"You Can't Lose Your Grip Just Because Society Blames You for Being a Woman"—An Interview With Titiyo

To say that Titiyo is a legend is a bit of an understatement. After all, the Swedish songstress has been making critically-acclaimed music since 1989. Since then, she's consistantly released albums that have not only won over the Swedish audience and music industry, but have also solidifed her as an iconic presence within Sweden's music tradition. Yes, it takes talent to maintain a notable presence for that many decades—but it also takes guts in an industry that embraces women when they're young, beautiful and consumable and discards them as soon as the wrinkles get too difficult to airbrush. Tomorrow, Titiyo is playing a show in Stockholm with hyped newcomers PANES. In light of this, we thought we'd call her up and ask her how she feels as a 48-year-old woman who's still killing it in the music industry.

NOISEY: Hey, Titiyo. You’ve been in the industry for a really long time—since the 80s, even. What’s it like being a woman in the music industry now compared to back then?
The biggest difference is private. It’s about myself. I’ve been doing this for such a long time that I kind of get it by now. Of course I’ve learned a lot, but it’s really when I released an album in 2008 that I was forced to trust myself and my instincts. You can compare it to a train, in a way: before, I felt like I was a wagon being pulled behind a locomotive. Now, I feel like I’m the locomotive.

Did the onset of the Internet play a role in this at all?
Of course, the industry has changed a lot since the Internet emerged. Now, we’re not so dependent on record companies. When I released my record in 2008, I was so inspired by all these women who had their own style in their music and freely expressed how they wanted to look. Around 2004 or 2005, there was a big boom of females dreaming of their own things and I think that came out of the onset of the Internet. The whole Internet thing has been really good, in that way. It gave a lot of women guts.

The flip side of that, though, is that the Internet puts you under constant observation. Do you feel like that’s a limitation—like now, you’re under more scrutiny?
Yeah, it’s a weird feeling for everybody and it’s a little bit too much. At the same time, the music industry lost a lot of money. The Internet was a change and I think that every change brings a little bit of good with it—for example, before it, making an album was just ridiculous. It cost so much money and so many people just couldn’t even make an album because it was too expensive and the record companies were too business-oriented, in a way. From a personal aspect, however, we’re all aware that absolutely everybody can check in and do or say whatever online. Everybody knows you can get so abused through the internet. Me, I’m still doing the old school thing and releasing through record labels; and at my age, I’m not that hot on the Internet. I’m not really out there on social media, for example.

Speaking of your age—do you feel your age has influenced how people want to see you or what they expect from you?
No, I think it comes more from myself. There are a lot of people and a lot of women under pressure—actors being pissed off that it’s really hard to get roles, stuff like that. Of course, I’m not an actor, I’m an artist; I’m doing my own shit. So I still feel that as long as you do something truly good and as long as you make people trust in what you do, you’re always going to break through. As for the pressure people put on women, even 15 or 20 years ago when people would say to me, “Well, you’re finished. You're not gonna make it.” I kind of like that, though. It’s almost like a slap. Of course it’s difficult to deal with it, but in the end it makes you think, “I’m going to show them one more time!” So, how you deal with pressure depends on the person you are.
Of course, we know that the Western World is not really for older people; when I get really old, I’ll sing at jazz clubs and sing blues or something. For now, as long as you can have a plan for yourself, you’ll be fine. Like with my latest album, for example. People love it and it tells a story.
As a woman, I think that you’ve got to be smart. You can’t lose your grip just because society blames you for being a woman.

Speaking of the Western World, you tried to have a breakthrough with your career in the US a few times. Did you notice a difference between how you are perceived in the US vs Sweden?
The US is so fixated on everything that speaks about sex. It’s all about judging—is it too sexy? Is it sexy enough? Can we make it more sexy? It’s the same thing with race. I mean, I’m mixed black and white and that was the question I got all the time—"are you black? Are you white? Are you pop? Are you soul? Where are you going?" America is so much about putting things into boxes when it comes to presenting culture and music. In Europe, we’re so much more open to the mix, I feel. You don’t have to think, “I’m black, so I’m only going to listen to R&B music.” I remember in the US, they wanted to change my name because they thought it was too close to the word “tit”. The culture in their music industry is not really me.

Looking at the new generation of female singers coming out, do you think it’s harder for them now than it was for you back then?
It’s hard to say but I think it’s easier now. I’m speaking of Sweden, of course, because there’s been quite a bit of progress in trusting females to make their own music. For example, in 2008 and 2009 at the Grammy's, the nominations were seventy percent full of women. That’s quite a change. There’s also the fact that you don’t have to have a record company behind you—you can make yourself known through the Internet.
Everything is relative, though. At the same time, there’s so much more you have to fight for. There’s so much more information and politics than in 1995; now, there are so many albums being released, you have to fight for your space.
I think what you need to break through is to remember that you’re unique—that your sound is unique and that you have to trust your instinct. You have to fight like a vulture: trust your gut, trust your instinct, trust your own talent. Nobody else sounds like you—you have your own sound. If you don’t show that, it’ll be lost.

Thanks a lot, Titiyo.