SARALUNDEN
& ANDREY KIRITCHENKO – there was no end
(CD,
nexsound)
I think the fascination that emanates Saralunden is
partly due to her mysterious voice, so full of melancholy and strength at
the same time, and to the mysteriousness of her persona, which all probably
started by the simple act of dropping the space between her first and last
name. Musicians definitely fall for her charisma and presence easily, but
that is also true for listeners. Just take a breathe of how she sings on
“Oh so blue” on this six song collection, so fragile and beautiful it
makes you hurt with glee. Or the age old longwinding of vocals she uses in
the almost folk tale “Don’t you remember” that draws you into a story
of love and love lost that seems centuries old. I could go on about each and
every song on this compilation. I think I am starting to fall for Sara
Lunden myself. This record and the collaboration with Kyrre Björkas and Andreas Mjös
released at the same time on new nexsound-pop-branch-label is enough to get
me addicted.
What exactly the mystery of female singers from the
farthest north of Europe really is (Björk, Frida Hyvönen, et. al.) is far beyond me. There
probably is something in the water or in the air. I might just be diluded by
a not representative sample of singers that reach me, but when have I ever
written about something else but my own illusions of what reality could be
like. I also have the hunch that Sara Lunden has a penchant for producing
music with men she has or has had an affair with, which I have no proof for
other than the deepness of how the songs are being played together and a
certain sense of relationship in the sound. Oh yeah, and the illustration on
the cover of the record, which displays a certain kind of intimacy. To note,
I am not interested in what she does in her private life, but if it has an
effect on the music, then I take a note. And there definitley is an effect
in affection.
What is also fascinating, is the electronic fundaments
that Andrey
Kiritchenko lays down for Saralunden to sing on. Not only do they
contain some guitar here and there and other “real” instruments, but the
most amazing thing is how sensitive and gentle Kiritchenko uses his
electronic tools to support the vision of the song. I know him to have used
his tools for mostly power measures and walls of pure distortion as well.
But here there is no piercing of eardrums or shocking of listeners intended.
He steps back and opens up doors and stairways for Saralunden to expand on.
All for the sake of the song. At other times he uses tiny snippets and
samples of Sara Lundens singing, on the beginning of “oh so blue” only
the breathing sounds of her, to add shapes and fragrances to the basis of
the tracks.
Thematically the songs are close again to what has been
laid down on “dubious” as well. Love and love lost, the depths and
heights of personal relationships and private obsessions. “I have had
erotic dreams about you” she sings on “erotic dreams” something I am
sure you won’t hear from either Celine Dion or KT Turnstall in the near
future. This openness in exploring her own inner self, her psychosis and
psyche makes the songs more honest and more real, no matter how much
electronics there are in the back. Hyvönens piano is no more real as an
instrument than Kiritchenko’s switchboard. The opener “Come with me”
is sparsely but originally arranged, later on the arrangements become more
lively, layered and dense.
