For Norwegian singer-songwriter Dagny it all started back in 2016 when her debut single ‘Backbeat’ found the ears of Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe and was beamed across the airways. A co-write of Katy Perry’s ‘Never Really Over’ gained her further song-writing credit and her debut album Strangers / Lovers, released in two parts in 2020 saw her reach a global audience. A string of successful releases and collaborations has seen her carve a spot in the pop world where she can now easily be mentioned in the same sentence as her personal icon and Scandi fav Robyn. Currently on a UK tour with ex Police-man Sting, we caught up with her before her gig at Birmingham’s Hare and Hounds to talk about the joy of getting up close and personal with fans, her green-fingered home comforts and how the Spice Girls set her on the road to Pop.
You are playing the Hare and Hounds tonight, your first time in Birmingham. How do you feel about that?
I’m excited. I love coming to new places. We have just been doing some shows with Sting around the UK and it feels really nice to come here and do our show. We have been having such an amazing tour with him, but it feels like tonight it is going to be our people, our fans. I love these types of shows where you get so close to your audience. It feels so intimate, a different kind of experience.
You played Cardiff Castle last night which must have been fantastic?
Having the backdrop of the castle whilst we were playing was incredible. I’ve been watching a lot of “Outlander” recently which is a TV series set 300 years ago and they keep moving around to different castles and it felt like….
You had warped into your favourite TV show?
Yes!
You have played in a mixture of venues: festivals, parks, halls, open air theatres and tonight in a room in a pub. I think it is going to be an amazing show as you have got such a big sound. Are you just going to go for it or temper it down?
Now you see this is what I’m worried about because we have made this show for the festival season. Oh my God! Are we going to completely overpower the venue? There is like an energy to the music and I was thinking whether we should do any more down tempo tracks, but I think we are just going to go for it. We were in Norway before because of Corona and we couldn’t leave for two years so it makes it extra exciting to come here. Through social media you realise that there are people listening to your music all over the world. It’s something so different when you get to meet them and talk to them which we do after the headline shows. It becomes so much more of a personal experience. At festivals you are more like trying to get the vibe and then you come off stage. Here you can hear people’s stories and how certain songs mean something extra to them.
You are also supporting Robbie Williams at Sandringham in August. Are you expecting any royalty to turn up?
I’m going to be looking out for Prince William, aren’t I? Robbie is a born entertainer and being an entertainer is a skill. You can be an amazing songwriter but not know how to handle the audience or an entertainer who can’t necessarily write songs. Each are amazing skills. You look at these artists that having been going for decades and going back to Sting who has been touring for 45 years, it’s really cool to be playing shows with these people who are still going out on stage every night as if it’s their first time. I asked him if he ever gets tired of touring and he said no. For me that’s like hugely inspiring. You can only hope that you get to continue to do this for that long, finding new ways to express yourself through music.
Who would be your dream headliner if you could be their support act?
There are a few different ones for different reasons but obviously if Taylor Swift were to call, I would be like yes! I think that she has had such an interesting career and has re-discovered herself in many different ways. My music is not in a similar vein, but it is feel good upbeat pop. Also, I’ve never been the biggest Bon Iver fan but recently I’ve discovered that Justin Vernon from the band has so many different side projects and it’s like I have discovered him for the first time in this last year. So, Bon Iver would be very cool as well. And then I’m obviously a massive Robyn fan. You can tell from my music as well that she is such an inspiration. She’s been going for ages and she’s equally cool now as she ever was so Robyn would be top of my list.
Most of your songs can be termed as “up-tempo luminescent pop bangers”, but the last track – ‘Coast to Coast’ – off your debut album “Strangers / Lovers”, is beautiful and stands out as being delicate and considered. What was the inspiration behind that track?
Actually, that was a very clear inspiration. Someone close to me passed away. There are certain things that happen in your life and you would think that they could be the inspiration for an entire album, they are something you would like to express in some way. These things are the hardest as they go so deep you almost don’t know how to articulate them. And that was one of those things. ‘Coast to Coast’ is the only song that I have written about it. It was after a four-day studio session where we had just been banging our heads against the wall and not really getting anywhere. Then in the last hour the producer was playing notes on the electric guitar, and it just came out, like it was just flowing.
On what stage would you say to play on would mean that you had made it? Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury? Oslo Specktrum?
