The music that I listen to is very minimalistic. I listen to a lot of old blues that is just guitar and vocals.
— Lykke Li
I'm a vagabond. I live out of one suitcase. I feel very comfortable in black. I feel very uncomfortable in anything else than black.
Mum is a photographer, and Dad does world music and plays almost every instrument except for drums.
Being on tour really takes a toll, so you have to find ways to stay healthy.
I struggle with myself every day - I am a lonesome person. I talk to my family - and I connect to some people deeply along the way - but I am a restless soul. Singing is the most immediate relief.
I want people to have a good time. It's boring only to hear singer/songwriters spilling their guts.
The first tape I got was Madonna's 'Immaculate Collection.' I'm inspired by the way she started from nothing and didn't have a big musical talent, but had a big dream.
If you're being ignored, that's a good time to concentrate on finding yourself and creating your own mystery.
You can become quite blase, and also, I have no sense of home; I don't have roots. I've never had that feeling that someone else is going to take care of me, ever. I don't trust people.
I love pouring my heart out. People don't want to hear you whine when you're with friends, so you can sing about it instead - it's the best outlet.
I'm always looking for silhouettes that seem 'invisible' to the eye, as in that it's so well-tailored to your body that you won't even notice what you're wearing. It needs to be dramatic in a subtle way.
There's more discomfort being an old soul or a person who questions a lot of things. I'm young, but I'm old.
I'm a very melancholic kind of person. I don't know why; I think certain people are born a certain way.
For men, it's about finding the perfect shoe or the perfect pants that will last you through the years. That's how I want to shop: sustainable, classic, great quality.
I always feel like I've been slightly misunderstood. As a woman, you get judged for appearances or things like that I don't really care about.
I think everything in life comes in threes: heartbreak and all that. You've got to do the full round in order to learn.
I was a total floral hippie as a child so when I finally could make my own choices, I've been living in different black suit jackets and been really drawn to masculine clothes.
My dream is to one day just be me and my guitar. I'm working myself to the core. Who am I, underneath everything else? I'm still on that journey, to find that core.
When I was very little, I was into Michael Jackson. At six or seven, it was Madonna, but she's not what she used to be. I've been into everything from Edith Piaf to Joe Strummer to the Velvet Underground to Suicide to A Tribe Called Quest to African music.
Where I've been hasn't influenced my music. It's more what I listen to. You can find music everywhere, so moving hasn't really influenced my music, more me as a person.
It's amazing, coconut oil. I use it as a moisturizer. I put it in my hair when I want a kind of greasy look. I take off my makeup with it. I put a little bit in my coffee. I have coconut oil with everything.
I don't live anywhere. I have always dreamed of moving out of my country because Sweden is boring.
I lived five years in Portugal and then spent winters in Nepal or India.
Driving, for me, means power and freedom. The feeling that I can go anywhere I want at any time is exhilarating.
I don't want to break someone's heart, but you can't control that. A broken heart happens; that's inevitable.
I'm actually a really shy person. I just really enjoy being in studio; I don't go out much.
It's important that the way you dress tells a story and reveals something about you and your philosophy.
I always strive for freedom: freedom of thought and expression.
I remember watching films in my teenage years, and you'd be in love with Leonardo DiCaprio, and then a song would come on. You'd love that song forever; it changed your life.
The thing is, if you're in this world, you have to do things for yourself, not for others, because everyone will judge you for anything.
If you take the hard facts of a failed relationship, it's pretty grim. But if you make an album out of it, and if the violins represent all the tears, you create something magical out of something very normal.
My favorite thing in the world is to have just a big dinner with friends and just sit and talk about their life and their difficulties and all of that.
I'm interested in a lot of different sounds and types of music.
I love listening to demos. They're so raw.
It's a very proactive thing to be dealing with your darkness and getting it out of your system. So it doesn't have to be in your system.
I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I never took music lessons. I was just playing around in front of the mirror and being silly, then suddenly I started making songs.
I honestly kind of hate shopping. My favorite places to shop are rich old lady consignment stores.
During the day, I don't wear much makeup; I only put on makeup for the show.
I am such a complex person. I have so many different layers of my personality to choose from. I am super-sensitive, and I am super-strong.
I don't feel Swedish. In fact, my father tells me to get out of here as soon as I can.
I will never get to Lady Gaga's status. That's not something I want.
I'm just not interested in getting judged or getting people to love me. Being seen and taking my photo and having to follow this schedule all the time, I don't enjoy it.
The problem is, when I talk about heartbreak or whatever, people want to melt it down to some break-up of a relationship, but it's not about that. If you're a sensitive person, just stepping outside can be heartbreaking.
I will grab any opportunity I can to learn something new.
Most things in life come as a surprise.
I'm going to be like Benjamin Button; I'm just going to grow younger. I will probably be happy, fat, with kids and looking back and thinking, 'I was such a angry young woman.'
I'm more old school: I want to be like Keith Richards on stage. It's not interesting to see straight-from-runway clothes slapped on an artist. It's more interesting when you see people who have their own style.
If anything, I want to be seen as a singer-songwriter rather than a pop artist.
I've always been a person that is searching for truth and always wants to go further, deeper.
Music and fashion are a sign of the times and a reflection of what people want and need at this very day and age.
