Vera from Hårdgnissel has her alter ego project Vera Norea also where she play punk in her own little way. Now comes her second full-length and you should check it out. Here is an interview done with her in September 2025.

Tell us a little about Vera, the person and the artist, is there any difference between you? What do you do when you're not playing music?

-The artist Vera Norea is well like the person Vera but more exaggerated and theatrical. I would say it's a fairytale version of myself a little bit. When I'm not playing music, I'm studying to be a musical artist at the Ballet Academy in Stockholm! There is not time for much else right now.

You've also have been in Hårdgnissel, won't it be more with you?

-Hårdgnissel is a bit on ice right now. I live in Stockholm, Manfred (bassist) lives in Sundsvall, and Simon (drummer) lives in Umeå. But we have absolutely not given up on the band, even though we are not so active right now.

How did you come up with the idea of calling yourself Vera Norea?

-It was easy! That's my first and middle name.

The music you play is different and hard to describe, I call it cabaret burlesque punk indie, what is the weirdest thing you have heard besides this?

-Clownmetal I have heard from friends!

Which other bands/artists are you compared to?

-My main role models are My Chemical Romance, and always have been. They were the ones who made me love music. I haven't been compared to so many other artists actually. I think it's because my sound is quite unique.

If we're talking lyrics, what inspires you?

-Just everything I feel!

Tell us a little about the following texts

Ripe Fruit

-Ripe Fruit is about having chemistry with someone you will never be able to be with.

Martyr Girl

-Martyr Girl is a little wordplay on Material Girl by Madonna haha. The inspiration is all the dark games you played as a child. Many adults think that when little girls play with barbie dolls, it's about them shopping and meeting boys and mommy-dad-children, but when me and my friends played with dolls, we played much more brutal games than that.

Marionette

-Marionette is about feeling stuck in a system, and that someone else pulls the strings as well.

Politics and music, does it go together? Is it more important with politics when you play in Hårdgrnissel or how is it?

-Politics and music go hand in hand for me, and music that is not political I don't think is very interesting. With Hårdgnissel it's probably a bit more important than with Vera Norea I would still say, because Vera Norea is also about feelings and personal things more.

Your music is a little different from the other bands on Second Class Kids, how did it come to be SCK?

-They knew who I was through Hårdgnissel and found out that I was looking for a record label if I remember correctly.

You never have any thoughts of singing in Swedish with this constellation?

-Have sung in Swedish! It was then a Hårdgnissel cover. I don't think I'll write new original songs in Swedish with Vera Norea.

Is Vera Norea a band or is it a solo project, what kind of fellow musicians do you have when you play live?

-I write and record all the songs myself, I play all the instruments except the drums on the recordings. I have a band that I played with live, but it has been put on hold because I no longer live in Sundsvall. That band consists of/consisted of Manfred Linde and Adam Englund on guitar, Theo Frödin on bass, Oscar Öhlander on drums and Martin Wolff on keys.

I understand that you play theater too, to play Judas as you did in Jesus Christ Superstar, was that the right character for you?

-It absolutely was! Of course, I worked all year developing my voice in different styles, but I was very happy that I got to come back to rock music in the final production. I even have a little anxiety now because I'll never get as good a role as Judas haha. I love Judas #teamjudas

To release vinyl records as you have now done both with Vera Norea and previously with Hårdgnissel, is it a childhood dream? Do you buy a lot of records yourself?

-I don ́t really have an interest in collecting and buying records actually. But it's always cool to see what you've been working on for so long in physical form!

Or is it just as well to just release digitally?

-Digital is also good of course, but it will not be quite the same.

My wife has a son who loves your music, what kind of people do you think like you, what type comes to concerts etc?

-It's quite different! There are people of all ages, but most of them are music nerds haha and I love that!

You have a very good voice and seem to do many different singing styles, is it something you have done all your life..... sung or when did you discover that you were good at it?

- Thank you very much! I sang in a choir as a child and sang a lot with friends. I was actually never very good at singing as a kid, it's really just practice. It was when I started playing with Hårdgnissel that I started to hear that I have a fucking spirit in my voice.

The new album Daughter of Eve, are you satisfied with it?

-I'm really happy with the music, but now after I've studied musicals for a little over a year I'm not very happy with the singing effort actually haha. There are many things I would have done differently now. The song was recorded about 2-1.5 years ago.

When you look at the cover you almost get a Jesus Christ Superstar feeling, what was the idea with the cover and with the name of the record?

-Honestly, I don't know what you mean by Jesus Christ superstar feeling on the cover. The idea with the cover was a bit rebirth. I wanted to look like I had crawled up from a swamp and seen the sun again after a hundred years. The cover is taken by Lia Jacobi, and it is Vinter Lilieqvist who has done the makeup.

What is the most fun to do to, play theater (musical), play music with Vera Norea or play music with Hårdgnissel or is everything just as fun because it's a little different things anyway?

-I have always liked to combine my music with a lot of theater. So in a way, a musical is more fun, because there is more story and acting. But at the same time, it's especially fun to be able to perform your own material on stage. I would probably say that it is not really possible to compare, because everything is fun in its own way.

What else do you think about what it's like to live in Sweden?

-I like living in Sweden. I was a bit keen on England for a while but we'll see how it turns out.

If you got the chance to govern Sweden for a week, what was the first thing you would do?

-I would make sure that we do more for Palestine firstly. Then I would invest a lot in the environment and sustainability. And more money for culture, of course. Invest in study associations and folk high schools!

Five favorite records of all time?

-Right now I would probably say

A Night At The Opera by Queen,

To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey,

The Black Parade of My Chemical Romance,

The Normal Album by Will Wood and

Now You Are One Of Us by Paper Chase.

How do you listen to music the most, is it vinyl, CD, Spotify or what is the best way to listen to music?

 -Now I listen almost only digitally, because I don't have a record player right now haha. My best way to listen to music is to sit on the subway and listen through my noise-cancelling headphones. But there is something special about putting on a real vinyl record as well, even though I haven't done it in a long time.

Tell us a little about the following albums and what you think about it today.

The first record you bought or got?

-American Idiot by Green Day was the first one I bought myself! I must have been maybe 12 years old then.

The album that changed your life?

-Without The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance I don't know who I would be today. That album has shaped me as a musician and artist in a way that I can't even explain.

Last album you bought?

-I think it was In The Flat Field by Bauhaus.

 The album you're ashamed of?

-The album I'm ashamed of that I've written or that I'm listening to? I'm not ashamed of anything!

The album that makes Vera Norea sound like you do?

-The Black Parade of My Chemical Romance again. Specifically the song Mama that is on that album.

 The album that always has to be on the tour bus or before you go on stage?

-Well, it's The Black Parade again. Or the soundtrack to Hedwig and the angry inch. Specifically, Wig in a box! I get damn excited about it.

The album that you would have liked to have played on?

 -I don't want to play on any other albums but the ones I have it on, to be honest. I can't think of an album that anyone else has made that would have been improved by me being in the studio.

Do you think music can change someone's life, I mean lyrics etc? Do you have any song that has made you change your mindset?

-Maybe not completely change my mindset, but I've definitely listened to songs that have influenced my attitude to different things. Playing music, is it a good way to get out frustration and become an even better person? It's a very good way to get frustration out, I think!

Future plans with music?

-Right now I'm just focusing on getting the new album out! I haven't started writing the next one yet, but it will come when it comes. .

Future plans with your life otherwise?

-I would like to get into a good three-year musical artist education! Then I want to work as a musical artist, and make my own music too, of course.

Words of wisdom?

- Not what I'm thinking of right now! I'm not that wise haha.

Something to add -No!