Hannah Lou Woods

There is music that can transport you in some fashion. From the first note through about the one minute, fifteen second mark of the first track off of Hannah Christianson‘s new release, I am transported to a cavernous, blue shadow cast room with columns stretching to the soaring heights of the ceiling. Her gently swooping and lilting voice carries effortlessly over the cascading notes of a piano and I am alone in this room listening to the song. A vision, concrete and vivid in my mind…I mean, music that does that is something special. At one minute, sixteen seconds I am pulled from that zone and the song erupts in a sonic explosion of swirling drums, keys and harmonies. There is a very pointed joyous jubilee and infectious optimism to her music, both in lyric and sound. Hope…

As the second track kicks in, one thing is clear, Christianson is an expert at crafting an atmosphere and mood with her arrangements. Break The Frame has a heavy reverb hand on the intro vocals that envelopes you and cushions your head in pillowy pop goodness. Evidence of never wanting the listener to bore of the listening experience, she keeps the arrangements interesting and varied courtesy of changing drum patterns and a voice that floats in and out of highs and lows. The gal has a friggin’ powerful voice. The song then falls into a pit of whirling strings during the bridge that the songwriter’s voice floats on, for a brief moment before a hard hitting outtro. Effective, catchy and constantly evolving songs.

As if killer piano tunes with an instant and lasting appeal wasn’t enough, she keeps us on our toes with a “toes in the sand” uke arrangement on the aptly named Sittin’ By The Sea. I mean, if this doesn’t elicit a smile then up your meds or something. There is a balance that she strikes between the pop music that you hear on radio and the folk pop that should be heard on radio. This is the latter.

We recently premiered Hannah’s video for “Atoms” off of this latest record. Describing it as encompassing “a tenderness in each whisping breath that dances elegantly over the delicate touch of each piano key. Her voice floats and dips in a calming and ethereal sort of way. It seems effortless, but its beauty is undeniable.” That sentiment draws its lines throughout this entire record. There is a positivity and optimism that defines much of her lyrical content.

Christianson’s songs are crafted in a way that is both appealing and deep. She presents her material in a way that doesn’t dull the fact that she has a HUGE voice and her own stories to tell with it. Casting them in a mold that is made to be broken, then reshaped and reimagined in her own way, creating a popular sentiment that is approachable, but maleable to how the singer wants it to be heard. Unique, but still retaining a familiarity that draws you in.
Hannah Christianson will release her full-length album Grow The World You’re Dreaming Of on December 4th at the Burren Backroom on December 4th at 8pm, joined by local songwriters George Woods and Erica Leigh. Tickets can be bought at THIS LINK. - Red Line Roots

There is a sweetness to the voice of singer Hannah Christianson. A tenderness in each whisping breath that dances elegantly over the delicate touch of each piano key. Her voice floats and dips in a calming and ethereal sort of way. It seems effortless, but its beauty is undeniable. She borders on the pop realm of the musical spectrum, but her music is infused with a genuine passion and heart that much of what is classified as “pop” these days lacks. There is feeling in her music and her voice. That much is very evident in listening to the new track from the Boston transplant.

There is a positivity to this particular song from Christianson, something that we all could use a little bit of in the current social climate. Of the track she states, “It’s about how at the core of who we are as humans, we’re all made up of the same thing: Atoms. “we all have human hearts, we’re born from mothers…” A message of unity and hope, it’s also been a song for me that has helped me deal with the challenges I feel from hearing about the injustices and violence around the world. My hope is that this song helps others the same way it’s helped me deal with and understand, at least a little bit, how to transcend borders and walls and recognize our common humanity.”

