Anna von Hausswolff debuts “Struggle With The Beast”; her nine minute opus of stirring movement, anthemic ritualism, and maximalist composition. The experimental composer and musician fiercely melds the pipe organ, guitars, percussion, violin, viola, cello and double bass with a magnetic saxophone piece from Otis Sandsjö, all with her impending ethereal vocals. “I wrote this song after a close friend experienced a psychosis,” von Hausswolff reveals. “There was something unstoppable and completely disconnected about her, as if she were living and reigning in a parallel universe of some kind. She was so far away from the person I knew, as if all of her social barriers had completely dissolved. There was a new, weird brilliance to her way of communicating and being. She had no filters. I’m glad she’s back to normal today, but it made me think of how vulnerable and complex we all are, and that there are layers of unresolved trauma and unspoken truths within everyone.”
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von Hausswolff’s work carves out space for the celestial and the transcendent to enter into the modern world. Throughout the years von Hausswolff’s releases cemented her as an artist of unpredictable and vast creativity – always moving forward, always fusing tradition with experimentation in unimaginable ways. On ICONOCLASTS, her forthcoming album and first with YEAR0001, her sound evolves again, bringing a poppier and more vibrant element to her moving songs. The album was produced by von Hausswolff and longtime collaborator Filip Leyman, marking a new chapter in von Hausswolff’s music and featuring appearances from Ethel Cain, Abul Mogard, Iggy Pop and Maria von Hausswolff.
ICONOCLASTS begins with brass heralding out, beckoning listeners into the boundless story that is about to unfold. From this, the groundwork is set for an album of blistering, mounting tension and hard-fought, euphoric release. Addressing themes of love, freedom, and autonomy, its title, ICONOCLASTS, hints at a shattering and reimagining of the sacred personal symbols that bubble under the surface of contemporary life: commitment, time, dependency, and belief.
In this pursuit, von Hausswolff chooses Atlas—he who carries the world’s weight upon his shoulders—as a sympathetic character. How does one find the strength to prevent collapsing in these trying moments? For von Hausswolff, it is the pursuit of the divine. She finds inspiration in the fears and contradictions that arise when one is faced with monolithic power structures and concepts. The songs on ICONOCLASTS transform these uncertain feelings into kindling for the creation of sonic bonfires of immense scale. Von Hausswolff sows her songs in the borderlands between the gargantuan and the intimate, and it is the ashes of these demolished symbols that fertilise its grounds for new possibilities.
On ICONOCLASTS, her ensemble is expanded to include the virtuoso saxophonist Otis Sandsjö, who brings his saxophone trills to the core of the record. von Hausswolff’s voice pulls the listener closer, offering glimpses into an emotive world of secrets and madness, of heartbreak and desire, of beauty and life. Although pushing towards new sonic territory, ICONOCLASTS features all of the signature qualities of a von Hausswolff release: mammoth intensity, crystalline iridescence, and lustrous dynamism.
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Next Spring, von Hausswolff returns to perform across North American in support of ICONOCLASTS. She will perform on organ and keys alongside an ensemble of selected musicians. Dates include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, D.C. and Toronto. Tickets are on sale now Here.