Interview with Sigurd “Ziggy” Rösnes, songwriter of Rockin' by A*Teens

I had the opportunity to interview Sigurd “Ziggy” Rösnes, songwriter of my favorite song of all time: Rockin' by A*Teens.

Hope you enjoy this:


How you started to write songs?

I started writing writing songs when I was about 12 years old. The reason why I started is because I played in a band, and we needed songs. But very soon, writing songs became my escape from one reality to another; my new world built around melody and lyric. It was a new way of expressing myself. I loved it.

What is your process for making a song?

The process is usually different every time. Sometimes I start with just a melody, other times I start with a few chords on a piano, but I can also start with a song title or a hook line...So it's always different, I think. Also, the music business is so concerned with production these days that it´s impossible to separate the song from the production. And sometimes I write to a track too. Songwriting is a lot about flexibility...


As a fan, a song like Rockin' can be interpreted in many ways.  What is the meaning for you as a composer of this song?

When I wrote Rockin´, I wanted to write a boy-band song that would kick ass... I remember I was working hour after hour with the chorus, trying to get it right... And I learned that the songwriting process can sometimes be very painful and time consuming.  Rockin´ is about this new band (or a metaphor for "success") coming together, taking over the world. It is about fame and how you see your idols on the TV and in newspapers, and it´s about trying to achieve that success yourself. The "love" aspect  is there to prove how strongly you feel about "getting there"... It was suppose to be the perfect boy-band song to break the new band into stardom.

Were you present in the recording process of Rockin '?

I was not present when A-teens recorded the song, but I was friends with Amit in Stockholm, and I met all of them in Stockholm later on. Ole Evenrude that produced the track, is a dear friend of mine, and he really helped my songwriting career getting started in Stockholm because of Rockin´. I am to this day very grateful to him and the job he did on the track. I was however present when we did the demo track for the song... I remember it was a hot summer night in Oslo, Norway, and we finished the track early in the morning. Good times.


How does it feel to hear one of your songs completed?

It feels great. These are one of the moments we songwriters live for. Hahaha... Rockin´ was my first international cut, and the record sold gold in the United States. It was of course a key moment in my musical life, and to realize that I could start writing something on a bus, in my bedroom or in the studio that would finally end up on an internationally success album... is just amazing! It represents for me the possibilities for a songwriter, if you only work hard enough. Rockin´became my own success story... Kind of a meta concept if you think about it.


What are your feelings knowing that your song is someone's favorite song? 

That is very flattering. And it reminds me how grateful I am to be able to write songs that other people can connect to. I think this is the main reason I am still writing songs. You can actually connect to other people in the world without considering politics, culture, religion, language or sex. It´s pretty amazing, because most things in the world are locked down to these parameters... To make music is like cheating...