Swedish born singer-songwriter Sarah Klang graces the industry with her undeniable talent, particularly on her upcoming album Beautiful Woman, the fifth album on her discography. The album is set to release on February 7th, 2025, and expresses both the challenges and the beauty that comes with womanhood. Through her divine lyricism, she seamlessly translates her personal experiences into relatable narratives that deeply resonate with her listeners. Klang has always created autobiographical albums, with her debut Love in The Milky Way winning Best Album at the Swedish Grammy Awards in 2018, as well as her third album Virgo winning Best Alternative Pop in 2021.
Klang’s impressive artistry and unforgettable sound on Beautiful Woman was recorded live, showcasing her raw vocal talent. Working with producer Eric D. Johnson and his team in Los Angeles to create the live album, Klang found the process mostly effortless due to their chemistry and similar brains. The album explores her sexual discovery, body image and the whirlwind journey from childhood to motherhood. And now that Klang is in her thirties and a first-time mum, she can reflect on these topics.
Her hit single “Other Girls” delves into the adverse influences of 2000s pop-culture on female body image. While her single “Last Forever” offers an honest reflection on the complications of love. Through Klangs relatable music, she has been able to create an online presence, where she regularly shares moments from her family life, teases tracks, and gives her community-like followers a closer insight into her day-to-day life.
1883 Magazine sits down with singer-songwriter Sarah Klang to discuss her newest album Beautiful Woman, delving into her creative process, and reflecting on the journey from adolescence to becoming a first-time mother.
Did your childhood being raised in Sweden impact your music style or musical inspirations, and did this influence your approach to songwriting?
I feel like I’ve talked about this a lot now in my interviews that are not in Sweden because Swedish people get told from a very young age that we are great at music, like [with] the whole Swedish Pop Wonder and stuff. So, I feel like we are just given kind of a big dick energy. To start, we have so many huge icons from here. I grew up listening to The Hives and The Cardigans. I feel like it gave me confidence, being a Swedish songwriter in a very strange way. But we get that said to us when we are kids, and we also have a lot of music in our schools from a young age. You can choose to go to classes where the main focus is music. I never went to those kinds of classes because I moved around so much, but the state provides kids with lessons until a certain age. We get to try a lot of things out. People are discussing it very much [at the moment] because our new government wants to take it away, which makes a lot of people working in the arts upset, of course. Because it’s just given us a lot of freedom.
In 2018 you won Best Album for your debut, Love in The Milky Way at the Swedish Grammys awards. Could you tell us what this victorious moment meant to you and how if in any capacity, did it motivate you to continue creating autobiographical songs that resonate with your listeners.
When I won that album, and then I won [again] for my other album Virgo three years later, I think. People [can] see that it means the world to me, and it really does. [I’ve] never been that kind of person that’s been like, oh, I don’t care, or you can’t compete in music. Because for me, it’s just so big to be a part of that world. It was my dream since I was very little. Music has always been my calling, and just to be in the same room and to be acknowledged like that with so many of the people that I used to listen to when I was younger. It’s super big for me. I have nothing bad to say about it, and I think it just gave me a lot of motivation to keep going, especially because I have that recognition for my first album. That probably made me have a confidence and excitement from it.
You seem to be immersed in the world of pop-culture. Your opening line to “Other Girls”, ‘Nothing tastes as good as feeling skinny’ is a direct reference to the popularised quote by English supermodel, Kate Moss. How does this controversial quote impact the themes you explore in “Other Girls”. And how does the song reflect your own struggles or critiques with the way the media perpetuates the female body, contributing to societal pressures and unrealistic beauty standards for women?
Definitely, I always write about my own life and my own experiences. When I write, I try to write as fast and as straight as I can. I remember that quote, and I think that when I usually write a song, I come up with one line that is striking to me, or feels funny or feels emotionally strong, and I just go with that. I think that when I read the quote again, I remember feeling it’s a funny and strange quote. And I mean, growing up during that era, I was definitely affected by that, in a way that all young people are. I guess I tried to be skinny. That was my goal when I was younger. But luckily, I realised that maybe that wasn’t the path for me, and maybe the path was making music and committing myself to my art. But then again, nobody, or at least, I don’t think young people now can get away from the fact that they are immersed in pop-culture.
After witnessing a few years of representation in the media, do you think we are moving away from certain narrow beauty standards or are we slowly regressing, possibly due to the overconsumption and accessibility of social media?
