Twin Swedish duo Ylva & Linda Persson are thriving songwriters, producers, singers, & vocal coaches, who are constantly creating an impact on the music scene through their charismatic & feel-good musical style.
Ylva & Linda have become reconisable names on the Eurovision national selection scene during the last few years & are looking to continue this through the forseeable future.
Now, this talented duo has kindly taken the time to speak with Fierce & Fabulous Revolution about their musical journey so far & their aspirations for the future.
Hey Ylva & Linda, thank you for taking the time to talk with me. Can you start by telling the readers a little bit about yourselves?
Ylva & Linda: We are a Swedish twin duo – songwriters, producers, singers, vocal coaches, video producers, bloggers, vloggers. We successfully competed as composers, producers and backing vocalists in national Eurovision Song Contest finals and Junior Eurovision 2013-2020 with 47 songs in 18 countries. We also wrote and released songs for Idol/Talent/Melodifestivalen artists and had top hit songs on radio and TV in several countries. We had official Pride festival songs in Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, winning positions in different talent competitions like EuroKids and Viva Italia Song Competition, wrote official songs for Swedish charity Speak UP, Trasdockan, music composers at Cannes and Sthlm Film Festival, 3rd place and winners of Audience Prize in Baltic Song Contest, winners twice of Swedish radio competition P4 Nästa, winners of Directors’ Award in Nashville International Song & Lyrics Contest, winners of Home Composed Song contest, winners of National musical prize “Lira” for Best music video. We also perform as artists and offer shows with Eurovision, ABBA etc at events and clubs since many years back.
Have you two always been interested in music & knew that it was a career that you wanted to pursue?
Ylva & Linda: We started singing when we were only 1 and already by then we could sing very well in tune with the music (this is what our mother has told us)! Then we took singing lessons at an early age and always loved singing and performing at school and from that we went on to writing our own songs, playing music and singing in different choirs, show music school and cover band. Music also helped us through difficult times in life and it’s always been an important part of our lives. Music comes from within for us, it can touch your heart and soul and it was natural for us to also spread our own music and to sing and perform, although it’s been during the last 15 years that we’ve taken the step to do it professionally and finding ways to be able to work with music more than in the spare time.
How did the idea to work alongside each other come together?
Ylva & Linda: As twins it’s been a natural part of our life to work alongside each other as we share the same interests and tastes. When one of us come up with an idea the other one will always be involved as we write all songs together and we often hear that our voices are in harmony and that’s what makes us unique.
Do you find working alongside your sister can create challenges when writing/producing together?
Ylva & Linda: As all siblings, we have our disagreements and we can be hard critics to each other, but that is also what keeps us going to always have a trustworthy partner to turn to and we can also split the music work between us to have a better balance. There is definitely a challenge to co-write with other people as the creative process is very sensitive and we aim to find good teamwork with all people.
What are some of the things that inspire your creative process when writing a new song?
Ylva & Linda: For us, music comes from within when you least expect it. It can be when taking a walk outside or waking up in the morning, but it can also be inspiring to listen to other music and or if an artist has an idea that we keep working on together in a cowrite.
You have become a familiar name on the Eurovision circuit in recent years. How did the idea to write songs for Eurovision selections first come together?
Ylva & Linda: Since 7 years of age we have watched Eurovision and Melodifestivalen every year and have been big fans in love the music, languages and TV shows and we have written our own songs since an early age as well, very inspired by this music. We started sending songs to Melodifestivalen many years ago and for about 15 years we also took gigs at parties, clubs and events performing a lot of songs in this style and when we saw other composers sending to foreign countries we decided to try the same 10 years ago, which was a lucky strike for us that made us reach some of our goals.
Do you approach artists looking to compete in national selections or do they request you?
Ylva & Linda: We usually do everything ourselves from writing the songs, working with other producers and musicians, finding the artists and matching songs as well as finalizing the songs, submitting them and do the release and promotion. Of course, artists and cowriters sometimes approach us and ask us to cooperate, but we’d be happy to see more of that in the future and welcome talented people to contact us!
Are you currently looking for artists who would like to take part in selections for Eurovision 2021?
Ylva & Linda: Yes! We are always looking for new great cooperations. We are looking for talented artists, preferably with TV experience for Eurovision 2021, but are open to all suggestions.
What advice would you share with someone looking to take part in a Eurovision selection?
Ylva & Linda: The most important is probably to have a big passion for this competition and drive and enthusiasm to make it possible, then the rest will happen in time!
Do you have any upcoming releases that you can tell us about?
Ylva & Linda: We are always working on new songs, but we recently released quite a lot of songs and as many as 7 songs for Eurovision as well as the song Everybody for AfriMusic Song Contest, as well as the remix song “Global melting love” with the drag artist Imaa Queen. Now we are finishing up and awaiting different projects with a variety of artists and will see what will happen. But we can promise there will be more releases coming soon!
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time, any hobbies?
Ylva & Linda: Our spare time is usually used for music, vlogging, blogging etc. as we also have regular full time jobs and we try to work with music as much as we can. But we also love being with family and friends, being creative at home or outside, eating good food, fashion, beauty and seeing new places!
What song do you always keep on your playlist & why?
Ylva & Linda: We always add new songs to our playlists as we love to listen and take inspiration from new music, but it is a long list that goes way back if we need to find old songs too.
If you could perform a duet with anyone in the world, who would it be & why?
Ylva & Linda: Oh, that’s difficult! Maybe a big choir of great Eurovision winners joining us on stage with one of OUR songs would be a dream come true!
What is one item that you can’t live without?
Ylva & Linda: Mobile phone.
If you could have one super-power, what would it be?
Ylva & Linda: To make everyone in the world happy!
What advice would you offer to anyone looking to pursue a career in the music world?
Ylva & Linda: Be ready to work hard and promote your talent, find the right cooperations that you can trust, be passionate of what you do, be persistent and patient and keep going!
Finally, is there anything you would like to say to the readers of Fierce & Fabulous Revolution?
We would love it if you followed us on social media, our music on Spotify, Youtube and our vlogs and blogs. Here are our links:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ylvalindaonevoice
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2uqdnmA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ylvalinda/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ylvaandlindaonevoice
Blog: https://blog.ylvalinda.com/
Fierce & Fabulous Revolution 