| One listen to Leaving on a mayday, Anna Ternheim's third album, silences the harbingers of doom, with their talk of the "difficult third album". With producer Björn Yttling, she has recorded a set of songs with a self-evidence and rough authority which few artists are able to reach. Instead of taking the safe road, Anna and Björn approach the music without compromise: the songs are crystal clear, direct in their approach and refuse to hide behind any big arrangements or sonic tricks. The instrumentation is sparse, and the focus on Anna is total. Leaving on a mayday saw the first light of day during the summer of 2007 when Anna contacted Björn about working together on the new record. She'd just finished her spring tour following the Separation Road album, culminating in a sold out show at Stockholm's 3500 capacity Annexet venue. All she knew then was that she needed to take the new album in a different direction. To let it build upon the vocals and the lyrics. Björn understood what she was looking for and told her: "Listen to Nina Simone, Bob Marley and Cornelis Vreeswijk. Be inspired, and call me in six months!" Having stood astride on Annexets stage, playing bombastic, dark pop, it felt natural to walk a different path this time. For me, the end of each album recording has been the start of the next album, like some sort of reaction against what you've dug deep into, dreamt about and worked fanatically with… until you get bored and end up not wanting anything to do with it, says Anna Ternheim. After a New York show in October 2007, Anna and Björn met again and he liked the new material Anna showed him. After the Christmas holidays the two of them entered a rehearsal space with jazz-drummer Fredrik Rundqvist and started working with the music. It's been incredibly inspiring to work with Björn, he's reminded me of how I used to sing when I was a child, letting the melodies and voice roam freely... Shortly thereafter, the classic Atlantis Studio in Stockholm was booked and the foundations of the album were recorded live, including the strings. Theatre music While Anna and Björn were working with the new album during the winter, she was contacted by Anna Takanen, artistic director at the Gothenburg Theatre. For the play "Storstadsljus", the internationally acclaimed director Stefan Metz had been listening a lot to Anna's 2007 e.p. "Lovers Dream". Anna accepted the offer to write the music for the play, and enlisted her old producer Andreas Dahlbäck to help her arrange and record all the music for the production. "Storstadsljus" premiered in march 2008 to widespread critical acclaim. US-release and touring Things got rather intense for a while when both music for album and theatre needed to be written. To further add pressure, a combination of her first two albums were released in the US on the distinguished Decca Records label. During the spring of 2008 Anna had to schedule several trips for interviews, shows and planning for the release. She also found time to hit the road with El Perro Del Mar and Lykke Li for a joint tour. Shortly thereafter she returned for an opening slot with experimental folk-singer Joseph Arthur on his US-tour. Anna realised that the constant travelling would become a problem and has now moved to New York. Mainly it was coincidence, I would have moved to Åbo if the need to work with my music in Finland was there. All change releases energy and creativity with me, it's always been that way. Changing environment is a way to get new ideas. Thus Anna and Björn finished Leaving on a mayday in the Sear Sound studio in New York. The result became an album where Annas initial focus on letting the songs rely on vocals and lyrics has been fulfilled and refined with a delicate hand by Björn Yttling. It's naked in it's approach, without becoming pleasing in it's sound. The lyrics are front-row and sees Anna writing in a new sense. Several songs on my new album have got more of a story-telling character, says Anna. I've been touring alot abroad on my own, and acoustically, and then I've only had my voice and lyrics to lean on. It's a natural progression that they tell a story. A couple of american musicians participate on the album. Steve Shelley, drummer of Sonic Youth and guitarist Matt Sweeney who lately has been something of Rick Rubins house-guitarist. Sweeney has played on albums with Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Cat Power, Bonnie Prince Billy and Dixie Chicks among others. Anna probably sums it up best when she exclaims: The last album was like a black, shiny, heavy stone. Leaving on a mayday is a bit like a dirty white feather, but yet austere. Artwork On Leaving on a mayday, the renowned artist Helena Blomkvist has created the sleeve. Anna saw her photos for the exhibition The Dark Planet and immediately felt that she wanted to work with Helena for the new album's pictures. It turned out that Helena had been listening to Annas music a lot while preparing the pictures for the exhibition. I was drawn to the tone of her pictures - they display something dark and surreal that hit me straight in the heart, says Anna. I contacted her last summer and was thrilled when she agreed to work with me. Information on Helena Blomqvist can be found at: http://www.knapperbaumgarten.c...vist.htm Releases and awards
The producer Producer Björn Yttling is a member of successful swedish band Peter, Bjorn & John. He has produced albums with among others Lykke Li, Primal Scream, Shout Out Louds, Sahara Hotnighs and Taken By Trees (Victoria Bergsman of The Concretes) in recent years. Leaving on a mayday is out now in Sweden and will be released internationally mid-february 2009. |