Maybe it will get worse now with AI. I saw a commercial recently on my IG, and I was thinking, there is no way this girl is real. I think she’s AI, and then I read the comments, and she was AI. So, it might get worse. Well, beauty standards are always changing, and it’s changing at a rapid pace. Just a couple of years ago, I guess the BBL was very trendy with The Kardashians and that. And then Kim Kardashian got really skinny, and she doesn’t have a BBL anymore. I don’t know, [the beauty standards] always change. In the 50s, it was one way. And then during the 60s, it was a completely different way. So, I think it will probably always be changing. When I was young, I wish I had, or maybe I don’t wish I had social media. But I see positive things in it because people can go there and connect with each other, and you can be a complete dork and [still] find your community. I remember in my early 20s when I first discovered Instagram, and I was like, what! Theres Barbie Ferreira, she’s a plus-sized model living in New York, and earning money on social media and I was like what the fuck! And then I just discovered a lot of other curvy girls, and I wouldn’t have done that just by reading I don’t know, Elle. They don’t care. So, there’s a community for everyone, and that’s really nice.
You worked with producer Eric D. Johnson and his renowned team on Last Forever. When collaborating, how do you find the balance of fulfilling your own artistic vision while incorporating other perspectives.
I don’t know that’s a hard one. I feel like working with Eric. I was just very like, you do you! I’m just thankful for being here, and that’s how I feel mostly when I get to work with someone that I’m a fan of. What they like is mostly what I like. And Eric is very keen on asking me, how do you feel about this Sarah and, are you into this? So, it was never me giving away my artistic vision or anything like that. I was just genuinely in awe and being a fan girl. Me, Eric and Theo Stocks, who’s my guitarist who also wrote the album with us, went over to LA one time before to write. And I think we knew pretty fast that when we started to write and felt how easy it was, that we have basically the same brain when it comes to music, and I feel like people can have the same brain when it comes to art and music. For instance, you don’t have to communicate that much, you just know where you’re going with the project. And we would never have gone over to LA again to record the album if we weren’t into the vibe.
Your newest album Beautiful Woman explores all the challenges and triumphs surrounding womanhood. What do you think has been the hardest part of transitioning from childhood to womanhood. And what is one piece of advice you have to make it a seamless experience?
Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I don’t have any tips for anyone on how to transition from childhood into being an adult. I feel like I’m in constant misery or just being a human being. But all I can say is it gets easier [as] you get older. I feel like I get more connected to myself and more understanding and kind to myself. When I wrote the album, I didn’t plan to write about stereotypes or a woman’s perspective or a female childhood. But then again, I am a woman, I did grow up and I write about myself. So, it just kind of happens to be this [way] through the whole album. I’m also all for having extremely dramatic titles for my album. Calling this [album] Beautiful Woman, I can only blame myself when people are like, tell me about your womanhood. Like, I was begging for it.
The whole album can be perceived as empowering and raw, especially the use of Beautiful Woman as the album title alone, it’s a very big statement. So very well done with that.
Well, it makes me happy to hear because I didn’t write it with the intention to make other people happy or feel empowered by it. But now afterwards, I’m very glad that that’s the way people feel, because it would have been very awkward if the album was only self-devouring. It’s nice when people can relate.
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Your single “Last Forever” is a personal exploration of love and its complexities. Starting gently with a tender tone, the song expresses the challenges you have faced through lyrical vulnerability. As the track gradually intensifies, it transforms into a pop song with a country flair, highlighting the bittersweet feeling and uncertainty associated with everlasting love. What tends to come first with your music, forming the lyrics or a melody? And does the approach change depending on the type of song you’re creating or the mood you’re in at the time?
I always write all of my lyrics first, and I usually have the title for the album ready, like before I even start it. I have a little map in my phone where I write titles that I think would look graphically good and sound striking. So, I was thinking about naming Mercedes, my last album, Beautiful Woman, or Canyon, which was one of my other songs. Because then I just write about that in that world, I guess. And also, I don’t play instruments very well. That’s why I’m lucky to write with Eric and Theo, because they’re extremely talented in that. So, I feel like I have one job and that’s to have the lyrics, and I would feel so awkward going into a session or the studio and not have anything. We would just jam, I guess. And I would be like, ok, let’s see each other later, and I will write something. It’s very nice to be able to provide the lyrics from the beginning. And then I can also steer the project or the song in the world where I want it to go.
When you’re coming up with these lyrics, have you got a melody in mind for it? Or does that come afterwards?
Well sometimes I have the melody, and I just hum into my phone, and I play it for the boys. And sometimes I don’t, sometimes they have melodies, and they just provide it to me. So, with the melodies, it’s kind of like 50/50.