It feels a bit unambitious to say there’s not one big dream. But honestly, I feel like every day I get to feel like I have made it because we get to travel around on tour. I get to be surrounded by people that I feel very at home with sharing the same interests. Every day I wake up feeling that my life has a purpose and I want to continue to take those small steps and always feel like it’s progressing rather than doing this one thing which is the peak. Specktrum in Oslo, which is going to be our biggest ever headline show in November, is a big milestone to look back on and a great accomplishment for the entire team. But it wasn’t an intention or need. Having those small moments in everyday life is more important than having that one moment that captures it all.
What do you miss when you are on tour? What are your home comforts?
I water my plants. I love plants, I have 70 plants at home. Dagny at her calmest is walking around my flat fixing my plants. I have names for them but as there are 70 it is hard to keep track. Also, it’s great to be busy being on tour but you do miss out on things like birthdays and going to concerts with friends so I try to be better at taking the time to do these things when I’m at home.
You grew up in a very musical household with your mum a singer and your dad a jazz guitarist. How did this influence you and your taste in music?
We barely had any pop or rock at home. Joni Mitchell was the closest. We had bossa nova and jazz and I really didn’t like jazz that much. I loved the Brazilian bossa nova. I always thought that one day I would wake up and it would all make sense and I would be totally into jazz but that never really happened. We went with my dad to record shops on Fridays and sometimes we would be able to choose a CD on our own and I would get a compilation with a little bit of everything on. Through that I discovered the Spice Girls and that must have creeped in under my skin more than the jazz. Spice Girls sent me on the pop path.
How do you think your music has evolved from the release of your debut track ‘Backbeat’ in 2016 to your latest track ‘Same Again For Love’ released last month? Has it been a lot of blood, sweat and tears?
Definitely! You need to have time to write a lot. I’m one of those songwriters that has to write a lot of songs before I have that one song where I think yes, that’s it and everything is perfectly connected. I think my music has naturally developed through being inspired by the people I have worked with. I started off as a singer-songwriter and then with ‘Backbeat’ I went more into a band and high energy. Then I think it naturally grew into more synth based and electronic and now I’m inspired by more organic sounding stuff again. After doing “Strangers / Lovers” I wanted to find something new to be inspired by and that took me to The Cardigans and 90’s female fronted bands. I feel very at home in that synth, electronic world but also very at home in a band so it’s nice to be able to juggle the two.
You have had a host of collaborators across a range of genres, any plans for anymore?
I would love to yes, but I never collaborate unless it feels natural. There were times when labels would say “you need to sing on this DJ record, or you need to collaborate with this DJ” and I just didn’t have any interest for that because it didn’t feel right for me to get an email with a song and then I put on a vocal and we never meet. The one I did with Seeb (‘Drink About’), I loved because when I sang it, it felt like my own song, and I really got on with the guys. The same with Steve Aoki. We connected through one of the songs I had written before. Astrid S was great. We knew each other and so that was just getting together having fun and writing a song (‘Pretty’).
What’s next now on the music front? Any plans for more singles or an album?
Finishing off the tour this summer and then in between shows I’m going to be in the studio finishing off the new album, so a really intense but great month. Basically, in the studio Sunday to Friday, gigging on a Friday and then back into the studio. So that’s July. That’s summer!
Who’s your current favourite artist/band? Who do you listen to on the tour bus?
I’ve been listening a lot to that old Roy Orbison song ‘You Got It’, that’s my summer jam. Other than that, I have been listening to Big Red Machine which is a band featuring Justin Vernon from Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner from The National. I’m having a real Cardigan’s period. I’ve been finding a lot of old songs that I really love. Some Fleetwood Mac and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I always listen to ‘New Music Friday’ just to see if there are any songs that pop out and try and collect them in playlists. It’s incredible to think that there is so much music out there yet to be discovered.
What would be your advice for any aspiring pop stars?
Follow your gut. A lot of people are going to tell you what the right strategy is, but nobody really knows. The thing that works is what feels real to you. If you feel it, then you are going to find other people that feel it too. Teamwork as well, nobody can do everything on their own. Finding those people that can help you is going to make such a difference. Whether that’s another songwriter or producer, your guitarist or your sister like me, that makes you feel good and safe. One last thing don’t let fear stop you, because you will learn as you go along.
What’s your favourite fruit?
Probably pineapple. Even though they say pineapple is the only fruit that attacks you because it can be acidic, a sweet pineapple is so good. It’s also proven to raise your serotonin so it’s good and makes you happy at the same time. I should just put a massive pineapple on stage with us!