Sea Change | INSIDE | Self Release
Release Date: 15 November, 2019
Feature Image: Sea Change by Øystein Haara Photography
“Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade / But doth suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell.”
The Tempest, William Shakespeare (1610)
Inspiration comes from all around us; often when we least expect it – yet for many, the spaces in which we inhabit are deep seated within our hearts, and whether intentional or not, our environmental surroundings creep into the artwork we create; the memories and experiences associated with sprawling landscapes or tight city architecture shaping our perspective of the world and our innermost realities.
For Norwegian artist Ellen Sunde, known under her moniker Sea Change; the inspirations present in the environments she dwells within beam as gossamer threads woven within her sound – with influences from the vast Norwegian landscapes evident in her 2015 debut LP ‘Breakage’, Sunde fashions lucid, ethereal travels through her personal auditory worlds.
The term sea change refers to a radical transformation and change in direction, applicable even further as she returns with her second LP ‘INSIDE’ – travelling through the glittering realms of her experiences in the bustling city life of LA, and more recently her relocation to the equally vibrant and lively Berlin. The rigorous energy of city living blossoms a blazing intensity which encompasses ‘INSIDE’, exhibiting Sunde’s significant personal changes; along with the new worlds that evolve with relocations to completely different atmospheres.
The swells of a heartbeat crush introduce ‘Stepping Out’ – propelling synths evoking a slight, yet provocative anxiety as in the track’s namesake; encouraging an adventurous animation, deep breaths – one foot in front of the other. Textural electronics sculpt a bittersweet seascape, an adventure out of one’s comfort zone. Sunde’s introspective lyrics cradle an aura of intimacy glittering within her vocals; the tenderness of a hypnotic beat and undulating synths bright, dynamic and thoughtful in nature.
‘Something Else’ sprouts with sweetness in it’s opening, Sunde’s velveteen vocals glowing with a honeyed melancholy as the track segues into a compassionate beat; a visceral and reflective diary of innermost thoughts, and fears. The wax and subsequent wane in tone shifts the track into a cold brooding twilight, filtered echoic vocals reverberating in the encompassing glow of city lights swirling in an electronic traverse – a dark beauty bouncing off looming concrete giants.
The closing track of the album ‘Flown’ vibrates heavily within the chest, pulsating in a cloak of darkness; unobtrusive, yet brimming with an air of impatience – Sunde’s vocals wistful, flowing silk into a cinematic ambience, as the track progresses into lyrical synth melodies and cyber arps – ‘Flown’ is vivid and emotive, shimmering with just a touch of drama before the embrace of silence.
Review by Jenna Dreisenstock
