Det kan virke oplagt at anmelde mørkets fyrstinde og hendes august-album Broken Gatgoyles i en tid, hvor festlige sjæle pynter deres dørgavl med skeletter og sjove gyserhatte. Men gyset, der møder en i den ufremkommelige afgrund i pladens to installationer, er tydeligvis noget andet og mere jordnært. Det er jo Diamanda Galás, det her! Med udgangspunkt i pestdød og krigsepidemier boltrer den snart 70 år gamle gregorianske sortseer sig i sine vanlige virkemidler som hørt på hovedværker som The Litanies of Satan (1982) og Saint of the Pit (1986): Dybe klaveranslag, opklippede loops og Galás’ karakteristiske dæmonskig, som leveres fra et stemmebånd spændende tre et halvt oktaver.
Der er grove løjer på de to installationer »Mutilatus« og »Abiectio«, og når de spyttende lyrikgloser samtidig er holdt i germanske gloser, kan det hele virke en anelse utilnærmeligt, hvilket helt sikkert også er Galás intention. Efter årtier som cover-sanger af bluesstandards er det imidlertid rart at høre sangeren som rædslens budbringer igen, og især første installation leverer deciderede gruopvækkende ture ind i den europæiske histories mørkeste kamre.
På Galás' nok særeste udspil bliver det hele faktisk en smule fjollet i sidste ende – men denne tendens til at smile midt i de pinefylde rædsler retfærdiggør sangerens berettigelse i 2022. Det er svært at se, hvornår man rent faktisk kommer til at høre Broken Gargoyles uden for et museum eller et galehus. Men det er vel egentlig også meningen?
»I like when it's impossible to tell at first if something is black or white, or country or blues, or whatever.«
Bill Frisell’s career as a guitarist and composer has spanned more than 40 years and many celebrated recordings. From Aaron Copeland and Charles Ives to Bob Dylan and Madonna. Born in Baltimore, Bill Frisell played clarinet throughout his childhood in Denver, Colorado. His interest in guitar began with his exposure to pop music on the radio.
»Music has been a healing balm for me.«
John William Grant is an American singer, musician, and songwriter holding both American and Icelandic citizenship. He first came to prominence as a co-founder, lead vocalist, pianist, and primary songwriter of the alternative rock band The Czars. After releasing six albums between 1994 and 2006, the band disbanded, and Grant withdrew from music for four years before embarking on a solo career.
He returned in April 2010 with a critically acclaimed debut album recorded in collaboration with Midlake. Queen of Denmark was named Album of the Year 2010 by Mojo magazine and was also selected as one of the ten best albums of 2010 by The Guardian’s music critics and writers.
»In his music, composer Allan Gravgaard Madsen tries to create a better version of himself.«
Allan Gravgaard Madsen is a Danish composer based in Copenhagen. His most recent works include Träume nicht and Nachtmusik. He tries to create a better version of himself in his music – where his personality tends to be restless, chatty and has an active inner life, his music is controlled, simple and merciless in its expression. He is the recipient of the Carl Nielsen & Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Hæderspris 2022.
The Finnish multimedia artist Jan Anderzén has, with the album Hoshi, released under the solo moniker Tomutonttu, created a true little star. Not only because »hoshi« literally means »star« in Japanese, but above all due to the music itself. There is something cosmic, yet infinitely minute, about the sonic worlds Anderzén conjures—like a galaxy reflected in a puddle, or a space journey in a rocket carved from a hollow tree trunk. Synths emit busy, warm blips and bloops, while ultra-short vocal and instrumental samples create a recognizable blur. At once artificial and organic – soft, rounded, jagged, crackling.
Anderzén approaches sound with a playfulness I simply adore. His music is strange in an incredibly comforting way. It places me in a kind of colorful, trance-like state, only interrupted when, several times over the course of the album, I find myself smiling in delight at a particularly great sound. The synths on »Katse osuu sähköön!« The choral samples on »Kesä oli äkkiä ohi!« Milo Linnovaara’s flute on »Malta lausua ‘AH’!« And many more. Hoshi is an album packed with microscopic moments that together form a frayed, exploding, radiant, idiosyncratic whole—a stellar moment of just under 38 minutes.
