Hukkelberg has been making waves since the release of her debut album on Leaf last year. Originally from Konsberg in Norway, she emerged fully formed, musically speaking, from the close-knit, heady improv/post-rock scene in Oslo, where she has an established reputation and an enthusiastic following. While studying in Oslo (she graduated from the jazz dept of Norway’s National Academy of Music in 2003) Hukkelberg sang in metal bands, free improv orchestras, prog-rock bands and a jazz duo; rich influences that have left indelible imprints on her warmly surrealist sound.
Her fluid, textured voice carries tunes across delicately composed songs; each an eclectic, touching and comic mix of electronica, improv, pop and fifties Hollywood jazz. She Brazenly rejects the obvious in melodic structure, foregoes the familiarity of easy phrases, and instead, carves out her own path, which wends in interesting and surprising directions. Her songs have multiple layers of emotion, at once touching, and brimming with mischievous wit. From the sweet and funny lyrics to the quirky instruments and objects she uses, Hukkelberg has a style that is one-of-a-kind.
A child of musical parents, Hukkelberg was singing by age three and showed an early proclivity for non-traditional instruments like pots and pans, cutlery and toys (she also lists bicycle spokes along with guitar and glockenspiel among instruments she plays).
Hukkelberg’s debut album Little Things, out on Oslo label Propeller Records in 2003, came to international attention when it was licensed by Leaf and released worldwide in 2005. The record was meticulously put together over two years by Hukkelberg and producer Kåre Vestrheim, it combines sound impressions collected by Hukkelberg while bicycling around Oslo, jams on wine glasses, banjo, fiddle, accordion, dish-washing brushes, and contributions from some of Norway’s finest musicians: Jaga Jazzist, Kaada, Shining and others.
> www.hannehukkelberg.com
Appearances:
> CTM.06
