Anna von Hausswolff's debut EP "Track of Time" was released in February 2010 by Kning Disk, magnificent avant-garde pop with its crosshairs trained on the heart. The first album "Singing From the Grave" appeared in May. Everyone who hears Anna von Hausswolff sing, immediately stops, listens and gets touched by her magic. Her voice is that of total expression. Sometimes it caresses you, sometimes it roars up a storm.
On July 9, 2013 "Ceremony" was released in North America by Other Music Recording Co., and Anna von Hausswolff played her debut US show on July 10 at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn. The album received strong support from National Public Radio's Bob Boilen, who said "Von Hausswolff's voice possesses the power to soar with those mighty pipes and still hold tight to delicate, personal emotions. I hope to find one album like Ceremony every year — a rare, thoughtful, inspiring record for a night on the couch or a candlelit evening — and now I've got one for 2013." She was also featured on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, PRI's The World, WNYC Soundcheck, the New York Times, Pitchfork and more.
Ceremony was followed up by "The Miraculous" late in 2015.
Large pipe organs first started to be built in European churches in the 14th century. While much of the music that people at the time heard and played would be dedicated to the glory of God, surely nothing could have prepared them for the sound that now filled their places of worship. As the solemn timbre of the metallic pipes echoed around the stony transept, the congregation must have trembled in their pews before this new instrument of the Almighty. More than ever, the organ turned the church into a place of "mystery, magic and terror".
These are the words that Anna von Hausswolff uses to describe the undisclosed location in rural Sweden that inspired The Miraculous, a place of great natural beauty that nevertheless remains haunted by the blood-stained spectres of a brutally suppressed peasant uprising. Using the 9,000 pipe Acusticum Pipe Organ, Hausswolff has conjured an entire world into being here, forging a unity between reality and imagination that's so immense in its conception that it's initially difficult to properly take in. It's like a gigantic monument that you have to keep stepping back from in order to get any perspective on it.
The sleeve alone should clue the listener to the fact that there's nothing here as heart-stoppingly lovely as 'Mountains Crave' from 2012's Ceremony: Hausswolff appears as a faceless apparition, an erased portrait sitting in a derelict room with faded pictures of Christ and angels on the walls. The elemental vastness of the sound recalls the aesthetic of Swans, while Nico is another key reference point, one woman communing with herself and the world via a droning, medieval keyboard. But The Miraculous certainly isn't all existential gloom and despair. Instead, its sense of dread is offset throughout by a yearning to break free of mortal bonds and become immanent in nature.
'Discovery' immediately sets the tone, a foghorn blast of bass pipes suggesting that something huge is approaching in the dark. A thick wave of organ slowly seeps into every corner of the audio field, before a skirling siren call and the military drums of battles past introduce notes of tension and conflict. It breaks down to the sounds of aftermath from which a spare Morricone-esque guitar line emerges. When Hausswolff finally starts to sing, her voice is strong as she bears witness, but soon the words start to tumble out with growing urgency, and then she's chanting "Run!/Run!/Run to the sun!"
This epic opener is followed by two shorter tracks. 'The Hope Only Of Empty Men' sounds like it's being transmitted from some point in the distant past, Hausswolff's syllables twisted and tortured as they leave her mouth, while the organ pulses like a hangover. 'Pomperipossa' is an awestruck blast of ecclesiastical prog full of unnerving chord changes.
But it's the eleven minute sturm und drang of 'Come Wander With Me/Deliverance' that's the album's massive centrepiece. A slow, sepulchral organ melody is joined by the beautiful controlled tone of Hausswolff's lonely choir girl. There's a great segue into a lumbering procession of the damned which then consolidates into a hammering one chord riff over an increasingly martial beat. Hausswolff sings, "He came from the sunset / He came from the sea / He came from the shadows…" like Elizabeth Fraser on the rack, before dissolving into wordless cries of ecstasy or pain, who knows. Cue guitar solo, and then a little sit down to recover.
It's hard to imagine where to go after that, but another three short tracks pick up the album's themes. 'En Ensam Vandrare' is based on the type of brooding but meditative arpeggios that inevitably bring Philip Glass to mind, while 'An Oath' is a ballad sung against marching drums again. And then 'Evocation' is a summoning up of everything that's gone before, the density of the sound plus the inflection in Hausswolff's voice making me wonder if this is what Sunn O))) recording with Abba would sound like. There's a minute of static and feedback ascending and then disappearing into the sky, and it feels like a natural ending–
But no. 'The Miraculous' itself is an extended drone piece, a gradual layering of chords on the organ as though it's slowly waking up from a deep slumber. Hausswolff's voice drifts over the top, her faceless spirit moving through the pipes, the organ's high notes like swooning strings and brass. Final track 'Stranger' is perhaps the most 'traditional' and romantic song here, a plea for absolution with twanging guitar.
