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Sissy Wish is the pseudonym of Siri Wålberg, a Norweigan indie-pop upstart with a fondness for dream-like ditties and sugar-coated melodies. The inexhaustible singer-songwriter just released her latest album, "Beauties Never Die," in the U.S. on local record label, Afternoon Records, and is already in the final stages of her next LP. That'll make four albums since 2003. Her pinched and pretty soprano sound is often compared with fellow Scandinavian ladies Lykke Li, Annie and Nina Persson (of The Cardigans), all of whom hang out in the high registers of toy-piano pop like Siri does. Blending retro Top 40, sound machine blips and masterfully crafted bridges, her charismatic pop compositions are as infectious as H1N1.
We caught up with Sissy Wish, fresh off a plane from Japan and about to start her tour around the lower 48 (does she ever sleep?). Read what this light-hearted lass has to say about her big brother, her big break and why she's OK with staying "almost famous."
So, about the name. Sissy Wish isn't a real person... well, she sort of is. Right?
Sissy Wish: Siri Wålberg...it wasn't cool enough. There was this character in a children's book by a Swedish author [Astrid Lindren, creator of Pippi Longstocking]. He was kind of an outsider and I felt like one too when I was small. He solved mysteries. He was basically the boy version of Sissy Wish.
Was music always a part of your life?
SW: Our parents were so cool about my brother and I making noise in the basement. I grew up with my brother [Stig Wålberg] playing the drums all the time. I think that's how I got my rhythm. I wanted to be just like him. I started playing guitar when I was 15 and I think my parents were relieved that I chose a quieter instrument.
When did you get your big break?
SW: I was searching for my soundscape so I moved to England to find it. But I didn't find it there either. Eventually, I moved to Bergen, which is a six-hour drive from Oslo, and my brother helped me make a demo with his band [the DIY demo was made in just two days]. That was the beginning of my career. It was called "Six Feet Tall." It became really popular on the radio in Norway, I won an award and got a record contract. [Her first two full-length albums also got high marks from critics, with "Tuning In" winning a Norweigan Grammy.]
Sissy Wish has evolved a lot from album to album. At first you were playing with a six-piece orchestra and now it's just you and Bjare Hundvin. How has that changed the way you make music?
SW: That first album I was helped a lot my my brother and other musicians. I was showing them my songs and my melodies and we arranged everything together but now I do more on my own. The music is always full of energy—I don't want to make music when I'm sad. Why do so many people make depressing music? I like making something fun. On tour we [Bjare Hundvin is Siri's wingman] put a lot of the sounds on "the box." It's really a challenge for us because it's so important to feel the music and not just sound. We need to perform that energy between just the two of us.
Speaking of energy, it seems like you have tons of it to spare. Is it true that you tap-dance on "Beauties Never Die?"
SW: Yeah, I'm the restless person in my family. I think music was a better solution than breaking into people's houses or other such delinquency. In Bergen I was bored and wanted to do something else creative so I started taking dance classes twice a week for about a year. Then I combined the tap and the music. You can hear it on "Yayaya" and "Milk." But I don't do it live because I like to concentrate on other dance moves.
You've toured so much in the U.S. and all over the world already. What do you like best about being on the road?
SW: We've been five tours in the U.S. in the last year. I feel so privileged to do this because the tour lengths have been perfect for me. I can be 100% all the time. We've met so many people and every place is very different from home. No one is acting like the music police. They just want to listen to new music. Our tour in Japan was like being on Mars—crazy in a good way, of course! We would play at 7 p.m. and it would already be packed. Then we'd play at the next place, five hours away, and they'd be there again! Everyone was so happy to see us. We felt honored to perform there.
Right now we might say that you're "almost famous." A lot of people think this is going to be your big year. Does it feel like that to you?
SW: It's terrifying because I can't think that way. Yesterday, for example, we saw [insert very famous British musician here] at this bar. He was so grumpy! I opened for him in Norway once and before I could say hello, some woman told me I was ruining his evening and they left. I was a fan of his but now I want to throw his CD in the garbage. I want to meet as many people as I can and just be giving. If you think of yourself as big... I don't know. I don't know if I want to be big!
What's next from Sissy Wish?
SW: I'm finishing my fourth album—I'm done recording and now it's mixing time. It should be ready by the end of the year. I'm working with the same producer from my first album in the studio I built with my boyfriend. I'm making a lot of music on my own this time. It's really different when you are not interrupted by other minds and other ideas. I'm standing all by myself.