This is a reminder that there is beauty in the world in the wake of terrible things that transpire across the globe. That, if we wish to seek those things out, they do exist and sometimes we need that brief escape. - Red Line Roots

Boston dream-pop duo We Saw Lions may be a new name to you, but singer/songwriter Hannah Lou Woods is no stranger to the New England scene. Winner of the Great American Song Contest, among other achievements, Woods has teamed up with producer Dave Chapman to create something different and meaningful. Of their debut single, "Skeletons", Woods says: "I wrote this song...about the challenges that one can face in relationships; when you really love someone, you start to let them see more and more of who you are. Sometimes that brings up fear, but if you can face that fear and allow it to transform you, you can 'bring it to light' and see it for what it is, another place within you that wants to be seen and loved."

The song is an impressive debut, both vulnerable and optimistic. Woods's vocal performance is pitch-perfect in tone and character, and Chapman's production is present and supportive, without ever being heavy-handed. Check out the DIY video for "Skeletons" below, featuring an original artwork from Woods herself. -Brian Varneke - The Deli - New England - Emerging Music From Your Local Scene

We first encountered Hannah Christianson B.M. '13 at a meditative yoga class, tipped off that she may be a Berklee alumna as her ethereal vocals and soulful ukulele ushered the packed class at the Boston YMCA into a state of zen. Christianson, who also works as a teacher, producer, and performer, talked to us over the phone in June 2017 during an apprenticeship in upstate New York.

The Backstory
Growing up in Fargo, North Dakota, Christianson first thought she wanted to be a doctor, then an architect, an Egyptologist, a teacher, and, ultimately, a musician. “As a songwriter, you’re solving puzzles. I'm helping people through music and healing on an emotional level. [There's] architecture in song design, and I'm a teacher," she says. "So in a way, I’ve been able to incorporate different aspects of those things” into her career. While in high school, she discovered music therapy and, while writing a paper for a psychology class, found several articles written by Berklee professors, further piquing her interest. "I definitely felt the healing power of music for myself, how it could help me feel better when I was feeling sad or confused about the world. I would just play, and that's where I would find my voice."

Shortly thereafter, Christianson attended the Berklee Summer Songwriting Workshop; it was her first time traveling alone outside Fargo. “I just had the time of my life," she says. "I loved being around fellow songwriters that understood the world in a similar way and being able to bond together in music. Being in that kind of creative environment really stimulated my mind. It was so inspiring.” With the help of a scholarship and the encouragement of her family, she enrolled at Berklee and received a degree in both music therapy and songwriting with a minor in psychology. Since graduating, she completed her 1,000-hour music therapy internship at Boston Children's Hospital in 2013, and she has been a finalist and winner of several songwriting awards including the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Her most recent win was in the pop category of the Great American Song Contest, and she was also a finalist in that competition's adult contemporary category.

Music, Movement, and Meditation
"Playing music in a place like a yoga studio, you're automatically in a different place than a bar," Christianson says, noting she often teams up with other female songwriters at studios like South Boston Yoga and JP Center Yoga for improvised music accompanied by meditation with guided breathing. "It's nice when you can be in a space where you feel the power of music more intimately, more personally, more on a deep level."

Blending these different modalities, she also works with her husband, Jeff Woods, a yoga and meditation expert, incorporating her music ability into yoga workshops such as Music, Movement, and Meditation; Om Holy Night at Chakra Power Yoga with fellow therapist Heather Woods; and duo the Arrow and the Bow with fellow alumna Hillary Reynolds '11.

"Feeling vibration in your body is different than hearing it in a speaker. The intention of the music and yoga class setting always brings that mindset of creating space for people to feel what they need to feel, to heal, to become whole," Christianson says. "I'm always experimenting with different types of settings with yoga and meditation, and I feel really fortunate Boston has been a place where I can try these different things."

A Hundred Hearts
Christianson also works producing other artists, providing therapeutic support in vocal coaching and production, and teaching songwriting. "It's kind of this blend from my background in music therapy and my expertise in songwriting, to assist artists to develop and transform," she says. "Helping others find their own voice and their own truth and expressing that is so meaningful."

