Here's a new topic.. who inspired you to write songs in the first place??

Suzanne Vega's definitely at the top of my list. Along with Tori, Ani, and Joan Armatrading -- who I'm going to go see in concert at the end of July. If you haven't seen her live, she's electrifying! If you're in the area and are interested, the show is on Aug 27th, at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, North Carolina. Hope to see you there!

I am a fresh SV fan, so in the first place I was inspired by pet shop boys and scatman john.

It is almost embarrasing to admit, but discovering Dan Fogelberg in about 1984 is what really got me into writing lyrics. I credit my study of his style and format as the first building block in learning the craft. While I still enjoy listening to him once in a while as a personal nostalgia thing, I am now very aware of his limitations as writer.

Darin

Actually it were classical composers, since classical music is what I grew up with. Later my attention shifted to singer-songwriters and I knew that was the kind of music I would be able to express my feelings best. But you know - it actually was there from the beginning. I've always wanted to write songs. I would always hum melodies on my way to school, nothing I ever wrote down, nothing structured. It's just that when I heard artists like Suzanne, Tracy Chapman, Francis Cabrel, I felt sort of confirmed in what I wanted to do. Does that make any sense?

Later I discovered artists like James Taylor and Jim Croce who were a great inspiration. But now, looking back, the greatest inspiration was probably Francis Cabrel. I didn't even realize this myself for a long time. But it's true that his music was just always around, that I listened to it a lot. It just accompanied me.

As far as lyrics are concerned, that's a little more complicated, because I realized very soon that this involved a bit more work than finding music. But then I just kept going. By now it is still work, sometimes more, sometimes less. But I always aim to write the best lyrics I can.

Cheers,
Annika

No evident source for me, really. I grew up in the cultural heartland of my country. At the end of school semester the concession was led by fiddlers, at midsummer's eve the violin was played as well as at Christmas eve, though I never learnt the instrument myself. Dad played the guitar so my choice of instrument was done beforehand.

Even at a young age I was into songs of off-beat groups and artists, mainly those my parents listened to. Mum was a huge fan of Cat Stevens and in the X-mas of '87 I gave her Solitude Standing as present. Dad was more into such contrasts as Leonard Cohen and Dolly Parton (!). All three of us really hit it off with the Swedish group Hanson DeWolfe United, a jazz influenced pop-group of the '80s. Further mum and dad had a thing for various singer-songwriters and balladeers.

As said this was in the '80s and my radio was blasting on all day long, basically. Therefore I never felt any need to buy records for myself, though I'm thankful for the vinyls I got as presents. In the '90s music changed into a more digitised and rhythmic thing that I didn't get along with and when I got an integrated CD-player in a Ghetto-blaster thing one X-mas I started buying records, mainly from the 80s.

By this time I had begun writing songs I was not too ashamed of putting my name on and with my improving skills I found I needed more intellectual and alternative music to fill my needs. I had no direction to begin with and I think it all changed when I got my eyes up for Patrick Leonard and his sweet and wacko aproach to music. All of a sudden three chords in progression at the right place could give weight and credibility to a song; gave it a jazzy, bossa-nova feel to it.

In my teens I started experimenting with adding notes into ordinary major and minor chords. 2s, 4s and 6s opened up new possibilities and I had got a kind of piano-style down on the guitar. I could do the Elton John style pretty well, and by this time Joshua Cadison's Jessie had hit the old world and I was taken by the size of the scope that song had. Also I found mr Leonards rolling approach to the piano very inspirational.

As for lyrics I can't point out any specific influence. Usually I pick a rather dark tone with some humouristic elements, a bit like life itself. I like the words conveyed "with a blunt instrument", rather effectively and relentlessly delivered. It should be like trying to laugh while under pain.