In her moving new single, ‘Scars,’ Swedish songwriter Elina wears her heart on her sleeve as she emerges with an emotive new chapter. Teaming up with acclaimed British songwriter James TW – the track is all about meeting someone and learning to love them – not in spite of their flaws, but because of them.
We caught up with the award-winning artist to find out more…
“Scars” is such a moving duet. You’ve said it’s about seeing someone fully, “not despite their scars, but because of them.” Can you share a moment in your own life when that perspective became personal for you?
I would say my recent relationship. I’ve always had a tendency of compromising with my own needs and with who I am in order to meet other people’s needs so it’s healing beyond words to finally get to by myself fully and completely and be accepted, supported and loved.
In a world where we often focus on our imperfections, why do you think it’s important to embrace our flaws?
I believe it’s through them that we learn empathy, love, and connection. The social climate today has spun completely out of control, leaving us depressed, unwell, and disconnected from ourselves and each other. I think it’s genuinely dangerous. And even though it’s incredibly hard not to get drawn into it, I do everything I can to practice self-acceptance and constantly remind myself that most of what we’re fed on social media, for example, these days isn’t real.
What drew you to collaborate with James TW on this track, and how did the two of you discover the emotional tone you wanted to capture together?
I went to London in January to write with James and Mikey Gormley. We wrote a couple of songs that day, one of them was Scars. I sat with it for quite a while and as I was working on my new EP I ended up recording a version of it back home in Sweden. I’ve been a fan of James’s music for a long time, so I sent the track to him to see if he’d be interested in jumping on it. I honestly didn’t expect him to say yes, so it was really exciting when he did. He recorded his vocals, and I think our voices blend together really naturally.
James mentioned the writing session took place in a Shoreditch warehouse on a rainy afternoon – do you remember what the energy in that room felt like while Scars was coming to life?
It was a really nice vibe and an easy write. Everyone was very responsive and accommodating. Going into a session and meeting new people is always a bit of a lottery, and you can’t always expect things to go well. I really appreciated the calm, supportive energy in the room and I’m super happy with what came out of it musically.
Has this experience inspired you to write more duets in the future, and who would be the dream collaborator?
Definitely! I think it’s so much fun when two people come together on one song and bring their own interpretation to it. It’s such a great feeling. Oh wow – if I get to dream really big, it would be to collaborate with John Mayer or Chris Martin from Coldplay. I absolutely adore their songwriting.
You’ve teased that this song comes from your “boldest” project yet. What does boldness mean to you in terms of sound and storytelling on your next EP?
Musically, it’s the furthest I’ve gone in terms of production and arrangement. I grew up with rock music, and I think it’ll always be the genre closest to my heart. I’ve always wanted to find a way to bring a touch of that into my own sound. I think this time, we landed on something that strikes a really nice balance between the soft acoustic ballads I’ve made before and something new with a bit more edge.
How did that shift in environment – from Stockholm to the countryside – affect the way you’ve approached songwriting?
It’s definitely affected the way I approach life. I never truly felt at home in Stockholm, even though I lived there for almost ten years. After moving to this tiny, calm town – where I’m closer to my family and to a more normal pace of life, where people go to work in the morning, come home, do garden work, and tinker with their cars – it feels like I’m returning to the person I was before everything became so focused on performing and achieving. That shift makes all the difference for me when it comes to creativity and inspiration. I can’t really write when I’m not feeling well. I just don’t find any joy in it when I’m struggling to feel happy in life in general. So gaining this kind of healthy distance from the music industry and the Stockholm community has brought back a sense of joy in making music that I haven’t felt since before it became my profession.
Many of your songs are celebrated for their emotional honesty. How do you strike a balance between vulnerability and musicality?
I’ve always written from a vulnerable place—it comes naturally to me and has always been a way to process what I’m feeling. I think that honesty is what helps people connect with the music. As long as it’s real, the musical side tends to follow. I just try to stay true to the emotion, and then shape the sound around that.
You’ve described this new chapter as being about “letting beautiful things in.” What’s something beautiful that’s recently surprised you – musical or otherwise?
It’s definitely the simple life. I’ve come to realize how much I love it and how much I’ve missed it. I chose a path that gave me a lot of experience but also caused me to lose a lot of myself and my happiness along the way. For me, this industry has drained me in every possible way, and it took me a long time to finally dare to take the leap and create the life I need and want. That life still includes music—which I’ve always loved making—but with less of the constant striving for validation and being in the “right rooms.” That’s just not me. I’m very much a lone wolf and want to be surrounded by peacefulness, the little things, family, and close friends.
If someone listens to ‘Scars’ alone, what do you hope they walk away feeling?
I really hope Scars resonates with people in a way that encourages them to see themselves with more compassion and love. It’s a battle we all face, and we need to support each other through it. For me, there’s always been a powerful healing energy in music, and in art in general, that can help us feel less alone.