Hanne Boel THE TRIO – Norwegian Recordings

‚Ein Nacht-Album‘ unter dem Motto ’Weniger ist mehr’. Mit ruhigen, raffinierten Arrangements, geschmackvoller Instrumentierung und beeindruckendem Gitarrenspiel interpretiert Hanne Boels Trio die Songs, die im Kern Live Versionen sind.

 ‚Wir haben einfach die zehn besten Songs, von denen wir Live-Versionen hatten, für das Album ausgewählt. Deshalb gibt es eine Version von einem Song wie ‚Light In Your Heart‘, der aus dem Jahr 1990 stammt, und ‚Between Dark and Daylight‘ vom gleichnamigen Album, das erst drei Jahre alt ist und ich muss unsere Bearbeitung eines meiner Lieblingssongs erwähnen – Killing Me Softly With His Song – der ursprünglich 1973 von Roberta Flack veröffentlicht und später von Lauryn Hill und den Fugees 1996 einer neuen Generation vorgestellt wurde‘, sagt Hanne Boel.

With over 2.5 million albums sold, she is the best-selling Danish female artist of all time. For over 30 years, Hanne Boel, the award-winning artist with an unmistakable soulful voice, has been at the top of the Danish soul-pop scene. Including BLACK WOLF, her 1988 debut, she has released a staggering 21 albums.

And she shows no signs of slowing down. Album number 22, entitled NORWEGIAN RECORDINGS, is right around the corner and ready for an early 2024 release. The album breaks new ground in the storied career of the Danish icon, and she is the first to share that it’s anything but “traditional” when seen in context with the rest of her body of work. After a recent tour in Norway with her regular trio – together with guitarists Jacob Funch and Jens Runge – the plan was to make a new studio album in precisely the traditional sense. But after hearing some recordings from live concerts they had played, it was clear to everyone that the material was too good not to release:

“We were pleasantly surprised and incredibly proud of the live recordings when we listened back to them after our latest tour. I was pleased to hear myself sing, and it’s a gift when you can relax in your own company,” the legendary singer says. „Studio recordings have an unfortunate psychological effect on me, where I miss an audience’s atmosphere and energy. Recording the same song multiple times can paralyze my spontaneity, and the possibility of constantly correcting and optimizing creates breaks in the flow. My flow is natural and in the moment at live concerts, which comes through on these live recordings.”

With that in mind, she and her trio decided to let the live vocal recordings take center stage and remain untouched. ‘Less is more’ was the dogma during the fine-tuning of the production, and thus, only minor details have been added to the tracks to support the already impressive vocal performances.

“We decided to live with the small ‘mistakes’ that, for me, also create an organic calmness in my delivery – which then allows me to listen to myself with acceptance and appreciation,” says the now 66-year-old legend.

The result has become what Hanne, Jacob, and Jens have dubbed “a nocturnal album.” With calm, refined arrangements, tasteful instrumentation, and breathtaking guitar playing, they interpret ten tunes from Hanne’s well-known songbook and pair them with new presentations of songs selected from outside her immediate musical world.

The material on the album has primarily chosen itself, she explains: “Some are songs from my past, and some are newer songs, and then we play songs by other artists as well. This is how we’ve always created the repertoire for our live performances. We simply chose the ten best songs we had live versions of for the album. That’s why there is a version of a song like Light In Your Heart, which is from back in 1990, and Between Dark and Daylight, from the album of the same title, which is just three years old. There are new things that have yet to be recorded, and I have to mention our treatment of one of my favorite songs – Killing Me Softly With His Song – which was originally released in 1973 by Roberta Flack and later introduced to a new generation by Lauryn Hill and Fugees in 1996,” says Hanne Boel.

Hanne Boel: Vocal. Jacob Funch: Acoutic- and electric guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, vocal. Jens Runge: Acoustic guitar, dobro, chinese koto, vocal.

STANDING ON THE EDGE OF LOVE / BETWEEN DARK AND DAYLIGHT / KILLING ME SOFTLY WITH HIS SONG / DON’T LOOK DOWN / WHEN THE DAY IS DONE / COME INTO MY GARDEN / BLOOD AND THUNDER / LET’S GO OUT TONIGHT / THE BALLAD OF LUCY JORDAN / LIGHT IN YOUR HEART.

STUCD 24052 Hanne Boel THE TRIO, Norwegian Recordings, Stunt Records/Sundance Music ApS.