Lykke Li Contemplates Her Future: 'Maybe I Won't Be Making Music at All'

There was once a time when music fans stumbled over her name. (Lucka? Leaky? Lychee?) But with the release of sophomore album 'Wounded Rhymes' earlier this year, Swedish songstress Lykke Li gained some serious brand power. Today, her name sprawls across t-shirts and twitter feeds and is chanted by adoring fans at her concerts. Still, Lykke Li confesses to Spinner that there may come a time when "maybe I won't be making music at all."

Spinner sat down with Lykke Li to learn why she's uncertain about the future of her singing career, what music video she'd be shooting if Sean Penn ever signed on for a cameo and why she'll never arrive at "a train station called happiness."

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard ('Thor,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean') is in your video for 'Sadness is a Blessing,' how did that come about?

We just asked him. He was our top choice!

If you could choose any other actor to work with, who would it be?

Sean Penn. He would be Jerome in [my song] 'Jerome.'

Watch Lykke Li's 'Sadness is a Blessing' Video
You seem to be a quite the film buff, what is it about movies that attracts you so much?

That's a great passion of mine, I really enjoy it. When you're touring, that's something that you can just go and do. I took improv classes in New York just because I was drawn to it and I thought it would be an interesting challenge. It was hard because English is not my first language, and I loved it. I only took it for a few weeks, at most.

Is acting something you'd like to do more of?

Depends on what you mean. I do pretend to be other people, so I'm drawn into exploring those kinds of worlds. I don't know if I'm acting onstage, though. I'm just showing a side of myself that I might not show in the daytime.

How would you describe the state you're in right now?

Right now, I'm in some kind of in-between process.

Would you say you're happy?

I don't believe in happiness as a destination. I believe in glimpses of happiness so there's never going to be a train station called happiness and you can't stay there forever because life is always a balance like that, between black and white. But there are lighter times ahead, for sure. I mean, what is happiness? For me, it's when I feel like I have energy and passion, like I have to do this. When I have visions -- that's when I feel alive; when I have a fire.

Is that hard to maintain when you're on the road?

It's really hard to keep [the fire] alive because you give out so much onstage and it's a lot of traveling. We live for the show -- so the show's the most important thing, the show is the highlight.

Watch Lykke Li's 'I Follow Rivers' Video
What are your plans once you wrap up this current tour cycle?

Life will lead me where I have to go. I'll take a short break somewhere and re-evaluate life and see what I want to do. Life is different phases, and it's always evolving, so I'll definitely reach another stage in my life and that can bring me to other territories. Maybe I won't be making the same music or maybe I won't be making music at all; I have so many possibilities. I haven't written anything new, it's really hard to be writing here. Life on tour, s--- everywhere, there's no piano here, there's no privacy, there's no vibes.

Where is 'home'?

That's what I need to figure out. I have some suitcases so I will probably go back to L.A.
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