An Interview with Ragz
The first musician I spoke to for my series of interviews, songwriter-to-songwriter, was Norwegian born Ragz Nordset. Based in Liverpool she has recorded two EPs Little Stings, and Love You Still, and played with the likes of Laura Marling, Mumford and Sons, and David Ford. Critically aclaimed, described by Liverpool.com as ‘Startlingly original’ and The Fly Magazine has described her as an artist who bares her “soul through beautifully crafted songs”, she gave me the chance to see what inspires and drives her to make music.
Starting at the beginning, what made you want to start writing your own songs?
Who influenced you as you began writing?
What is your instrument of choice? Do you find that playing other instruments inspires you differently?
What would you say your muse is, what inspires you when you write?
How do you approach song writing, do you find it is different each time or do you have a formula?
You’re Norwegian, so I was wondering did you start writing/singing in your own language and then switch to English? Did you find this difficult when writing?
You’ve supported the likes of Laura Marling & Noah and the Whale – artists coming from the London folk scene. Do you see yourself as having a lot in common with them style wise?
Are you writing at the moment?
What’s coming up for you, any gigs or recording?
A lot of musicians struggle or are reluctant to categorise their music. How would you describe your music, genre wise?
Ragz’s music can be heard on her myspace: myspace.com/ragzmusic Her EPs Little Stings & Love You Still are available to download, you can find the links on her myspace. Her finely crafted songs coupled with her brilliant voice make her well worth a listen.
Ragz will be supporting David Ford in a sold-out gig at the View Two Gallery on Mathew Street on Wednesday 24th February, and will be appearing at Sick Presents at The Zanzibar on Friday 26th February. Full details of all her gigs can be found on her MySpace page.
Interview © 2009 Matthew Moss
This interview was originally published on Matthew Moss’ blog, The Harmless Musician Type, which consists of Matt’s ramblings about music in general, and the local scene in particular. You can find the blog at theharmlessmusician.blogspot.com
Matthew is a musician and student; he likes music so decided to make some. He enjoys Johnny Flynn, Mason Jennings, Neil Young, David Gray, Bob Dylan, The Yeah Yeah Yeas, Mumford & Sons, and Blind Pilot.
Many thanks to Matt for making them available to followers of the Liverpool Acoustic News and Reviews blog.