KARIN PARK - Private Collection

Ok, now that I've seen her live the second time this year and grabbed it from her merch table, it's time to review Karin Park's latest solo release. Or maybe not? It feels a little bit weird, because I've not only known the promo for months, but also back in September...

I'VE ALREADY WRITTEN A REVIEW OF THIS ALBUM HERE ON VEILOFSOUND.COM!

KARIN PARK - Private Collection (CD) (2022)

Since I don't want to parrot myself, the central question for me is: Has my opinion on the album changed since my last review? In terms of the musical content it certainly hasn't. I still love these new, more intimate and solemn interpretations of songs from the Swedish singer's back catalogue as much as I did back then. This is just brilliant dark and honest pop - sitting somewhere under the wide roof of what I like to call Contemporary Gothic - with exceptional vocal performances.
Pump organ, piano, some strings and subtle electronic elements are the canvas, her charismatic and versatile voice is the breathtaking brushstroke flying over it.
Most of this is close to how she plays these pieces live today, even though the studio versions breathe a little more of that special holy grandeur of the former church where they have been recorded. Both sonically and emotionally this album feels huge and delicate at the same time. It's just wonderful. And listening to it right now I must correct myself: My opinion has changed! I love the nine revisited songs plus the new opener "Traces Of Me" even more today.

Karin Park live in Hamburg

I've also changed my opinion about the cover artwork, for which I had found pretty harsh words on Veil of Sound, claiming that "it looks now in its flat 2D preview: WTF is going on on that cover? That looks like the 1990s abducted a perfectly fine, beautiful, strong image and dragged it through photoshopping hell."
My stance hasn't changed radically though, but I will admit that the thing translates badly onto the screen and doesn't actually look that weird when you see it for real (and with the context of the rest of the artwork). It's ok, I guess. Compared to the covers since 2009's "Ashes To Gold" however it feels quite wishy-washy and not very striking. And since when am I talking that much about a cover artwork? Sorry, once you start with it, it develops a life of its own I guess. Well, since we're at that point now anyway: The Roman MMXXIII (=2023) still doesn't make sense. Or am I missing something?

Noone cares, I know. Shut up already and just enjoy the magical touch of Karin's music, man!

A.A. WILLIAMS and KARIN PARK live at Hafenklang, Hamburg (November 30th 2022)

I know, never say never! But according to my recent plan this show on the last day of November was the closer for my personal live music season before taking a little break until mid January.
Two artists, who I had both seen before this year promised a comfort zone night full of captivating beautiful music, but also sets which would be a little different due to new albums being released and it being a different kind of gig for either.

KARIN PARK

Man, this must be so annoying for you, but I just can't help it: me always dropping those Roadburn references. Well, obviously the occasion on which I had seen Karin Park before had been the festival in Tilburg, both performing solo and with her husband in their band Årabrot. Yet when I entered the Hafenklang venue to my absolute surprise I also felt reminded of Lingua Ignota's Skatepark show there in 2019, simply because Karin's keyboards were set up on the floor amidst the audience in front of the stage and being surround by lamps as main light source. Of course this show however wouldn't be conjuring frightening horrors, but using the same close proximity to touch the listeners in a different way.

With exception of the obvious hit "Thousand Loaded Guns" and the new "Traces Of Me" her set exclusively comprised the new, often  minimalistic takes of her catalogue as heard on her recent album "Private Collection". And while she built an adequate musical backdrop with the various modern and vintage toys surrounding her, the most important ingredient of course were her distinct spectacular vocals. Standing there just an arm's length away it really struck me what a wondrous instrument the human voice is. And how seemingly effortless she would create such an emotionally embracing magic. This was a special experience I can only  downgrade by talking too much about it.

For the last song "Blue Roses" Karin finally went onto the small stage to play on the one piece from her pump organ collection which qualified for accompanying her through Europe, just because it was the only one small enough. And the certain grittiness of her voice in that particular song... wow!
I would definitely have endured a show two or three tracks longer.

A.A.WILLIAMS

The big difference for A.A.Williams and her band was that the last time I had seen them not too long ago in August, they were supporting Mono, while this was the premiere of their first headlining show in Germany. In that position and in this smaller club I expected the performance to hit a little deeper and so it did. It's obviously hard to describe what exactly changed, apart from A.A. Williams playing more material from her new album "As The Moon Rests", which hadn't been released yet back then.

Compared to Karin Park before her A.A. Williams' stylistic formula felt a little more restricted, since she ultimately just fed that one particular vibe of Überwältigunsmelancholie, packed in slow shoegaze/postrock-epic contemporary gothic songs, which sometimes carried, often willfully washed over her warm voice and which are also often structured in the same way. I'm not complaining about those at all, because they are all huge and cathartically wholesome. But a couple of tracks in there shifting the mood or tempo would actually also let the Williams' standard tune shine more.

Among the many things one could praise about this band let me just point out the detailed nuanced play of the rhythm section! Bass and drums are just doing a lot of those little interesting things, which made me put on the respectful inner stankface. Great job!

At the merch table I completed my Park album collection as far as possible and also grabbed the new A.A.Williams. So there are a couple of more new reviews coming here soon. Or soonish, since my to-do-list is growing daily, we'll see!

The whole mood of this night and how the audience (a good amount of attendees for a post-covid 2022 Wednesday) reacted to the artists was beautiful. Just the right note to end the season for me.

ROADBURN 6 x 6

Maggot Heart

On Monday or Tuesday, while I was figuring out what cameras to use on my journey to the Netherlands on Wednesday, April 20th 2022, I had the inspiration that I should do something special and for the first time since 2014 bring my Adox Golf medium format folding camera to Roadburn.

Had this idea come earlier I may have been able to purchase a couple of new Ilford Delta 3200 films. But right now I only had two rolls left in my stash, which translates to twenty-four 6x6 cm frames.
So the rule was just to shoot one picture of each artist and not even to do that at every show, because otherwise I would never be able to cover all five days.

But even though I stayed disciplined I only reached Friday, because out of all things that could possibly happen, my shutter cable fucking broke.

Maybe I could have filled my second film without it, but I thought that taking pictures in this style without it would be too shaky, so I didn't bother to bring the camera for the last two days.

And that's why the last two photos in this post are completely off topic tourist snapshots from Biezenmortel.

Big|Brave

Slift

not Lili Refrain
(or what happens if you miss the moment of right lightning)

Atonia

Freja

Gggolddd

Karin Park

Yodok III

Albatre
(and a very poor cut, I know)

Biezenmortel

Biezenmortel