Unni Løvlid

http://www.independentmusicawards.com/imanominee/13th/Album/World-Traditional - Unni Løvlid

A hushed crowd listened intently last weekend to Unni Lovlid of Norway sing and hum in her contemporary, distinctive style on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center.
You know how sometimes (all the time?) you just need a little something to soothe your mind without having to think about it? Like pressing "refresh" and mental ocean waves sweep through your brain, calming tired wires. You've experienced that, no? Ms. Lovlid’s voice, Hakon Thelin's double bass, and Ingar Hunskaar's magic with electronics are the remedy Dr. Healer ordered for a weary state.
Unni Lovlid and Hakon Thelin at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage/Patricia Leslie

Ms. Lovlid is known for her contemporary folk music, talents she developed on the west coast of Norway, sharpening her ear for years under the tutelage of older women, especially her mother, who sing and perform.
If you closed your eyes and allowed your ears and mind to fill with the sounds, her soft chants and humming carried you away to a religious experience at a monastery.
Unni Lovlid is projected on the big screen with its black lines at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage/Patricia Leslie

With a distinctive, clear voice, reminiscent of a mix of Buffy Sainte Marie and Joan Baez, Ms. Lovlid hypnotized the standing room only crowd with her stare and slight smile, gazing intently upon the crowd while she sang or watched Mr. Thelin, a Norwegian Grammy award-winner, play solo.
They performed a northern lights number which had the power to summon the northern lights even for those audience members who have never seen the northern lights, with mighty sounds of roaring water which ebbed and flowed with all their friction, compounded by the rumblings of an earthquake.
Hakon Thelin projected on the big screen at the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage/Patricia Leslie
In 2006 Ms. Lovlid was named Norway's "Traditional Musician of the Year," and soon, Mr. Thelin's and her new album will be out. This is Ms. Lovlid's first performance in the U.S. - Washington Speaks

UNNI LØVLID
«Rite»
Unni Løvlid (v, bassynth, hardingfele), Hild Sofie Tafjord (prog, frhorn, elec), Lene Grenager (c), Håkon Kornstad (synth, prog), Helge Norbakken (perk), Frode Haltli (acc), Ingar Hunskaar (synth, glockenspiel, prog), Den Norske Operas Barnekor (v), Ragnhild Furubotn (vio), Helge Sten (elek)
GRAPPA GRCD 4223
Kvederen Unni Løvlid er en av de musikerne som har bidratt mest til å gjøre den norske folkemusikktradisjon-en mer tilgjengelig for folk utenfor det hardbarkede folkemusikkmiljøet. Hun er en artist som går sine egne veier, men med klare røtter i den norske tradisjonen. På «Rite» har hun alliert seg med en rekke musikere innenfor den improviserte musikken, og resultatet må betraktes som noe av det vakreste som er kommet ut av musikk fra «cross-over»-avdelingen siden Jan Garbareks samarbeid med Agnes Buen Garnås for en del år siden.
All musikken er neddempet, lyrisk og ytterst vakker. Løvlid synger med en stemme som passer helt perfekt inn i tradisjonen, samtidig som musikerne legger et aldeles nydelig bakteppe. Hør bare på den utrolig vakre «Bak vaker verda» med innslag fra Den Norske Operas Barne-kor. Perfekt!
Mesteparten av musikken er produsert av Ingar Hunskaar og er gjort med stor respekt for opphavet. I tillegg er plat-en utstyrt med et utsøkt coverdesign, gjort av Rune Mortensen med Geir Dokk-ens perfekte fotografier.
En nydelig innspilling som du slett ikke trenger å være stamgjest på Landskappleiken for å få et nært og godt forhold til. Denne kommer til å surre i spilleren på Jazznyttkontoret i lang, lang tid. Og hvorfor ikke få prosjektet på en jazzfestival i løpet av året?
Jan Granlie - Jazznytt, Jan Granlie

