Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up in the countryside surrounded by animals – especially horses, which I loved deeply. I was fascinated by cowboy movies, probably because of the horses, but the music from those films has no doubt influenced me subconsciously. A horse, a guitar, and a song – that combination did something to me.
School mostly bored me, but whenever I was allowed to write freely and use my imagination, I came alive. I loved playing with words and creating rhythm in language. At just ten years old, for my older brother’s confirmation, I wrote my first song for him. It was such a joy to find rhymes and rhythm – and that became the beginning of my fascination with songwriting.
As a teenager, I discovered that writing helped me handle difficult emotions. When I put my thoughts and feelings into rhyme and rhythm, I could see things from the outside – as if I could understand and release them through my lyrics.
My musical journey didn’t really begin until later. I learned to play the guitar at the age of 22, after moving to Odense to study. One day I walked into a restaurant where live music was playing. I was completely spellbound and thought: That – that’s what I want to do. Shortly after, I was there again for a birthday party, and my friend convinced the musicians to let me sing “House of the Rising Sun.” That became my first performance ever. A couple of years later, I was the one sitting there playing for the guests. From there, things took off – I started performing more and more alongside my work as a social worker. In 1991, I quit my job and went to Ireland for the sake of music. I played on the streets, made enough to get by, and wrote my first album, which was released in Denmark in 1995. Since then, it’s been thirty years filled with music, concerts, and countless encounters with people. I became a vocal coach and a psychotherapist and met many young people with difficult life stories. That led me to establish a home for young people who couldn’t live at home with their own parents. And yes – suddenly three decades had passed, where I released a few singles but not a full album. I’m doing that now, and it feels like coming home to something I’ve always been.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Hanne Lynge in three words?
A: Intimate, Americana, Singer-songwriter.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: I perform live and I use Facebook, Google, Instagram, and TikTok. The last two I really had to learn – I’m a bit “too old” for those platforms. And they definitely won’t make me run around like a hen on speed just to gain followers. What I post is always related to my music. Anything else feels shallow and boring – I’d rather knit 😊
Q: You have just released your new album ‘Do It’. Is there a story behind it?
A: The story behind “Do It” is that the album holds songs from the past 30 years – both songs I’ve performed over time and others that have been hidden away in a drawer.
Four years ago, I was hit by stress. My brain suddenly wouldn’t do what I wanted. I couldn’t concentrate, and I lost the urge to explore life – that urge which had always been my driving force. It was hard to accept, but it became an eye-opener. I realized how fragile both the mind and life can be, and how quickly everything can change. The phrase“we must live while we’re doing it”suddenly took on a whole new meaning for me – because it’s so true. For years, I had wanted to record my songs, and it was a festival in Odense that finally sparked it all. The festival “Nashville Nights” – where songwriters from Nashville visit Denmark every year – inspired me deeply. There I met a producer and some musicians who were a perfect match for my songs. We talked about possibilities, and I hesitated a bit, but then my friend looked me in the eyes and said: Do it.
Q: What is your favorite track from the album and why?
A: “Single Soul” is probably my favorite. It touches on a taboo – love’s most sensitive areas: infidelity, longing, and the gray zones in relationships. I like it when I can leave the listener with a new thought or a different way of seeing the world. The lyrics are full of paradoxes — they have edge and are provocative enough to get people out of their sea— if they dare. It’s easy to have strong opinions if you don’t look behind the behavior – behind the issue. You only really know how life can hit you once you’ve been hit yourself. I’m by no means an advocate for infidelity – quite the opposite – but I believe that honest dialogue can prevent it. Often it’s the lack of conversation about difficult emotions that drives one partner to seek comfort elsewhere – just to be heard and acknowledged. I also love the arrangement of the song – the bass and guitar deliver a raw energy that underlines the tension, the flirtation, and the forbidden. The accompanying music video, which you can watch on YouTube, features my motorcycle and amplifies that raw expression even more.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the album, “Do It”?
A: I sent my songs to producer Lars Rahbek Andresen, who owns Medley Studios in Copenhagen. I had recorded them at home – just guitar and vocals – and Lars suggested gathering a team of professional musicians from Copenhagen. To my surprise, several of them had lived in my hometown, so I knew them already. They play brilliantly, and from the first note, the chemistry was there.
Everyone came prepared with ideas for how to build the music around the songs, to make the expression even stronger. We quickly agreed on the direction, and everything flowed so naturally that it felt like the songs recorded themselves. We recorded guitar, bass, drums, and vocals simultaneously to preserve the energy and intimacy. Later we added more guitar, and Lars added keys, piano, rhythm, and small details – always with a perfect sense of balance.
