After the Great Storm

What does Ane Brun, one of the most respected singers in Scandinavian indie pop, do? The Norwegian (transplanted to Sweden many years ago) has been making hit songs for at least 17 years. Verse, catchphrase (chorus), verse, catchphrase, bridge, catchphrase. So far, nothing more banal. So why take interest? Her soprano voice, her inspired melodies, her lyricism, these are all essential elements for popular success. The lyrics? As she writes in a language other than her mother tongue, they may not have the level of the great English-speaking lyricists, but they’re written with sincerity and bear witness to an inner world in turmoil – finding a loved one, forgiving a loved one, suffering from isolation, worrying about the polarisation of minds in these troubled times, etc. As for her esteemed success within the vast indie community, she has so far managed to surround herself with excellent producers and arrangers – Kim Nelson, Katharina Nuttall, Cécile Grudet, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly, Tobias Fröberg. For the first of two albums released this autumn, Brun co-produces with Anton Sundell and Martin Hederos, with the addition of arrangers Samuel Starck, Per Eklund, Daniel Migdal, and Josefin Runsteen. This Scandinavian team achieves a remarkable balance between synth-pop, trip-hop, and chamber pop with strings. Very often, such productions add strings to pop-rock-type instrumentation (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards) in order to create an orchestral wallpaper effect. Here it’s different: the two components of the production are in real symbiosis, instrumental and electronic music have more or less equivalent roles, and their respective sonorities are very clearly identified.