ANE BRUN | livemusic.fm

Some artists try to replicate their recorded sound on stage, while others take live performance as an opportunity to bring something new and dynamic to the mix. Ane Brun is one such artist, a two-time Norwegian Grammy winner with five studio albums to her name who has nevertheless flown under the superstar radar in the UK thus far. This is nothing short of a musical travesty, since Brun is not only immensely talented but a consummate live performer who commands the stage like a Scandinavian princess. 

Setting the scene of melodrama and mystery at The Scala tonight is support act, Linea Olsson, a gifted cellist who loops her instrument to create layers of sound whilst singing and whistling in a crystalline, shiver-inducing voice. Mood of chilly beauty established, Brun takes to the stage - rigged to look like an army mess tent in the 1940s - and begins with a drum-heavy, pitch-perfect version of These Days, from new album 'It All Starts With One'.

Drums feature heavily throughout the set, and the two kits on stage are powered by two equally dynamic percussionists. This ramps up the melodrama but never overpowers the material, as on  One; a jaunty, ironic, music hall number driven by a theatrical, old-school piano riff. The line “revolution from dreams” is repeated with such intensity that the drums seem to be signalling the coup is happening right now. 

Brun herself is a high-theatre performer and channels the great actresses of the late 18th century – she could be doing Ibsen to a packed, Norwegian auditorium - an image enhanced by her high- waisted skirt and silk shirt. Ostentatious arm movements and some rhythmic shimmying accompany a vocal that warbles and attacks strong melodic lines and quieter refrains with equal control.

In addition to the new songs are the good oldies, as Brun endearingly puts it. To Let Myself Go is particularly ethereal and flows seamlessly in to The Puzzle by way of some nifty xylophone playing.  What’s Happening With You and Him is powered by a strong bass kick and some seriously dramatic strings and percussion.  The shining jewel in the Scandinavian crown, however, is compulsively catchy new single Do You Remember which electrifies the audience and provokes some ecstatic dancing.

Given the depth and breadth of Brun’s work, not to mention her impressive collaborations – Peter Gabriel, Ron Sexsmith – it really is unfathomable why she’s not playing packed out dates at, say, The Albert Hall. It’s time the UK woke up and started paying appropriate homage to this Norwegian queen. 

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Words - Theresa Heath