UNNI LØVLID
«Rite»
Unni Løvlid (v, bassynth, hardingfele), Hild Sofie Tafjord (prog, frhorn, elec), Lene Grenager (c), Håkon Kornstad (synth, prog), Helge Norbakken (perk), Frode Haltli (acc), Ingar Hunskaar (synth, glockenspiel, prog), Den Norske Operas Barnekor (v), Ragnhild Furubotn (vio), Helge Sten (elek)
GRAPPA GRCD 4223
Kvederen Unni Løvlid er en av de musikerne som har bidratt mest til å gjøre den norske folkemusikktradisjon-en mer tilgjengelig for folk utenfor det hardbarkede folkemusikkmiljøet. Hun er en artist som går sine egne veier, men med klare røtter i den norske tradisjonen. På «Rite» har hun alliert seg med en rekke musikere innenfor den improviserte musikken, og resultatet må betraktes som noe av det vakreste som er kommet ut av musikk fra «cross-over»-avdelingen siden Jan Garbareks samarbeid med Agnes Buen Garnås for en del år siden.
All musikken er neddempet, lyrisk og ytterst vakker. Løvlid synger med en stemme som passer helt perfekt inn i tradisjonen, samtidig som musikerne legger et aldeles nydelig bakteppe. Hør bare på den utrolig vakre «Bak vaker verda» med innslag fra Den Norske Operas Barne-kor. Perfekt!
Mesteparten av musikken er produsert av Ingar Hunskaar og er gjort med stor respekt for opphavet. I tillegg er plat-en utstyrt med et utsøkt coverdesign, gjort av Rune Mortensen med Geir Dokk-ens perfekte fotografier.
En nydelig innspilling som du slett ikke trenger å være stamgjest på Landskappleiken for å få et nært og godt forhold til. Denne kommer til å surre i spilleren på Jazznyttkontoret i lang, lang tid. Og hvorfor ikke få prosjektet på en jazzfestival i løpet av året?
Jan Granlie - Jazznytt, Jan Granlie

Every once in awhile, an album emerges that is so singular that it appears to have dropped out of the sky like a diamond meteorite. Such is the case with the Norwegian vocalist Unni Lovlid's latest CD, Rite. In these days of post-folk, where bedroom laptop gurus deconstruct guitar chords and gauzy field samples, the human touch has migrated to anonymous microchip forests. Unni Lovlid's chief instrument, however, is her remarkable voice, as pure as a stream's refracted light and as lulling and seductive as a ripe moon. On Rite, Lovlid takes her voice into the dark organic wildwood of an imagination shadowed with possibilities: she gives birth to an art music of soothing strangeness.

There is a skittering anxiety to the sound here, akin to some of the glitchy electronica that comes out of the Nordic countries these days. But even this description isn't entirely accurate, as there is a fragile nature to these tunes, as if the songs were made of ice in an underground cavern, dripping and melting away should the sun get too close. "Morketid (Polar Night)" has this quality, the incorporated blips and bleeps a reflecting pool for the French horn that drifts through the song. Or take "Her Moter Eg Deg (I meet you here)," which begins with dark, dark cello strings, like the shadow of branches moving across the wall, and Lovlid caressing the motion as an accordion moves in, then swooping as a choir takes shape. "Bak Vaker Verda (Behind, the world keeps watch)" combines slow percussion over what sounds like a rasping whisper, and the Norwegian National Opera Children's Choir plays off of Lovlid's voice. A horn blows. There is stillness. and tension; innocence, and terror; anticipation, and unease. I haven't heard the like before.

Lovlid's lyrics are gorgeous, abstractly defined poetic moments. On "Evig Einsam Kveld (Lonely, never-ending dusk)" she sings: "I turn the moon/I turn the sun/I throw the embers/into the innermost stream/I bend every beam that reaches earth/to create lonely, never-ending dusk." Rite is full of such modern spells. Combined with what sounds like Lovlid performing a distorted keening in the background over low, moss-eating rumbles, time itself seems to stop.

Full marks must also go the art direction accompanying the CD: on the cover, a bird dives, piercing into the earth; in the interior, a house is ripped from the ground, flying, while a tree is displayed with its roots in the same unstable ground. Rite creates an entire landscape of sound, and no musical work of the past year approaches Lovlid's artistic vision of harrowing, humming fertility. Listening to Rite is to participate in its unnerving mystery. - Lee Blackstone - RootsWorld, Lee Blackstone

Every once in awhile, an album emerges that is so singular that it appears to have dropped out of the sky like a diamond meteorite. Such is the case with the Norwegian vocalist Unni Lovlid's latest CD, Rite. In these days of post-folk, where bedroom laptop gurus deconstruct guitar chords and gauzy field samples, the human touch has migrated to anonymous microchip forests. Unni Lovlid's chief instrument, however, is her remarkable voice, as pure as a stream's refracted light and as lulling and seductive as a ripe moon. On Rite, Lovlid takes her voice into the dark organic wildwood of an imagination shadowed with possibilities: she gives birth to an art music of soothing strangeness.

