Susanna ‘Go Dig My Grave’ feat. Giovanna Pessi, Frode Haltli & Cheyenne Mize

Norwegian artist Susanna has never been one to shy away from the great questions in her music. With ‘Go Dig My Grave’, her 12th album, she explores historic musical gaps by combining music from the Great American Songbook and old English traditionals with baroque instrumentation and her own, characteristic vocal interpretations. Add some Henry Purcell, some Lou Reed, and Susanna’s own composition, and the unique complexity of Susanna’s artistry is evident: ‘Go Dig My Grave’ is a profoundly personal collection of dark songs with deep roots through centuries of American and European musical heritage.

The album marks Susanna’s return to her collaboration with Swiss baroque harp player Giovanna Pessi. Pessi first appeared alongside Susanna on the album ‘Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos’, released on Rune Grammofon in 2007, and played a major role on the critically acclaimed ECM album ‘If Grief Could Wait’, a deep-dive into the sorrow-stricken music of Henry Purcell, Leonard Cohen and Susanna herself. The two invited the talented young accordion player Ida Løvli Hidle and the great Norwegian fiddle player and folk singer Tuva Livsdatter Syvertsen to premiere the music at Kongsberg Jazzfestival in July 2017 and record an album. The result is a dynamic band that easily masters subtle shifts from the simple folk feeling of songs like Elizabeth Cotten’s ‘Freight Train’ to the icy beauty of Purcell’s ‘Cold Song’ and the complex, centuries old lament of ‘The Willow Song’.

In concert Giovanna Pessi and Susanna plays the new album ‘Go Dig My Grave’ and from their previous ‘If Grief Could Wait’, and at the Park Church Co-op in Brooklyn they are joined by the amazing musicians Frode Haltli on accordion and Cheyenne Mize on fiddle and vocals.

——————
The Norwegian artist Susanna is a rare and distinct voice in international art pop, and has been releasing music since 2004 with the duo ‘Susanna and the Magical Orchestra’, as ‘Susanna’ and under her full name, Susanna Wallumrød. She is known for her transforming of songs by AC/DC, Dolly Parton, Thin Lizzy and Leonard Cohen among others, but also for her strong originals and collaborations with artists like Jenny Hval, Ensemble neoN, Deathprod and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. Her previous album ‘Triangle’ received notable international praise for its originality and musical ambition. Susanna has received three Norwegian Grammy awards (Spellemannprisen) in Open Category for her recordings, and several other awards as a singer and composer.

Giovanna Pessi, based in Basel, Switzerland, has studied early music and historical harps in Switzerland and Germany from 1994-2002. She has performed both as a soloist and accompanist with musicians and conductors such as Rolf Lislevand, Philippe Pierlot and Harry Bicket on numerous recordings and concerts over the years.

Frode Haltli, based in Svartskog, Norway, has studied accordion at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, and at the Royal Danish Music Conservatory, won numerous national concerts at an early age, and is a highly active performer of both contemporary, folk, jazz and improv music. Haltli has several recordings released by ECM Records, SIMAX, HUBRO, and has held master classes at music academies in Copenhagen, Oslo, Graz, Lucerne, Lodz and at many festivals.

Cheyenne Mize, based in Louisville KY, USA, is a fiddler and vocalist/artist with great experience as a musician for acts like Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy and through her own releases as a solo artist, in addition to her participation in the trio Maiden Radio, who has been nominated for best Americana artist two years running at the Louisville Music Awards. Cheyenne plays on the Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy cover album of Susanna’s ‘Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos’ released as ‘Wolf of the Cosmos’ on Drag City in November 2017.

Sound engineer Espen Hoeydalsvik.

www.susannamagical.com