Jörgen Elofsson Interview
Jörgen Kjell Elofsson (born 14 January 1962 in Ängelholm) is a Swedish songwriter who has written or co-written hits for stars such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Guy Sebastian, Ana Johnsson, Marie Serneholt, Shayne Ward and many many more. He has also written hit singles for groups such as Il Divo and Westlife. His musical career started when he was 16, and was the lead singer and guitarist in different bands. After that he had a solo career and released two albums in 1989 and 1992, under the name "Shane".Jörgen became a full-time songwriter in 1994, when he worked with the Swedish artist Carola. His work at Cheiron Studios began in January 1998, and he has mainly been working together with David Kreuger and Per Magnusson. (taken from from wikipedia)
We are very happy that Jörgen spent some time answering the questions of our members of the Cheiron Songwriters Forum www.swedishsongs.de for this exclusive interview
Question: How did you notice your talent? Was there any key moment where you
realized you can do it for a living or you just slide into it? Do you sometimes
get the feeling of losing confidence in your skills?
Jörgen Elofsson: A friend of mine had an electric guitar, I tried it and I was hooked, I was 16 years old and I knew what I was going to do for the rest of my life!! I was never thinking about making a living on music , it was really just a passion. I started my own company in 1993 and I’ve been living on music ever since. I’m losing confidence all the time, but then I get it right back :-)
Q: Could you share a story with us about working at Cheiron?
Can you tell us your favorite memory from that time and your favorite song from
that time?
JE: I started hanging out
at Cheiron already in 1995 because Per and David produced an album with me and
my band called
“me and Pete” later, “Hear’Say”. However that never took off, in early
98 I got signed with Cheiron though!
A favorite memory would be me
playing my new song “Sometimes” for Max, Denniz and Tom Talomaa, they loved it
and suggested it for Britney.
The rest is history
:-)
Q: What
is your fondest memory of Denniz PoP? How did you meet for the first time and
how was your relationship?
Q: Will
you be working work with any of the Cheiron crew in the future? Any plans to
work with Max Martin in the soon future?
JE: Every now and then our
roads cross, and I work as much as I can with my old friends
I’ve done a lot of stuff with Per
and David and Andreas Carlsson after Cheiron closed, nothing planned with Max at
the moment.
Q: How
much contact do you have with the guys from the old Cheiron crew?
JE: We speak all the time
Q: What is in your opinion your best song? And can you think of a song that you
wish you wrote in general or lately in the charts
JE: Honestly I can´t tell
you a favorite song I´ve written, there´s too many!!! Though I really would´ve
loved to have written “Moves like Jagger”, love that song!)
Q: Many Swedish writers seem to have settled down in California these days;
would this be an option for you too?
JE: I´m in LA all the time,
but I don´t want to move there, I have a little daughter and I want her to grow
up in Sweden
Q: How do you
write a song? Do you compose first with piano or guitar, or do you make the
instrumental and then you compose the melody?
JE:
I write songs in many different ways,
guitar, piano, to tracks, anything goes
Q: What
do you do if you don't have any good ideas? Do you sometimes get frustrated or
do you stress yourself too much? Are you thinking about songwriting all the
time?
JE:
I don´t worry so much about that, If I
have no ideas, I just don´t write
Q:
What's the general process in coming up with ideas for a specific artist. Do you
analyze songs published by that artist before and try to come up with something
different/similar?
How much do you prepare for a writing session with
an artist?
JE:
Whenever somebody asks me for something
specific, I get inspired, I try not to listen to old stuff
Q: Swedish
melodies are by far the most pleasing my ears have ever heard. What's the
process for finding that perfect melody, and do you ever experience writer's
block when searching for it?
JE: I can´t tell you where
the melodies come from, but they come naturally, almost like channeling, I have
no writers block, but sometimes I lack good ideas and the I leave it alone for a
while
Q: I've always
wanted to know how pop producers go about achieving that big double vocal sound
in choruses. Is it simply two takes by the artist panned left and right, or is
it mainly done in post using plug-ins?
