Lykke Li Explores Heartbreak on 'Wounded Rhymes'

On her debut album, 2008's 'Youth Novels,' Sweden's Li Lykke Zachrisson created one of the most distinctive sounds of the year as her hushed, bruised voice skipped over minimal beats and hazy sonic nudges.

That work came out when the artist was 22 and still finding her feet, so rather than quickly build on the critical acclaim she generated, Lykke Li disappeared for three years to find herself -- partly in Los Angeles, partly in the surrounding desert and partly back in Stockholm.

She went through a break up while writing her first album and the same situation occurred before she started on its follow-up, the forthcoming 'Wounded Rhymes,' though the results are very different. Sure, both albums show a very distinctive aesthetic based on a stark simplicity, but now the sound is more robust and her songs sharper.

We caught up with Lykke to discuss how David Lynch and Neil Young inspired her escape to LA, where she learnt about archetypes and found the inspiration for her compelling new work.

The title 'Wounded Rhymes' suggests heartbreak was an important inspiration for the songs on this record. How important was it to the direction of the album?

It wasn't the inspiration, but it was part of the process. I was shaken and stirred when I was writing this, but the problem with heartbreak is that people want to pin you down to "What happened? Who's the guy?" And this is not really about that. Your heart is a very sensitive organ. Life can break it. There are different things that can traumatise you.

I was going through an intense phase in my life. I met this older person, kinda like a spiritual teacher, talking about archetypes -- the wounded child, the soldier, the prostitute. She told me that you can be wounded from an early start, then you have to deal with it.

Is this a new thing for you or have you been aware of archetypes for a while? There is some quite elemental imagery running through your artwork, stage outfits and videos...

Strong imagery pulls people in deeper, so I have known it all along, but perhaps more instinctively. It's just this time I've dug deeper.

This is a more aggressive record than your debut. Does that come from a natural increase in confidence or is there more to it than that?

There's different things. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I am stronger. And life toughens you up. The early twenties in everybody's life is a time of evolving. You learn a lot by yourself, especially if you're an artist. When you're on tour and thrown into this no rules lifestyle, everything is very extreme.

You have described writing 'Wounded Rhymes' as a process. Does that explain why it has taken so long to appear?

I wanted to be thorough. For me, it's very important to create an opinion about life. I had to reflect on myself -- who am I right now? What do I feel about this? You have to take that pause, breathe, reflect, then formulate your new vision. It's not something you can just s--- out.

So you were not able to jot down lyrics at the back of the tour bus, as many other songwriters claim they do?

That would be to pollute my work. I want it to be a private affair, from a pure place. So how could that be created on tour, when you're in s---ty hotels or stuck on a bus with guys who are drunk?

You ended up going to LA to find your own space. Why there?

Why not? I didn't want to freeze any more. I couldn't stand another cold winter. And I
was a bit confused too, because I didn't necessarily have a direction home. Where should I go? There are friends there, but my family's not in Stockholm any more, so I would just be alone in an apartment.

Quite like Neil Young, then, who's originally from Canada. Did you find yourself following in the footsteps of other artists that have moved to California for the climate and lifestyle?

Definitely, you've got so much darkness in you, why would you want to torture yourself extra? I know how it feels. Have you read 'Catching the Big Fish' by David Lynch? He describes his creative process and he's from Chicago, a cold place where people are cold and the winters are hard.

You come here and people are smiling and you eat huge avocados. And he was talking too about the light -- there's this magical light and great sunsets when you drive around Mulholland Drive and smell the jasmine. It's so mysterious. I feel that when I get in a car in LA.

And how did all this help you start on the second album?

I had to cut myself off from the world and follow my own impulse, away from the promotional and touring schedule. I went to LA, rented a house, got a piano -- an upright -- and pulled the plug on everything else. I spent some time in the desert, too, but not long.

Twenty fours there are like three months anywhere else. I enjoy the open spaces, the loneliness and the heat -- I'm inspired by the landscape. There's this thing too, don't do anything until it makes you do it. It has to come from within. It's hard to describe, but all of a sudden you are in that inward state of mind and you know where you are going.

Looking back at the teenager that wrote the songs on 'Youth Novels,' what is the biggest difference in terms of how you have developed?

I was still in school then and felt like I was on the other side of the world and missing out on everything. Nobody understood me and I just wanted to get out of there. I was so miserable. I was on the outside, on the periphery and dreaming of escape. Now I'm in the eye of the storm and I have a lot more choices. The most magical thing about this is that I can have a vision, be obsessed by an idea, and I know people to call to make it into a reality.

Now there's a whole family of outsiders. You meet all the other outsiders and you form this cult or something. Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' -- we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it. We can pierce ourselves, take ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonalds jobs.

Do you have to be at a particular age or can you be young at heart?

Oh, for sure. If you still got it, you got it. Like the woman who taught me about the archetypes -- she is 72.

Despite your reservations about Stockholm, you returned there to record the album, with Bjorn Yttling from Peter, Bjorn & John, who produced its predecessor. What is the attraction of working with him?

We've got the same kind of taste and we speak the same kind of language. We're like a train together. I don't talk to him as much as I'd like, only when we get together and he always gives me good advice.

Any advice you want to share?

"Only love can break your heart." [Lykke giggles]. I listened to a lot of Neil Young in LA. Some music you have to wait for the right time to get it. It's to do with being in the city, but also being able to relate to all those songs. Now I'm obsessed.

Wounded Rhymes is out in the UK Feb. 28 on LL Recordings/Atlantic.