Astrid Swan (FIN)

I heard about Astrid Swan last month when I was in Finland for the Musikki & Media convention and the Lost In Music festival (which incidentily was a friggin amazing trip…thanks Henna, Juha, Esa, Toni, Jutta, Ville and co!). My friend Esa Tontti (Gaea Recordings & Bookings) is her booking agent and Nick Triani, a radio journalist from Radio Helsinki, also mentioned her to me. Turns out Nick works as A&R with her Finnish label (Johanna Kustannus), so I received a copy of the album last week. Prior to that I had only been familiar with the tunes she has up on her myspace page, which I liked for various reasons as they were ballsy, charasmatic, clever, often times whimsical, and have the same good old fashioned ‘I don’t give a shit’ type attitude as Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry et al. Needless to say, I’m a sucker for people who rock out with their frock out, so, I must admit, I’m kinda smitten with the below song.

Astrid Swan – ‘As Long As I’s Not You’

Astrid Swan’s debut album Poverina was released in the USA through Minty Fresh Records in May 2007, receiving rave reviews from press and public alike. The album was originally released in Astrid’s native country Finland in 2005, becoming a critics’ favorite, and establishing Astrid as a serious songwriting and performing talent. Astrid promoted Poverina in various countries in the last 2 years before returning to the studio to record her next album. Astrid’s second album Spartan Picnic was released in Finland in February 2008 on Pyramid (the label continuing from the legendary Love Records). In addition to Finnish shows and festivals, Swan has played shows in 2008 at MIDEM in France, The Great Escape festival in Brighton, UK and Germany and Sweden. In the autumn Spartan Picnic has been released in Germany and Sweden. Swan’s second album displays her willingness to experiment with songwriting form whilst adding an edgier tone to her sound. This is popmusic with the odd unexpected turn.

Here’s what the press have to say:

“Poverina, Astrid Swan’s American debut, is a beautifully surreal and intensely imaginative album. Unlike many modern day recordings, Poverina’s construction has an old-fashioned class and sophistication that is unrivaled.” AMPLIFIER MAGAZINE

“It’s something lovely, if heartbreaking, if totally intoxicating.” 3HIVE

“Astrid’s jazzy flashes of art deco dirges are dispatched over breathy delicacy as Poverina pirouettes beautifully, turning the luminous ominous and the fanciful obvious.” MAXIMUM INK

“This is kind of the opposite of Tori Amos. Amos tortures her voice while playing relatively conventional music. Swan kicks out some seriously contorted songs and then adorns it with straightforward singing. I think I like this better. In fact, I know I do. Pretty sweet. ” A&A

“Her debut album, Poverina, is sure to startle and delight with its Kate Bushian sensibility and sweeping piano melodies. Not that she’s easily compared to other female artists before her” WHO NEEDS RADIO

“She really is amazingly talented and comparable to even the greats, like Joni Mitchell or Carly Simon.” BRING ME UP

I’m interested to see what she comes up with next and I’d definately like to catch a live performance, so when I do, I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, for further information please see her myspace profile or website.