We speak with Norwegian pop singer Alex Néva as she excitedly awaits her latest song to hit the streaming milestone of 10K listens. In a virtual conversation connecting us in Berlin with her in Norway, we discuss her new work "Playing with fire", the role of equality in the Nordic music scene, the cultural challenges she had to face - and the role that divides that thin line between music and real life.
Alex Néva is a woman who empowered herself from a young age onward. Born to a Russian mom and a Greek dad, she moved to Norway at the age of 8. There, her confidence was perceived as smugness and her honesty was often considered rude; Norwegians, especially in the south of Norway where she lives, are more modest, and timid than she was used to. "I was a very loud, confident and honest child, so at 8 years old I had to redefine myself", she remembers.
Her relationship with music begins with her mother, a dancer by profession. With her, she remembers burning CDs featuring the newest hits to working on the choreographies to teach at her classes. Alex was constantly compiling CDs with her favourite songs, so she could sing along. It was then that she first found her love for singing. When she was 13 years old, her dad got her a physical copy of Rihanna’s album Good Girl Gone Bad, and that kickstarted everything for her.
"She constantly reinvents herself, and I consider myself a lifelong fan."
Alex about Rihanna
From the moment she found the time to start composing, Alex didn't doubt for a second where to get the inspiration for her lyrics, "write what you know, isn’t that what they say?” Most of the songs she has written are conceived from personal experiences, but definitely not all. At times, it can be a book or a poem that inspires her, or a friend will tell her something and she’ll go "there’s a song in there somewhere." The most important thing to Alex is that the songs feel authentic and that the lyrics tell a story. However, her new work, "Playing with Fire" (a melancholic track that would fit perfectly onto any sad playlist), is a reflection of emotionally personal consequences. “Songwriting has always been an escape for me. Whether it is because I can place myself into a story I wish were true, or because I need to process something I’m going through, putting pen to paper is a therapeutic process. Writing about painful experiences helps me understand my own emotions and get over them faster”, she says
For Alex, equality means an even playing field, with equal opportunities, influence and respect. Although she lives in a country where men and women have the same rights, and laws that protect equality, she argues that that’s not to say that everyone is treated equally.
"Every time I come across new songs that I like, I find myself looking up the creators, and most times the list is severely male-dominated. Most of the producers are male, and in my experience, in a list of let’s say five songwriters, maybe one of them will be a woman. I’d like that to be different", she said.
"Currently, our team consists of me and my producer, but if we’re ever lucky enough to be able to expand, I’d love the team to be dominated by women."
These days, the most successful pop artists in Norwegian are women - however, behind the scenes, the producers and songwriters are still predominantly male. She does however observe that this is currently evolving for the better, as more and more female producers are getting recognition, and the same goes for female songwriters.
Although Alex maintains that the music scene for newcomer artists in Norway It’s tough, she has no doubt The Nordics have mastered the fabric of pop music, and that new artists are constantly popping up out of nowhere with major hits. That's why her goal is more than clear: she plans to release several successful albums. Her objective for the next few years is to have established herself as a songwriter in the Norwegian pop scene. We are excited to be watching this up-and-coming artist achieve her goals and fill the world with her empowering tunes!
"All I really want is to make this my career. I want to live off music, and hopefully, in 5 years that’s exactly what I’m doing."
“Gone (are the days),” released in September 2022, and her recent release “Playing with fire” are part of her upcoming work to be released in 2023.