JE: These things are trade
secrets :-) . Try things out, if it sounds good, it´s usually good.
There are so many ways of achieving
great sound today, no plugins for great songs though :-) Not yet anyway!
Q: Who
would you
like to work with in the future (Songwriters, Artists)?
JE: No one particular, I
take it as it comes
Q: What music
do you listen to at home? What are your hobbies apart from music?
JE:
I don´t listen
that much at home, watching movies instead, and I paint as well
Q: What
our users want to know most: What's your favorite
part in the production process and why? How is the usual
routine? (Writing, arranging, producing, recording vocals etc...)
JE: I like cutting the
vocals the most, nowadays I work with different producers who deal with the
other things in the production process, I do love mixing as well
Q: What is your current standard studio equipment like?
JE: I have a great studio,
top of the line
Q:
According to your website, you don't really seem to have a large mixing console
as seen in other studios. So do you mainly use software for mixing? In general,
do you think the "gear hype" is overrated and that today's software
is good enough to get the job done? Or do you also prefer analog equipment Max
Martin?
JE: Old website, old
pictures, new website is coming soon, there you´ll see my new studio
Q: Is
there any certain style of music you can't relate to at all ? Do you have a
favorite genre in specific?
JE: I think all genres have
great stuff, just as long as the songs are good
Q: You're one
of few Swedish international songwriters that actually write for Swedish artists
too, not just acts from the US. Why do you think many of the Swedish songwriters
do not write for local artists?
JE: Could be a
business decision, could be another reason, I write a lot of music and people
need songs here and there, I´m cool with Swedish artists cutting my songs even
though the money´s better in the UK or America or elsewhere. It´s
different when you produce, then you won’t get a proper budget in Sweden
compared to the US for example.
Q: A few years
ago you signed Marie Serneholt to your label Planet Six. You even ended up in a
scene in the “I need a house” video. Whose idea was that?
JE: The video director did
that on his own, he thought it was funny! So did I.
Q: Do you plan
to sign more artists to Planet Six or do you already have an artist about to
break the market?
JE: Planet Six is not alive
anymore, I have a new label called 33,3 together with Roxy Recordings, first
album just released with well known Swedish artist Björn Skifs.
Q: You wrote
many Idol winning songs. These days winner songs are sadly often covers. How
many songs do you still have in the cupboard and how many of them do you think
are potential megahits?
JE: I have about 360 songs
recorded and another 700 or so still waiting for a home some of them a really
good!
Q: What can we
expect from you in the near future, which releases can you reveal? (We know that
you have a song for Il Divo and worked with Björn Skifs on his album)
JE: I Have a song on
Jennifer Lopez new album called “Until it beats no more” And the upcoming single
from Kelly Clarkson’s new album, a song called “What doesn´t kill you (Stronger)
Q: Have you
ever handed in a song for Melodifestivalen or Eurovision and do you plan to do
so in the future?
JE: No, I haven’t and I don´t plan to
Q: I read you
dreamed the melody of Il Divo’s “La promessa”. How often do you dream melodies?
JE: That happens, not often
though
Q: You
achieved so much in your career, is there something you really want to achieve?
JE: I want to keep on
making great music with great artist for many years to come and also stay
healthy and happy
Q: You worked
with Delta Goodrem but the songs were never released. Can you tell us what kind
of style were these songs and will they be released one day?
JE: That happens all the
time, songs don´t make it on to the records , sometimes they´re just not good
enough, but mostly it´s political reasons. The songs with Delta sound pretty
much like her songs on the records, they will find a home eventually, cause they
are really good
Q: Do you
still have contact with Jessica Folcker, and could you imagine to work with her
again?
JE: I haven’t
met Jessica in a long time but if she wants a song from me, why not
Q: Last but not least, do you have a thing to say to our members and your fans from the forum :-)
JE: I would say that
I´m grateful and happy that you keep the memory of Cheiron alive THANK YOU for
that!
Copyright: Jörgen Elofsson and www.swedishsongs.de 2011
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