Amalie Dahl: "Music is a political act in itself" – ALICE Guest Book 01

Amalie Dahl from Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie shares her thoughts on music as a political act, the most important criterion for playing in her band, and her best tip to get the dance floor going.

What was the first thing you did today?
»I made a cup of coffee and ate a bread roll with pålægschokolade (thin slices of chocolate)«

Do you remember the first time you played the saxophone?
»I grew up on a small farm between Sorø and Ringsted. When I was about seven years old, the local music school had an open house where you could come and try out different instruments. That’s where I blew into a saxophone for the very first time. It was wild to get a sound out of that horn, which was almost as big as me!«

When did you know you were a musician?
»Honestly, I had never imagined becoming a professional musician. I planned to study something in the natural sciences at university, but first I wanted to become ‘as good as possible’ at playing the saxophone, so I went to Fridhem Folk High School in Sweden. Later, I applied to the music conservatory in Trondheim, and got in, and one day while I was there, it hit me: Well, now I am a musician.«

Who has had the greatest influence on you as a musician?
»It’s hard to name just one person. It’s the environment around the conservatory in Trondheim that has made me the musician I am today. The city is full of skilled musicians, and there are really a lot of concerts for a city its size.«

Last year you won a DMA for the single We Don’t Want Your Stupid War. What’s the story behind the single?
»I wrote it when Russia invaded Ukraine and brought it to a rehearsal with Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie. I can still clearly picture the rehearsal room,“401”, right up under the roof at the conservatory in Trondheim. There aren’t many tunes from 2021 that we still play in Dafnie today. But this one, we do. It feels like it’s only become more relevant with what’s happening in Gaza right now. It’s a song for peace, but also a song full of frustration.«

The song has a title, but no lyrics. Can you talk a bit about conveying a message without using words?
»It’s been four years since I wrote the piece, and back then I believed that music and politics go hand in hand. Now I think more that music is a political act in itself, because it fosters peaceful communities. In that way, it’s a counterbalance to all the unrest we see right now. When the world is as it is today, peaceful communities are what we need.«

What goes through your mind when you’re on stage?
»I try to have as little in my head as possible and just be present in what’s happening on stage. If I become too self-conscious, I try to shift the focus to the others by listening to what they’re doing. I think that’s the most important thing for having a good experience when you’re playing yourself: Being present in the moment.«

What’s your best advice for someone trying to decide where they want to study music?
“Choose the place where you feel it’s nice to be; where people smile and say hello. That’s also how I choose which musicians I want to work with.”

Is that the most important criterion for being in your band?
»Yes! It’s being nice!«

What do you put on to get the dance floor going?
»Lately it’s been Fela Kuti. It’s festive and political!«

What do you do to relax?
»I like to go for walks in the forest and to knit. At the moment I’m knitting a ‘Sophie Scarf’ for myself and a sweater for my boyfriend. I’m knitting it with wool from my parents’ farm – they keep Gotland sheep.«

What’s your relationship with ALICE?
»Actually, it’s been quite a while since I was here. It was in 2019, when Girls in Airports played here during the Jazz Festival. But I think the program is amazingly well curated. So I’m proud that ALICE has chosen to curate my band.«

If you were to recommend something from our program, what would it be?
»Conjunto Media Luna! It’s a blend of techno and traditional Colombian music. I first heard him in Colombia in January this year, when I played at the same venue as him in Bogotá, a place called Matik Matik—and it was really great!«

The ALICE Guest Book is a living archive and an ongoing work, where artists who have performed on the ALICE stage share inspiration, advice, anecdotes, and even recommendations from the ALICE program. Together, the different entries draw a collective picture of what ALICE is. The book becomes a place where widely different artists cross paths and leave their marks side by side.