Hanne Hukkelberg – Rykestrasse 68

One of the blogs that I go to every once in a while is 3hive. This is an excellent site if you are looking for new music. This tireless team trawl t’Internet looking for freely available mp3s. This site and Last.FM I just could not live without. My most recent find on 3hive is Hanne Hukkelberg. She is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. That makes her sound a bit lame. Not at all. She is also a musical experimenter. She searches for new ways of expressing her art by using a bunch of weirdness and found sounds in her music. Which in my view is always good.

On her previous album, which I have yet to hear, she employs bicycle spokes, dish brushes, wine glasses, and rain. Rykestraße 68 is the name of her new album. Well I say “new” it is apparently a couple of years old but has only just received a US release. In any event it is worth a listen. You need to be in a certain type of mood to listen to her. Rykestraße 68 is mostly a delightfully quiet and gentle record with some forays into pop quirks. It’s just lovely. Although you have to kind of readjust your listening gear to “get it”. By that I mean that it is not completely instant, the album requires some perseverance. But, if you stick with it you will be rewarded with a beautiful selection of (sometimes) experimental pop gems. Think Tori Amos mixed up with Björk.

Moreover, there is a shockingly good cover of Pixies Hold My Bones, slowed down and barely recognisable until you reach the chorus. This track is worth the price of admission alone.

Hanne Hukkelberg – Cheater’s Armoury

Hanne Hukkelberg – Break My Body

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