Jennie Abrahamson
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Jennie Abrahamson

Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden | INDIE

Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden | INDIE
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"Jennie Abrahamson - The Sound of Your Beating Heart. Grade 9/10."

The latest album release from Sweden, Jennie Abrahamson, The Sound Of Your Beating Heart takes the thoughtful, genuine pop inclinations of Robyn, briefly mulls them over, and then quickly proceeds to eclipse them in every conceivable way. It may require some patience, as initial impressions might not necessarily suggest such a fantastic collection of tracks is in the offing, however for those who give it a chance, the rewards are rather stunning.

Rarely is an album so easy to get lost in, the brilliant Running providing the most haunting example of Abrahamson’s intriguing, ambient style. The oh’s of its intro fade in until reaching full volume, then the piano and lead vocals begin but the oh’s still remain, prominent but not at all intrusive, waiting for the chorus to complete the listener’s subconscious transportation into an otherworldly realm.

“You’ve been running, running, running, slowly away from the sound of your beating heart.”

It isn’t an alien world, more a purified version of reality that is all but impossible to resist. It is the creation of such an atmosphere that is the key to the albums success, almost all of its twelve tracks leaving the listener gloriously transfixed once their journey is underway. Give It Up is another that succeeds magnificently in this respect, the song’s increased tempo doing nothing to detract from its powers. The Ellie Goulding-esque background vocals are a great addition to the experience, while the deep sounds of the drum help give the impression of great importance, without the merest hint of foreboding.

Indeed, integral to proceedings are the magnificent instrumental arrangements that sit in the background of a track, previously unnoticed sounds becoming newly apparent upon each listen. While Raphael certainly isn’t the catchiest five-minutes on the album, the percussion and keyboard synth are superb, the wooden block usage inspired. Likewise, Crash is far from the album’s most memorable offering, but still manages to provide plenty of instrumental interest.

Ethereal album closer Falling chooses a simpler setup, relying on the quality of the lyrics and lead vocals to set the atmosphere.

“Sometimes, I know, it’s hard not to let go; just close your eyes and float into the night.”

FF is lighter on beats but an admirable showcase for Abrahamson’s vocal talents, while Hole In You demonstrates some great harmonies with guest vocalist Adam Olenius (Shout Out Louds) and a wonderfully perfect ending.

“You gave me a reason to believe. There is always a reason to believe.”

Abrahamson’s vocal delivery is a mix of Duffy soul and Kylie sweetness, the latter particularly noticeable on those tracks with a greater dance flavour. It is these songs that may not necessarily provide the greatest first impression, with the poorly placed album opener Wolf Hour most at risk. Undeniably catchy, it is also the most derivative moment of the album. Other dance influenced tracks do fare better however, Hard to Come By with its creative use of cowbells and tuned percussion is much more interesting, while She Don’t Lie is another album highlight, its Oh Land style ooh’s helping to provide a modern contradiction to the eighties style beats. A Better has similarly clear influences from that decade, the chorus beats in particular sounding incredibly retro.
Final Verdict

At its best, The Sound Of Your Beating Heart is a musical experience; one that whisks you off to a purer world where life’s problems are temporarily removed from your being. Exceptionally inspired and unique percussion reverberates throughout, while the general arrangements are superbly put together and an absolute joy to behold. The Sound of Your Beating Heart is just what a pop album should be, accessible, but also innovative. My advice? Just sit under the stars and enjoy it.

