INTERVIEW: Five Minutes With… Applepie + Bjurman
Andrew Applepie and Sandra Bjurman have recently released their collaborative track “Drowning World.“ Bjurman’s raw melancholic performance combined with Applepie’s upbeat playful style, has produced an interesting composition, and the track has been described as a “refreshing combination of the yin and yang of pop music into an incredibly emotional and appealing tune.”
We chatted to them about the nature of their collaboration and how the track came into fruition.
Andrew, you travelled around while making the track, but it seems like the defining moments came in Maui, where you made it into a new song with a new chorus. What was it about the place that brought out the inspiration?
Firstly, I always wanted to get a good ukulele from Hawaii. I know it’s a cliche, and everyone else in that store seemed to be a wealthy retiree but still, it inspired me. And then there’s of course just the surroundings that get me in a different mood and made me go about the song in a very relaxed and playful way I guess.
Sandra, would you say that the song called for a collaboration, or did you collaborate to accentuate your creativity as an artist?
I would say that I’m kind of drawn to the idea of how different the same “song” can sound depending on which direction one chooses. If I could, I would dress the same songs in different clothes with no end. It’s truly amazing to have another person, outside yourself, interpreting it.
In what ways do you feel you both complement each other as songwriters?
SB: I bring over the top drama and melancholia and Andrew ways up with his ease and playfulness. We balance one another.
AA: Yes, got nothing to add.
How do you feel you’ve been able to learn from one another?
SB: When around Andrew, I’m reminded to be as productive as I want and need to be when it comes to music, that I don’t need to hold back or wait with sharing the music that I create.
AA: Yes, I really love putting it out when it’s fresh, also, patience isn’t my strong suit. I really like how confident
Sandra is about making songs and getting her message in, it’s encouraging me to being resolute and bold with my music.
If you could have chosen a third person to collaborate on Drowning World, who would it have been?
SB: Not that I would, but if having a luxury problem I would say Paul Kolderie or Sean Slade that produced Creep.
AA: There are a ton of people I’d love to work with but I didn’t miss anyone on that track.
What are the 5 albums that have influenced you the most?
SB: Pablo Honey, Never Mind, The Miseducation, Baduizm and Look Sharp. One freaky old mess.
AA: Elliott Smith – Either/Or, Modest Mouse – Good News For People Who Love Bad News, Blur – Think Tank, Caribou – Swim, Tame Impala – Inner Speaker
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting your music together?
SB: Most of the time I feel the need to empty, that things have been collected and stored long enough and now burst to come out. Sometimes I sit down at the piano alone, other times I go into the rehearsal space with the band.
AA: I really have no routine, some ideas just come to me while in the shower, some start with a song idea I recorded on my phone and of course I’m just trying weird stuff a lot hoping it might take me somewhere.
If you had to choose between never playing live again, or never being able to release music again… Which would you go for, and why?
SB: I would choose to never release again, because the magic of sharing music live with an audience is above and beyond anything to me.
AA: The opposite. I would grow tired of playing the same songs over and over again.
Finally… In a perfect world, what are you up to at this time next year?
SB: I’m in this perfect place like today where I can share music whenever I feel like it.
AA: Same, plus some more collaborations, call me Bishop Briggs, D.R.A.M. and Daniel Snaith 😉
Follow Andrew Applepie:
Website: https://andrewapplepie.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewapplepie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewapplepie
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/andrewapplepie
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/andrewapplepie
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew_applepie/
Follow Bjurman:
Website: https://bjurmanmusic.se
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bjurmanbjurman/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCELxkrcpgCuedspuVuhHxSA
