Interview With Manuela Iwansson of Terrible Feelings & Hurula.

Manuela is from Sweden. She's now gone solo but played in Terrible Feelings & Hurula. I saw her when she came through Zurich with Orville Peck last year and she was phenomenal. Between tour dates and time off she was kind enough to answer some questions for me, and i am stoked.

Sadly, i don't have her 12" for sale (i did buy it at the show though) but you can cop it here, which I urge you to do!

If you had to introduce extraterrestrials to music with only five records, what do you choose?

These kinds of questions are SO HARD as they are so mood dependent, but here is my outerworldly mood of the day:

Mort Garson - Mother Earth's Plantasia
The Replacements - Let It Be
The Chills - Kaleidoscope World
Cortex - Spinal Injuries
Kim Wilde - Kids in America

You fronted the sadly defunct "Terrible Feelings", and have done time with Hurula. What do you find more challenging? Being part of a band or going solo?

Definitely going solo because I have to do everything by myself! From writing and arranging songs to fitting in studio time and recording (and making sure the finished recordings are something I'm happy with!). To booking shows and releasing my own music to actually playing, and being on stage by myself. Going solo is super challenging, but also very, very rewarding. I sometimes miss having a band because it's hard to not have anyone to bounce off ideas with, but at least now I don't have to compromise when it comes to the direction of the music and the aesthetics.

I get an 80's vibe- kind of like Bonnie Tyler meets (sonically) Billy Idol when i listen to your solo music, but you've managed to make it sound fresh, not dated. What would you say your main influences are?

Both Bonnie Tyler and Billy Idol are huge influences, but I come from punk, and my punk background will always influence how I approach music. There always has to be grit. When I started my solo project I initially wanted it to be something I would enjoy playing live, where I could dance and strut around and sing epic choruses, and I think I've succeeded. My music is simply the sum of my influences, which range from ABBA to From Ashes Rise.

With the resurgence of vinyl in the last few years, is that something you have gotten into, or continued doing, or is streaming mainly how you listen to music?

I've listened to music on vinyl since forever, but streaming has definitely made it easier for day to day consumption of music. I hardly listen to 7"s at home anymore, but that's my favourite medium when I play records out.

What's 2020 got coming up for you?

I'm hoping to make a full length record! Other than that I want to play more shows, which I hopefully will, and continue writing stuff that I'm happy with.