Teen prodigy Storm released debut album Join the Storm on August 22.
It’s a great album (you can read our review here), and so we caught up with Storm to find out more about the record.
You released your debut album Join the Storm last month. Are you excited for it to be out there for the world to hear?
Yeah I’m hyped. This album is everything I’ve been building up to since I started making music in my room when I was eight. It feels like the moment where I just throw all of me out there and let the world decide what they feel. It’s chaotic, emotional, loud and personal. Finally dropping it feels like stepping into the storm I’ve been talking about.
Which song stands out to you the most and that you think will resonate most with fans?
Walking Dead. I wrote that song out of pure frustration right after school one day. It’s so messed up how hard it is to be yourself today.
Everyone walks around like sheep and doesn’t even dare to stick out, and I kinda understand them. The second you do something different, people try to bring you down. That’s what the song is about.
I was the only kid in school with black hair and eyeliner, so I definitely relate, and I think a lot of others do as well.
The album is eclectic, with a range of styles including dance, R&B, electronica and metal. What were some of your influences when writing the album?
I grew up discovering metal through Black Tide in the Tekken vs Street Fighter game, then I got obsessed with bands like Falling in Reverse and Bring Me the Horizon. At the same time I love Billie Eilish, Jutes and Post Malone.
I’ve never been about staying in one lane. If I feel like rapping, I rap. If I feel like screaming, I scream. I like chaos and mixing it all up into something that feels like me. I take big inspiration from Falling in Reverse and BMTH because of that. I have huge respect for them doing their own thing and always exploring.
You’re only 16 and yet the album has all the hallmarks of being written by someone with decades of experience, not only sonically but lyrically too. Can you take us through some of your processes when it came to writing the album?
Most of the songs start in my head before I even touch the studio. I’ll be on the bus from school and suddenly I hear the whole song play in my mind. By the time I sit down to record it’s like I’m just catching up to what I already heard. A lot of it is me letting emotions take the lead. If I’m heartbroken I don’t hide it, if I’m angry I scream it. Working with my guy Erlend Torheim also gave me a new level of energy and ideas.
Alien Perspective focuses on how people look to your age and make decisions based on that. How have you found dealing with a reaction like that?
It used to get to me. People look at me like I’m too young to be serious. But I decided to flip it and use it as fuel. Being underestimated is power if you turn it around. Instead of letting it hold me back I make it part of my story.
What’s next for Storm? Any plans to tour the album?
I wish I could tell you. We’ve got some big plans coming up. I can’t say much, but I can tell you that I’ve been working all summer, writing over 40 songs.
If you had to give an alien one song from Join the Storm to best highlight your sound or future sound, which song would it be?
Moonlight. It’s the clearest picture of what I stand for. It’s heavy, it’s emotional, it’s experimental. It’s me saying come with me into the chaos.
We always end with some random questions: You could have written any one song in history, which would it be and why?
What would your Harry Potter house be?
Gryffindor. I’m about courage and taking risks. That fits me haha.
Would you rather write music but not be able to play it, or play music but not be able to write it?
What’s up with those impossible questions, haha. If I had to choose I would rather be able to play it. Even though I love sitting in the studio and writing, nothing beats the performing part.
Thank you so much!!
Join the Storm is out now on all platforms.