By Bona Pjarren
Karin Park, who should be already known to regular ÜR readers as one half of Norwegian noise rock duo Årabrot, has been referred to as the Scandinavian Nico for her persona, and dark ambient legend Lustmord called her a “force of nature”. However, despite a Eurovision song contest entry, a year of sold out shows as the lead in Les Miserables in Oslo and performances alongside Lana Del Rey and David Bowie, Karin’s solo talents have still remained somewhat under-exposed for the really broad public. This might change now, with a stunning new album and an extensive European tour with A.A. Williams this Autumn.
‘Traces of Me’ kicks off this otherwise retrospective collection with Karin’s beautiful a capella vocal. Washes of keys are then layered interestingly as the song builds in intensity. It is a compelling first piece.
‘Opium’ is next up, combining piano with ethereal washes on the keyboard. It weaves a dark and moving musical tapestry that showcases the power of Karin’s soulful voice. ‘Bending Albert’s Law’ follows on in a similar vein. Compelling in its simplicity, with ambient sounds combining to take the listener on a musical journey.
‘Tokyo By Night’ comes next. While it is true that there is a consistent feel to all of the songs so far, each has its own individual feel to it, each is unique in its own right. ‘Tokyo By Night’ is upbeat, with a pounding rhythm that really sets it apart. I like the solid drum beat that punctuates ‘Glasshouse’ and acts as almost a heartbeat throughout this delicate piece.
‘Blue Roses’ brings a slightly more traditional feel to what has, thus far, been quite an experimental, synth-driven album. Karin has quite a textural range to her vocals and showcase her range well on this piece ranging from delicate to raw power.
‘Shine’ gets back to the well established synth-driven ambient feel that underpins most of this album. ‘Shine is a beautiful and delicate ballad’. ‘Give Again’ is a floating piece of dark atmospheric experimental music. It is difficult to define each song on this album as despite having a cohesive approach to construction each has its distinct personality that just has to be appreciated though listening to them.
‘Look What You’ve Done’ has subtle synth driven rhythms woven into its structure. It really helps lift the album in a very subtle way. ‘Superworldunkown’ is a fitting final song with Karin’s distinctive vocals floated above simple but effective chord progressions.
‘Private Collection’ is not an album that you can appreciate by just reading about it. It has to be experienced first hand and it really is worth listening to. Wonderfully moving, Karin’s work reminds me of a dark-wave version of Kate Bush or Enya. It is an album to just kick back and relax to.
- ‘Private Collection’ is released on Friday 7 October. You can get your copy HERE.
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