How come a duo is called Susanna and the Magical Orchestra?  | | Susanna and the Magical Orchestra |
"We think it says something about who we are, and it sounds nice." What makes Morten deserve the title of Magical Orchestra? "He surely is an magical orchestra! Don’t you think so?" You've been included on bills for jazz and dance festivals; how would you describe your music? "Well, it is always difficult to describe our own music... It is some kind of quiet pop-music, with ingredients from many types of music - some call it arctic soul. Maybe that is what it is?" What made you pick Dolly Parton's Jolene to cover for the album?  | | Susanna and the Magical Orchestra |
"We really love that song, and I wanted us to try it out in this setting with Morten and I. And after a long time trying, we got it the way we wanted it to be." Both that and Leonard Bernstein's Who Am I are a long way from the originals. What's your philosophy when it comes to cover versions? "We pick the songs because we like them, but it isn’t a matter of course that it would work out fine when we play it. Our concern is about making our own versions of these songs, versions with room for us to bring something new into the music. It is extremely difficult, but I guess we like the challenge." Your own tracks often deal with intense emotions. How do you feel singing about such intimate feelings? | "I seldom tell about what the songs mean to me, or why I made them in the first place, I think the music speaks for itself." | | Susanna Wallumrod on the emotion in the duo's music |
"After making the songs complete, they start to live their own life; what I mean is that it may be intimate but it isn’t private. I seldom tell about what the songs mean to me, or why I made them in the first place, I think the music speaks for itself." Some of the tracks are utterly mesmerising on the record, what effect do they have live? "Oh, that is very hard to answer, I guess you’d have to listen for yourself and make up your own mind." Is it a difficult task taking the sparseness of the album and making it into a live show? "The versions are different in the live shows than on the record, and yes, we have spent some time making the live versions as well as the record versions. It’s a challenge to find what is best for the music throughout different formats." | 
