Petra Marklund was born determined. By the time she was twelve, she was already in studios recording. At seventeen, she was singing in a rock band and when she graduated from Swedish high school, at a time when most teenagers worry about what to wear to their interviews for a job at McDonalds, Petra had already nailed a record deal. A big one.
Calling herself September, the then 18-year old had hits like "La la la (Never give it up)", "We can do it" and "September all over". The songs were written and produced by dynamic hit making trio Jonas von der Burg, Niclas von der Burg and Anoo Bhagavan, and with Petra, they made a great team where Petra found exactly the kind of high-quality dance music she was looking for to make. While danceable and catchy, the songs always have its base in Petra's dark, surprisingly sad voice that lingers in your ears, making them stick out from the hit parades on the radio.Two years and a well-needed vacation later, September is back to do what she does best: singing. This time, she has turned over a new leaf with a new record label behind her. Without bashing her old label, Petra says there was some indifferences concerning her image - there were things she didn't want to do, like putting too much focus on her appearance, or performing playback. To her, each performance is important, and she has high expectations on herself. It's all about singing - and dancing. (The
multi-talented 21-yearold has been taking dance lessons for ages, and in the video for the single "Satellites", Petra had to dance non stop for 28 hours!)
- I'm really happy with my new record label. From now on, it's all music! She exhales so much energy it's enough to make anyone else feel old and tired. Although she grew up mostly singing jazz, there was never any doubt concerning what kind of music Petra would make a living doing.
- I'm crazy about house music, says Petra who love Kylie Minogue and Annie, and holds Britney Spears "Toxic" as an all-time favourite video.
Her first single of the album, "Satellites", was an instant hit in Sweden - the rare kind both the audience and the critics love. It's been the most played song on both commercial radio stations as well as
Swedish national radio. (It's been ..4 on the Swedish singles chart, ..2 on the Swedish Dance Chart, ..8 on Scandinavian Dance Chart and one of the most downloaded songs on Itunes... we could go on here forever) But at the same time, credible Swedish music magazine Sonic named it one of the best 15 euro disco songs of all time. "The team of producers behind this lush dream, painted in equal parts viscos and house, have understood the genius of the eternally simple", writes their reviewer Sara Martinsson.Although Petra loves writing and does frequently compose own songs, all songs on In Orbit are written and produced by Jonas, Niclas, and Anoo. For Petra, it's ideal as she loves their work.
- My favourite song on the album is probably "Cry for you". It's about a relationship that just keeps going on although there is not much love left, so the girl in the song decides to leave, says Petra.
She always tries to picture the story of the song while singing it. Her emotional singing has its base in the fact that she is a very emotional person - she laughs a lot, cries a lot and stays up at nights (she
still lives with her parents) singing, writing songs, or painting.
What is the biggest misconception about you?
- Probably that I would be some kind of a bimbo just because I'm blond and love dance music.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Petra knows exactly what she wants, and you know she's going to get it.
Now, September is getting ready to take on the world. Deals have already been concluded with over 50 countries, among them USA, France, Germany, Russia, Africa and Australia. Petra can't wait:
- I'm one of those people who simply loves touring. Being on stage is what I live to do, she says.
It's a good thing. Because with such a head start, it looks like September has got quite a lot of touring coming up.