We also decided to include a violinist on two tracks, “Poker” and “Daughter of My Heart.” Every time I hear those violins, I get goosebumps – perhaps because it reminds me of my father, who used to walk around the living rooms of the farmhouse playing the violin when he needed to think something through. I re-recorded the vocals to dive even deeper into the songs, and finally, we added backing vocals. Lars mixed the tracks, and after listening through them, they were mastered. It’s a process where you really get to know your songs – right to the core.
I’ve also made music videos for some of the songs, which can be found on YouTube. The album “Do It” is available on all major platforms – including Spotify, Apple Music, Telmore, Tidal, Dezer, iTunes, Amazon music…
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for you so far?
A: Actually, there are two. One was 30 years ago when I played at Denmark’s second largest festival in connection with my first album. It was huge – to be part of the “big league” for the first time. It was true recognition of my songs. The other was at a very small venue where they had forgotten to advertise my show, so only one person showed up – by coincidence. He listened so intently that I played the whole concert anyway. What matters most to me is the way the audience listens – not how many people show up.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: “Daughter of My Heart” means something very special to me because it was written as a gift for my heart-daughter, Ania, when she turned 40. I never had children of my own, so when I met Ania in the late ’90s, I had a kind of “homeless love” that suddenly found a place to belong. At the time, Ania was transitioning from youth to adulthood and lacked a stable mother figure in her life. Our meeting became the start of a unique mother-daughter relationship – and also the seed for the care home that has since been home to over 70 young people who, for a time, needed safety, care, love, and support on their way into adult life. Ania awakened in me the desire to be something for other young people – perhaps even a kind of extra parent in their lives. Meeting her was a game changer for me, both as a person and as a songwriter.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into your unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: That’s a really good question—and I say that because I actually find it quite hard to answer. It feels as if it starts as an unconscious process for me. By nature, I’m a very curious and inquisitive person who looks for cause, effect, and connection—especially within psychology. When I experience life, I do it in layers: what happens on the surface and what lies behind actions and feelings. And when I pick up my guitar and feel like playing with words and melody, it’s often because something is spinning around in my head—something that gives me a feeling of, for example, injustice, betrayal, infatuation, grief, or whatever life throws at me. I often understand a situation on a deeper level when I work with lyrics and music, and I think it’s about putting words to it from many angles. That is so cathartic for me.
Once the song is there, I take it out and play it live. If I can feel that the song gives me a good feeling when I sing it for others, it develops—quietly and steadily—each time I play it. If it doesn’t work—if the energy is gone—if I don’t genuinely feel a strong urge for people to understand it— well, then that “embryo” simply won’t become anything. The songs also evolve musically depending on whom I’m playing with. I love the creativity and musical joy that lies in letting the musicians shape the songs in the direction they can feel. We interpret the world differently, and that’s allowed to be reflected through the people on stage. When I go into the studio, naturally my interpretation is the clearest, because that version is the one preserved. But live it’s different—two concerts with my songs can be quite different depending on which musicians I have with me, even though the songs are the same. The audience can still sing along, but the expression is alive and changing—just as we humans are alive and change.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have for yourself, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: We only live once—and even though, as the years go by, you may have to slow down a little, that doesn’t mean you should stop doing what you’re passionate about. You just have to stop getting stressed about what you don’t manage or can’t get around to. There’s no expiration date on releasing music or following your dreams, as long as you have something to say. And I still do. I interpret my stories and experiences in my own way—others might interpret them quite differently. But by sharing how each of us sees the world, we can shift perspectives. That way we don’t just grow old and rigid, but keep our openness and curiosity. We must keep looking behind people’s behavior—keep trying to understand instead of just judging by what we see. If we stop asking questions and stubbornly cling to our own convictions, that’s where war and destruction begin. But when we dare to be curious, to listen and share—we can actually move something. I believe that.
My dream is to keep influencing and being influenced by my surroundings. And that my audience will want to listen to my lyrics and hear the songs in their full length. On TikTok you can only post one minute of a song—and that actually says a lot about the speed we live at. It’s no wonder so many are affected by stress. The world is not for the faint of heart. I want to create moments of calm and immersion. That’s where I feel best—and I hope I can share that feeling with my fans, no matter where in the world they are. Take it easy—life takes the time it takes.
