NORWEGIAN songstress Ane Brun has released the fifth in a series of monthly tracks ahead of an as-yet-untitled eighth studio set.
The album is due to be in the racks in time for winter, and will be her first set of original material since 2015’s When I’m Free, and her first longform outing in the three years since her covers album, Leave Me Breathless, on which she shed new vocal light on songs by artists as diverse as The Righteous Brothers, Shakespears Sister, Nick Cave, and Joni Mitchell.
And new track “Honey” – which is out now via Ane’s own Balloon Ranger Recordings – has an interesting gestation, as she explains.
“I had a pen pal for many years. We started writing to each other when we were about 13 and kept it going for about a decade. Those handwritten notes from our teens were long, intense and personal.
“In our thirties we decided to swap our old letters to each other, and soon after a shoebox arrived. In that same box was a cassette tape. There it was! The light, clear voice of my 18-year-old self. As the tape rolled, my jaw dropped. Her energy struck me and I was filled with love for this version of myself.
“I was reminded of how I was back then … of the lightness and the giggles that were such a big part of that time.
“While listening back, I realised that the woman I am had reconnected with the girl on the tape. I decided to write a love song to my young self that day! This is “Honey”.”
“Honey” lopes forward on a shuffled break, topped with Ane’s trademark sibilant and bruised vocal beauty. It’s a cool, modern Scandi nugget. Watch the video below.
And with the album due in the shops in the autumn, Ane has announced a short run of UK dates just before Christmas.
She will play Glasgow St Luke’s on December 8th; Manchester Academy 2 on the 9th, and London, Shepherds Bush Empire on Thursday, December 10th.
Follow Ane Brun online at https://anebrun.com/
