Buzzin Music

Hanne Hukkelberg releases her third album, Blood From A Stone

Norwegian artist Hanne Hukkelberg releases her third album, Blood From A Stone this week.

I hear Sigur Ros, Elisabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins (no more so than on Bandy Riddles) and PJ Harvey in this wondrous offering; and like those three comparisons, Hanne Hukkelberg has a beautiful, mesmorising voice.

Furthermore, in tracks like No One But Yourself, unashamed echoing influences of Siouxsie & The Banshees can be clearly heard in both voice and a flanging bass line.

According to the press release, the majority of her vocals are first-takes – something pretty much unheard of in today’s computer- assisted recording studios and polished productions.

Although Blood From A Stone was recorded in Hanne’s regular studio in Oslo, the songs themselves were written during a seven month spell living in a tiny coastal village on the Norwegian island of Senja, 300 kilometres north of the Polar Circle.

Hanne explains: “In the north of Norway it is way more quiet. It has been interesting to experience composing in both a busy city and in a quiet village. I noticed it affected me in very different ways. I felt a need for composing more quiet songs in the noisy city, and more noisy music in the quiet village.”

Though Blood From A Stone is a more traditional ‘rock’ album her previous releases (Little Things [2005] and Rykestrasse 68 [2007]) the whole album still has a leftfield feel.  Her elfin-like persona and her musical experimentation has drawn comparisons with Bjork, as much as her beautiful voice.

Repeated listens to Blood From A Stone reveal an album of depth and many treasures. Among its highlights, the metal inspired Salt Of The Earth begins with gentle verses featuring a church organ and a softly coo-ing vocal harmony, before lurching into an epic chorus that sports crashing piano chords and metal percussion galore and that carries with it an ominous sense of foreboding.

The title track is built around a robust, repetitive bass and metal percussion rhythm with an uplifting, melodic chorus and added vocal whoops and hollers aplenty, while Bandy Riddles swiftly develops into a frenetic acoustic indie-rock strummer….albeit an indie-rock strummer without a drumkit, although it does incorporate bicycle spokes, clogs and a vaseline box into the mix.

Though on the face of it, Blood From A Stone sounds like a traditional alternative  indie rock style album it includes field recordings of flagpoles, train doors, seagulls, clogs, rocks, kitchen utensils, freezers, stoves and a school desk.

In line with the pervading approach towards the recording process, all instruments were tuned by ear, with digital tuners banned from the studio.

Blood From A Stone by Hanne Hukkelberg is a suite of seductive, multifaceted music not for the masses.