Solveig Slettahjell
(Website)
Albums
Domestic Songs
Label: ACT - ACT 9017-2
Distribution in France: Harmonia Mundi
Release date: April 10, 2008
“Norwegian singer Solveig Slettahjell has perfected a very personal style on the sandy dunes between pop and jazz. The harmonies and melodies she favours can be very poppy, but her interpretations have the hallmarks of someone who has spent time studying jazz; it gives her music a depth you find in Robert Wyatt and Björk.
As the title warns, Domestic Songs was recorded at home, and at its best the album has the intimacy and delicacy you might expect from inviting a world-class performer into your sitting room.”
The Guardian
Good Rain
Label: ACT Music - ACT 9713-2
Distribution in France: Harmonia Mundi
Release date: January 25, 2007
The first time you hear the name Solveig Slettahjell (pronounced Sul-vay Shlet-I-Yell), you might have to spell it out before attempting to say it. This has proved to be an easy hurdle for a growing number of enthusiasts.
“Good Rain” embraces us like a spring shower that feeds dry flowerbeds and hikers alike. It has a gospel-like urgency, features bare-to-the-bone Trip Hop arrangements, and even airplay-compatible pop choruses. From the very first minute – sung a cappella like an incantation – “Good Rain” opens up spaces, creates potential. Poetry unfurls its ambiguous effect, embedded in vibrant layers of sound and complemented by iridescent details.
Her natural alto bewitches the audience in a way that is reminiscent of charismatic performers like Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell and put her previous album “Pixiedust” in the Sunday Times records of 2006.
“If you like Billie Holiday, The Beatles, Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits then this is the album to bring you music”
The Guardian
