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Photo by Bertine Monson

We are always trying to peel off our cynicism – that dreary cloak of listening to too much music – to shed some priors for genuine innocence. When we first heard Norwegian Iris Caltwait’s album, Again, for the first time, we felt fully naked and rebirthed immediately. It's an album so powerfully emotive it had a near parental effect on us, making us raw, vulnerable, and then loved over sixteen tracks. Inexplicable about the source of this mysterious, wondrously operatic music, we decided we had to find out more, and we regret nothing, for the answers we got were everything we were hoping for and more: 

OnesToWatch: Who is Iris Caltwait? 

Iris Caltwait: good question! i’m still figuring that out myself!

but yes, i’m an artist from the west coast of norway, a wet, dramatic (but still calm), beautiful place. the music i make is also wet, dramatic and beautiful, full of emotions and intricate details in the production. a mix of everything i am and everything i love, a blend of electronic and acoustic elements. i’ve been writing songs since i was a teenager because that’s the only way i know how to deal with my own head. Iris Caltwait is just… me, but a little braver. the part of me that can say the things i can’t always say out loud.

Do you have deja vu already, do you know what's coming next? 

not so sure about the déjà vu... and as for what’s coming next, i mean, i hope a lot of fun things. i’m writing new music again, so i’m back in the studio, searching and exploring and trying things out. i have ideas of what i want to do, but i’m also just finding my way as i go.

ALSO: i’m going on tour!! so yes, playing shows, writing new songs, putting one foot in front of the other and seeing where it takes me.

What is the theme of the album, how’d it come together? 

the album is basically me trying to put my heart back together in real time. a lot of grief, a lot of wanting, a lot of trying to be brave and not run away. but also of course, also sometimes running away from what needs to be faced. it came together really slowly, in different houses and borrowed rooms, in bergen, oslo, copenhagen, gothenburg. mostly together with Askjell Solstrand, who is the executive producer (together with me), but also with other collaborators in Scandinavia. i kept writing until something started making sense, like i was seeing myself again but from an angle i hadn’t before. i felt pretty lost at the beginning (and also in the middle... and at the end, to be honest).

the theme of the album, is both being exhausted from life’s continuity and a lot of grief. i had the feeling that i will never stop grieving anything, not before something new to grieve appears. BUT it's also about returning to yourself. the rebuilding. sitting with the pain and acknowledging that life will punch you in the face, while maintaining the hope that you will find a way to keep a soft, open heart. 

Any collaborators? Who produced the album? 

many! so many beautiful people. but the core has really been me and Askjell Solstrand, and then Vetle Junker. Askjell and i were both executive producers, which basically means we worried about everything together. i wrote most of it with askjell, and we sat and explored and nerded out all the details. wrote some songs with other producers/songwriters, but mostly finished it in bergen with askjell. four of the songs i finished with Vetle. then we had friends, musicians come by, adding their colours to the mix - guitar, drums, cello, vocals. so yes, absolutely a lot of collaborators, who are so talented and good-hearted people. i feel very lucky to have been working together with such inspiring, talented people. 

Also did you really sample your late grandma? 

yes. in PINHOLE. there’s a tiny moment where you hear her voice from a video i took years ago. she was rolling up my hair for the first time, and in the video she's telling me to lie completely still through the night even if i had nightmares, so i wouldn't mess up the hair. 

the song is about grief, how it comes in waves, and how you sometimes think (almost believe) that you see them on the street again. how their face lives on inside your family.

i wanted her to be there with me in the song. a small illusion of immortality.

What's your ideal takeaway from listening to the album for a fan? 

i hope it makes someone feel less strange, less wrong maybe? i don’t want to teach anything, i just want people to feel held and understood for a moment.

Besides this excellent album what else should we be on the lookout for? 

from me? or from the world?! i'm very super excited about this tour i'm doing, aaaaand releasing more music. but knowing me, WHO KNOWS how long it will take. i feel more energized these days, so maybe it will come sooner rather than later (less than three years i am sure)

What's inspiring you right now outside of music? 

always inspiring to meet strangers, talk to people, and watching them being brave, facing their own lives, and trying to be brave myself - reading books, being interested in the world and everything that's happening in it. 

Take us on a date, where do we go, what do we do? 

like a romantic date? or platonic date? anyways, if the weather is nice we'd go for a walk, maybe even a hike. if the weather is bad, we'd go somewhere dark and cozy, eat good food. i haven't really been on so many dates in my life, so i don't really know. but if i'm spending time with people i love, it doesn't really matter what we do, just that we are there together. 

Musically who is new but making all the right moves? Who are your current OnesToWatch? 

everyone should listen to Sei Selina. especially her EP 'Consider Me Venus'. also watch the music video for the title track. her songwriting, her universe, both visually and lyrically, is so raw and beautiful.