Interview: Swedish Trap Star Ängie Talks About Her Music, Style, and the Strong Urge to Avoid the Small Town Mentality
/DCWS’s Naima Karp connected with Swedish Trap Star Ängie for an exclusive interview to discuss her sound, DOPE aesthetic, her LGBTQ anthem “Smoke Weed Eat Pussy”, and much more.
After reading this Q&A, be sure to connect with Ängie on her social media, check out her Spotify playlist and all her videos on YouTube.
The Ängie sound is best described as mellow laid back femme trap that still goes hard - it’s a smorgasbord of sound, and DCWS is loving it. What genres are you inspired by? The beach girl meets trap queen sound is one that we haven’t heard too much of in the mainstream.
I’m honestly inspired by so many different genres, like punk, indie, trap, pop, emo – the list is long. Check out my playlists on Spotify, called fuckingangie. You’ll see, there are a lot of sounds fucking my brain up.
How is your aesthetic inspired? It looks like a dope collage of Spring Breakers, pastel femininity, and stoner vibes. Were you a grungy Tumblr baby, a goth kid, or did you have your own style?
I’ve always had my own style, but like with music, it’s never the same. I think I’m a bit schizophrenic in every art form.
Many of your tracks feel like the perfect lazy summer reminder that we need not care what others think about us. Where did you get that mentality and has confidence and swag always come easy for you, or was it a tougher journey?
It feels weird saying it comes naturally, but it’s true. I grew up on beautiful stories and I always wanted my life to feel like a movie. So to keep it that way, you have to say yes a lot. You also have to say no to the boring shit, and of course to the naysayers.
Your LGBTQ anthem “Smoke Weed Eat Pussy” was an empowering success with several communities. There aren’t a lot of tracks out there for gay or stoner girls, which makes your content so relatable for many. What do these communities signify to you?
Freedom, I guess. The world is so full of bullshit and rules, and personally, I just can’t take it. Advice I tell myself and everyone else: Don’t follow others’ rules, and keep anarchy in your heart.
How did you get into cannabis in a place with such low tolerance like Sweden, and can we expect to see you as an activist and champion for legalization in Sweden?
I’m always going to be a supporter of weed, but I actually stopped smoking a while back. I just need to take a break from having a hazy mind. I started smoking with the suburban kids which is actually really common here in Sweden.
Some have called you a more edgy and niche Lana Del Ray. Are your creative moments ever inspired by her, and what musicians do you look up to/admire when it comes to putting together your own tunes?
Lana super inspires me. I’m gonna give you a mini moodboard of my work here:
Lana Del Rey, Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola, and Lou Reed when it comes to creative icons. I’m also inspired by the film Requiem For A Dream, the entire genre of classical music, mixed with drugs, boys, girls and colours. I’m a walking Tumblr aesthetic, with hashtags all over me!
What city do you live in today? I know you grew up in a small town, and felt a strong urge to escape that small town mentality - where was the first place you moved when you got out, and where have you been since then?
I’ve been all around, but now I’m back in my hometown. I don’t really mind, because I share a huge apartment with my boy and my best friend. In terms of that small town mentality, I’m ignoring all trash on two legs…bitch alert!
What’s up next on the docket for Ängie?
I’m going to release more songs and music videos. I’ll also be posting short films on my YouTube - find me under puffingangie.