As GIRL IN RED hit London at the end of summer, we took the opportunity to pin her down on something we’re very excited about - “the best album ever made,” apparently...

Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Frances Beach.

"This is just the beginning," said Girl In Red onstage at London's All Points East during a goofy, giddy 60-minute set before Haim took to the stage. "I'm finishing the best album ever made," she added with a confident smirk.

Speaking to Dork backstage a few hours earlier, Marie Ulven is less sure of herself. "Do you know how hard it is to write music," she asks. "I'm very much in the world of creating my second album right now. It's getting very close, but it's also very stressful because I'm worried it's not good enough." She's even writing songs in her dreams, but they're all terrible. "I'm very excited about the future, though, because I feel like now is when things are really starting for me."

Girl In Red released her first single, the lo-fi longing of 'I Wanna Be Your Girlfriend', in 2018, while the 'Chapter 1' and 'Chapter 2' EPs established her as a breakout bedroom pop superstar. She switched things up with her wonderfully chaotic debut album 'If I Could Make It Go Quiet', which explored sexuality, mental health and revenge via boisterous rock'n'roll. She supported Billie Eilish on her mammoth arena tour for second album 'Happier Than Ever', and earlier this year, she was part of Taylor Swift's gigantic Eras tour alongside the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Paramore and MUNA.

"I'd never even been to a stadium before, so just stepping into those spaces that are so big and so American pop culture, it was just insane. It definitely made me want to reach for those places," explains Marie, but she's not writing songs with stadiums specifically in mind. "Maybe the visuals around the new album will be influenced by playing those shows, though, because I just want to do something more. I want to elevate things."

"Whatever Taylor does, and whatever she's been through, she carries herself with such grace," continues Marie, who's also picked up a new mantra: What Would Taylor Do? "I played All Points East the other day with The Strokes, and I was really sick. Rather than cancel, I knew Taylor would play the show and shut the fuck up, so that's what I did. It's the same when I'm feeling insecure."

Following that run of stadium shows, Girl In Red has also been tearing up a string of European festivals, now genuinely comfortable onstage, with footage of the friendly moshpits going viral on TikTok. "Part of my spiel is, 'You guys seem like you don't know each other, so let's get to know each other'," says Marie, grinning at the thought of it. "I know it seems cool to have no emotions and be unaffected by everything, but it's not cool being too cool to have fun."

Girl In Red has been working on album two since last October, in-between live shows, but after today's gig in London, there's just one more in her diary for 2023, freeing her up to tie a bow around the new record. "I have all the songs; I just need to finish some of the lyrics and make it sound good. The vibe is developed Girl In Red," Marie starts.

Chasing music that feels inspiring, Girl In Red constantly wants to make something new. "The best part of making music is when you get an amazing idea that you get excited by."

"It's still a very eclectic record," she adds. "The first one was all over the place, and some people said that was my weakness, but absolutely not. All those songs had strong identities, and I'm doing the same thing on this record. Maybe in the future, I'll calm down and put out a record like 'Folklore', but I'm not there yet."

Lyrically, Girl In Red's second album is also different to what's come before. "The first one was written when I was in a bad place. After I released it, I was completely empty, and I didn't have anything left to give," she explains, but eventually, Marie started a new relationship, made a bunch of new friends, and really lived her life for a bit. She found herself asking, "How do I write from this good place?" and saw herself reflected in the journey Billie Eilish went on between 'When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' and 'Happier Than Ever'.

"So many people are going through a fucking shit time that making music can seem pointless sometimes," she adds. At a recent show in Paris, Girl In Red started crying onstage when she was reminded about the power a good pop song wields. "People have told me that my music has literally saved their life, but I also think I have no talent a lot of time. I'm still figuring this all out," she adds, with her songs a reflection of those growing pains. "Music is so important, though. It's so human."

"I definitely feel like this new album is a lot more optimistic, but I obviously have some sad love bangers because love is always going to be a part of it; I've been on a journey of feeling really shitty and having really low self-esteem, but I'm in my positive era now," she continues, wanting this record to make others feel better about themselves.

"It's also about how fragile self-esteem can be," she adds, still refusing to sugarcoat things. "There are also songs about feeling yourself, feeling good, and just wanting to have a good fucking time, which we should all do more of."