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HANA means "flower" in Japanese. This album, in the form of a hymn to nature, is Josefin Runsteen's first, although the Swedish musician already has nearly twenty collaborative opuses to her credit in just six years. Composed to support a butō dance written and performed by choreographer Frauke, it unfolds rich, constantly changing landscapes through five scenes evoking emptiness, water, fire, earth and air.
For this project at the crossroads of many styles, Josefin Rusteen takes care of everything: composition, production, arrangements and recording. She sings, programs and plays all the instruments: violin, viola, mandolin, mandola, harp, guitar, upright piano, synthesizers, bass, drums and percussion. Josefin Runsteen is an all-round artist who doesn't shy away from any influence, be it electro, pop, ambient, field recording or experimental.
" Secret Garden " opens the record with synthetic granular material. Obscure, guttural vocals from the abyssal depths filter upwards, ending in a canopied atmosphere saturated with birdcalls and electronic stridency. Then a harp of strange harmonies unfurls its rugged loops on a sinuous path to the celestial vault, set against a backdrop of synthesizer layers. The sound of the harp is heard again at the start of " Coldburn ", over a carpet of crackling rain, before Josefin Runsteen's deep, warm voice rises over a groovy bass/beat loop. The tranquility of this vocal ends on a new ambient phase, populated by liquid sounds and multiple electronic crackles and rumbles.
" Bloom" invades the sound field with hypnotic cordophones, guitar, mandola, violin, viola and the tinkling of bells, in an ecstatic whirlwind fragrance of traditional Asian music, slowly building to a crescendo and a sunny climax that takes over the entire spectrum, enhanced by the lyricism of virtuoso vocals. " Sakura " progresses from a muted rhythmic loop, anchored in the heart of the earth, enhanced by percussive additions. Vocal samples intensify the ritual before, without warning, the rhythm and timbres change dramatically to rely on slow acoustic drums. A new break occurs with an accelerando and a distant, saturated piano solo, as if out of a dream.
Violin and viola, in a quasi-romantic duet, open and close " Banyan ", which plunges into the ethereal tones of a synthesizer, supporting a barely timbred voice intoning a pop melody, carried by a muted techno beat. The last track draws the listener into the energy of a cosmic rave. The album's reverberant atmosphere, meticulous textures and captivating mood shifts offer a dreamlike journey whose multiple colors linger long in the mind.
Guillaume Kosmicki
Available on the following platforms:
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3iydeTW
Deezer: https://bit.ly/3mt0aAb
Apple Music: https://apple.co/3iE5v6D
Available on vinyl:
https://www.bengans.eu/en/artiklar/josefin-runsteen-hana-three-bodies-original-soundtrack.html