There is a skittering anxiety to the sound here, akin to some of the glitchy electronica that comes out of the Nordic countries these days. But even this description isn't entirely accurate, as there is a fragile nature to these tunes, as if the songs were made of ice in an underground cavern, dripping and melting away should the sun get too close. "Morketid (Polar Night)" has this quality, the incorporated blips and bleeps a reflecting pool for the French horn that drifts through the song. Or take "Her Moter Eg Deg (I meet you here)," which begins with dark, dark cello strings, like the shadow of branches moving across the wall, and Lovlid caressing the motion as an accordion moves in, then swooping as a choir takes shape. "Bak Vaker Verda (Behind, the world keeps watch)" combines slow percussion over what sounds like a rasping whisper, and the Norwegian National Opera Children's Choir plays off of Lovlid's voice. A horn blows. There is stillness. and tension; innocence, and terror; anticipation, and unease. I haven't heard the like before.

Lovlid's lyrics are gorgeous, abstractly defined poetic moments. On "Evig Einsam Kveld (Lonely, never-ending dusk)" she sings: "I turn the moon/I turn the sun/I throw the embers/into the innermost stream/I bend every beam that reaches earth/to create lonely, never-ending dusk." Rite is full of such modern spells. Combined with what sounds like Lovlid performing a distorted keening in the background over low, moss-eating rumbles, time itself seems to stop.

Full marks must also go the art direction accompanying the CD: on the cover, a bird dives, piercing into the earth; in the interior, a house is ripped from the ground, flying, while a tree is displayed with its roots in the same unstable ground. Rite creates an entire landscape of sound, and no musical work of the past year approaches Lovlid's artistic vision of harrowing, humming fertility. Listening to Rite is to participate in its unnerving mystery. - Lee Blackstone - RootsWorld, Lee Blackstone

World Music Central's contributors have released the editor's top world music picks of 2008:
Angel Romero, World Music Central/Músicas del Mundo (USA)
Various Artists - Big Blue Ball (Real World, 2008)
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall (World Circuit/Nonesuch, 2008)
Plena Libre - Plena Al Salsero (GM Musica, 2008)
Dub Colossus - A Town Called Addis (Real World, 2008)
El Lebrijano - Cuando Lebrijano Canta Se Moja El Agua (Rosevil, 2008)
Issa Bagayogo - Mali Koura (Six Degrees, 2008)
Sa Dingding - Alive (Wrasse Records WRASS 213, 2007)
Crooked Still - Still Crooked (Signature Sounds, 2008)
Unni Løvlid - Rite (Grappa GRCD4223, 2008)
Etran Finatawa - Desert Crossroads (Riverboat Records/World Music Network TUGCD 1048, 2008)
Jamshied Sharifi - One (Ceres Records CER001, 2008)
Mamak Khadem - Jostojoo (Forever Seeking) (Banyan Tree Production, 2008) - World Music Central

World Music Central's contributors have released the editor's top world music picks of 2008:
Angel Romero, World Music Central/Músicas del Mundo (USA)
Various Artists - Big Blue Ball (Real World, 2008)
Buena Vista Social Club - Buena Vista Social Club At Carnegie Hall (World Circuit/Nonesuch, 2008)
Plena Libre - Plena Al Salsero (GM Musica, 2008)
Dub Colossus - A Town Called Addis (Real World, 2008)
El Lebrijano - Cuando Lebrijano Canta Se Moja El Agua (Rosevil, 2008)
Issa Bagayogo - Mali Koura (Six Degrees, 2008)
Sa Dingding - Alive (Wrasse Records WRASS 213, 2007)
Crooked Still - Still Crooked (Signature Sounds, 2008)
Unni Løvlid - Rite (Grappa GRCD4223, 2008)
Etran Finatawa - Desert Crossroads (Riverboat Records/World Music Network TUGCD 1048, 2008)
Jamshied Sharifi - One (Ceres Records CER001, 2008)
Mamak Khadem - Jostojoo (Forever Seeking) (Banyan Tree Production, 2008) - World Music Central

Ein beeindruckendes Album legt die 1976 geborene Musikerin Unni Løvlid mit ihrer CD "Rite" vor - mystisch-melancholische Musik mit hohem künstlerischen Anspruch.

