While some artists fight for years to find an audience for their music, fate intervened for Alice Boman.
The singer-songwriter began her craft by writing “sketches” at home in Sweden but found herself became increasingly curious about how the tracks would sound with some studio production.
Short on cash, she sent a demo to a recording studio to find out how much it would cost for half a day’s work and the recipient was so impressed, he passed them on to Adrian Recordings.
The label instantly wanted to work with her and the rough tracks became Skisser, her debut EP.
“I was very surprised, it was a good surprise but I didn’t expect that. I feel so thankful that they wanted to release it like that. I really didn’t have to do much, it’s amazing how music can just spread,” she says.
The blend of Alice’s fragile yet expressive voice and wistful melodies struck a chord with many and the singer is currently touring with her second release, EP II.
Speaking to Her.ie, Alice admits that the process for EP II was much different than its predecessor but says that she was eager to maintain the tone of her first works.
“It felt important not to take too big a step from the first one, to still keep it simple, and people seem to like it,” she says.
“With the second EP, I really had to think about how I wanted it to sound, since the first EP was just recorded home recordings and already done. That’s the big difference, I think. This time I knew I was going to release it. There was some pressure but only from myself. I think I managed to keep it fun, just doing it for the music.”
In the past, Alice has been reticent to analyse her music, saying “I like it when you let the music and the lyrics speak for themselves”.
However, as we chat, she reveals that she is now enjoying the different interpretations that fans have taken from her work.
“I feel a bit more comfortable now but I still think it is so hard to talk about the music and what it is about. I used to think that it was so simple that people couldn’t draw interpretations from it but now I feel that because it is so simple, people have come up with so many different things that it could be about! It’s very interesting, I love that.”
Boman has played in Ireland once before, at the “amazing” Electric Picnic, and returns for a headline show at Whelan’s this Saturday December 6th.
As well as adjusting to scrutiny of her music, she has also begun to embrace the touring lifestyle but reveals that it does pose some practical challenges when it comes to writing new material.
“There has been a lot of touring, I haven’t had a lot of spare time so I’m hoping that in January and February, I’m going to have some time off to just write and play. When you are out on the road this much, you really do miss being home and relaxing. When you feel like playing, you can just sit beside the piano. Whereas on the road, you have to look for a piano. Today, we have one so I’m so happy!
“I love both sides of the process though. Two years ago, I had stage fright but now I just love being on the stage and signing in front of people. The next step is to get some writing done. I have a lot of new sketches that I need to get finished and we have some more shows coming up next year as well. It’s amazing, it just keeps on going!”
Alice Boman plays Whelan’s Live this Saturday December 6th. Tickets priced at €15 are available from Ticketmaster.
