Blómi

by Susanne Sundfor

Overview

After three consecutive chart-topping albums of Nordic synth pop grandeur, Susanne Sundfor scaled back down to her core elements on 2017's Music for People in Trouble. The Norwegian's intimate piano and voice meditations came as a reaction not only to the pressures of her own success, but to the increasingly anxious social climate that enveloped her. In the interim between that release and her seventh album, Blomi, Sundfor gave birth to a daughter, and her personal axis shifted once again. Blomi is a gorgeous album, one with a multitude of interesting layers and complex themes that give it the feel of a spiritual quest. The celestial "Ashera's Song" sings like a prayer, wishing "love and light to all beings" as shimmering electronic tones dance around Sundfor's delicate piano clusters. The mood shifts to jazzy elegance on the title track, which concerns itself with renewal and rebirth; "Blomi" is an Old Norse term meaning "to be in bloom." There is strong adherence to history and mythology throughout the record, and Sundfor's frequent use of this ancient Scandinavian language is another of Blomi's wonderful quirks. An entire track, the snaky and percussive "á¹¢annu Yarru Li," is based around an erotic Minoan-Creten text translated to Old Norse by her linguist grandfather, Kjell Aartun, featured on the album's cover alongside the artist as a young girl. The surprises continue with "Leikara Ijoâ??́â??dj," an uplifting, gospel-inspired rave-up that incorporates nature sounds, a multi-tracked Sundfor choir, and a soothing Hardanger fiddle coda. The sweeping "Alyosha" serves as a poignant centerpiece, comparing her husband's innate optimism to that of Dostoevsky's central character in The Brothers Karamazov. Bookending the album are a pair of whimsical sound collages featuring dialog from a spiritual healer friend of Sundfor's, further emphasizing the record's cinematic structure. Despite its arcane references and philosophical nature, Blomi remains approachable and is often quite moving. That Sundfor continues to make such consistently challenging music and be justly rewarded for it is its own small miracle, and with Blomi she reaches yet another career high. ~ Timothy Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2023
Label:	BELLA UNION
UPC:	5400863131234

Tracks

1. Orð V¿lu
2. Ashera's Song
3. Blómi
4. R¿n¿
5. Fare Thee Well
6. Leikara Ijo¿¿¿ð
7. Alyosha
8. ¿¿nnu Y¿rru L¿
9. Nátts¿ngr
10. Orð Hjartans

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Susanne Sundfor   Primary Artist
Eline Monrad Vistven   Voices

Technical Credits

Greg Calbi   Mastering
Eline Monrad Vistven   Composer
Nikolai Haengsle Eilertsen   Composer,Musician
Susanne Sundfor   Composer,Musician
Gard Nilssen   Composer,Musician
Erlend Viken   Musician
Andre Roligheten   Arranger,Composer,Musician
Jordan Marks   Artwork
Klearchos Kapoutsis   Photography
Inge Sundfor   Photography
Kjell Aartun   Composer
Annette Graesli Ovrelid   Photography
Stale Storlokken   Musician,Composer
Jorgen Traeen   Producer,Musician,Composer,Arranger,Mixing
Steve Fallone   Mastering