She also regularly performs and records, including her most recent album, Grow the World You're Dreaming Of. Her song "A Hundred Hearts," written and released while at Berklee, has become a surprise wedding soundtrack staple, having been performed or played at hundreds of ceremonies across the world. "Somebody from this company called Song Freedom emailed me, asking if I'd be interested in licensing my songs and said that they were getting a lot of requests for 'A Hundred Hearts.' I don't even know how people found out about it; I just released it as an independent artist," she says, noting that the momentum began while at Berklee. "I get messages from [wedding videographers] in Brazil, Ireland, Australia; I saw it was used in a wedding video in Uzbekistan; and I get random messages to perform it at weddings." She also noted the importance of management consulting in helping to shape her career, noting the talents of Hailey Magee from Talisman Music Group, whose affordable part-time services help independent artists with development, organization, and press.

Christianson is currently planning to give a performance and songwriting workshop at the International Music Camp on the border of the U.S. and Canada in North Dakota. "It's really cool to be able to give back and share," she says. "I can help others on their paths toward following their dreams." - Berklee College of Music - Alumni Feature

(ML8)-Okay kids, I’m about to make a shameless confession, so brace yourselves. In the past two years, I have paid full price for only three albums: Oli Rockberger’s “Old Habits” (which should be transcribed note for note by those of you who have the patience and/or skill set), Lana Del Rey’s “Born to Die” (which I’ve listened to on repeat, mostly because I feel like I’m supposed to like it), and Hannah Christianson’s “The Part That Knows.” A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet Hannah and have since had the honor of getting to know her a bit. I know sentences like that are normally cheesy, but I mean it. She is that particular brand of lovely that inspires painters to paint and singers to sing. “The Part That Knows” suggests she must have met her counterpart at some point in the last several years. The album does a wonderful job of balancing songs both sugar-sweet (“Let’s be Frisbees”) and piercingly melancholy (“You’re Not Mine”), like a love story meant to be told and retold. Speaking of things that are well-rehearsed, Hannah has gathered a plethora of talented young artists for this project that definitely deserve accolades for their stunning contributions. However, to avoid (in my case) the ever-looming danger of stretching a feature too far, I’ll quickly list them here (super quickly…I’m typing so fast, you guys): Ben Marino, Sara Cristal Pena Coffin, Mark Hadley, Ro Rowan, Rosie Samter, Ada Pasternik, Maria Kowalski, Sean Tracy, Gray Bashew, Andrew Sarlo, Marley Harmon, Vivian Aguiar-Buff, Karien De Waal, and Gabriela Jimeno. Hannah herself demonstrates impeccable control over both her voice and the piano. Bostonians can check out her duo on September 21st at Qi the Inner Gym. The rest of you can hear more from Hannah Christianson on the Internet for now. - yeah, uh-huh. a music blog.

“Hannah accompanies herself on piano and guitar with confidence and panache, and her music and lyrics are irresistible, filled with joy, humor and love of life. I’m not sure if she is capable of writing a non-catchy tune. The whole world will be singing Hannah’s songs sometime very soon.” - Professor, Berklee College of Music

“A good mix of sweetness and pop sensibility with an engaging voice that sounds like fine wine.” - Director of Social Media, CD Baby

“Hannah has this high energy that is just addicting; she has no fear. As cliché as it may sound, she has it! The looks, sound and the absolute talent and energy to do it. The other thing that is important, at least to me, is that she understands that it is not those things that I mentioned about looks and such that are important, it is having the heart and commitment to what she feels is true to her art.” - Grateheart Productions

“What may be most impressive about Hannah, though, are her unique vocals and her knack for writing pretty melodies and great hooks. … Sometimes you forget you’re dealing with a teenager when you hear songs like the sultry “The Day My Heart Stopped Singing,” the Spanish language comedy of “Tito,” and the hopeful, deep “Opportunity.” And the list goes on and on of original songs the caliber of which you don’t hear a lot of in this area.” - High Plains Reader