Hydras Dream’s attractive experimental ambient provides a cinematic and hauntingly beautiful listening experience.
Sweden is a prolific purveyor of good music, no doubt about that. A lot of excellent jazz comes out of there, but also all kinds of electronic music, progressive rock, experimental and more. Hydras Dream is the collaborative project of singer, pianist/keyboardist and songwriter Anna von Hausswolff, and pianist and composer of film scores Matti Bye. The Little Match Girl is the project’s debut album. This debut not only provided me with good music, it also introduced me to two talented artists I haven’t heard of before. Anna von Hausswolff’s latest album, Ceremony, is now at the top of my must get list, and a little bird told me that we’ll be hearing more from Matti Bye via Denovali later on this year, and that is something I’m quite looking forward to. So, what do we have here?
As the title implies, the album is informed by Hans Christian Andersen’s famous story of the same title. In fact, press release states that the concept behind this project is to interpret stories, movies and myths into musical landscapes. The dark shades infused with glimpses of hope can indeed be a suitable soundtrack for Andersen’s story, but one of the great things about abstract music is that the listener can interpret it anyway he/she wants. While “Last Evening Of The Year,” “Grievance Of A Young Girl” and the title track can easily accompany dark twisted scenes by Tim Burton, “Losing The Slippers” and some parts of “Grandma’s Appearance” can be a part of Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack. Hydras Dream’s attractive experimental ambient provides a cinematic and hauntingly beautiful listening experience.
There’s no info on the album sleeve regarding who plays what, but the most powerful tracks here are definitely the ones on which von Hausswolff sings/chants. She’s a petite lady, but don’t let it fool you, her voice can pierce hearts and break down walls. Hydras Dream is definitely an interesting project, and its The Little Match Girl is a great first output.
The Little Match Girl is available on Denovali.
