After years of playing a supporting role, Elin Palmer is more than ready for her close-up. Photo by .
You might not know . You might be unfamiliar with her stark beauty, her delicate nature, her extreme talents and precise playing. Heck, you might not know how to pronounce her first name: Ee-lin – a very common Swedish name, “like Maria in the United States,” she says.
That said, you’ve likely heard the Swedish-born Palmer sing or play. She is one of the most accomplished, storied accompanists in Colorado rock history having played with local acts the Fray, DeVotchKa, 16 Horsepower, Munly and the Lee Lewis Harlots, Wovenhand and the Czars and national acts M. Ward and Crooked Fingers (and its frontman Eric Bachmann).
After devoting seven years to the Harlots and pinch playing in studios and on tours for the last decade-plus, Palmer is finally stepping into the spotlight – and moving on. Palmer will release her debut solo full-length, “Postcard,” with a big show at on Saturday. Not long after the CD release show, Palmer will be on her way to Nashville, where she’ll write and record for six weeks before moving onto her new home in Brooklyn.
We spoke with Palmer about her reasons for leaving town, her Scandinavian roots and her solo music, which is a lush, multi-cultural take on indie rock that re-energizes the genre.
Question: When did you start working on “Postcard?”
Answer: I started to record with Bob (Ferbrache) a year and a half ago. Thatap when I first thought about starting my own project. We didn’t have a full record together when we started recording.
Q: It sounds like you worked with a lot of different players and voices?
A: We had a bunch of different players come in. We have five different bass players on the record. We wanted this person to play this part, and we wanted some string bass, and sometimes I’m playing bass, and sometimes we tuned down a cello – like the song ‘Paint.’
Q: Why tune a cello down? Did you like that particular timbre?
A: No, I was writing the song at home, and I didn’t have a bass there. So I did that.
Q: What inspired you to step out on your own?
A: I was touring with Eric Bachmann and DeVotchKa, and right around then Tom (Hagerman of DeVotchKa) put out his own record – and Eric was touring for the first time as a solo project. I went on tour with Eric, and I learned a lot from him and Tom. It inspired me to try my own thing. I liked collaborating with people and adding to their music, but I wanted to see what happened if I wrote my own songs.
Q: Before all this, you’d played with a ton of different bands, but who all have you toured with?
A: I toured a little with my first band, but I’ve also toured several tours through Europe with 16 Horsepower, and the Czars, Munly and his band, Eric and DeVotchKa. I also toured with Crooked Fingers, and now I’m looking to tour on my own for the first time. We had a tour set up for this fall, but we didn’t get it together in time. So now we’ll see if we can put one together for the spring.
Q: And what musicians will you tour with?
A: Ideally my band, who will all remain in Colorado, except for Kim, who said that maybe she’ll move to New York, too.
Q: How long have you been playing with the band?
A: For each show, I’ve had different people play my music from all sorts of other bands I’ve played in. But over the past two or three months, I’ve found two girls – Tiffany Meese and Kim Cole – who work really well with me. They compliment the music the way I want it to be complimented. And we all work well together with our bass player Charles Mertens.
Q: And you think you’ll be able to work with Tiffany and Kim even with miles separating you all?
A: I think we can still work together online. When I come into town and play shows, they’ll play. And hopefully we’ll all be able to tour together.
Q: When you play live, there’s a gorgeous, foreign instrument you tend to favor.
A: Yeah, the nyckelharpa is a Swedish instrument that predates the violin. I started playing it when I was nine. I usually write songs on it. I used it some in Munly’s band and on the Wovenhand record, “Mosaic.”
Q: When you play live, you switch between a bunch of instruments with great ease. What are the other things you’re playing up there?
A: Violin, of course. Accordion, too. Guitar and sometimes cello or keyboards, but right now, Tiffany is playing (keyboards) for me.
Q: You sing a couple songs on “Postcard” in Swedish. What determines a song’s language?
A: There are two songs in Swedish. And it wasn’t conscious. It has more to do with whatever is flowing in whatever language. Sometimes I’m thinking in one language over the other, but it depends on what I’m reading that day or what I’m thinking. If I’m making a song, I try not to limit it by what language it is.
Q: You recorded “Postcard” with local producer Bob Ferbrache, and while this wasn’t your first time in his Westminster studio, tell us about working with him.
A: I love working with Bob. He has really great input, and he’s very musical. As far as producing, he’s an expert. There were a few times where Bob would not like an idea that I had that I brought into record, and he’d offer his opinion. At first, I was resistant, but he’s usually right. He’s very good.
Q: Why leave Denver now that you’re ready to move forward with your solo work?
A: I just need to get out of Denver. I’ve been here for a long time, and I need to inspire my music in a different environment where I can create stuff. In Nashville, I hope to do some recording. And my boyfriend is in Brooklyn. But eventually I want to move back to Sweden – but first I need to get my in there as far as the music world goes.
Q: Do you have a plan?
A: I don’t have a concrete plan, but at the same time I do. As far as doing the music thing in Denver, I’ve maxed it out here. I’ve played all the venues, and the move is more personal. I want to be in a new environment.
Q: I guess the plan is to also work your way back to living in Sweden? Have you performed much over there?
A: I’ve done a lot over there, but mostly with Swedish folk music. It will take more work to branch out and do my own project, which has roots in Swedish folk music but is more grounded in the Denver sound and indie rock.
Q: But thatap work you’re willing to do?
A: Yeah, and Sweden is the third-biggest music market in the world, after America and England. Itap mostly because the government is socialist and people have the ability to risk things. They don’t have to work necessarily, because there are a lot of grants available.
Q: You were born in Sweden, but do you have American citizenship?
A: I don’t have American citizenship, but I should become a dual citizen so I could vote and stuff. I just haven’t done it yet.
Q: So there’s not a central theme behind “Postcard,” but what does the record represent for you as an artist who is just starting to find her way?
A: I guess itap based in me doing something independent and having the courage to come through on my own.
Q: When you listen to the songs, do you hear that in the music or the lyrics?
A: That comes through in the music – maybe the lyrics.
Q: When you say that Swedish folk music informs your songs, what does that mean specifically?
A: Itap similar to Swedish folk music as far as the certain polska, which is based in a certain time signature. With the music I write, I often revert to that time signature, which is a 3-1 beat. I like songs that flow in that rhythm. As far as Swedish folk music is concerned, every different region or town has its own version of polska. And itap based on a syncopated beat. If you know Swedish folk music, you can hear that a particular song is from a particular town.
Follow Reverb on Twitter! !
Ricardo Baca is the founder and co-editor of and an award-winning critic and journalist at The Denver Post. He is also the executive director of the , Colorado’s premier indie music festival. Follow his whimsies at , his live music habit at and his iTunes addictions at .
