Linda Fredriksson JUNIPER
Incantatory eloquence without words
Introvert yet expressive, with a melancholic beauty that never becomes slippery or coquettish. This is how the music of Finland's Linda Fredriksson is best described. Through a dark-tinged soundscape of layered synth parts, sampled nature sounds and a sparingly dosed rhythm section, Fredriksson prefers to draw long, slowly undulating melody lines with their favourite instrument: the baritone saxophone. They possess an incantatory tone, made all the more poignant by regularly letting the edges fray and sometimes even tearing the sound to shreds altogether. It is difficult to put your finger on what gives this music such unmistakable eloquence. Perhaps the secret lies in the image Fredriksson paints of themself: that of a singer-songwriter, but one without words. They simply don't need them, even if they use their voice from time to time. Fredriksson has walked pop and big band paths before, but with the album Juniper they create their own musical habitat for the first time and does so extremely convincingly.