Score: 9/10
- Sound Sense Online


"DN: Jennie Abrahamson "While the sun's still up..." 4/5"

Grade: 4/5

"... she sounds so clear and natural in her style as if this was the only way she could ever sound like. It's about art pop, light and clever, at times on a large scale but never heavy or languid. Full of strings and bumpy little rhythms and not seldom with odd details in the arrangements... ...and then she sings with a voice that is impossible not to associate to Kate Bush, so cunningly bright and volatile it borders the coquette, but it's a sound she is originated in. The more you listen, the less you hear of manner, instead you'll hear the underlying tranquil melancholy."
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Translated excerpt. Original review can be found on this link:
http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/skivrecensioner/jennie-abrahamson-while-the-suns-still-up-and-the-sky-is-bright-1.953392 - Dagens Nyheter


"GP: Jennie Abrahamson "While the sun's still up..." 4/5"

Grade: 4/5

"...but I promise, she's well worth being discovered, and cherised, by many more. First; her singing is bright, clear, sensual and unmistakable. Furthermore she is extremely ambitious, from every single songwriting part all the way to the beautiful retro cover. A warmer album than the preceding one. Well played with both vibrafonette and cello in her park of instruments. And; the voice!"
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Translated excerpt,
original review on this link:
http://www.gp.se/kulturnoje/musik/1.99659-jennie-abrahamsson-while-the-sun-s-still-up-and-sky-is-bright - Göteborgs Posten


"Corren: 11 small master pieces 4/5"

Grade: 4/5

"Kate Bush should be proud. A whole 33 years after her breakthrough, a sweet singing lark from Sävar is inspired to write eleven small master pieces in the same spirit. With asian string instruments and bright "wuthering heights"-choir parts this northern girls second album is pure pleasure for your ears."
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Translated excerpt, the original review can be found on the following link:
http://www.corren.se/kultur/skivor/?articleid=4982371 - Östgöta Correspondenten


"TT: Fine grades to Abrahamson 4/5"

Grade: 4/5

"While the sun's still up and the sky is bright" is a fine little pop album, that surprises you in practically every song. Several of the melodies and refrains have hit potential, but are embedded in divert and different arrangements that lead your mind both to asian culture and the cool song bird Lykke Li."

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Translated excerpt. The original review was published in four different magazines, one link here:
http://vk.se/Article.jsp?article=302030 - TT Spektra


"Norran: Jennie Abrahamson "While the sun's still up..." 4/5"

Grade: 4/5

The small village Sävar has raised both one and two musicians of class, Jennie Abrahamson is one of them. She proved it in Heed, she proved it in Yukon AK, she proved it on her solo debut and she definitely proves it with her second album... ...Most obvious in the fantastic song "Sister Theresa", the best track of the album. It should be a punishable offence not to have it on your iPod."
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Translated excerpt. Original review on the following link:
http://norran.se/noje/recensioner/musikskivor/article339904.ece - Norra Västerbotten


"VF: Jennie Abrahamson "While the sun's still up..." 4/5"

Grade: 4/5

"... she has decided upon an airy landscape of sound where each instrument and sound feels well adjusted and placed with a very fine sense of the entirety... ... On "While the sun's still up and the sky is bright" Jennie once again shows that she belongs in the absolute top of swedish pop singers. The ones who didn't discover her on her previous album is going to do it with her new one."
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Translated excerpt, original review on the following link:
http://www.folkbladet.nu/?p=155591 - Västerbottens Folkblad


"Pleasant and cunningly contagious 5/5"

Grade: 5/5

"It's a multifaceted and pleasant
experience we are served by Jennie Abrahamson on her new album... ...under the circuit cards there's an organic warmth where piano and guitar gives a fine contra punctuation to the programmed parts. Jennie's voice is a source to intimacy and the comparisons to Kate Bush and Nina Persson feels both logical and adequate. First single, "Late night show", frequently played on radio, is so cunningly contagious you don't realize it's stuck before it's too late..."
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Translated excerpts, original review can be found on the following link:
http://www.nojesmagasinet.se/lulea/?cat=1&subcat=3&art=1964
- City Nöjesmagasinet


Discography

Starting with the most recent:

