At the time of the interview, Anna von Hausswolff is in Berlin. "This is the first time I've done such an interview marathon," reveals the 29-year-old singer and organist. Nevertheless there are no signs of exhaustion in the Swedish girl, instead she chats away from her liver about her wonderful third album. On "The Miraculous" she presents the church organ in a completely new context, approaching bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor - a fascinating listening experience.
eclipsed: The lyrics of your last album "Ceremony" were often dark and morbid, and "The Miraculous" seems even darker. Are you melancholic by nature? Or is music a vehicle for you to bring hidden facets of your personality to light?
Anna von Hausswolff: I am actually a very cheerful person and like to laugh. But making music helps me to bring out certain aspects of my personality that I can't show otherwise.
eclipsed: So the melancholic songs are like some kind of therapy for you?
Von Hausswolff: Absolutely. It sounds like a cliché now, but I make music because it gives me comfort, it gives me a pleasant feeling because I'm a bit strange. (laughs)
eclipsed: With "The Miraculous" you look back on your childhood, when your parents told you about a place they often visited. Why do you think this place just reappeared the moment you worked on this record?
Von Hausswolff: Walter Ljungquist's book "Källan" inspired me. In it, children go in search of the divine. Nature is described in great detail and mysteriously, and I remembered the place in question. The stories I have been told about it are an interesting mixture of truth and fiction. A long time ago, for example, there was a large peasant revolt against the king and his tax collections.
