Marie Ulven, the 22-year-old singer-songwriter from Norway better known as girl in red, writes music that sounds as volatile, passionate, and dramatic as the final scene from a great romance film. Her early songs about queer identity — singles like 2017’s “we fell in love in october” and 2018’s “i wanna be your girlfriend” — amassed hundreds of millions of streams, and they turned  Ulven into a Gen-Z it-girl, with the phrase “do you listen to girl in red?” becoming code for young queer girls to ask other girls if they like girls. In April, girl in red released her debut album if i could make it go quiet. Ulven retains her diaristic lyricism on the album, refusing to sand down the rough edges of heartbreak or mental health struggles. At the same time, girl in red pushes into the future, maximizing each element of her sound, whether it’s blinding guitar pop bombast or tender, aching balladry. A few days before the release of the album, The FADER’s Jordan Darville caught up with Ulven to talk about how working on her mental health makes her a better songwriter, what she learned about love from creating if i could make it go quiet, and the music she’s been working on since.

The FADER Interview: girl in red

The FADER is the definitive voice of emerging music and the lifestyle that surrounds it. Through in-depth reporting and a distinct street sensibility, The FADER aggressively covers the most dynamic breadth of music and style emanating from the fringes of the mainstream to the heart of the underground. The FADER is the authority on what's next.