My songs are too personal! Danish pop sensation Fallulah talks awards, talent shows and music passion

By Hannah Hulme

Unless you are a big fan of kooky Danish folk-pop music, you might not have heard of Maria Apetri, aka Fallulah.

The Copenhagen-born starlet is best known for her debut single I Lay My Head – the prequel to the album The Black Cat Neighbourhood.

Now working hard on her new album, Fallulah took the time to chat to MM about her music and the year ahead.

She has been compared to Florence & The Machine, Adele and Marina and the Diamonds but Fallulah says she aims for her music to be as original as possible.

“It’s kind of strange because I’m in the middle of writing a new album. I’m going in a new direction, it’s got pop elements but it’s got a lot of tribal folk in it,” she said.

“I don’t feel like I’ve been directly influenced by anyone. The inspiration comes from the stories I want to tell, it’s very personal, too personal sometimes.”

I ask her what she means by ‘too personal’.

“It feels very vulnerable. It’s your life so you take things personally, but I wouldn’t want to do it any other way.”

Fallulah performed in the UK at the Isle of Wight festival on Sunday. But despite the heavy rain, which meant that many artists pulled out at the last minute, her outlook remained bright.

“We were actually really lucky because they call it the ‘isle of mud’ but the sun came out.

“It’s kind of strange because I’ve done a few festivals this summer when its been raining all day and when I come on stage the sun comes out. I have good weather karma I guess!”

She admitted she was surprised at the size of the crowds at the festival.

“It was a lot bigger than I thought. I have done mostly small venues in the UK, like small, sweaty clubs they’re always sweet crowds over here.”

Fallulah has won several awards including the prestigious ‘P3 Guld’ award in 2011, but she isn’t in it for the accolades.

“I don’t like to put too much emphasis on awards but the live experiences are the biggest ones for me.

“A really good gig where you feel the love from the crowd and give all your love out to them. That’s the best thing for me.”

It was a slow rise to fame for Fallulah. Although performing on the Danish X-Factor, that route does not appeal to her.

“It didn’t happen overnight. I wrote my songs over a period of 5 years. I was very timid at the time, scared of singing in front of people because I was self taught.

“I got to grow in my own tempo which I was very grateful for and I decided when I was ready to start.”

So now that she’s famous, is she frequently approached on the street by fans?

“I live in Copenhagen and nobody really cares about fame. I don’t feel famous at all. I don’t really seek out that kind of attention.

“I really just want it to be about the music. I’m kind of a private person, I think a lot of people know my music but they don’t know what I look like.”

So what’s next for Fallulah in 2012?

“I can’t multitask I’m not your typical woman, I need to focus on one thing at a time and that’s writing!”

To find out more about Fallulah visit her website on http://www.fallulah.dk/.