Ariel

Artists

Album Info

Release Date: 2024-11-15

Label: HMD records

SILJE HØGEVOLD – ARIEL
Album out 15/11/2024 through HMD Records on CD and cassette.
Distributed by Diger Distro/ Tiger & HMD

Singer, artist and music producer Silje Høgevold is one of the Norwegian underground’s most versatile talents. Having worked as a textile artist, a bartender and a schoolteacher, Høgevold has done a bit of most things over the years, gradually emerging from her place of best-kept secret in the scene. Musically, she has a background in folk music from Setesdal (?), has made noise art with Sten Ove Toft, interpreted Mariah Carey at Øyafestivalen and contributed choral work for artists from all over the musical spectrum, including Haugenstua rapper Kenneth Engebretsen, Spellemann winners Jørund Vålandsmyr & Menigheten, Malin Pettersen, The Switch and The Opium Cartel. She is a trained sound engineer who, among other things, has recorded, produced and mixed Darkthrone’s last three albums alongside Ole Øvstedal. Together with Øvstedal, she has also released albums as the duo Ole & Silje Huleboer, a sophisticated orchestra that has achieved cult status with its series of strong intimate concerts.

Ariel is Høgevold's first release under her given name and is based on sketches, snippets, field and live recordings collected from 2012 to 2023. It represents Høgevold's tribute to Oslo, the city where she lived between 2005 and 2023. Ariel is an immersive concept album that can feel at home gliding quietly along one evening in Hvervenbukta, but where Høgevold boldly expresses herself by juxtaposing experimental vocals, timbres and harmonies with more traditional arrangements and production techniques. A cinematic, dreamy record full of ambient and dreamy leftfield pop, interspersed with a pinch of noise, rnb and choral music, the album’s textures are varied, evoking the idea of a well-directed mixtape. Comprising of 11 works with different compositional structures and starting points, Ariel was written, produced and mixed by Høgevold herself, with the exception of Skip Through the Night and Topp Boy which respectively feature Even Brenden (Chmmr) and Martin Horntveth on production. Through compositions and sampling, the listener will catch glimpses of Norwegian folk music, shoegaze, modern classical and Americana. From short tracks and catchy melodies to more expansive segments and harmonies, the richness of Silje’s life and artistry is distilled into the album Ariel.

To sum up, Høgevold's activity in recent years has been very varied, but some common threads can be identified in her artistry which appear on the upcoming record. A distinctive enthusiasm for the the art of the “pop choir” characterizes much of her work. The music of Ariel embodies the artist’s own unique taste, and the time span through which it has been created has allowed both the music and its creator to naturally develop and mature.


Contributors:
Martin Horntveth
Even Brenden
Hanne Sørlie
Ole Øvstedal
Eivind Vullum
Even Brenden
Kjersti Lindtveidt
Eirin Kinn

Mention:

"Silje Høgevold is truly one of the best singers in the country, without the large masses having necessarily been exposed to her exceptionally clear voice yet for that reason." - Audun Vinger, "Silje comes out of the cave", March 2020 in Dagens Næringsliv