NIGHTWISH Singer ANETTE OLZON Creating Songs For Solo Album

NIGHTWISH singer Anette Olzon has posted the following message on her official blog:

"I am at my hotel room in Stockholm [Sweden] after a day full of creating songs [for my upcoming solo album] in the studio together with [Swedish producers] Stefan [Örn] and Johan [Glössner]. It's been really nice and also fun to sit down and making songs together. We have one song that is ready to record some vocals on tomorrow and then two more ideas that we will work more with. Now I just need to write some more lyrics to them, in my own private space.

"This will be so great and it's so nice to have such great songwriters and musicians to help me with the songs.

"We work that way that we sit down by the piano and the guitar and just try melodies etc. and then I write down lyrics and we try and test the structure of the song. Then Johan goes and puts drums, bass etc in the computer to get the music recorded for me to test-sing it. Then we work from there.

"It's so nice to create songs like this, I haven't done that since we started [Anette's pre-NIGHTWISH band] ALYSON AVENUE, so it's been a while, but I'll soon get a hang of it again. And I really like the sound of it already!

"Now: time to write some lyrics writing before I fall asleep...my head's tired."

Olzon's forthcoming solo album will be co-produced by Swedish producer/songwriter Anders Bagge, who has previously worked with MADONNA, CELINE DION, JANET JACKSON and JESSICA SIMPSON, among others. He is also one of judges on the Swedish TV talent competition "Idol" and a producer of the TV series "Made in Sweden".

Olzon performed on August 13, 2009 with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at a special concert in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the Stockholms Kulturfestival (Stockholm's Culture Festival). According to Anette, "The evening [was] in the theme of Sweden-Finland and it [was] called Suomi Safari. There [was] a big symphonic orchestra, choir and more soloists that have something to do with Finland."

Video footage of Anette's performance can be viewed below.

Olzon recently wrote a blog entry on her official web site where she talked about singing technique. She said, "It's hard to go in to exactly what I do when I sing since some things are 'by nature' and just come naturally but, of course, a lot of things are what I have learned earlier in vocal lessons and also during my career as the singer in NIGHTWISH where my voice is needed to be able to sing many high-pitched songs for 1.5 hours many nights a week.

"First of all, what I use most when I sing is a technique called 'belting.' For you who don't know what kinda vocal sound types normally are talked about, there are different sounds and techniques to use when singing. This technique is a way to come very high up by pushing the vocal cords together, slamming them against each other, so that no air at all can leak through. If any air leaks through, it can make the voice soar and aching. I do this technique also by thinking that I lift my upper lift upwards, kinda showing my teeth and a good sound to practise for it is to imitate an evil witch. You know the evil laughter. Also imitating a car like: öhrn, öhrn, öhrn... as a car accelerating forward. These things make me lift the lip and close the cords. Of course there are so many more things to do to make this technique perfect but that's an easier way to explain what I do."

In an interview with Classic Rock's Dave Ling, NIGHTWISH keyboardist/mainman Tuomas Holopainen was asked if alarm bells rang when, echoing her predecessor, Olzon hired a personal manager (Swedish management company Hagenburg Management, which also represents EUROPE and THE CARDIGANS). "At the beginning I had a feeling of déjà vu," he replied. "But when we discussed it I understood that she needs somebody who speaks her own language [Swedish]. Her manager is a very, very reasonable guy."

When asked how Anette is handling the fame, Tuomas replied, "She has told me a couple of times that she might not be able to handle it, on top of her divorce. I've seen her close to collapse and it has scared me, so we are protecting her."