Blackbird with sensitive vibrato, singing in June 2021

Blackbird with sensitive vibrato

This is a piece I prepared and played live at Hola Sessions on the Dec 14th 2023, Prästmon. It´s made with 2 harmonicas, AudioMulch (delay, granulator, arpeggiosynth), one small tourist bell (from Cambridge) and a kalimba built by one of the sons of Hukwe Zawose (Bagamoyo, Tanzania). The "Hola" reference in title is both to the series of books like "Hej Klarinett" and "Hej Piano", beginners notebooks. Hola is spanish for "Hej" (hello in english). I am a beginner in harmonica. I love the sounds from it. So a rediscovering and saying hello to this instrument. The other Hola reference is the "Hola folkhögskola", the folk high school up in the north of Sweden, where I work. Hola Sessions is a series of concerts that has happened there for about 10 years. (The 50 Cent reference - at first it was named Hola Harmonica 50 Cent) has not much to do with the artist 50 Cent more than one of my students wanted me to make a live remix of a track by 50 Cent, or a mashup that I suggested. Now it happened to be more of a mashup in the title of this piece and a bit of sortof  after construction that the harmonicas I played on might have costed 50 Cent at some moment in history. This is as most oftly played live while recording, so it is no edits except some slight compression and some slight EQ added. Hope you enjoy!  Photo by Henrik Ljusberg

Hola Harmonica

Written for Carla Rees and Xenia Pestova in the summer of 2016, this piece is about the hidden turmoil of grief and other emotions experienced alongside it.

The piece is dedicated to the loving memory of my grandmother, Lili, who passed away while I was writing it.

Recorded during the premiere on 6th Sept 2016 at The Forge, London.

Carla Rees: Alto flute
Xenia Pestova: Piano

Hidden Elegy, for alto Flute and piano

ANNA SVENSDOTTER
Nattskred - Dew Fall Hawk (2018) 
The selfscape of the Nightjar (Nattskärra in Swedish) 
Produced in collaboration with sound recordist Geoff Sample who kindly let me use his field recordings, and professor Mike Collier who created the work "The Burring Dor Hawk" using the same recordings. 

This soundscape is inspired by Swedish and English dialectal names for the Nightjar, as well as an old Swedish folk story about a woman who loved spinning so much that she did this on Sundays as well as on weekdays. As a result, she was turned into a Nightjar – destined to spin forever.

The title "Nattskred - Dew Fall Hawk” refers to two of the many Swedish and English dialectal names for the Nightjar.'

Nattskred - Dew Fall Hawk (2018)

Anna Svensdotter

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