Biography
Rebekka Bakken is one of the most distinctive and exciting voices in Europe. It’s hard to put her in any musical booth – singer-songwriter, jazz, Americana, folk, soul or blues – Rebekka visits most genres. After many years abroad, Rebekka moved back to Norway, but is still often seen on stage around festivals in Europe.
2023: New album out 28 april.
On her album “Always On My Mind”, which is set to be released by Sony Masterworks on April 28, 2023, Rebekka Bakken reinvents her favourite songs with the sound of atmospheric Scandinavian Pop and Jazz. Together with her band, she adopts classics such as “Yesterday” by Lennon/McCartney, “Here Comes The Flood” by Peter Gabriel or “Why” by Annie Lennox as well as tunes by a new generation of contemporary songwriters like “Break My Heart Again” by Finneas O`Connell. In an intimate band setting with some of Norway’s finest studio musicians, the multi-gold award-winning musician and producer taps into the mystical depths in these songs.
Rebekka Bakken skilfully orchestrates the whale-like sounds of guitarist Eivind Aarset with the ethereal organ and synthesizer pads of Jørn Øien and Torjus Vierli and waves them into emotional piano chords, driving bass lines of Tor Egil Kreken and all-acoustic laid-back drum beats of Rune Arnesen. It is this multi-layered soundscape that sets the foundation for the breathtakingly soulful voice of Rebekka Bakken, who has been compared to Janis Joplin.
“These songs have ‘always been on my mind’ and inspired my own songwriting. They are the ‘soundtrack of my life’ and some of them have stuck with me since my childhood. I have developed my own voice listening to some of these songs and it is just the right moment to re-interpret them my way”, Rebekka Bakken says. “Always On My Mind” includes 15 colorful songs by Elton John, Bob Dylan, Randy Newman, Nick Cave and more.
«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.
On Winter Nights Bakken interprets Christmas carols and songs for the wintry season with her powerful and expressive voice which easily encompasses three octaves. Among other songs, she sings Calling All Angels, In The Bleak Midwinter and Silent Night, and also adds a different, a gentle and romantic glow, to Last Christmas by Wham!. Because Rebekka Bakken is not only a singer but a composer, too, she wrote seven of her own songs for Winter Nights, perfectly rounding out the contemplative winter album.
The songs the artist has chosen, both by others and from her own pen, reveal the singer’s passionate yet also unconventional relationship with the holiday season. “This time of year can have so many aspects, it can be both heaven and hell at the same time. I like the Christmas message, the message of newborn awareness. The things I associate with Christmas are full of joy and beauty. But sometimes you also have to make your way through the holiday season in difficult circumstances. Christmas gives more intensity to your life then, too.” I’ve always dreamed of doing a winter album because I adore the winter and composing songs for the holiday season. A never-ending stream of these songs seems to pour out when I delve into this part of my music-making. I’ve been singing Kyrie Eleison for months and I heard my neighbour whistling the melody when I was out in my garden.”
An intensity which Rebekka Bakken consummately turns into personally felt music on Winter Nights. For her arrangements stand apart, do not rely on what has come before, are never excessive. Instead, with almost minimalist instrumentation for piano, guitar, bass and drums, she expresses a perfect sense of ease. This is an organic album produced by pure musicians in a very relaxed mood.