Amalie Bruun—Crush EP
"Crush"
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What was the concept behind the video, and how did you hook up with the director?
"We'd worked together before — I know that Kava [Gorna] has shot for you guys, I think, and she liked the song. I wasn't even sure when it was going to come out, but she heard the song and liked it, and said she'd like to shoot a video for it. I really like her work, so I was really excited about that. We were brainstorming, and she had some pretty clear ideas that I liked. Like kinda '90s R.E.M., early Mariah Carey — that style. Very soft, that would go with the song. My boyfriend was at the shoot helping to carry shit. And then she wanted him to get in the water with me."
Where did you film the video?
"We shot it in upstate New York about two hours from the city."
Looks like a great place to go cool off.
"That lake was really cold! You know how lakes are — they stay cold and fresh. So, we were just in it all day. It was the best!"
What was the story behind the song?
"When I wrote [the song], it was some time ago now. I had just gotten into a new relationship and was experiencing those — how do you say? — that extreme happiness and extreme sadness at the same time when you're in love. It's a weird, great, and awful feeling. So, I wrote 'Crush' about having a crush, but I also felt crushed."
Do you have have plans to tour behind the album?
"We're playing shows in New York at the moment. Then, I probably have to go back to Copenhagen for the release. And then I'm in another band called Ex Cops, and our album drops on Fat Possum in the fall as well."
How do you approach your solo stuff versus playing with your other projects?
"It was after I toured with [my other band] Minks, I started writing my solo stuff again. I just kind of zoned out completely, and that's all I did was write with [producer] Mark Saunders. It's kind of personal, my solo stuff. With bands, you're part of something bigger. There are more people, more opinions. My solo stuff is my own universe, and then I had Mark to help shape it."
What was it like working with a guy like Mark Saunders, who had previously produced people like Bowie and The Cure?
"Well, I was fed up with the songwriting sessions I'd had with different people. I was super uninspired, and going through this super-dark period. Mark was one of the songwriters that my record label at the time had set me up with. He was a breath of fresh air. Many of the other writers were super pop — like Avril Lavigne pop writers. When I was set up with Mark, and I was super impressed and excited. I knew right off the bat that we had something really special. We were only supposed to write a song or two, and it then ended up being a whole album."