Girl In Red on her new album: “It’s ballsy, big dick energy”

Few people have experienced the astronomic trajectory that Marie Ulven has. When she released her first single ‘i wanna be your girlfriend’ in 2018 under the name Girl In Red, people instantly fell in love with its charming lo-fi sound and sticky melodies. By the time she followed it up with ‘girls’ and ‘summer depression’, releasing her debut EP ‘Chapter 1’ that same year, Girl In Red became one of the most exciting names to know in bedroom pop.

It was more than just the music: Ulven’s casually candid, sincere odes to women turned her into a full on “queer icon”. Suddenly, the question ‘do you like Girl In Red?’ meant more than just knowing who’s cool in music; it became slang for young queers to ask each other if they were lesbians.

Steadily, Ulven continued to release music, and finally released her highly-anticipated debut album ‘If I Could Make It All Go Quiet’ in 2021. Detailing her struggles with OCD and anxiety, it also continued to explore her journey with love, all wrapped up in her signature confronting lyricism.

It’s been three years since that hectic period, and a lot has changed. Ulven moved from her small hometown of Horten to Oslo, and initially grappled with feelings of isolation and loneliness. But now, she’s back and better than ever before, and she’s ready to show the world with her second album ‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’.

This new album is bombastic and bold, and it’s full of gems that address the journey Ulven has taken to her shining new self-esteem (and she’ll tell you as much on its exuberant title track). Musically, it’s incredibly imaginative – it takes you through pop, rock and country – whilst maintaining Ulven’s wit and outspoken writing style.

She’s just as open with NME as she sits down with us for our latest In Conversation series. Here, she walks us through finding her newfound confidence, a special gift she received from Taylor Swift, and the pressures of being championed as a queer icon.

NME: On ‘Doing It Again Baby!’, there’s this whole country breakdown. Why country?

Girl In Red: “Just because it’s fun! I feel like on this album, I just want to have fun and I just want to do things because they’re fun. And also sonically, I was like – this is fucking cool. It’s fucking sick. I’m just going with my intuition mostly. I can’t read scores or notes, I don’t know anything musically other than what I feel.

“It’s so funny with the fucking banjo coming in. And then the top line being all, “I’m loving this new self-esteem”. It’s just ballsy, big dick energy. I just fuck with it. And also, Beyoncé just made a country song, so it’s contemporary.”

I really did think listening to the song, it sounds like a cowboy just riding off into the wind.

“Right? I mean, that’s what it is. It’s about fun. Even during the last chorus of that song, we sampled a bunch of fireworks to be the big moment. That’s so cheesy and just so fun. I think having fun is  one of the most intelligent things you can do. For a very long time, I looked down on fun because I was like, that’s not smart. But the best part of being alive is having fun.”

Was there something that triggered you to start having a bit more fun and to let loose a little bit? 

“When I moved from my hometown in 2018 to Oslo, it was a bigger city. I was very lonely for a very long time. The catalyst for a lot of it was just actually allowing myself to get to know people.  Instead of being like, ‘bye, I’ll never see you again’, I was like, ‘we get along so well, let’s be friends’. I started saying yes to my life, and it all happened right after the first album came out.

“Also, I’m not very famous, but to some level I have a little bit of fame. That can very quickly go to your head. For a while I was a little bit high on myself: I was like, these people are not really interested in being my friend. I also realised, that’s fucking stupid. If the vibe is off, then I won’t hang out with them. But preemptively going into every single meeting, every single person thinking that they think you’re cool is also really awkward, so I just stopped doing that. I became a more open person and I became more humble and chill and lowkey.”

How does living in Norway impact your understanding of fame?  

“That’s interesting because [in] Norway, people don’t really come up to you. They stare at you. I can definitely tell when someone recognises me. Plus, Norway is a very small country, so it’s not very hard to be all over the news there. In a way, it’s a very low-key place to be famous. Let’s say if this album did really well, fingers crossed, and it brought me to another level of fame, I still think I wouldn’t notice the difference in Norway. It’s a pretty sheltered, hidden gem.”

You have a TikTok showing us around the apartment, and I noticed you had a painting –

– “Two paintings.”

Two paintings by someone with the first name Taylor. Last name Swift? 

“Correct!”

Tell us about it. 

“That was right after my first album came out and she reposted my album, and I was like, what the hell? That’s insane! I sent her my album as a thank you, and she emailed me being like, ‘oh my God, you sent me your album. I was just about to order it, that’s so kind of you.’ Then she was like, I want to send you something.

“She sent me some paintings and her vinyl, which I already had, but she’s just a gem and she’s a very beautiful person. So she made those paintings and I got them framed and I got them hung up because it’s her little flowers and my lyrics on there. It’s a very cute little thing.”

Sabrina Carpenter will be your first ever guest feature. Why did you choose Sabrina and why did you choose her specifically for the song that she’s on? 

“So when I was making that song, I did that last part myself and it just wasn’t right. I did that whole intro where I introduced myself, but I really felt like creatively and sonically, I needed another voice here.

“I really admire Sabrina’s voice. I really admire her artistry. I feel like she’s levelling up her stuff too, and she’s really finding her voice. So yeah, I felt like it was cool. Also, it’s unexpected, because we are operating in two different realms. I might be a little bit more indie, and she’s a little bit more pop – [an] American sweetheart, maybe. But I also think her voice on a production like that is so fucking sick. I really hope that she’s going to do something a little bit more like that.

“But yeah, it was mostly because it’s ballsy, fun, cool, and a little surprise because I don’t think anyone really expected something like that.”

On your first album, you were heralded as this queer icon. Looking back on it now, how did it feel to be put on such a high pedestal at such a young age? 

“I think at the time I was like, ‘this is a lot’. But now I’m like, it’s really such an honour to be able to have impacted young people’s lives or old people’s lives. Honestly, I don’t know the specific age, but I honestly think it’s such an honour.

“Obviously it can freak me out a little bit. It can be a little bit intimidating because people are so picky on whatever might hurt their feelings and stuff. So I’m a little bit nervous also. But you know, I choose to think that I’m an OK person. I just think it’s an honour to be able to impact people’s lives through music and live performances, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to do the thing I love the most. And if people look up to me that way, then that’s great.

“But also take everything you see in the world with a pinch of salt. That’s my little tip from your Queer Icon In Red!”

Girl In Red’s ‘I’m Doing It Again Baby!’ is out now

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