With over 25 albums to his name and numerous awards and accolades from international press, Danish pianist/composer Jacob Anderskov is recognized as a transformative force in contemporary music. His upcoming record ventures into engaging in dialogue with Denmark's quintessential "Højskolesangbogen" — a beloved late 19th-century collection of singalongs, folk songs, and hymns which remains tightly woven into the fabric of Danish cultural identity.
‘I Sang’ is set to release on February 2nd on April Records.
The record sees ten pieces of music broken apart and reconstructed, a process through which their forms are stretched, their contexts reimagined and all expectations shattered. Balancing on the precipice of avant-garde music and familiar tradition, "I Sang" defies convention while keeping its heart firmly anchored in the beloved music of yesteryears.
Anderskov’s delicate, subtle and textural piano playing serves as the foundation over which compositional and improvisational exploration takes place. Effortlessly drifting between familiar functional folk accompaniment and dense, complex harmony, the line between the familiar and the challenging is what propels the ensemble forward. The imaginative drumming of Jakob Høyer, the masterful melodies woven by Kasper Tranberg on trumpet and the gentle addition of delays, reverbs and effects by Soffie Viemose help create the ethereal world the record inhabits.
Emphasizing the duality at the music’s core, the record features two contrasting vocalists that bridge the gap between the two worlds Anderskov’s writing sought to explore. Viemose's vocals evoke the ethereal "idea" of the songs while Munck's voice channels the hearty and familiar tone of communal singalongs prevalent in everyday Danish life.
“The entire album is as much about the DREAM of those songs, the idea of the songs, the memory of the songs. And about opening up the well known versions, to access existential dimensions to the material, beyond or beneath the regular approaches.”
An innovative narrative of identity and place, ‘I sang’ echoes the past while pushing the frontiers of the present; an intricate tapestry woven with love, respect, and a deep sense of reverence for the music that is quintessentially Danish but resonates universally.
