Sigrid discusses the inspiration of Nirvana's 'Nevermind': “From then on, I wasn’t just that piano girl”

Sigrid has discussed the inspiration of Nirvana‘s ‘Nevermind’ on her musical evolution.

The legendary 1991 album turns 30 today (September 24), and the Norwegian pop star was among a host of artists, including The Killers, Lorde, St. Vincent and Biffy Clyro, to speak to NME about their love for the album and celebrate the anniversary.

“‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ was the first song I ever covered when I was in seventh grade,” Sigrid told NME. “Growing up, my brother was a huge rock fan and I listened to everything that my siblings were listening to. I was very shy growing up – I was the little girl playing piano.

“For one school play, I played ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ with a backing band of my classmates and everyone was shocked, like, ‘Where did that come from?’ It was great. I think that playing that rock song in front of 20 kids at school gave me a new confidence. From then on, I wasn’t just that piano girl. I showed another energy that I had.”

“Playing covers like that early on really inspired me,” Sigrid added. “I found Adele and heard some intensity in her voice that reminded me of that intensity. I was like, ‘Woah – pop music can have that attitude and that fire too’. That pop-rock crossover has inspired me so much. ‘Nevermind’ – what a fucking album!”

As part of the same feature, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl told NME that the band initially thought ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, was just “another cool song”.

“I remember writing ‘Teen Spirit’ in our rehearsal space, and I liked the riff that Kurt [Cobain] came up with because it’s percussive,” Grohl remembered. “Those muted, stabbing strums inbetween the chords really leant to the pattern of the drum riff.”

Although he “didn’t know what the lyrics were”, the musician recalled how he “realised the power of the song” once Nirvana took it into the studio. “And not just lyrically or musically, but the groove of the song – it was really powerful,” he told NME.

‘Nevermind’ is set to be reissued later this year to mark the new anniversary. The record is set to be remastered from the original half-inch stereo analog tapes to high-resolution 192kHz 24-bit for a series of reissues, which will be released on November 12.