AURORA is really our musical crush from the last two years. It is always a big pleasure to see her on stage, and since we discover her we cannot stop to listen to her music. It is kind of an addiction. We met her a second time just after the release of the first step of her second album called Infections of a different kind. She talked with us about her album recorded in France. She tend to be more political, more activist with this new record and we discussed her vision of the world. Time is always too short with Aurora, she is so passionate! 

INTERVIEW / AURORA 

USofParis: You released your second album, the step one, why did you split this album?

AURORA: Well, because I want people to have time. I would like to split my album so people will have more attention on each song. I wanted every song to feel special.
My first album is a kind of a process about our own demons, about fighting for your healing and giving yourself time to become better. This step is kind of a quite natural continuation to the first album. It is about making choices for yourself. Like if you are unhappy with someone you should leave, if someone is treating you bad, you should leave her/him. You can change how you feel about, every day. You can decide how happy you are. I want people to be happy.

Why?

Because when I have many happy people, I have people who are a resource to the world. When you are happy you can actually do something. You can create, you can help, you can fight for the people who can’t fight for themselves. That is why it is so important to me that my friends, my supporters, my family are happy.

How many steps do you plan to release for this project?

That is so exciting, isn’t? It will have more than one. 🙂
I know! But in my team, they don’t know yet. I am in a kind of a long journey.

You chose France to write and record this album. Why?

Because on my first album, I can hear that it is kind of cold, it is sharp, kind of dark. I am really affected by where I am. Everyone is, you know. I write all the time, I write on tour, I have many songs, maybe 200.
I wanted to go to a different place, where no one can reach me like I was on a different planet. So I went to France, to a place called La Fabrique which was beautiful. I love the people there, they have a dog, Paula, and Ginger, the cat, they are married. It was fabulous. During the recording days, they were in the studio with us, I can hear Paula and Ginger on the album. The album is warmer, I really wanted to try to be more organic. I recorded some organic sounds and making them sound ‘otherworldly’. I really explored because I know more about myself now than I did.

For your first album, in an interview, you said that ‘My first album is like the old AURORA’. In this one, is it the present AURORA?

Yes! 🙂

Who is she?

My perspective is bigger because I sing so much more than I thought. I met so many people from Brazil, Australia, Asia, France… I learned a lot. Now I know more about what I think the world needs from me. I want to make the music I feel the people need because music is a tool, music is a driving force that can change so many things and inspire people. I hope that my music can be the kind of friend people need, now. That is why I’ve gone quite political, I feel now is the time we need to be a bit more political.

Why do you have this commitment?

Aurora: Things are happening in the States, in France, in Brazil, in Norway, all over the world. We may think that they are in control but they are not. We are! Because we are more people than they are. But they have more power. I just feel like now is such an important time to be political. If you are ok here then you have to go there and help, show them support. It is so sad, it is really heartbreaking. I just really want people to be a warrior for the ones you need it. We can choose what to do now, we can choose to do something good about it or not. We have done worst before in History, and we have come very far. I think with the right attitude we can have big History again. We have to remember that we can and we should care even though it is not about us.

Do you know why you are a singer?

It changes from day to day. There are so many things I don’t understand about humans. Why we do so many strange things, and why we are so clever. We are the most intelligent species on earth, we say. But it is so weird what we choose to do with this intelligence, so many stupid things. Horrible. We also do so many good things. Most of the time, I really feel inspired to be apart. You know, my words mean nothing when no one is listening to them. It is not the same if you scream in the forest, because no one is taking the words. I am so honored to have people listening to me. We are more than an artist and fans, we are like a community. It is very inspiring and scary, but good, to see how quick, things, can change for so many. I really feel that is my biggest purpose now, to kind of just remind people that they are so important, even though they may feel small.
And sometimes I think I just want to be free and I like to be on stage because I feel like I am a free soul. I just dance and I can make stupid gestures and I don’t care about it.

Infections of a different kind is the only song you wrote alone, right?

Even though there are names on the credits, because even if you are in the room you still get your name as a writer on the song, because everything/everyone affects the song, I do all my melodies and the lyrics myself for all of my songs. Because I’m quite selfish and I know what I want. I am very busy, I tour all the time, I write all the time. It is hard to finish things alone because my mind is so all over the place. I have a thousand ideas at once. It is so nice to be with friends and to make something together. Normally I just put out songs and I record them in with these people and we build up the universe and I usually take it with me and do it again my way. It is nice to create something with people that can teach me something and help me.
It is a really personal thing, that is why I like to do the lyrics myself because I don’t want people to know what they are about. I want them to have the same experience than anyone else. It is an all-new experience singing the songs when you write them yourself.

The connection is strong with your songs! 

I do two covers sometimes on stage (Life on Mars, Nature Boy), it is very nice because you can help keep a song alive. Some people may never hear, some people may forget about it. It is an all different thing when I know where the song comes from. Every one of my songs is not personal, but they’ve come from some things I’ve seen or heard, on my journey to who I am now.
Infections of a different kind is the only song I wrote when I was completely alone in a dark room. It was in the middle of a night, I woke up. But I still write all my songs myself just because I like my own ideas.

We adore Forgotten Love. We think that is so sweet of you the way that you sing about love. You are always touring, do you have time for love?

Aurora: I am always touring and even if I am home, I choose myself first. I need to make sure I have the right energy for my next trip because I will meet a hundred fans and I want to give them all that I have. I need people in my life who understand that right now. We are small pieces of a big world and that is how it has to be.

A sound that makes you happy?

She imitates a bird.

A song that makes you cry?

Most of the songs by Edith Piaf

A song that makes you dance?

You can call me Al by Paul Simon

A song that makes you think about home?

The ocean (she makes the sound of the ocean)

A song that makes you think about your childhood?

Susan by Leonard Cohen

A song that makes you fall in love?

Also every song by Edith Piaf

Interview by Alexandre and Joan

AURORA
Infections of a different kind – Step 1

 

BONUS!!!!! 

AURORA: I love going to rave parties, alone, sober. You should never go to a rave party alone and drink alcohol. That’s a no-no. I like it because I listen to music and dance until 6 am, then I like to go home and meditate until the next day.