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Who is Louise?

I am a black cat living in Stockholm Sweden. I am the chanteuse of the band Lip Service. I love to dress up, to sing and perform and party hard. Also I like to relax and just work with the flowers in my little garden.


What role did Music play in your life when you were younger?

I´ve always loved to sing and dance. I grew up in a house with 4 sisters and 3 brothers, my mother danced with us all during her pregnancy and my dad was a singer.

You are singing in Lip Service, can you give an introduction to the band?

We started out just a couple of years ago. My husband Andreas -the other half of Lip Service- started working in a new studio and felt the urge to start making electronic music again. (He used to be a part of a band called The April Tears). He began with a track called “Velvet Machine” and it all evolved through that track. Lip Service is hard and sexy electronic music structured by monotone baselines and dirty beats. The first album “Copy Kill Original” was done quite fast -all written and recorded in just five months. We called our style of music Doppelgänger Music because the album was like a tribute to some of our old favourite bands that introduced us to hard electronic music - bands like The Neon Judgement, Fad Gadget and Poesie Noire.

Louise

What are the current bands that you like and are they of influence as well?

I like Pink a lot. She makes a big difference amongst the mainstream female artists. As previously said I´m a fan of different bands in different genres. Like Danish Mew, they´re fantastic. Thåström, a Swedish singer. And the same old stuff such as Depeche Mode and Nitzer Ebb.


How would you describe yourself as a singer, what are your strong points?

I can vary my voice quite much. I can whisper, I can scream, I can moan, I can miaow like a cat..haha


Is Lip Service your first act, how did you get to join the band?

Yes it´s my first band, actually. Basically Andreas wanted me to sing on a couple of tracks and it worked out so we went from there really.


How do you work on your lyrics, what inspires you in writing lyrics?

We work a lot together, we usually have an idea what the song is gonna be about and then we try to nail the core of it. Inspiration? Facts of life, experiences, what upsets me, what I want to be changed. There is often very strong messages in Lip Service songs.

For example: Our new song “Monkey See Monkey Do” points out the fact that a lot of people are having huge problems thinking on their own. We encourage all to take side. Hopefully our side. As we sing: “Call us the traitors, call us the hedonists/we´re not gonna show up for a god that don´t exist/You´d better put a surveillance on us and watch our every move/we´re an underground movement planning to attack you”   It´s a quite angry song as you can see. And there´s quite a few reasons to be upset over the world and it´s system of today.

Louise

What do you think people can do to improve their lives or even the world, to make it all a better place?

I think if everyone was honest and reasonable would be a good start. Also showing courage telling people when they are doing wrong. To raise all children good. And to have a healthy and open mind.


You had a rough period in your life, what is lesson you’ve learned from that period?

Sometimes I´m not sure if I´ve learned anything.. But life can lead you to strange places and dark people and it´s easy to make mistakes. Hopefully I´ve seen the worst and it´s behind me. I´ve learnt how to help others along the way. 


What are your goals for the future, both personally as in music?

I´m not really a person that plans too much. Maybe I should but I don´t. Me and my husband live a good life and shouldn´t really complain. We make music, we have a small house and we have food and drinks on our table. Not bad!


Do you think life is a road, we have to enjoy during the travel instead of only focusing on reaching destinies?

Destiny calls whichever way you turn! Haha.  Yeah, enjoy the ride.  Don´t take life too seriously, you´re not leaving it alive anyhow as my old teacher once said!


You love to sing Karaoke, is singing Karaoke different than performing with Lip Service, in what way?

Yes very different! Haha.. It´s just fun, showing off in a completely different way. It´s not serious at all. Just drinking and laughing with friends whilst singing stuff like Cher´s “If I could turn back time”, Alice Cooper´s “Poison” and other songs where I can use my whole register. I can sing very loud I can tell you that much. At one place they took the microphone from me. I was too loud. So they didn´t think I needed one. I can be Tom Jones if it´s wanted. Haha!

Louise

These are all sexy tracks, as mentioned before, you whisper, you moan, you scream you can miaow like a cat are all sexy sounds, can we say you are the sex in the sound of Lip Service?

Yes I am! Haha! And also I am in control of what I want to do and don´t. My integrity might be the sexiest thing about me. Also a hard electronic beat can be really sexy too.


How do you prepare for a concert?

I dress up and put on my make up with the guys in the band backstage. We are usually four on stage when we play live (Carl Johan Lann on Keyboards/backing vocals and Tony Ahola Drums/Electronic percussion) I don´t really prepare that much. I become the black cat and have myself a drink.


Lip Service already recorded an album and some ep’s, how are they received, how were the comments?

Yeah “Copy Kill Original” was received well. As for reviews we had some really good ones from Sweden, Portugal and Germany. We´ve had airplay for some of the singles on radiostations over the world. And a lot of good dj´s that play our stuff. Lip Service belongs on an electronic dancefloor!  We´ve also  heard from some of our old heroes that have encouraged us.


The album “ copy kill original” is released  about a year ago, how do you look at it one year later?

We knew from the start that we wanted to keep it simple and record it quite quick. And we set up rules for ourselves that we still feel content with.

Louise

You are already working on a new album “Grand Conspiracy” what can we expect from it?

First of all we are going to release an EP - “Black Cat” which we just have recorded. It is harder and angrier. We kind of go to war actually. Also we have included a version of Andreas old band´s song “Model Actress Whatever” in a Lip Service version as well as our cover of Depeche Mode´s “Never Let me Down (Aggro Mix)”, To cover your own track as we do in a way AND to cover a remix -that can´t possibly have been done before. It´s as wrong as it gets, isn´t it? Haha.. I think some of the tracks on it are the best we´ve done so far. “Grand Conspiracy” will be released sometime early next year and will hopefully continue what we´ve started on with “Black Cat”.


Is this direction Lip Service will go to in the future, a bit harder?

It´s always hard to predict the future but where we are now it seems we are going harder, yeah. Especielly lyrically.


What should the album bring you to make you happy (concerts, sales, comments), what is important for you?

I am obviously very happy when people tells us their fans of our music. I love to play live and I hope that we will play a lot of concerts in the future. Hopefully all over Europe for a start! The industry of today is really changing as we all know so I am very glad to see people buy our CD´s instead of downloading them. That makes it worthwhile not just releasing our songs digitally.

Louise

Sweden brought us some great acts last year like Lip Service but also Ashbury Heights and Octolab, is there a small but good scene overthere?

We don´t really see us as part of a scene but there are many good bands from Sweden.


You like to party, if you could organize the party of your dreams, how would it look like?

It would be outdoors. With a lot of friends and people like us. Open tents designed in different styles and colours. Lots of pillows, couches for relaxation in the sun. Close to the water. A big free bar! Three areas with dancefloors all with music of my choice. And later when it gets dark I will perform on the coolest stage you have ever seen!


Any last words for the readers?

High heels are gonna crush your bones! Let the godesses rule the world!


www.myspace.com/lipservicetheband