Moderne Klangmalerei verbindet Unni Løvlid mit norwegischer Folklore unter Verwendung von Elementen aus den Bereichen Ambient und Elektronik. Das Ergebnis ist eine Musik, die extrem abgehoben, aber zugleich ungemein fesselnd ist. Auf fließenden und pulsierenden, gelegentlich an Björk erinnernden, Klang- und Rhythmusstrukturen legt sie ihre zarte klare Stimme und intoniert zauberhafte Melodien.

Drei Jahre ist es her, dass sie ihre CD "Vita" veröffentlichte. Und wie auf "Vita" präsentiert sie auch auf der neuen CD ausschließlich eigene Kompositionen. Unni Løvlid ist eine umtriebige Künstlerin. Sie ist an mehreren Musikprojekten beteiligt, die in den Genren norwegische Folklore, zeitgenössische Musik und Elektronika tätig sind. Und als wäre es das einfachste der Welt, verbindet sie in ihrer eigenen Musik all diese Einflüsse zu einem neuen einzigartigen Sound.

Unni Løvlid ist eine der bekanntesten norwegischen Folksängerinnen und die erste Künstlerin, die im Rahmen des Folkelarm Festivals 2006 als "Musiker des Jahres" nominiert wurde. 2007 wurde ihr der Spellemann-Preis in der Kategorie "zeitgenössische Musik" verliehen.

"Rite" ist ein echtes Meisterwerk einer beeindruckenden Künstlerin. - Weltmusik-magazin

Ein beeindruckendes Album legt die 1976 geborene Musikerin Unni Løvlid mit ihrer CD "Rite" vor - mystisch-melancholische Musik mit hohem künstlerischen Anspruch.

Moderne Klangmalerei verbindet Unni Løvlid mit norwegischer Folklore unter Verwendung von Elementen aus den Bereichen Ambient und Elektronik. Das Ergebnis ist eine Musik, die extrem abgehoben, aber zugleich ungemein fesselnd ist. Auf fließenden und pulsierenden, gelegentlich an Björk erinnernden, Klang- und Rhythmusstrukturen legt sie ihre zarte klare Stimme und intoniert zauberhafte Melodien.

Drei Jahre ist es her, dass sie ihre CD "Vita" veröffentlichte. Und wie auf "Vita" präsentiert sie auch auf der neuen CD ausschließlich eigene Kompositionen. Unni Løvlid ist eine umtriebige Künstlerin. Sie ist an mehreren Musikprojekten beteiligt, die in den Genren norwegische Folklore, zeitgenössische Musik und Elektronika tätig sind. Und als wäre es das einfachste der Welt, verbindet sie in ihrer eigenen Musik all diese Einflüsse zu einem neuen einzigartigen Sound.

Unni Løvlid ist eine der bekanntesten norwegischen Folksängerinnen und die erste Künstlerin, die im Rahmen des Folkelarm Festivals 2006 als "Musiker des Jahres" nominiert wurde. 2007 wurde ihr der Spellemann-Preis in der Kategorie "zeitgenössische Musik" verliehen.

"Rite" ist ein echtes Meisterwerk einer beeindruckenden Künstlerin. - Weltmusik-magazin

Rite
(2008, Grappa/Galileo GRCD 4223)

Die Creme de la Creme norwegischer Musiker konnte sie für ihr düster-stilles »Rite« gewinnen: Akkordeon-Spieler Frode Haltli (mit dem Unni Løvlid bei Rusk musiziert), der meisterhafte Avantgarde-Saxofonist Håkon Kornstad, Perkussionist Helge Norrbakken (tätig bei Kari Bremnes oder Mari Boine) oder Elektroniker Helge S. Sten von Supersilent erschaffen zusammen mit der Sängerin ein zwar auf norwegischer Folklore basierendes Programm, das seine Fühler jedoch in alle Richtungen ausstreckt: Sample-Mystik und Elektronik bei »Bak Vaker Verda«, verfremdete Glöckchen beim stillen »Mørketid« und das fast an die isländischen Mum erinnernde »Vind, Kom«.

