APRIL 2025​ ✎ Artist Letter ​

Photo by Nathalie Lidqvist

Hey dear,

This feels exciting - writing my first Artist Letter to you ♡

And it feels nice, opening up this new - more direct channel to you who's a Treasure Chest member.

There are five of you members in here now :) three of whom I've known since before I chose to pursue music full out.

I'm sitting here in a proper office chair with one of those proper height-adjustable desks at a business incubator in Umeå - the town near where I live, with a cup of coffee beside me..

I'm looking out the window at morning sun falling on rooftops and blue sky, and the river flowing by here..

This is completely new for me, I got a keycard today.

Snuck in with others to get inside.

I took a bus here this morning, after washing a load of laundry, going for a short run (I saw cranes out in the field) and fixing some things at home.

An unusually productive morning.

Spring feelings.

Almost all the snow has melted now.

A completed journey and new beginnings

At the beginning of this month - on April 2nd - I completed my very first podcast season!

I've been working on a more detailed post about my podcast journey - from my initial emails to completing the full season. I'll be adding this as a treasure in the Chest within the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

All twelve episodes are out now, and it feels both wonderful to have completed something like this and a bit strange that it's over.

As if I've been fumbling a bit with "- what now?" these weeks after the final episode.

It was partly why I sought out this incubator - to get help finding strength and encouragement to keep going, and getting support from coaches and other creatives.

A context.

It's called Expression - a business incubator for creative industries located right next to the Museum of Visual Arts, the art, design, and architecture college/university (don't know what it's called in English) here in Umeå.

And it's in a beautiful brick building with large industrial-style windows and blue window sills.

I love it.. being in a place like this.. filled with people with dreams and ambitions..

Especially when I'm new here, and everything's new to me.. there's so much opportunity yet to unveil.

And I love meeting new folks.. briefly meeting someone who holds a door open for you to say "thank you" to, people to chat with in the lunch room with skylights.

To notice and be noticed by others.

To belong.

What I'm working on right now

I just made a decision that felt both difficult and liberating – I've finally decided to let go of "The Classical Piece."

This piece has been like a cork in my entire creative system for a long time now.

Yesterday I wrote to my producer:

"There are things that could be added endlessly, and so many more thoughts and ideas I have. But it's time to stop. It's simply time to let go of this piece."

It'll be so nice to get it out of my system, out into the open.

I'll release it in May, and then it opens up for new, other projects.

I've also set up my home studio so I can play and film myself when I'm playing and singing.

It's wonderful to be able to sing with reverb on and hear everything through the speakers while recording.

But I must admit - there are so many cables and dusty devices required to be in place for everything to work right now, it looks like a mess (I knooooow - I can clean the dust off of them, but I think some of these things are a bit difficult to clean - knobs and things).

I dream of a minimalist setup that fits in a backpack - a small MIDI keyboard and a small sound card so I can record anywhere.

That's what I'm thinking about now.

I've got very little interest in technology, really.

Neither software nor gear.

For me, technology is a means to an end (hope I got that saying right).

My friend Andreas is trying to convince me to switch from Garageband (which is the only program for sound recording I've ever used, except for the voice memo on the phone) to something more serious like Ableton Live.

I get completely tired just by opening it, hahah.

But I'll come around :)

Plans ahead

I've settled on my three focus areas for this quarter:

• Music
  ​Recording new material and releasing what I've already recorded​

• Treasure Chest
  ​Creating and placing treasures in it ♡ and writing these letters :)​

• YouTube
  ​Batch-filming 4-8 videos once a month and publishing at least one per week

YouTube will be my only platform besides music and podcast platforms.

I won't put any energy whatsoever into Instagram or Facebook, where I've been moderately active previously.

But even without the usual "socials" I must admit it feels like a stretch having these three - quite big - focus areas.

I've simplified the processes as much as possible, though, so maybe.. I'll be able to take it home.

That's what it often comes down to - for me:
Simplification, simplification, simplification.

I need to have dead simple goals and processes in place for me to be able to get to action and get things done.

And sometimes it can take a while.. reaching that simple executeable plan, that contains space and gaps within it, for the unseen that always occur.

I dont ever want a jam-packed plan/schedule in place - those plans sucks the life out of me.

I want to be able to have fun and play along the way.

A revolution in my creative process

Something that made me feel extremely elated last week was discovering that the AI tool I use (Claude.ai) can read my handwriting!

For me, it's a total game-changer.

I'm working on a detailed post about this discovery and how it's changed my creative process. I'll be sharing it in the Treasure Chest in the coming weeks!

Insights about my work rhythm

Since I've been doing a lot of planning lately, I've also tended to be more in my head instead of in my body.

And that can be really fun sometimes, going all intellectual - figuring stuff out.

But sometimes it can also be incredibly stressful.

Something I realized this month is that I should NOT be doing these things - systems and planning, and like.. "data work" - in the days before, and during, my period.

It's better to just write in my diary, rest, or do something with my body.. like singing or whatever physical activity.

Otherwise, I just get all nervous and anxious.. which is slightly unbearable to myself and others.

I've also promised myself to find ways to share my work and my processes without having a looming "must" to film everything.

For me, it feels nearly impossible to try to document a creative process while I'm in it, especially when I'm also working with another person, such as another musician or producer.

Plus, it actually takes a lot of time to edit these kinds of films making it into something palatable.

So I've decided to document my processes through images and short video clips, and especially through my diary instead!

I've got "diary writing" planned in as a daily activity now during my workdays going forward.

Closing thoughts

And now I want to know – how are you?

What are you up to?

Are you doing something creative right now, fine-tuning an idea, or have something you're looking forward to?

What inspires you?

Is there anything in particular you wish to see more of here in the Treasure Chest, or in these letters?

Write and tell me in the comments below ♡

I love having you here.

Thank you for your support, it really matters!
Linnea