Riding on the fast lane
> Swedish singer Miriam Bryant is all fired up with the global debut of her music video, Black Car
RISING star Miriam Bryant definitely has a voice that is all her own, but if you have to describe who she sounds like, it’s probably a mix between Amy Winehouse and Adele, but a touch poppier.
The Swedish singer, who turned 27 on International Women’s Day (March 8), finally had the global debut of her music video, Black Car, on March 2, after tasting initial success in Scandinavia two years ago.
Inspired by her time spent in Berlin, Bryant sings of a relationship gone south, involving a guy whom she was obsessed with at the time.
In a phone interview held on her birthday, Bryant described the relationship “as very intense, and like a rollercoaster”.
In an earlier statement, she described Black Car as a representation of the place they met: “The club we always go back to, and where we had our first kiss. It’s the moment when you looked at me like nobody has ever looked at me before, and the moment you know you’re in love.
“But it’s also the arguments, the passion, the tears. It’s when you’ve given up but you don’t want to leave. It’s the realisation that nothing is forever.”
Speaking of the delay in producing and releasing the music video, the uber-stylish singer said that multiple treatments were proposed, before eventually settling on director Oscar Sansom’s moody but powerful themes.
An early version of the video had a scene featuring Bryant in the trunk of a car, her hands tied, “to represent like an older, weaker version of myself”, whom present-day Bryant sets on fire.
However, the scene did not fit in creatively, and was substituted with an equally impressive scene of her setting the car ablaze.
“We actually took [the first scene] out and just [burnt] up the car, which was cool and powerful because the car is kind of, I guess, like a metaphor for the relationship,” she said.
Hailing from the picturesque Swedish city of Gothenburg, but currently based in Stockholm, Bryant reflects that a lot has happened since she embarked on her music career at age 20, and how music has brought her so many advantages.
“I’m grateful, but I think it’s more about evolving as a person, not only as an artiste, but also, emotionally as a person.”
However, what’s for certain is her dedication to her chosen craft. “I think it’s always been my passion in life. I never really had a Plan B or anything like that. It’s just what I always wanted to do.”
And that’s exactly the kind of refreshing advice that Bryant hopes young fans understand, admitting that she feels a bit stressed when it comes to being considered an inspiration, especially to women.
“There’s this pressure on women, especially, to inspire other women, like, we constantly have to feel like we need to be good role models,” she explains.
“There’s really nothing self-fulfilling about having to constantly be a good role model, or be a big inspiration to others.
“I think it’s important for all women and young girls today [to] just focus on themselves and [think]: ‘I want to make music for me. I want to do this for me, and not for the next generation of girls’.
“Of course, I love being inspired by strong women and I’ve always been inspired by strong women … but at the same time, I think it’s important to focus on yourself and remember that everything you do is for you.”