Die neblig verhangene Skurrilität setzt sich in der Covergestaltung stimmig fort: Eine Hütte fliegt über regengraues Hochfjell; rechts daneben spielt sich ein kahler Baum in den Erdboden. Unnis dritte CD zieht hypnotisch in ihren Bann und wirkt mitunter verstörend, immer jedoch faszinierend. (peb) - Nordische Musik

Rite
(2008, Grappa/Galileo GRCD 4223)

Die Creme de la Creme norwegischer Musiker konnte sie für ihr düster-stilles »Rite« gewinnen: Akkordeon-Spieler Frode Haltli (mit dem Unni Løvlid bei Rusk musiziert), der meisterhafte Avantgarde-Saxofonist Håkon Kornstad, Perkussionist Helge Norrbakken (tätig bei Kari Bremnes oder Mari Boine) oder Elektroniker Helge S. Sten von Supersilent erschaffen zusammen mit der Sängerin ein zwar auf norwegischer Folklore basierendes Programm, das seine Fühler jedoch in alle Richtungen ausstreckt: Sample-Mystik und Elektronik bei »Bak Vaker Verda«, verfremdete Glöckchen beim stillen »Mørketid« und das fast an die isländischen Mum erinnernde »Vind, Kom«.

Die neblig verhangene Skurrilität setzt sich in der Covergestaltung stimmig fort: Eine Hütte fliegt über regengraues Hochfjell; rechts daneben spielt sich ein kahler Baum in den Erdboden. Unnis dritte CD zieht hypnotisch in ihren Bann und wirkt mitunter verstörend, immer jedoch faszinierend. (peb) - Nordische Musik

Although she's best known as a Norwegian folksinger, Unni Løvlid refuses to play to type. Her excellent trio Rusk, with fiddler Vegar Vårdal and accordionist Frode Haltli, has made two albums of more or less traditional music, but I first heard her when she released her 2005 solo album Vita (Heilo), an a cappella recording made inside the Emanuel Vigeland mausoleum on which she artfully employs the eerie acoustics of the space to swathe her ethereal voice in thick, milky reverb.

Despite Løvlid's penchant for experimentation, I was surprised by her new solo album, Rite (Grappa), where her original tunes are layered in appealing electronics and subtle orchestrations, creating a sound somewhere between Norwegian folk and hypnotic pop. Among those enlisted to play on the album were Haltli (who's also a serious composer and experimenter), saxophonist Håkon Kornstad (Wibutee), French horn player and noisician Hild Sofie Tafjord (Fe-Mail, Spunk), and electronic soundscaper Helge Sten (Supersilent). This sort of stylistic duality seems widespread in Norway, and I don't think the small size of the country's population can explain it away--these folks have open ears.

Løvlid's tender voice is the focal point, but the ingenious and richly varied arrangements help conjure a wide array of moods. The densely braided long tones on cello, accordion, and French horn in "Her Møter Eg Deg" remind me of a beatless Radiohead, but the vocals have such gossamer elegance and depth--Løvlid multitracks several contrapuntal parts--that the end result doesn't sound like anything else out there. Even the textures and ambiences inherent to Norwegian folk styles seem slippery in this context--you can hear them in there, but they don't make the total package any easier to figure out. Rite is a stunning piece of work, and it makes me anticipate Løvlid's next album even more. - Chicago reader

Although she's best known as a Norwegian folksinger, Unni Løvlid refuses to play to type. Her excellent trio Rusk, with fiddler Vegar Vårdal and accordionist Frode Haltli, has made two albums of more or less traditional music, but I first heard her when she released her 2005 solo album Vita (Heilo), an a cappella recording made inside the Emanuel Vigeland mausoleum on which she artfully employs the eerie acoustics of the space to swathe her ethereal voice in thick, milky reverb.

