anja garbarek »briefly shaking« lp (tf65)
anja garbarek once compared the process of writing an album to that of a painter preparing for an exhibition: it takes patience, persistance and, most of all, a lot of time. this hunger for artistic integrity explains why legendary colleagues like robert wyatt have turned some of her songs into focal points of their own records. and it also indicates why there's a full five years between the award-winning smiling and waving and her latest full-length briefly shaking. as much as fans will have clamoured for fresh material, it was time well spent. every bar of music has been minutely thought-over, every cue carefully deliberated, each arrangement honed to perfection. the outcome is a work of eleven concise songs filled with surprising twists, cinematic qualities and hints at folk, rock, jazz and experimental sound art. held together by a great pop sensibility, anja brings these pieces to life with all the dramaturgical talent of a former actress. her voice takes center stage as she whispers, dreams, yearns, purrs and (simply) sings her way through stories about the smell of spit, streets that reach into the window and boys with hands so big they could break her in two.
after three years (that may seem like a long time, but at tonefloat, too, we like to put quality before speed) this fairytale-like album is now finally available on 180 grams vinyl and housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with innerbag. a limited edition of 200 copies will be available on red vinyl.
briefly shaking can be pre-ordered now from the tonefloat store for 20 euros for the limited edition, or 16 euro for the regular edition (plus shipping). pre-orders will ship around 21 april.
http://www.tonefloat.com