This album is a pretty astonishing piece of work. Hausswolff has pushed out into unmapped territory where post-rock, prog, doom metal, modern classical and high church music all co-exist in uneasy alliance. It's the type of album you have to commit to completely, but for those seeking a glimpse of the numinous, it's worth the effort.
March 2018 sees the release of Anna's fourth album - "Dead Magic", and was preceded by the single "The Vanishing of Elektra" and in the run up to the albums release its first track "The Truth, The Glow, The Fall" was officially released as an audio onto YouTube.
Official site: http://www.annavonhausswolff.com
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/annavonhausswolff
The Optimist
Anna von Hausswolff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I am going to find it
On a mission, I′m not a joke
I am going to find it
And they laugh
They laugh behind my back
Later it will come catch me
Attend our lessons and recognized
Oh, man, I'm trying to learn it
But I run
I run here alone
Why can′t I just be like them?
Why can't this be like them tonight?
People speak [?]
As fast escape and I'm feeling as a fool
People glare and my hair looks fine
Apparently I got it
Measure and man a self taught divined
But here I′m occupied, crawling
In the dust
The dust got in my heart
But gold quivers upon the road
And I am going to find it
But there was no mission, I am now a joke
And still I′m trying to find it
And they laugh
They laugh behind my back
Why can't I just be like them?
Why can′t this be like them tonight?
But hope's a pearl and I am meaning well
To make the later the beginning of my life
Anna von Hausswolff's song "The Optimist" is about the pursuit of something precious, symbolized by gold on a road. The singer is determined to find it, but is mocked and laughed at by others for her quest. She reflects on the meaning of time and feels like a fool for not being able to grasp it as others do. She wants to fit in but can't seem to, and feels like she's crawling in the dirt. Despite this, she persists in pursuing her goal, even though it seems like a futile effort. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the character realizing that hope is meaningful and that she wants to make a new beginning.
The song's lyrics demonstrate a powerful sense of determination, despite the singer's feeling of being an outsider. The pursuit of something precious is a universal theme, and the idea of hope being a pearl is an evocative and poetic one. The idea that the later can become the beginning is a hopeful one, and the character's earnest desire to start anew is inspiring.
Line by Line Meaning
Gold quivers upon the road
I see opportunities for wealth and success
And I am going to find it
I am determined and driven to seize those opportunities
On a mission, I'm not a joke
I am serious and focused on achieving my goals
I am going to find it
I am confident that I will succeed
And they laugh
Others doubt my abilities and ridicule me
They laugh behind my back
They do not support or believe in me
I reflect on the meaning of time
I contemplate the passage of time and its impact on my life
Later it will come catch me
The consequences of my actions will catch up with me eventually
Attend our lessons and recognized
I try to learn from my experiences and mistakes
Oh, man, I'm trying to learn it
I am aware of my shortcomings and strive to improve myself
But I run
I am overwhelmed and trying to escape my problems
I run here alone
I feel isolated and unsupported
Why can't I just be like them?
I envy those who seem to have an easier life than me
Why can't this be like them tonight?
I wish things could be different for me right now
People speak [?]
I struggle to understand the opinions and ideas of others
As fast escape and I'm feeling as a fool
I make hasty decisions and regret them later
People glare and my hair looks fine
Others judge me based on superficial qualities rather than my true worth
Apparently I got it
I may appear to have it all together, but inwardly I am struggling
Measure and man a self taught divined
I try to define my own standards and values
But here I'm occupied, crawling
I feel stuck and unable to progress
In the dust
I am trapped in the mundane and unremarkable
The dust got in my heart
My circumstances have demoralized and discouraged me
But there was no mission, I am now a joke
My expectations were unrealistic and I failed to achieve them
And still I'm trying to find it
I refuse to give up and continue to seek success
Hope's a pearl and I am meaning well
I hold onto hope and strive to do good
To make the later the beginning of my life
I aim to turn my past failures and mistakes into opportunities for growth and improvement
Writer(s): Anna Von Hausswolff
Contributed by Liam C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jesusdontcry.
I think that this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. Anna is such an artist. I wish she was more recognized.
@enzogalli5506
Excellent!!! This song is sublime...amazing!!!!!
@AllTheGoodNamesGoneReally
Amazing!!! Goosebumps through the whole song!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@tuituia
this one is my favorite, love it.
@OlaCson
Fantastisk video! Fantastisk sång!
@franciscorosas7983
ERES MARAVILLOSA Y CRECERAS MAS TIENES EL CARISMA, DESDE NEZA TIERRA DE STATUS QUO TE AMAMOS ANITA
@johnsjukebox8638
Just great.
@UuOwOuU
so beautiful
@Shawn-vw2sd
fucking love this song
@UuOwOuU
is this on one of her albums?