Despite Løvlid's penchant for experimentation, I was surprised by her new solo album, Rite (Grappa), where her original tunes are layered in appealing electronics and subtle orchestrations, creating a sound somewhere between Norwegian folk and hypnotic pop. Among those enlisted to play on the album were Haltli (who's also a serious composer and experimenter), saxophonist Håkon Kornstad (Wibutee), French horn player and noisician Hild Sofie Tafjord (Fe-Mail, Spunk), and electronic soundscaper Helge Sten (Supersilent). This sort of stylistic duality seems widespread in Norway, and I don't think the small size of the country's population can explain it away--these folks have open ears.

Løvlid's tender voice is the focal point, but the ingenious and richly varied arrangements help conjure a wide array of moods. The densely braided long tones on cello, accordion, and French horn in "Her Møter Eg Deg" remind me of a beatless Radiohead, but the vocals have such gossamer elegance and depth--Løvlid multitracks several contrapuntal parts--that the end result doesn't sound like anything else out there. Even the textures and ambiences inherent to Norwegian folk styles seem slippery in this context--you can hear them in there, but they don't make the total package any easier to figure out. Rite is a stunning piece of work, and it makes me anticipate Løvlid's next album even more. - Chicago reader

Unni Løvlid is a Norwegian singer who has just released her third CD called Rite. Her debut was in 1999 with So ro liten tull a CD with sixty three children songs. A sweet, nice maybe even a bit naïf album. In 2005 she launched Vita an album with, more or less, traditional vocals. Now in 2008 she released Rite, a surprisingly different album than the first two. Eight own compositions, still some traditional elements, but programming and other electronics took over. The result is a pure, adventures and mystical album. You can hear the Norwegian landscapes, the wind and the cold nights in her music. Vind kom is a fragile song and a nice start of the album. Fantastic is Her møter eg deg. The dark and deep sound of the cello, an accordion sounds somewhere in the distance and than, when the French horn starts to play, I cant escape anymore. It’s a song like a dream that takes plays in a dark night, in a dark and deep forest. On Bak vaker verda she continues this dark atmosphere with well placed electronic sounds and a sample of a children’s choir. It’s like angels sing me to sleep, but I know that when I fall asleep they will get to me and that scares me. On Mørketid you can hear the sound of ice, this song reflects the Polar night. Sanning is only vocals and Hardanger fiddle, a song like a whisper. You have to listen very carefully to hear it. The same for Eg drikke din raude vin in which she only uses her voice. The CD ends with Portrett probably the most dark composition on this album. As if an unknown danger is slowly coming towards us. Rite is definitely her best album and one of the best examples of modern Norwegian dark-folk I have heard in a long time. It’s music that makes me fantasise, that scares me and on the other hand fascinates me from the first to the last second.
www.unni.no
Eelco Schilder - FolkWorld

Unni Løvlid is a Norwegian singer who has just released her third CD called Rite. Her debut was in 1999 with So ro liten tull a CD with sixty three children songs. A sweet, nice maybe even a bit naïf album. In 2005 she launched Vita an album with, more or less, traditional vocals. Now in 2008 she released Rite, a surprisingly different album than the first two. Eight own compositions, still some traditional elements, but programming and other electronics took over. The result is a pure, adventures and mystical album. You can hear the Norwegian landscapes, the wind and the cold nights in her music. Vind kom is a fragile song and a nice start of the album. Fantastic is Her møter eg deg. The dark and deep sound of the cello, an accordion sounds somewhere in the distance and than, when the French horn starts to play, I cant escape anymore. It’s a song like a dream that takes plays in a dark night, in a dark and deep forest. On Bak vaker verda she continues this dark atmosphere with well placed electronic sounds and a sample of a children’s choir. It’s like angels sing me to sleep, but I know that when I fall asleep they will get to me and that scares me. On Mørketid you can hear the sound of ice, this song reflects the Polar night. Sanning is only vocals and Hardanger fiddle, a song like a whisper. You have to listen very carefully to hear it. The same for Eg drikke din raude vin in which she only uses her voice. The CD ends with Portrett probably the most dark composition on this album. As if an unknown danger is slowly coming towards us. Rite is definitely her best album and one of the best examples of modern Norwegian dark-folk I have heard in a long time. It’s music that makes me fantasise, that scares me and on the other hand fascinates me from the first to the last second.
www.unni.no
Eelco Schilder - FolkWorld