Days’ widescreen pop production paired with delicate touches of piano, guitar and haunting harmonies.

Elsewhere on the Lovers & Losers EP is the bassy post-club anthem ‘After Party’ and bright future-bass in ‘Libertines Jacket’. The following ‘All I Know’ chimes with glacial electronics and the EP closes with the title track, which is a beautiful electro-pop ballad.

“The EP is about the journey and discoveries in relationships, with both yourself and someone else, and the different stages of feelings that I’ve gone through over the last few years.”

“I called the EP Lovers & Losers because looking back on all these songs, they all take you through the stages of a relationship where there’s love, but there’s also loss,” says the artist aka singer-songwriter, Lina Hansson. “The EP is about the journey and discoveries in relationships, with both yourself and someone else, and the different stages of feelings that I’ve gone through over the last few years. 

“The first stage is the butterflies’ stage in the beginning of a relationship when you first meet someone. The next stage is feeling lonely or taken for granted, which then next leads to feeling confused, angry and sad. Then there’s the stage where you lose that someone, and struggle to get over it. Finally, the last stage is being fine with it, and accepting the relationship for what it was.”

The Stockholm local released her debut EP Made In My Head last year, which was produced in its entirety by her long-term collaborator and producer Kris Eriksson. Violet Days has since gone on to achieve well over 20 million streams on Spotify alone. Hansson and Eriksson also hold impressive songwriting and production credits, including co-writing The Chainsmokers global smash hit ‘Paris’, while also working with the likes of Cash Cash, Shaun Frank and Phoebe Ryan.

“Writing this song was very therapeutic for me, it’s the most honest lyrics I’ve ever written, and I needed to tell this story to be able to move on from the person that it’s about.” 

FMS caught up with Hansson, following Violet Days’ UK and European tour with The Midnight, to find out more about the artist behind the moniker, and their recent single ‘INK’ with our Q&A from Mars…

01- Which colours do you associate visually with the recording and listening of the song?

“Blue and pink. I always try to associate colours with songs, to make the artwork or video feel like the song and to give life to the whole spectrum of the release. Blue represents the sadness in the song, while pink represents the relief of telling the truth and moving on.” 

02- Which records, songs or remixes were on your playlist on repeat, before, during and after the making of ‘INK’?

“I remember having a moment where I obsessed over these songs: Highasakite – ‘Out Of Order’ and Billie Eilish – ‘Six Feet Under.’” 

03- What was the inspiration behind that concept for ‘INK’ as it’s also very different from the previous material?

“I had ‘INK’ written down in my phone, knowing that I wanted to write that specific story. Writing this song was very therapeutic for me, it’s the most honest lyrics I’ve ever written, and I needed to tell this story to be able to move on from the person that it’s about.” 

04- Furthermore, how much do fashion and trends influence your outfits on stage and your stage-persona overall?

“Oh, I love fashion, I try to not pay too much attention to trends though, I think it’s more fun to blend a little of everything. I like to create a unique and fun statement. I would say my outfits on stage are a little more dramatic than what I wear on a daily basis. I think it’s fun to exaggerate everything a little on stage.”

“I like to look at a song like I’m looking at a movie, I want it to have a visual life.”

05- Who was/were your idol/s when you were a teenager that made you decide to start singing and conquer the world?

“The Sounds, Avril Lavigne and Hayley Williams for sure. My power girl trio that I had on repeat in my room. I remember getting Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’ single for my 13th birthday and when I heard it I got so inspired to write my own songs, so I learned to play the guitar and started writing.”  

06- Violet Days is a music project that is constantly evolving; where’s it going to go next?

“That’s a good question because I like that it’s always moving and evolving, who knows what I’d like to do next year. It’s hard to know what I’m gonna be like in a year, but for now I’m very into throwback sounds and organic sounds.” 

07- Are you going to focus more on your own songwriting or more on co-writing in the near future?

“Actually, both. I like to go back and write by myself sometimes. It’s always fun to write with others though and writing with different people gives you different flavours in a song, which I love.”

08- How relevant to Violet Days is the visual communication to explain the message that is behind the music?

“It’s very relevant. I love when artists express more to the music than ‘just’ a song. There’s more to tap into and I like to look at a song like I’m looking at a movie, I want it to have a visual life. It’s probably my favourite part when I get to think about the visuals and discuss that whole world that gives the song a different life. For ‘INK’ we were very inspired by Wes Anderson and the colour schemes of his movies.” 

09- Memes / Habits: Describe to us your daily routine to the studio, and some funny situations, that are reminding you of the ‘process’ of the creation of ‘INK’.

“I actually wrote this one in LA with Kris and our friend Livvi Franc. The routine whenever we are there is to wake up and go for a run, then have a nice breakfast in the sun, then bounce around some ideas for the session, then when we start the session, we just let it flow!”

Violet Days’ Lovers & Losers EP is out now via Virgin EMI.

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