How does it feel to return to the music industry after a seven-year hiatus? We should probably ask Anwai. Having just unveiled their comeback record, the Swedish duo is rebooting their beloved, self-described trip-hop project, an endeavour that gained quite a lot of traction in the mid-2010s. Tracks such as ‘Asking’ and ‘Move Along’ date back to 2014-15, and have amassed half a million streams to date on Spotify alone, which for a track of that period is truly remarkable, especially streaming-wise. Clearly, Mons Lorenzen and Amadeus struck a chord, connecting with like-minded listeners around the globe.
Hailing from the Stockholm area, the two creatives took a break from the project in 2019, shifting their focus to personal life and other professional work. They even became fathers! Fast forward to today, and Anwai seek to reconnect with their musical self, and ‘4everHD’ is what will allow them to do so. Released just last week, the double single features ‘SOMETHING NEW’, an evocative, laidback electro-pop cut with a certain cinematic allure, and ‘FLWRS’, a nuanced and dreamy gem that’s a tad more soulful and groovy. Vocals are delivered with a rather feathery allure, the perfect match for such tender and blissful aural matter.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with Anwai to learn more about their artistry and personal goals… interview below!
Hey guys, thanks for chatting with us! First of all, welcome back to the music industry! Anwai have been absent since 2019. I’d be curious to know what you were up to, and whether it was music-related or not? I have been told you have also become fathers, congratulations!
Mons Lorenzen: Thanks. If we ever claimed to have known what sleep deprivation feels like before, that was a lie.
Amadeus: I think we started building unnecessary pressure after our last EP, which sort of killed the spark. We’ve kept on making music together, just focusing on other projects.
Has COVID played a role at all in your long hiatus? Or perhaps you were already planning to take a break?
A: We’re not really good at planning anything; if we are, Mons deserves the credit.
M: It wasn’t really a planned break; it kind of just happened. The lockdowns and regulations had a bigger effect on our other projects, though!
Exploring Anwai’s Instagram profile, I couldn’t help but smile at how it has become almost a time capsule. There are a few posts on it, but every post is a snapshot of a time that’s long gone. Tell me this: who were Mons Lorenzen and Amadeus back then? Do you have any special memories about the 2015/2019 window? Perhaps a certain milestone that you still remember with pride?
M: You’re making me nostalgic! I don’t think we were all too different back then, but we probably fueled our egos differently. I had fun recording at RMV!
A: Not sure I remember too much, but I do recall someone reaching out claiming to have heard us in a gas station restroom, not sure I needed to know that tho.
M: Restroom music is one step above elevator music…
I used to play in a scandi-pop project pre-2020, and it just so happened that we performed at Obaren, in Stockholm, in June 2018. I mention this because I noticed you performed at the same venue in the same year.
Things were rather different in the music industry back then. Spotify had just risen to the top (and still had goodwill from the public), and social media-fuelled short-form videos were not a thing yet. Do you feel nostalgia towards the past decade? What has been your experience in terms of adapting to today’s music industry?
M: Small world, yeah, it’s a nice venue. We’ve always kind of been in the background when it comes to social media presence. We don’t really see the use in ’showcasing our downtime’, which would probably bore your eyes out.
A: I don’t think we’re doing a good job at adapting tbh. I often get nostalgic, especially in terms of the internet and Spotify. We’re not the only musicians (and Swedes) feeling ashamed about its capitalistic growth, rather than it becoming a fair and epic platform, which it could have been.
I also believe that no matter the decade, an artist’s mission is still kinda the same: connecting with a like-minded audience. ‘4ever HD’ moves in such a direction, resurrecting Anwai’s signature Trip-pop character. In terms of influences and overall style, did you intend to pick up exactly where you left off in 2019? Are there any contemporary artists or records that have played a part in the new singles?
A: We’ve been feeling that it’s not a ‘comeback’, it’s a ‘distorted continuation’, and Anwai has always been our combined output.
M: The process usually entails us drifting off in different directions and gathering ideas. When we meet up, we just let the music happen.
From what I understand of your creative process, you still enjoy a largely bedroom-pop ethos, making music at home and constantly exchanging ideas. I’d love to know more about the actual process of getting from an idea to a semi-finished track. Do you both share songwriting duties? Is there anyone taking the production lead? Most importantly, how do you know when a track/song is finished?
M: Since the start of it all, our music has resulted in us making do with what we’ve got, whether that is in a basement somewhere or in a professional studio. But we both hold big respect for each other’s ears, and usually end up trying something before hating it.
A: Yeah, I sort of need to start hating it for it to be done. But with that said, we’ve always remained our own biggest critic, that’s why we sound like we do.
Do you have a favourite between ‘SOMETHING NEW’ and ‘FLWRS’? They have largely different energies. Is there a special meaning attached to the songs, or is it more of a vibe situation?
I prefer ‘FLWRS’, although it’s a pretty close contest. It does remind me of the sort of eclectic bedroom pop people would make back in 2015 or so 🙂
M: I don’t really have a favourite anymore; they are both from a hard drive dating back to 2015, so it’s been a journey creating both.
A: No, not really. Just feel like they belong together.
Lastly, what’s on the horizon for Anwai? Any plans for live gigs?
A: I’m aiming to reconnect with the bathroom speakers, so who knows if we’ll salvage a few more tracks.
M: Only time will tell, either we’ll disappear into the ether again or we will finalise our plans of world domination and rule the world via hologram. Either or.