No artist has got under my skin over the last few years quite like Swedish songstress Frida Hyvonen; I’m forever grateful to Lambretinha and ElDerino (where he?) for introducing me to her. So I wasn’t going to miss her one and only UK date this year, at Kings Place, a really rather wonderful arts centre in the really rather wonderful regeneration area around Kings Cross, yards away from the Guardian’s HQ.
I didn’t know what sort of gig to expect. The last clip I saw of Frida playing live was performing The Sound of Silence for Paul Simon at the Polar Music Prize (kind of like the Brits for Scandinavians), complete with full orchestra. She’s a big star in Sweden, and her new album, To The Soul, is full of big tunes and big production.
Tonight, though, we’re treated to a recital of rare intimacy. It’s just her and a Steinway grand, with a friend adding some understated backing vocals. The stalls of the concert hall are less than half full – there’s probably about 60 people, and half of them are Swedish. Halfway through she asks to have the houselights on so she can take a photo of us for her Instagram.
There’s nothing small about her performance though. She becomes totally consumed by her songs, her voice able to shift from detached Scandinavian coolness to unbridled passion. Some songs respond particularly well to this stripped down treatment. “Farmor”, from her latest album, is a highlight. An elegy for her grandmother, it’s perhaps overproduced on the record, but almost has me in tears tonight, as the huge chorus fades into a poignant coda that perfectly captures the reminiscences and chitchat of an old woman’s wandering mind.
Frida has a gift for taking an experience from her life and spinning it into something profound. So in “Picking Apples”, an impulse stop as she’s passing her late grandparents’ house sends her off into a reverie about families, mortality and writing her own epitaph. “Pony” is a nostalgic hymn to a childhood love of riding horses, with an undercurrent of sexuality (“The stable’s where you learned to be in charge and not take shit / Dressed for the occasion, leather boots and a stiff black whip”).
In between songs, she’s witty and a little shy. After “Dirty Dancing”, we learn that she never got round to putting a net on her chimney to keep the birds off, as her chimney sweep childhood sweetheart advises in the song, and had to call him back to do it a couple of weeks ago. She doesn’t, though, reveal what he thinks of the song – or whether she’s written a new one about this latest encounter.
She plays for a little over an hour, returning for a single encore: “December”, a sad, wry account of a visit to an abortion clinic. Presumably autobiographical, it’s an uncomfortable listen on record – when the singer’s only yards away, it’s painfully compelling.
Five minutes later, she’s sitting on the steps outside in the freezing cold, selling records and T-shirts. Like a besotted fan, I buy a CD I already own to get her autograph and a moment to chat. She’s currently without a label in the UK, and the latest album hasn’t been released here yet. That’s a travesty, and will surely be put to rights before long. In the meantime, I feel privileged to have seen her like this.
I’ve put together a Spotify playlist of the songs she played, possibly not in quite the right order, for anyone who’s interested:
thanks for this barbryn. I learned of her through RR (tx Shane) and find her – what’s the right word – piercing? Disarming? I mean that in a good way.
I think I know what you’re getting at. How about “beguiling”?
NO! Beguiling and sublime are my too hate words
Fair enough. On reflection, beguiling is wrong anyway, since it suggests charming through deceit, whereas Frida does quite the opposite – it’s the emotional honesty that gets you.
Yeah, she lays it out there for you to agree or disagree and she doesn’t seem to care much which way you go.
barbryn: I haven’t listened yet but I will. Could you explain how you created the Spotty playlist and was able to get it to show here, I’ve tried and failed so I’d appreciate knowing how you did it.
Hi gf – I’m amazed it worked actually – trial and error…
Ignore the embed link that Spotify gives you. Just copy the URL address (beginning http://)
Then in WordPress, type in square brackets, then paste the URL, then type /embed in square brackets.
Worked for me, anyway.
Sounds like an excellent night barbryn –
She does the thing (in a similar way to Nellie McKay) of having so many stories to sing – she almost stumbles over all the words to get them out – and I think when that feeling comes across in a song – the passion and intensity is infectious.
Brilliant review.
Nicely put Shane. I love Nelly McKay’s first album (which I came to via steenbeck, I think) but haven’t kept up with her since.
Hi Barbryn ! ! !
Unfortunately I can not listen to Spotify as it is not in Japan. But I found some of her tracks on YouTube and really liked them.
Have you heard any Lila Ices ? ? ?
Lila Ices – Little Marriage
You need a proxy. They don’t cost much. And then you could watch Antiques Roadshow and Top Gear! *hides head in shame*
Hi Sakura ! ! !
Glad you enjoyed. I really like that Lia Ices song – I think you might have posted it before? Off to listen to her album now…
Hi Barbyn
I have posted it before – I love the album also and play it a lot ! ! !
Frida Hyvonen is really great so that is two new western singer songwriters I have discovered recently ! ! !
This is exactly what I have been missing. Brilliant! Thank you, barbryn, for whetting my appetite with your eloquence.
Nice to see you around here again debby. Hope you enjoy – I think you will.
Aaand we now have Spotify in Germany, it’s all coming together, folks.
I’m finding Ms. Hyvonen a bit ‘wordy’ in general, but Picking Apples has just knocked my socks off!
Farmor is quite amazing.
There’s a LOT of videos at youtube, but not Farmor.
Thanks for your review, Barbryn. Shame the gig was half empty. Reminds me a bit of the McGarrigles – which is a big plus in my book. Enjoyed the playlist.