Stina Nordenstam

[totoro@charm.net (Amano, H&L)]

Hi Lovehounds!

I thought Heather Nova was going to be my "Find Of The Year" but now Stina
Nordenstam might usurp HN's position on my list.

WHO IS STINA?

I have no idea. Apparently she is Swedish. Apparently she has 2 albums, of
which I have the second, "And She Closed Her Eyes". She writes and arranges
all of her songs on this album. "And She Closed Her Eyes" was released in
the US in 1994, and it was preceded by "Memories of a Color" in 1993. If
any of you Swedish Lovehounds have any information about her, please send
it to totoro@charm.net. As far as I can tell, she doesn't even have an
unofficial homepage on the WWW.

WHAT DOES STINA LOOK LIKE?

She has short dark hair and a big forehead. The sleeve photo of her shows
her standing in front of an old wooden warehouse or something. She is
wearing a high-collared blue coat that looks like a spacesuit. She has her
eyes closed and one hand held up to her temple, like she is receiving a
telepathic message. The CD booklet, which contains all of her lyrics (she
sings in English), shows many enigmatic pictures of her. Some are out of
focus, some are from funny angles. None of them show her with her eyes
open, except for the last one, a tiny full-figure shot on the back cover.
She's wearing the same blue coat and a little blue skirt. Blue socks
bunched down around her ankles; white high-top sneakers. The picture is so
small you're not sure if her eyes are open or not. She is holding both
hands up to her head, as if she was the model for Munch's "The Scream". She
is not screaming.

WHAT DOES STINA SOUND LIKE?

Amazing! Unique! Original! She has a whispering little-girl voice that
sounds a little clipped, mixed very loud in relation to the instruments.
The effect is like a very intimate one-way conversation with a telepathic
alien poet who is very, very far away. None of the songs really rock. They
have a kind of lullaby quality that might make them good for twirly dancing
with your baby. Some jazzy arrangements with trumpets and saxes. The lyrics
are very mysterious...I think one song is about the singer recognizing a
terrorist/bomber from the way he walks across a street. A lot of the songs
have something familiar...I can say, "This is her Bel Canto song, this is
her Bjork song, this is her Kate Bush song, this is her Astrud Gilberto (!)
song, etc." However, her voice and singing style sets her very far apart
from any of these artists. She has a Stina sound even more than Victoria
Williams has a Victoria Williams sound, if you know what I mean. Stina's
music is very soothing for me, though. The arrangements are very
sophisticated although at first they sound very simple and Shawn Colvin-y.

SAMPLE LYRICS

"Murder in Mairyland Park"

Things that happen   Just once   If she'd looked she would have seen it
He was standing   All night   Cross the street very still   
And they go out so easily   The street lamps   The cars come and go

But I see you    Too clearly    I don't trust myself anymore
If it's all true    Just say it   I may already know   That sound when  
It's over

               The sidewalks will carry you home

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         If music be the food of love, eat the music.
           Hiro & Lesley Amano
         totoro@charm.net  http://www.charm.net/~totoro/kate.html

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