Single: "Give it up" up for release Sept 14th 2011
Single: "Wolf Hour" released May 4th 2011, radio airplayed!
Album: "The Sound of Your Beating Heart" released April 13th 2011 (Nordic release).
Remix: "Hard to come by - The Amplifetes Remix" released March 2nd 2011.
Single: "Hard to come by" released Feb 2nd 2011, radio airplayed!
Single: "What is true" released sept 28th 2009, radio airplayed!
Album: "While the sun's still up and the sky is bright" released sept 16th 2009 (2010 in GAS, France, Taiwan).
Single: "Late night show"+"Late night show summerlove remix" released may 14th 2009, radio airplayed! (Video on youtube).
Single: "Why did I leave home", released nov 2007, radio airplayed (video on youtube).
Album: "Lights", released oct 3rd 2007.
Single: "In this life to live", released may 2007. Radio airplayed!

All songs and albums listed above are also streaming at Spotify & WIMP, for example.

Photos

Bio

Jennie Abrahamson resides in Stockholm, Sweden, but is originally from further up north, a tiny place called Sa¨var just outside of the coastal town of Umea°. A place known for breeding bands and artists in the line of "northern melancholy", Jennie only kept a slight tint of that moodiness in her richly coloured and playful pop tunes. Critics have called her a "younger, more accessible Kate Bush" or "the perfect threesome marriage of Glasser, Lykke Li and Robyn", but Jennies quirky yet straight-forward music is very much her own.

After a career in different bands (Heed released two albums on Swedish EMI) and as a multi musician with other artists, she decided to go solo in 2006. Since then, she has released three well praised solo albums and widened the release territory for every record. The firstling “Lights” was released in 2007, and reflected growing up and leaving friends, family and the vast expanses of snow to go south. Her sophomore album was written during an autumn’s hide away in New York. A big city love story with asian influences, “While the sun’s sti! up and the sky is bright” (2009) and it’s stick-like-glue- single “Late night show” got massive airplay not only in Sweden, but also in France and Germany, making it one of the most played records on the German college radio jahrecharts. Her latest album “The Sound of Your Beating H eart” was widely critically acclaimed at it’s release in the Nordic countries, and singles “Hard to come by” and “Wolf Hour” stirred up at lot of press- and blog loving and stayed on the radio playlists for a long time.

The making of “The Sound of Your Beating H eart” was a quick story. The recording was scheduled since long, but extensive touring got in the way of writing new songs. By the end of summer 2010 she had only two months to go before entering the studio, but nothing written. She hibernated in her So¨dermalm apartment and brought out sketches and notes she’d collected. As the songs evolved she recorded them on a 4-track application on her cell phone, keeping it strict with melody, rhythms and piano. She wanted to find the strenght of the songs with as few parts as possible. If it if sounded ok on a crappy phone, it could probably just get better when recorded “for real”. Thematically the songs revolved around events in her friends lives, a lot of people around her experienced 2010 as a very rough year and she aimed to write their stories.

First song written for the album also came to be first single. “Hard to come by” is a playful pop tune loaded with rhythm and a melody so irritatingly catchy that once you’ve heard it, you wont forget it. Upon release, it was immediately added to the playlists for Swedish national radio P3 and pretty soon scored #1 as the most featured song on the Swedish Student Radio collected playlist.

Inspired and encouraged by her friends in Friska Viljor and Ane Brun, Jennie founded her own record label in 2007. Today she works with different distributors, licensees and promoters throughout the world. She runs her own music studio in Stockholm where she records and produces her albums, together with long time work partner and sound magician Johannes Berglund. Occasionally, when there’s time, you can still see Jennie “incognito” on stage as a musician with Ane Brun’s tour band, a job she’s kept “for the pure fun and musical love of it”.

WEBSITE:
http://www.jennieabrahamson.com
(Here you can retrieve press password and download biography and hi res photos).

VIDEO FOR "HARD TO COME BY":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfwkHL1qkT8

TO SEE JENNIE'S SHOWS, GO HERE:
http://jennieabrahamson.com/shows/
(No show schedule is posted in the EPK)