Interview: Trine Rein – You Make Me Oooo

Norwegian/American singer/songwriter with a powerful voice. Major hits: ‘Just Missed The Train’, ‘Stay With Me Baby’, ‘Torn’. Big following in Norway and Japan. Runs her own record label, Joy Music. Performs between 60-100 concerts per year, actively releases new music.

Discovered via submithub.com

Hi Trine Rein, how are you today?

Thank you for asking – I am doing great!🤸🏼‍♂️

How would you describe your sound?

I’ve been accused of being everything from a rock singer to a soul/R&B singer in the past. Since I like all kinds of music as long as it has qualities, I have developed my sound from being inspired by many different genres through the years. I guess it boils down to the power in my voice, and that I always aim to pace myself according to what the music requires. I have a white sounding voice much inspired by many powerhouse, black singers.

Which artists have influenced you the most over the years?

I’ve always listened a lot to powerful/soulful singers such as Randy Crawford, Mavis Staples, Gladys Night, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Etta James and so on. Many black, female singers. Also, I have a soft spot for rock music, and many of the powerful singers from that genre like for instance, Tony Harnell from TNT, Nikka Costa, Tracy Bonham and so on.

How did your latest single, ‘You Make Me Oooo’, come about?

‘You Make Me Oooo’ was written and produced by David Thulin, Rhyan Shirley and myself in Nashville earlier this year. We were just goofing around in the studio, and I suddenly started singing on a sentence we brainstormed, ‘you make me oooo’. I was thinking about my husband (probably being a little bit homesick in the middle of the Covid-19 shut down!), and the song felt like the right thing to write in that situation. We had fun with it, and when we added the horn section in the studio on Music Row, it turned out a lot better than I had dared to hope for.

Are you planning to make it part of a larger release, such as an EP or album?

Yes, indeed! I have all of seven tracks coming out of my two weeks in Nashville earlier this year, and the singles will be released consecutively thoughout the year. My upcoming album is set for a late January release in 2021 at this point.

The lockdown has affected everyone’s plans right now. What are you doing to stay productive throughout it and are you still able to work on new music?

I was so lucky with my timing to go to Nashville in March. I flew from Norway to Nashville on March 7, and on March 12, everything started shutting down. My return flight was cancelled, but I managed to catch another flight two days later than planned. The result was, I got an extra two days in the studio, and ended up writing a bonus track yet to be recorded. After returning to Norway, I have been keeping busy creating single covers, lyric videos, and I’ve even organised a couple of streaming concerts from home. I’ve definitely kept busy, but as far as concerts (and ditto income…) go, I’ve not had a live concert since March 6 this year. In July, I’m actually set up for four concerts and a TV-show. It’s gonna be great to start up again slowly, but surely. Here in Norway, the restrictions are such that we are not allowed to gather more than 200 people for an audience, and they still need to keep a social distance of three feet. Not many venues can facilitate these requirements, but still a very few can. We are hoping the authorities will lift some of the restrictions for this fall season, otherwise it may be very difficult to make a living as a full time artist for the months to come.

What advice would you give other artists who are trying to stay productive during this crisis?

I think listening to other artists and bands can be a great inspiration in itself. Either you think, ‘wow, this is great and inspiring, I wanna make something like this, too’ – or you think, ‘gee, this could have been so much better if they had only done it like this or that’… and suddenly, the creative mind is on fire. Also, just NOT trying to be creative at all times can help creativity. Taking a break from it all to charge the batteries is always a good idea. Go for a walk in the forest or the park, see some friends, read a book, go see a movie… Anything that can give you input is always good.

Anything you would like to add?

I am grateful to be able to make a living as a full time artist, and I find that somehow, covid-19 seems to open some international doors for me in the music business. With the streaming concerts, I found out that I have fans from literally all over the world. I never thought my music had reached that far, and it gave me sort of a wake up call as to what I’m doing with my career. Imagine having the world as your oyster. It becomes very powerful to know that whatever I spew out from the studio, in SoMe, or on other platforms, it has the potential to reach people in far away places. Imagine if I can move someone on the other side of the world with my music. For that, I am very grateful.