Frida Hyvönen
Country of origin:
Sweden
Type of music generally:
Beautiful and fierce, pop-influenced evocative/eclectic music
Status:
Most recent release, Silence Is Wild (2008)
See also:
Frida Hyvönen's site
Comparisons:
Musically like Regina Spektor; piano style like Pepper Acton; vocally a bit like Laura Veirs
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
She's brilliant. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)Frida Hyvönen sings like an angel. (christina_skov@hotmail.com)
Recommended first album:
Until Death Comes
Recordings:
- Until Death Comes (2005)
- Frida Hyvönen Gives You: Music From The Dance Performance 'Pudel' (2007)
- Silence Is Wild (2008)
Until Death Comes
Release info:
EU: 2005—Licking Fingers—LF018
U.S.: 2006—Secretly Canadian—SC144
Australia: 2007—Chapter Music
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Frida Hyvönen—vocals, pianos, organs, handclaps and belltree
Guest artists:
Ellekari Larsson (The Tiny)—backing vocals
Jon Bergström—drums, handclaps, tambourine, lap-steel guitar
Mattias Areskog—bass
Daniel Johansson—trumpet
Tomas Hallonsten—flügelhorn
Jari Haapalainen—vibraphone, tambourine, glockenspiel
Produced by:
Frida Hyvönen and Jari Haapalainen
Comments:
Frida Hyvönen's debut album is at once visceral and simple. She tells tales of complex relationships and shocking frankness in a voice at once experienced and naïve. She mostly just uses her piano but the brief pop nugget "Come Another Night" is a pleasant diversion. The press made comparisons with Laura Nyro, and while that may be premature, this was a spectacular start for a gifted singer. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)I love this album but don't really know how to describe it. She taps into emotions not implicitly but suggestively through storytelling, but lyrically it's a bit of work, like decoding someone's diary. Musically, her piano accompaniment consists of choppy chords rather than melodic lines. I find it strikingly different, like someone banging out their personal stories in a Tin Pan Alley bar. Maybe this doesn't sound like much of a recommendation. But it is. I find this album and this artist to be distinctive and refreshing, and I look forward to hearing what she does next. (JoAnn Whetsell)
Silence Is Wild
Release info:
U.S.: 2008—Secretly Canadian—SC184
Availability:
Wide
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Frida Hyvönen—grand piano, honky tonk piano, glockenspiel, bells, gong, vocals, backing vocals
Guest artists:
Tammy Karlsson—drums
Linnea Olsson—bass, cello
Ida Lundén—synthesizers, organs, Hammond organ, honky tonk piano, glockenspiel
Marlene J Erlandsson, Lovisa Nyström—choir (2, 3, 12)
Markus Krunegård—choir (2, 3, 5, 12)
David Sandström—choir (2)
Jari Haapalainen—drums, bass, tambourine, percussion, finger cymbals
Produced by:
Jari Haapalainen and Frida Hyvönen
Comments:
Great album! There's more orchestration than on her debut, but you can hear how it builds on that album. There are places (especially the less orchestrated and solo songs) that sound class to that album. And then there are others that show us a whole new side of Frida. Who knew she could be so much fun as she is on "Scandinavian Blonde" and "Birds"? (JoAnn Whetsell)Huge voice and confessional lyrics. Her arrangements remind me of ABBA, somehow. (christina_skov@hotmail.com)
similar in theme/tone as Anna Ternheim, this album is very good, but somehow hasn't stuck in my head like Anna's. (jjhanson@att.net)
Silence Is Wild really fleshes out her sound beyond what we heard on Until Death Comes (itself one of my favorites of 2006) and is way high in my top tier for the year. (timjy@sbcglobal.net)
Thanks to JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
