After speaking to Bianca yesterday we bring you another interview with a “Eurovision: You Decide” hopeful, Karl William Lund. Karl William Lund is hoping that “Miracle” will take him all the way to Stockholm. We talk to Karl about how he’s progressed as a singer, working on a new album and what it’ll feel like to perform on Friday;
It’s a pleasure to speak to you ahead of this Friday’s final, it must have been hard to keep it quiet for a couple of months that you were competing in this years selection?
It has been painfully hard to keep it all under wraps! This is one of the biggest opportunities I’ve ever had and the first thing I wanted to do was tell anyone and everyone. But I think the BBC’s approach has been great, reveal all acts and songs 4 days before for maximum impact.
You’ve been releasing music for a couple of years now with your first EP released back in 2012, what does it mean to you to be able to perform your music to an audience and what is the motivation behind your music?
I’ve mainly been working in the studio for the past year working on my album ‘Oracle’ and also doing some session singing and writing for other production companies. This is a huge platform for me – potentially 200 million people watching worldwide, it doesn’t get much bigger than that! I really do believe I have been laying the groundwork for many years. It’s all about the journey, not the destination. My motivation comes from real life experiences – I can find it difficult to articulate when there’s a problem or when i’m not happy with something and therefore music really is my first language. It’s my go-to place when I need to express my truth.
From the first EP to now how do you feel your sound as progressed and who would you say your biggest musical influences are?
I was seriously considering taking older my EP’s offline because I hear so many flaws. But I think that is only natural when you start progressing as a songwriter and a producer it is so easy to pick out faults in your past work. I’m also a perfectionist so i’m never truly satisfied with what I do. Ultimately, I want them to stay online as I like to think it really does show a progression from where I was to where I am currently at. Plus I have some great memories from those songs…
“Miracle” was written back in 2012, what was it that made you decide now was the right time to release the song?
Lyrically, it was about 90% complete in 2012 and I just never got round to finishing it despite friends and family asking me about it. I always believed in the song but something told that it just wasn’t the right time and I had just let it breathe and come back to it. I was in the middle of recording what would have been a full length 11-track album ‘Oracle’. A family member of mine was going through a serious cancer treatment and as I was observing his journey and seeing him try to stay positive for his family, ‘Miracle’ naturally came back into my consciousness and I knew that he was the missing link. So I called up my producer Ben and booked in some session with him, we finished ‘Miracle’ along with new tracks ‘Must See The Mersey’, which is about my Liverpool roots and another track called ‘Sleep’ As soon as I heard about the Eurovision opportunity, I very quickly scanned my catalogue of songs in my head and I knew it time for ‘Miracle’ to step into the limelight. Needless to say, I was so overwhelmed and grateful to find out it had been selected as the final 6 for the UK.
Stepping out onto the stage on Friday night in front of the audience in the venue and the viewers what will you be feeling?
Nerves are a given. But nerves are good. You know what, I feel ready. I have worked so hard over the years without any management without a record deal and my journey has brought me to this stage now. If I was to be successful on Friday it will not only prove a lot of people in the industry wrong but it will hopefully say to Europe “We are serious about this!”
Finally do you have a message for your fans and the readers of Eurovoix.com?
The past 24 hours have been absolutely crazy and if I could thank each and every person for their wonderful positive comments and support, I really would. This means the absolute world to me and if any of you will be joining us for the show on Friday at Kentish Town, I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible!
We wish Karl William Lund the best of luck ahead of the final on Friday, take a listen to “Miracle” below:
Is he Scandinavian, I wonder because of his name