Photography by Nina Merikallio

There’s another kind of tension in your music, and that’s the tension between indie rock and bubblegum pop. This is obviously an exciting and subversive gap to bridge, but it seems like it might be one that complicates the process of creating and also releasing an album. How has your inclination to straddle these genres affected your creative process?

It’s always been a bit difficult for me. Even as a child, I was listening to a lot of indie music, but then I also listened to a lot of pop music, like Madonna, as well. I remember I had a meeting with a label and they were sort of asking how they could categorize me, and I guess that’s always been quite difficult for people. I’m influenced by a lot of indie, electronic music, but I’ve also been listening to a lot of pop. Pet Shop Boys and stuff like that. I guess when I started doing music I didn’t really have a plan that I wanted to be like Madonna. I wanted to be more like the typical indie girl. So I don’t know, I guess my music represents the way I’ve been thinking about music; it’s definitely something in between, and I don’t think that will ever change. I kind of like that. I could just as well make, like, a noise album, and then turn around and say, “Maybe I’ll make a really poppy album.” [Laughs] I find a lot of underground music quite inspiring.