Your 2021 album Virgo also won a Swedish Grammy in the category Best Alternative Pop and was nominated again for Best Album. As a fellow Virgo, what role does your sign play in shaping your artistry. Is your creative process or approach to music influenced by Virgo traits such as being a perfectionist, or paying extreme attention to detail?
Well, I feel like the whole speech about the lyrics I had now is very Virgo-ish, like always having the title ready and the lyrics. I think I love the whole making process. I love the idea of making an album because it’s such a package idea for me. I think if I didn’t work in music, I would probably be in maybe commercial, just because I love doing the whole package deal. I love working on the cover photo. I love choosing singles. I just love the whole thing. I don’t let a lot of people into that process because I enjoy it too much, and I also am probably a freak.
In your empowering single “Beautiful Woman”, you mention your brief sexual awakening at the age of 15. As you ventured into womanhood, was it halted once you recognised the contrasting magnification on women’s bodies as opposed to men?
Ok, no, absolutely not. Also, I changed it to 15, but in the beginning, I was like 12, and I knew that this awakening would last. But I feel like girls are coming into their sexuality a lot more younger. Of course I was younger than 15 when I started to realise what sex was. Like, kids think about it all the time. But yeah, I changed it to 15 so to not be cancelled in America haha. But no, I’ve always been very boy crazy, and I always loved Playboy and Pamela Anderson, and all of those extremely stereotypical sexy women. That’s always been something that I love, and so for me, coming into my teenage years and realising that sure, girls can be a target, and situations can become very dangerous. I feel like that’s important for me to gets across. But I was always the one searching for the excitement and I wanted to go to parties with weird older guys. That was something that me and my girlfriends were searching for when we were younger, because I feel like we were begging for it. But that’s a part of growing up, and that’s also a part of being a girl for many people, like you are just a crazy little creature that wants to make-out with everyone. And then I realised when I got older, like now in my 30s, I understand how many dangerous situations I put myself in and how many things happened to me that were absolutely not ok. But I had to become older to realise it and it’s also part of my experience of growing up, and it’s part of who I’ve become. I don’t think I would change some of the bad things I’ve experienced, like they have made me street smart, funny and capable of taking care of myself, and also just, I don’t know, feel empathy for other people.
Wow, definitely. And just out of curiosity, could you tell us a bit more about the nightlife in Sweden?
I don’t really know anymore. I don’t go, I only party when I’m with my band.
What was the nightlife like when you were younger?
It was great. But then, when I was younger, you could have a good time anywhere. Like if you had alcohol, you could just wander into the woods and have a good night.
And on tour, what has it been like going out again since having your daughter? Have you had good experiences?
Yeah, I have lots of fun, and I really enjoy hanging with my band and so on. But then, I mean, it’s a boring answer, but the older you get, you realise that you have to kind of chill down a lot if you want to be able to keep doing this. You don’t have the same energy anymore. You can’t get drunk every night on tour, or at least I can’t. I would never be able to perform otherwise. Yeah, I try to chill these days, but then sometimes I get crazy. Sometimes I just can’t help myself.
There’s a bit of a balance that’s good, that’s healthy.
Haha, yeah, yeah!
Your previous album Mercedes, released in 2023 was an ode to motherhood. How does it differ or complement your upcoming album Beautiful Woman. And how do you navigate between one of your songs being more acoustic and stripped back rather than a layered production? Does the story that you are telling play a part in the decision?
Well, I think just the things I’m writing about [from] my teenage years, and my childhood [feels] natural. It was natural for me to keep on writing about it, because it all came up on the Mercedes album. The subject came up when I was pregnant. That’s when I started to think about those things a lot. So, I just kept on writing. It’s kind of like a part two, I guess. I think what you are referring to is this album is recorded a lot differently than my other albums. My other albums are all recorded like, ok, today we’re going to lay the bass, today we’re going to lay the guitar… But this album is recorded live in a studio. Of course, they play the songs a couple of times, and then we just take the best version, but we didn’t have time or money to work as I’ve done before. When we were in LA this time, it obviously costs a lot of money, so I think we were just more chill maybe. And also, the musicians on this album are friends with Eric, and they are just extremely confident professional bass and drum players. So, I think they said yes to this project, just because Eric is their friend, and they are really nice people. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have room to play for two days for the paycheck that I gave them. So, yeah, the album is more of a jam. I think that’s what you’re hearing. It’s the live vibes.
And do you think there is a decision that you go through when you’re creating a song, if it’s going to be a bit slower and more acoustic, or if it’s going to be more of a layered production, or does it just happen naturally when you’re writing the song?
