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| In pop music you’re expected to be a one-hit wonder or a one-album wonder!’ There’s no denying that Lene Nystrom has always confounded expectations with spirit and panache. When her internationally massive previous four-piece Aqua scored a 1997 number one smash with ‘Barbie Girl’, curious audiences anticipated a fluffy, saccharine-sweet pop princess. What they were actually dealt was a gorgeously wry front woman, stomping all over the Smash Hits roadshow in bondage trousers. A flood of infectious hits followed; from second chart-topper ‘Dr Jones’, then a third No.1 hit with ‘Turn Back Time’ (which featured on the ‘Sliding Doors’ Soundtrack) through 2000’s technicoloured ‘Cartoon Heroes’. ‘I didn’t want to be looked upon as cute, so I kind of went the opposite way,’ she explains. ‘I’ve always loved dressing up, playing around and creating a different kind of image – musically and visually, I’m just not a slave to designer fashion!’ When individual projects and a relentless worldwide promotional schedule drew Aqua to an amicable close in summer 2001, Lene took some three months to concentrate on a more personal phase – and marrying her former band mate Søren Rasted, she divided her time between Copenhagen and the U.K. capital. Earlier this year, she dipped into a new wave of pop by co-penning the catchy second chart-stormer for Girls Aloud, ‘No Good Advice’. Now not before time, Lene’s back on the scene with an album of punchy, funky songs in her own right. Vibrant enough to delight pop devotes, but boasting a well-honed, multi-flavoured edge and strong personality that’s sure to appeal much further beyond, it’s fittingly entitle ‘Play With Me’. ‘Of course it’s a challenge to stand alone after being in a successful band for so many years, especially because the atmosphere we had was so tight,’ Lene admits. ‘I guess I needed to build up my confidence in many areas where I used to rely on the boys – but at the same time I’m a really restless person, and I was always fired up by doing my own thing.’ That sense of verse goes back some years. Having developed a passion for performance in school bands and theatre productions, as a teenager Lene got her formative break as Scandinavia’s answer to Vanna White: hosting prime-time Norwegian gameshow ‘Casino’; ‘It was a really exciting, starry time for a young kid – but good God, I wore some horrible dresses!’ she reminisces. Never mind the fashion faux pas – on TV, she first proved her singing prowess (by breezily performing Randy Crawford classics for the studio audience), met Danish DJ/vocalist René Dif and was whirled into the world of Aqua. Millions of records and travels across numerous nations later, and Lene now finds herself ‘in a place I never thought I’d be a year ago’ ‘Play With Me’ has given the loud comic-strip imagery of Aqua, but there’s still an unmistakeably tongue-in-cheek sense of humour at the core of her music. ‘Finding a real mood and character for each of the songs on the album has been really important to me,’ she says. ‘Being in Aqua taught me that everything starts with a great melody and personality, I love music with rawness, energy and cheeky lyrics – but I wanted to make sure that the next track would always offer a twist.’ ‘Play With Me’ really burst with all of the above. With a clutch of fruitful collaborations including Karen Poole (Alicia’s Attic) and Sugababes songwriter Brian Higgins, it cheekily demands that It’s experimenting with a breathy electro stomp (‘Bite You’) and winningly brash punk-pop bluster (‘Virgin Superstar’). The album also contains some surprises; a song written with Søren entitled ‘Scream’, which documents the personal battle she went trough with herself. The dancefloor is generously catered for (she promises that ‘The bassline cuts deeper than the sharpest stiletto’ on ‘Here We Go’), while listeners who’re convinced that Aqua’s high-pitched hits summed up Lene’s repertoire will do a double-take at the sound of strikingly husky and sultry tones on ‘Pretty Young thing’. And then, just as things are seemingly charming and coy, there’s the acid kickback of ‘Virgin Superstar’: a gleefully wicked tale about lust for fame. What ultimately gels these disparate numbers is Lene’s fresh, hook-laden sense of fun and experience, showing out to a broader audience than you ever expected. ‘Play With Me’ teases, kisses, fondles and then leaves you wanting to play, all over again |
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| fanfan | |
| Lene you are so hot and so beautiful. | |