Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg
Kongsberg, NO
Rock / Jazz
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About
Hanne Hukkelberg Rykestrasse 68(pronounced Hanna Who-kel-burg)
* Inspired by her 6 months in Berlin - new Nettwerk signing Hanne Hukkelberg releases her second album - Rykestrasse 68.
* Features studio version of her take on Pixies classic “Break My Body”
* UK edition will also include a live version of “Searching” (the studio version from the their debut album, Little Things, is currently being used by Space NK in their cinema and TV ad campaign: http://www.spacenk.co.uk/SpaceNK/discovery.aspx)
* UK tour May 24th - June 6th
Norwegian singer Hanne Hukkelberg's 2005 debut album Little Things was a charming impression of life in Oslo, notable for its imaginative use of found sounds and eclectic array of instrumentation. Her elfin but idiosyncratic persona coupled with a lazily seductive voice drew comparisons to everyone from Joanna Newsom and Björk, to Stina Nordenstam and Billie Holliday.
Her sophomore album Rykestrasse 68
, her first since signing to Canadian label Nettwerk, is a tribute to the six months she recently spent living in Berlin and is far less whimsical, with a moodier, more widescreen production. Like her debut, it was produced by Kåre Vestrheim at Propeller Studios in Oslo and features contributions from the cream of the Norwegian music scene, including members of Jaga Jazzist, Dinosau and Shining.
While it shares its predecessor's wide-eyed wonderment, Hukkelberg's experimentation reaches maturity here. The album is awash with inventive flourishes, with rhythm tracks constructed from the clacking of typewriters, kitchen utensils, a cat purring or the spinning of a bicycle wheel. Producer Vestrheim melds vibes, glockenspiel and theremin with wheezing brass and sonorous strings, giving the album a wonderfully creaky ambience akin to Emiliana Torrini, Múm and even Tom Waits. Opener “Berlin” is transformed by the addition of atmospheric street sounds, while “A Cheater's Armoury” is perhaps the most overtly jazz influenced track here and comes with a video directed by award winning MTV animator Andreas Palegolas (also included on the album).
However, Hukkelberg's lyrical concerns are ambiguous. It's for the listener to glean the meanings of “Obelix”, (the finest paean to a feline since Red House Painter's 'Wop-A-Din-Din'), sits alongside “The Pirate” (a lonely death at sea) or “Ticking Bomb”.
Rykestrasse
's defining moment is an extraordinary interpretation of the Pixies classic “Break My Body”, a perennial live favourite re-cast as an evocative sea shanty that Hukkelberg manages to invade so completely as to make the song her own. Pixies manager Ken Goes was moved to say: "Of the dozens and dozens of Pixies covers over the years, Hanne's is my favourite."
An album of contrasts, it is a testament to Hukkelberg's skill that she manages to make such a personal work so inviting. As well as the aforementioned video, the UK edition of the album also includes a live version of “Searching”, the original version of which (from Little Things) is currently being used as the soundtrack for Space NK's TV and cinema advertising campaign.
Hukkelberg started singing and playing instruments in her home town of Kongsberg, Norway at the age of 3 and later played in various jazz, rock and free jazz bands including a high school heavy metal act called Funeral. A graduate of the Norwegian Academy of Music, she has also gained a reputation as a powerful live performer, her shows full of typically Scandinavian absurdist humour. An extensive European tour with a full band has been arranged for the spring with English dates set for May 24th - June 6th.
01. Berlin 5:13
02. A Cheater's Armoury 3:39
03. The Pirate 4:36
04. Fourteen 4:10
05. The North Wind 4:00
06. Obelix 3:09
07. Break My Body 4:05
08. Ticking bomb 4:58
09. Pynt 5:47
BONUS TRACKS:
10. Searching (live) 4:39
11. A Cheater's Armoury (video) 3:35
Words and music by Hanne Hukkelberg. except "Fourteen" by Hanne Hukkelberg and Ivar Grydeland and "Break My Body" by Black Francis. “Ticking Bomb” contains excerpts from JS Bach's Preludium in C minor from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier. Arranged by Hanne Hukkelberg and Kåre Chr. Vestrheim. Recorded and mixed at Propeller Music Division by Kåre Chr. Vestrheim and Mike Hartung. Additional recordings at Bruket. Mastered by Mike Hartung. Assisted by Hasse Rosbach
Hanne Hukkelberg: vocals, choir, wurlitzer legs, snaps and claps, nylon string guitar, solina, piano, glockenspiel, tack piano, chandelier, bass drum, metal can, kettles, ball, knife, radio, flute, bottle on table, money, synth, bicycle wheel, mellotron, celeste, remington 20 typewriter, percussion, drums, mouth rhythms, meditation bowl, banjo wooden shoe, cutlery, kitchen utensils, tempura, keys
with
Kåre Chr. Vestrheim: vibrafonette, solina, snaps and claps, electic guitar, nylon string guitar, accordian, mandolin, cymbal, optigan, synths, zither, glockenspiel, keys, acoustic guitar, china gongs, echo box, guitar, trash can
Henning Sandsdalen: accoustic guitars, eko bass, double bass, slide guitar, lap steel guitar Lena Nymark: flute, vocals, mouth rhythms
Peter Baden: drums, percussion, music box on cymbal, xylophone
Erland Daken: cymbals, drums, percussion
Bjørn Klakegg: tea strainer guitar, music box, fishing-reel guitar, carriage wheel spokes, eggslicer, metal wind-up toy, snake banjo, metal feather
Yngvil F.Bjellaanes: cello
Jørgen Munkeby: sax, bass clarinet
Liv Hukkelberg: tack piano
Thomas Tofte: electric bass
Lars Horntveth: bass clarinet
Daniel Sanden-Warg: processed key fiddle
Obelix: purring
Rykestraße 68, Berlin: city sounds
Lonely Hearts Marching Bands: brass
Praise for Little Things
“Little Things demands to be heard and cherished for its audacious beauty.” ***** (five stars) - The Sunday Times
“Enchanting debut... equal parts Stina Nordenstam and Nina Simone. Fans of CocoRosie take note.” **** (four stars) - Uncut
“Hukkelberg's soothing and emotive voice... threads into a universe that we defy you to label. Gloriously leftfield and strangely intimate.” **** (four stars) - DJ
“The best instrument of all is Hanne's voice... a Northern light shining bright.” **** (four stars) - The Sun
“Staggeringly original and brimming with unusual charm.” 8/10 - Rock Sound
“Alternately as big as a dream and as intimate as a whisper.” **** (four stars) - iDJ
“Warm whispers seem to dance in the air and the meaning of music is revealed....subtle and moving.” *** (three stars) - Observer Music Monthly
“Makes you think of Björk's little sister, stoned and let loose in the Early Learning Centre.” - N.M.E.
"It's a perfect accompaniment for hamsters to fall in love to, or for little boys to look up the skirts of happy little girls" - Plan B
“Altogether a wonderful debut album.” - Straight No Chaser
"'windswept eccentric pop meets dusty jazz' doesn't do its weirdly bubbling delights justice" - The Telegraph
“Very clever and very pretty - moments of real loveliness" - Word
"Little Things is rooted in the strength of an extraordinary ordinariness and that's what makes Hukkelberg's album so compelling.” - The Wire
