Oh Land is the stage name of Danish treasure Nanna Øland Fabricius, and this fall Oh Land released her third record, Wish Bone. Her last album, eponymously titled Oh Land, featured fan favorites like the pun-laced “Sun of a Gun.”
Wish Bone pivots a bit from the thundering drums of her last album and shifts into a more intricate sound that pushes the lyrics to the forefront. In advance of her show this Tuesday at the Majestic, I had the opportunity to chat with Fabricius about her new album, her inspirations, her tour, and her aversion to, as she puts it, “robot shit.”
Wish Bone felt like you had expanded your sound from your previous albums. There seemed to be more intricacy, both musically and lyrically. Can you tell me a little bit more about that album felt for you?
“Yeah, I think that I’ve just become older and more like… I just wanted the lyrics and my cosmology to come through a little bit more. I didn’t want to hide behind too many layers, drums, etc. I wanted it to be more honest.”
Did you have any major inspirations that influenced the direction of Wish Bone?
“Like, the people I’ve known in the past three years; the relationships that I had. But, you know, those relationships have all been from a distance because I’ve been traveling so much. So I think there’s a lot of longing on the album, and a lot of confronting myself with reality, because I keep dreaming about how things should play out and then I realize reality is completely different. So it’s the struggles of the mind and the body.
“I was also very inspired by horror movies. You can hear that quite literally on ‘Kill My Darling.’ I have this place that I cut secret messages in Danish that you can barely hear.”
Any horror movie in particular?
“A lot of Japanese movies. One called House. It’s this very surreal film about girls who go to a camping site and get eaten by a grand piano.”
Oh, god. I’m going to have to rent that movie now.
“It’s really good.”
Are there any particular songs from any of your albums that you love performing live?
“At the moment, I really enjoy ‘Love You Better’ from Wish Bone. Other than that, just playing a song with a big sound to it. It feels like I’m taking off in a plane. But ‘Love You Better’ is just so intimate. I’m just amazed at how people react when I play that song, even though it’s a song most of them haven’t heard before.”
I think the last time you were in Madison was for the Revelry Music Festival. How was that experience?
“That was crazy, and it was a lot of fun. I’d never been to a real college town before, which I hear Madison is.”
It definitely is.
“So it was lots of fun. It was fun to roll up at 10 AM and you can hear people partying. You know, from the night before. It was a great experience. People were just so embracing of the music.”
How has this tour been different than your previous tours?
“I think I have more fun than I’ve ever had playing live, because we’ve made some choices in the way we play. Sometimes you get carried away with technology, but we’ve scaled things back to the human factor. There are no computers on stage, no clicks, no robot shit. So in that way, we’re really able to bend the tempos, bend the trios, vary it from night to night.”
What’s the weirdest experience you’ve had on this tour?
“That was probably last night when I fell into a well. That’s just a real horror movie thing right there. But it was pitch black and I fell right into a well! I just felt like I was in a Japanese horror movie!”
Going right back to your inspiration!
“Yeah!”
If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would you want to collaborate with?
“I’d probably like to collaborate with Hitchcock. Even though it would be horrible because I’m kind of… blonde. And he had a thing for blondes. So maybe if I dyed my hair black, we could collaborate.”
You’ve talked a lot about films. Do you have any interest in working in film?
“In a horror movie? Yeah! I’m completely fascinated with horror movies. It’s interesting because I’m scared but I can sit right through them. Particularly if I was able to make a soundtrack for one, I think that would be so fun. I would get my kitchenware and make all sorts of weird noises.”
You mentioned House as an influence for Wish Bone, but do you have a personal favorite horror movie?
“Seventies thrillers, like Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist. I love all of them. I’m not into blood and splatter. It needs to be psychological, like The Shining. That’s such a great movie.”