Rebekka Bakken

Rebekka Bakken is a fantastic, unique and unmistakably Nordic singer, whose pure, bell-like voice soars from the highest heights to the most sensual lows. The Norwegian vocalist is also a storyteller. 'As soon as there are words, it is all about the lyrics. As singers, we are only the delivery girls', she has been quoted as saying - a gross understatement in her case. She has mastered the art of putting the spotlight on the song itself, letting it shine in colourful light, while never hiding behind the song. Whether Rebekka Bakken sings her own songs, or songs by Ludwig Hirsch or Tom Waits, rock music or intimate ballads, whether accompanied by jazz guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, a rock band, or a big band, her iconic voice is immediately recognisable. It goes right under the skin, into the belly and head and directly to the heart. During any concert, Bakken provides her audience with plenty of goose bump moments to savour.


Things You Leave Behind: (latest record, SONY 2018)

Love it, change it or leave it - the three options with which gurus and calendar poets show us the way out of any possible misery. On her new album "Things You Leave Behind" Rebekka Bakken opts for all three of these possibilities: she loves life so much she experiences it in constant change and lets go of whatever wants to leave. The passage of time and things - elemental for her songs. "The last years have brought a lot of changes to my life, a lot of scary chaos," says the singer-songwriter. "My tour agent died, I have a new booking and a new label. I moved back to Norway, I have a new guy, and last but not least a child! It was a time of change. For me, this shows in this album, which is breaking down images and situations and expectations. There is no relying on anything when there is chaos, and that's when the good stuff starts to happen for me. The less ideas I have about what things are supposed to be, the more comes to the surface. "

"Things You Leave Behind" presents Rebekka Bakken as an extraordinarily mature singer and songwriter. The album title marks both a new beginning and a retrospective and stands for music that experiences its future in the here and now. It is her personal liberation and a general slap in the face of critics and other unconscientious objectors. "The world has changed - and I'm not ready for it," says Rebekka Bakken. A few years ago, the Norwegian, who found her own voice in New York at the end of the nineties, moved back to Manhattan. "I'm looking for things to confirm myself. I wanted to co-vibrate with people around me and meet people like me, but everybody was drinking green organic juices and green tea. Soho with her Birkenstocks and not making noise. I always felt strange and weird, but rarely so much. "