Yeah, that’s happened naturally. And I think sometimes you have to try both worlds for a song and sometimes you know instantly when you write it that this is going to be a piano ballad. You know, with Beautiful Woman, I think when we wrote that song, we just knew that it was meant to be a very 70s classic pop production, because it’s written in that way, the melody and stuff. And then sometimes you take a song, and you try to do it like a huge production, and then you realise you should probably just spread this out and it will be better.
The way you openly and honestly discuss your experience with therapy and childhood trauma is so helpful for those who are listening in a similar situation. Did writing “Go to The Sun” make you reassess your progress with your mental health?
I think “Go to The Sun” is a song where I’ve obviously come to the realisation that I really want to become happy and I want to be that person that, you know, leaves stuff behind. Like, I don’t want to identify myself with all the bad things that I’ve gone through. I would really love to be one of those people that’s been in therapy, and now they’re moving forward. That’s, uh, that’s my dream, at least. I don’t want to be a sad, bad songwriter.
Yeah, it’s definitely challenging, but as long as you’re taking the right steps to get yourself in the correct direction, that’s all you can do.
As long as you want to. As long as you try and just don’t let yourself devour down in self-pity, that’s the start. I think I’ve done that for a couple of years, and then I started going to therapy, and that’s when, you know, you start seeing the patterns, and you start seeing what is actually wrong with you. And then I have all of these years in front of me when – this is where it’s annoying- I’ve come to the realisation that what I’m doing is wrong, and now I have to change my behaviour. And I guess that’s the part where people stop working [on themselves] because they’re like, no.
Could you explain how much it meant to you to call your previous album and song Mercedes after your daughter.How does your daughter react to your music? And does she have a favourite song of yours?
She loves Mercedes. That has been her favourite song since she was super small, that’s her jam. And it was an easy decision for me. I think I named the album Mercedes also to prepare myself that I was actually having a child. Just because I am a bit anxious as a person. I felt like, ok, if I make an album about this whole [process] then I have something to do. Very Virgo. A very Virgo move.
And does she fully understand that it’s you singing the music?
Yeah, she understands. I don’t bring her to shows on tour because I’m too nervous, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate. But she’s been on soundchecks and stuff. And she lives with my mum sometimes when I’m away, so my boyfriend can also get some rest. And my mum shows her all the clips and stuff. So, she knows what I do for a living, and she tells all her friends and her teachers. She knows what’s going on, I think. It’s very cute.
When will she be able to come to a show?
I don’t know, her personality is haha, well her dad and her are born on the same day, and they are both Scorpios and I’m a Virgo. So, she is a lot and also, Mercedes was born on her actual due date and her dad’s birthday. But my dream, I have this vision of me doing the groundwork now, outside of freedom, playing like all these shittier rock shows that I do now in clubs and smaller venues. And then, when she’s around six, so in three years maybe, that’s when I play fancy venues and I can afford a fancy hotel for her, and she can maybe take a plane with my mum and just go to Paris and they can go to the museums and stuff, and then hang out with me.
How would you describe your new coming-of-age album, Beautiful Woman out February 7th. Did you find it challenging at times to complete?
They were all kind of easy to record, and the process was easy too. I think the way you described it, as a more acoustic vibe. It made me happy that it doesn’t sound the same way. Because that was kind of the whole point, switching things up and trying something
new. That was bit scary, because I’ve always had good responses to my album, no one has, at least not to my face, said something. So, I felt like I really needed to try something new, or else I was just going to stick to the same thing forever. It’s really nice that people can hear that it’s recorded in a different way. And also, my singing is recorded live, maybe I sing the song 3/4 times and then Eric says you got it and that’s enough. And I say what the fuck are you talking about, I need to sing the same word over and over again and then maybe we have it! But he was very confident in me not doing that on this album, and in the end, I think I just let it all go and trusted him. And if he thinks that the vocals are nice then they are.
And what message do you want listeners to take away from this album?
I’m not really message person. As soon as you release an album or a song, people will take that and make it so it goes with their world and their experiences. Hopefully, people will not listen to this song and think about my childhood. That would be weird. Haha, everyone is thinking about Sarah, no that would be creepy. Think about your own shit.
I think lots of people will resonate with this album and it will be really helpful for people to reflect on their own experiences which they may have neglected or overlooked.
Yeah, or triggering haha.
Beautiful Woman is out February 7th
Interview Issy Dimauro
Photography Jack Alexander
Styling Harriet Nicolson
Top Image credit
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