Image by Jonathan Melamed
Hanne Hukkelberg brings experimental, jazzy riffs to Manhattan
March 10, 2008, at Knitting Factory
By Katy Henriksen
Published: March 12th, 2008 | 10:10pm
Although Norwegian Grammy-winner Hanne Hukkelberg was the second in the line-up of four acts, as a part of the Oh My Rockness- and Oya Festival-sponsored event, the attentive audience treated her as the headliner she often is. Promoting the U.S. release of Rykestrasse 68 (Nettwerk), she’d stopped in for a couple of NYC shows prior to four SXSW gigs and a Chicago appearance next week, followed by a few west coast dates.
Rykestrasse 68, a document to Hukkelberg’s six months in Berlin, plays out as a sparse experiment in cinematic jazz pop textured by a dizzying collage of instrumentation and sounds. A live performance of the tracks translated into a more rounded, filled-out glow in contrast to the more angular recording. Hukkelberg, playing a Yamaha keyboard, was backed by the typical guitar, bass, and drum, formation with one exception: Lena Nymark on primary backing vocals, toy xylophone, toy piano, tuba, and flute.
The interplay between Hukkelberg and Nymark, whose swooping, operatic soprano proved a harrowing counterpoint to Hukkelberg’s wide-ranging mezzo, was the driving force of the night’s performance, whether in the minor-keyed carnivalesque “The Pirate” or a passionate rendering of Pixies' “Break My Body.”
Beginning with a few lilting piano chords and Hukkelberg singing rounded tones jumping up and down her register, “The Pirate” was, at first, deceptively quietly. Soon the guitarist layered the song with slow squeezing of a child-sized accordion and Nymark began an otherworldly, arcing coo, until the entire band jumped in for a romping climax not conveyed on the recording.
Where Pixies' “Break My Body” saw Frank Black and Kim Deal in a punk-rock, guitar-driven angst, Hukkelberg and Nymark recast it into a searing, full-voiced rendering more fit for a Broadway stage. Nymark impressively juggled her vocals with intermittent measures on flute and toy piano.
Other highlights included the uptempo “North Winds” — with the guitarist again on accordion, Nymark switching between flute and tuba, and Hukkelberg singing in her lower register with a piercing alto — and a percussive jazzy swaying “A Cheater’s Armoury.”
The complexity of Hukkelberg’s compositions and vocal interpretations prove more solid live than through recordings. That’s saying a lot, because Rykestrasse 68 is a subtle gem that expertly fuses Hukkelberg’s disparate influences, which range from free jazz to avant metal, into a moody sound collage all her own.
Issue #35
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