NHT143: STINA NORDENSTAM – Viewed From The Spire
Hi,
Welcome to NEVER HEARD THAT.
I first heard Swedish artist STINA NORDENSTAM after she supplied vocals for a band that I really liked.
I enjoyed what she contributed to the extent that I knew that I should explore further – in doing so, I came to realise that she was a unique talent in her own right.
I just love the dynamic layering of this amazing song as it unfolds in front of you.
I hope you enjoy this weeks NEVER HEARD THAT.
Cheers, Andrew Muecke
Podcast
Here is a link to the Podcast on YouTube
Please note: the photo on the right-hand side of the YouTube video above is not a photo of Stina.
Here is a link to the NEVER HEARD THAT YouTube playlist
4 Comments so far:
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admin says:
Hi Grithron2,
Thanks very much for your excellent and very informative post.
I would like to be able to speak more about Stina but I only came into her music way too late. I would like to have been aware of her work as it unfolded from the start.
The opening track from Dynamite (a great album), “Under Your Command” is absolutely outstanding – it was a real contender for this show, but I couldn’t go past “Viewed From The Spire” as it was the initial one that absolutely grabbed hold of me and turned me into a fan.
Her complete uniqueness to me is worthy of championing. Only very few achieve that.
Cheers Andrew
(PS Thanks for correcting my error!)
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tribeofone says:
Just a little heads-up. The big photo above is NOT Stina; it’s a photo of someone else which has crept into Google images, mistakenly identified with her.
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Hi Dave, thanks for your message.
Damn, out of all the shows, that was the only one where I felt unsure that the photo was right!
I followed the image to a story about Stina where it was included so I thought it must have been her (from when she was younger).
My excuse (!!) was that I looking for a high-res photo and that was seemingly the only one (much to her credit she has stayed out the press ‘limelight’).
Thanks again! I will look to replacing the image on the site. Cheers Andrew
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Nice to see people discovering the great Stina. What’s your verdict on the “controversial” Dynamite album?
Stina’s voice may be unusual but there’s precedents for it (looking for ’em you can go right back to Blossom Dearie or Rosie Murphy). What actually IS unique is her writing style.
Her best-known song is about someone committing suicide in spectacular fashion. Now prepare for songs like this – designated a kids’ video by YouTube, and it’s a song about being a terrorist’s confidante! What do you expect? Stina’s speciality – songs about witnessing murders, or the unearthing of murder victims, about being killed, arranging a murder, about witnessing disasters in space, a blinded relative choosing death rather than disability…and when she’s tired of that, just lots of unhappy-relationship songs. With jazzy chord-changes and solos, and plenty of leslie-cabinet-style distortion of vocals and electronics.
BTW: Error on YT page – Jon Hassell isn’t on Crime, his great moment is on I See You Again (a mere fragment of a song, but with ten seconds of THE most vocalised trumpet possible!)