Fanø Free Folk Festival Presents: Laura Canell (UK) + Mika Akim (SE)

Laura Cannell
“This music feels ancient, it also feels brutally alive, as if a giant was waking from long slumbers, about to make its way in the world”. Sådan har avisen The Guardian beskrevet den engelske musiker og komponist Laura Cannells enestående arbejde med at forbinde lyden af fortidens musik og moderne eksperimenter.

Laura Cannell trækker på både sakrale musikformer og folkemusikalske traditioner, når hun går i dialog med middelalderens og renæssancens musikalske sprog, samtidig med at hun trækker på fri improvisation og avantgarde. I mange år markerede hun sig især med violinen som instrument, men hun har også indspillet musik for kirkeorgel, og i nyere tid har hun i stigende grad dyrket musik for fløjte. Det er også tilfældet på hendes seneste og fantastiske album, The Rituals of Hildegard Reimagined fra 2024, hvor hun med blokfløjter og harpe skaber minimalistiske kompositioner, der trækker på de smukke og mystiske kompositioner fra den tyske middelaldernonne Hildegard af Bingen.

Laura Cannell har samarbejdet med så forskellige navne som This Heat-trommeslager Charles Hayward, komiker Stewart Lee og harpenist Rhodri Davies. I 2015 gav hun en fantastisk koncert på Fanø Free Folk Festival, og det er en stor glæde for ALICE og Fanø Free Folk Festival at bringe hende til København her 10 år senere.

Mika Akim
Aftenen åbnes af den svenske musiker Mika Akim, alias Mika Persdotter, der har markeret sig stærkt i en række eksperimenterende og neo-klassiske projekter som Halvcirkel, Damkapellet og Wolfskin Ensemble. I sit solo-projekt som Mika Akim fokuserer hun dog på et mere singer/songwriter-orienteret materiale med inspiration fra navne som Sam Amidon og Joni Mitchell. Sangene får en unik kammermusikalsk klang takket være Mika Akims brug af bratsch og barokinstrumentet viola d’amore, der sammen med personlige tekster, som kredser om krop, erindring og tid, skaber et poetisk rum om musikken. Mika Akim har med projektet udsendt to smukke album, Till Kroppen og Tillsammans, og sidste år spillede hun blandt andet på Fanø Free Folk Festival og Copenhagen Jazz Festival. Vi havde glæde af at invitere hende ind på ALICE i 2019 og vi glæder os til igen at opleve hendes sange live.

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In English:
Modern compositions and poetic songs interact with music from the medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen and Baroque instruments when ALICE, in collaboration with Fanø Free Folk Festival, offers an evening in the company of Laura Cannell and Mika Akim.

Laura Cannell
"This music feels ancient, it also feels brutally alive, as if a giant was waking from long slumbers, about to make its way in the world". This is how The Guardian newspaper described British musician and composer Laura Cannell's unique work linking early music and modern experimentation.

Laura Cannell draws on both sacred music forms and folk traditions as she engages with the musical language of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, while also tapping into free improvisation and avant-garde music. For many years she worked mainly with the violin as an instrument, but she has also recorded music for pipe organ, and in recent years she has increasingly cultivated music for flute and recorders. This is also the case on her latest stunning album, The Rituals of Hildegard Reimagined from 2024, where she uses recorders and harp to create minimalist compositions that draw on the beautiful and mystical compositions of the German medieval nun Hildegard of Bingen.
Laura Cannell has collaborated with names as diverse as This Heat drummer Charles Hayward, comedian Stewart Lee and harpist Rhodri Davies. In 2015 she gave a fantastic concert at FanøFree Folk Festival, and it is a great pleasure for ALICE and Fanø Free Folk Festival to bring her to Copenhagen 10 years later.

Mika Akim
Opening the evening will be Swedish musician Mika Akim, aka Mika Persdotter, who has made her mark in a number of experimental and neo-classical projects such as Halvcirkel, Damkapellet and Wolfskin Ensemble. In her solo project as Mika Akim, however, she focuses on more singer/songwriter-oriented material inspired by the likes of Sam Amidon and Joni Mitchell. The songs have a unique chamber music sound thanks to Mika Akim's use of viola and the baroque instrument viola d'amore, which together with personal lyrics about body, memory and time create a poetic space around the music. Mika Akim has released two beautiful albums with the project, Till Kroppen and Tillsammans. Last year, she played at Fanø Free Folk Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival among other sites. In 2019 we had the joy of welcoming Mika Akim to ALICE, and we look forward to experiencing her songs live again this spring!