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stone
Published:
2021
Record label:
Drabant music
«The wait was worth it.»
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ALBUM: It’s always sad when rare talents suddenly disappear from the stage and from the audience while they are still on the rise. Monica Heldal (30) from Arna in Bergen released two critically acclaimed albums and performed at the big festivals, and then all went quiet. Still drying. Hardly a word in the media before the first single from the album “Ravensdale” was released in February.
Tinnitus
Immediately after the launch tour for her second album, “The One In The Sun”, she was struck by the tinnitus and sensitivity to sound.
– I was extremely hypersensitive to sound in the immediate aftermath. It was very hard on my psyche. I isolated myself for fear of exposure to noise. The sound of a car passing by could be sheer suffering, he told VG in July 2016.
I had to cancel
The concerts he had booked that summer were canceled. Very boring when you are in shock as an artist, but Heldal just needed a wait time which turned out to last four to five years. But, quietly, he has worked in the studio with his longtime collaborator, guitarist and co-producer Cato “Salsa” Thomassen. Together with drummer Kenneth Kapstad (Motorpsycho / Gåte), they can now “unveil” nine songs in a release that in many ways comes across as something of a concept album, with impressions from the United States, Canada and Ireland in particular. The soundscape is as airy and beautiful as the scenery that he praises in his songs.
Perfect artist at 22 years old!
Ireland and Canada
Heldal toured the United States and Canada in 2015 and lived in Ireland for many years. Among other things, he traveled and played the songs of the national guitar hero Rory Gallagher, one of his great sources of inspiration alongside Nick Drake and Led Zeppelin.
This may explain their special musical style, which is a mix of genres such as folk, progressive rock, pop, blues, and folk music. If we add a distinctive guitar style and voice, we can say that he has almost created his own genre.
To Spellemannpriser
The debut album and song of the same title, “The Boy From The North” (2013), set a very high standard. The good reception was completed with two Spellemann awards.
The sequel has great songs like “Jimmy Got Home” and the latest track “Actual Farewell”, which suddenly became a symbol. The penultimate song on album number two is “Ravensdale”, which is also the title of the new album (and somewhere in Ireland). The first song even has the title. “Repeat of Ravensdale”, perhaps to emphasize that the ring is over and that she hasn’t revolutionized either style or sound since the last time. The text is new, but what we hear from Heldal is unmistakable. She doesn’t look like anyone.
Monica Heldal’s Wonderful Package
Artist of an album
At a time when the format is being questioned, it can be argued that Heldal is largely one album artist. Approximately five minutes long “It could still be a good day” is a key clue in that regard, by the way a mantra that we need to hear a lot in these sad days, replaced by “Lake Wallowa” (a lake in Oregon, USA) and “Peace” (Gaelic for Peace), a suggestive song with a lot of fine acoustic guitar work that in turn connects Heldal in the genre with Irish and English folk rock.
Five minutes long “City of peace” sums up in many ways everything that Heldal represents musically, before becoming more subdued and “floating” “Meadow”, “Shine in gold” (a souvenir from the Canada tour in 2015) and “Fair” rounds of the album with more of Heldal’s eclectic musical beers. Welcome back!
