Words By: Jordyn Kieft

Norwegian experimental artist, composer, producer, and musician Kate Havnevik has just announced her forthcoming fifth album Lightship. The album is a wide-reaching record, which reflects artists free from restraints, reveling in escapism and finding comfort in change. It is a voyage into uncharted territories, where bountiful treasures are there to be found. Named after London’s most unique floating recording studio on the River Thames, Lightship 95, where the record was recorded, Lightship is Kate Havnevik’s most progressive and beautiful record to date. The album, which was created collaboratively with her long-term producing partner Guy Sigsworth [Björk, Madonna, Alanis Morisette] will be released on January 21st, 2022 via Contenentica Records.

Kate Havnevik first rose to fame with her critically acclaimed self-released debut album MELANKTON in 2006. The album was a hit in film and TV, where ten songs were featured in Grey’s Anatomy – a record for any artist. Havnevik continued as a proudly independent artist by self-releasing her following two albums, You and & I, in 2012 and 2015 respectively. Havnevik’s last album, Mariana’s World, which was released in 2020, was actually the soundtrack for the Norwegian film Alle Utlendinger Har Lukka Gardiner. Over the years Kate Havnevik has collaborated with Röyksopp, DJ Carmen Rizzo, Schiller, and prominent producers such as Marius De Vries [Björk, PJ Harvey, Bebel Gilberto], Paul Statham [Dido, Kylie Minogue], and Noel Hogan [The Cranberries].

Along with her album announcement, Kate Havnevik released a brand new single “Dream Her To Life” from Lightship. The song is a curious and playful track featuring Havnevik’s stunning vocals, wide-ranging harmonies, handclaps, and pizzicato cello played on keys, which together produce a dreamy feel-good glacial anthem full of optimism. “There’s a story by Borges called ‘The Circular Ruins’,” says Sigsworth about the inspirations behind the single. “It’s about a sorcerer who, through intense, focussed meditation, manages to create a companion – a son – by literally dreaming him into life. In the process, the sorcerer discovers that he, too, has been dreamt into life by someone else. We were riffing on that theme, mixing it up with ideas of the land reviving in spring, after winter hibernation. It sounds super preposterous, I know. But the music has this unique Arcadian feel as if it’s coming from a magical forest. It just wouldn’t let us write lyrics about going clubbing on a Saturday night, even if we’d wanted to.” This euphonious piece is a great representation of the beautiful handiwork Havnevik has in store for us in her upcoming album.

Kate Havnevik’s Lightship is a stunning aural artwork of immense expansive sounds, full of rare instrumentation and glorious songwriting. She pulls from the outer reaches of the electronic sphere, centralized under a fascinating pop scope, proving Lightship to be her most mesmerizing album yet. To celebrate the release, Havnevik will be performing a headline show where she will play at London’s St. Pancras Old Church on the day of the album release. Tickets can be purchased below.

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