THE HUFFINGTON POST PREMIERES LINNEA OLSSON ALBUM TEASER
DEBUT ALBUM AH! SET FOR JANUARY 21 RELEASE ON GÖTTERFUNK PRODUCTIONS
“Swedish cello-pop sprite Linnea Olsson spins some sparkling, Joanna Newsome-esque ditties on…her forthcoming debut, Ah! which seems set to charm the pantsoff of chamber pop enthusiasts.”—Q Magazine
“Linnea Olsson’s darting orchestral pop recalls Kate Bush at her most fragmented…Her mastery of the cello—mashed through a series of FX and loop pedals—is nothing short of outstanding…She performs with perfect unity of vocal and instrument, pushing the limits of what we expect from modern pop music.”—The Line of Best Fit
The Huffington Post premieres the album teaser for Swedish cellist Linnea Olsson debut album Ah!, which is set for release on January 21 on Götterfunk Productions. You can view the trailer HERE on The Huffington Post and HERE on Vimeo. Olsson will tour the U.S. this coming February alongside longtime friend and collaborator Ane Brun. Olsson’s first string of stateside solo dates includes stops in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. Please see reverse for full tour routing.
Olsson, fresh from touring with Peter Gabriel, is more than ready to strike out on her own. Album track “All 4 U” is available now for free download HERE. Of “All 4 U,” Olsson says “All4U is a song that is about the first state of being totally in love with someone. I wanted to try and capture the feeling of when you are so smitten that you don´t understand what you´re doing, when you are totally out of control of how your body reacts when you see that person.”
Ah! is an album assembled entirely from Olsson’s voice, cello and in one song the darbuka makes an appearance, a Middle Eastern goblet drum Olsson discovered through her good friend (and producer of the album) Fredrik “Gicken” Johannson. Throughout the album the two elements of Cello and voice are warped and bent by the delay modeler and loop station that Olsson cherishes as an integral part to her music. “I abuse delay,” she says. “It is my favorite effect of all time.” For Folks Sake calls Ah! “a work of art—so perfectly crafted and at home within its elements that it’s hard to believe this is Olsson’s first solo debut.” To celebrate the release, Olsson will tour early next year.
Of writing the album Olsson says, “I sat down with the cello and it was a bit like a flood. I wrote all the songs for the album during a very intense and short period of time.” After this fruitful and solitary writing and recording period, in between touring with fellow Scandinavian artists Ane Brun and Frida Hyvönen, Olsson asked Johannson to mix and help with the finishing touches on what is now know as the album Ah!.
Olsson grew up in Halmstad, Sweden with parents who were both musicians. She began cello lessons at age six and sang in choirs at a young age. “Music is a part of my life, like love or food or air, really,” Olsson says. The pivotal moment came when Olsson was performing at a wedding at 14, when she used the “pop” singing voice she’d only ever practiced in front of the mirror. Soon after, Olsson was forming bands with her friends to play the music she wanted to play.
LINNEA OLSSON TOUR DATES
February 11 Vienna, VA Jammin Java
February 12 New York, NY Highline Ballroom
February 13 Montreal, QC L’Astral
February 14 Toronto, ON Rivoli
February 15 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern
February 17 Vancouver, BC Electric Owl
February 18 Seattle, WA Crocodile Lounge
February 19 San Francisco, CA Yoshis
February 21 San Diego, CA Casbah
February 22 Los Angeles, CA The Mint