Norwegian/American ethereal folk duo Gabbarein, featuring members of NOUS and Ghost Against Ghost, captivate the music scene with their haunting new single “Jeg Hører Deg” (“I Hear You”) and its mesmerizing music video. The single, which precedes their self-titled debut album due for release on April 5, 2024, by Our Silent Canvas Records, unveils a rich tapestry of improvised vocals and sparse yet profound arrangements.
The music video, directed by Lars Tovik of Oslo Assembly, is a visual feast set against the backdrop of artist Anne Katrine Senstad’s luminous light installation, POISIS. Filmed in a Danish bunker, it showcases the enigmatic mask art of Damselfrau, known for her collaborations with Björk, adding a layer of otherworldly elegance to the production.
Cecilie Hafstad’s vocals narrate a tumultuous tale of a couple’s final confrontation, embodying the heart-wrenching push and pull of a relationship at its breaking point. The song serves as a vessel for healing, channeling Hafstad’s own experiences and resonating with anyone who has felt the paradox of love’s intensity and its inexplicable demise.
Cecilie Hafstad shares: ‘Jeg Hører Deg‘ is about a breakup quarrel between a husband and wife, and the final fight they had before leaving each other and going their separate ways. The agony of the push and pull of trying to understand each other, but not getting it at all.’
‘The track is a play from each side, both trying, begging to be heard, hoping to fix it and move past it. But even though the love was so strong, they both gave up that day and left one another. This is a very sensitive and powerful song for me as I channeled back to that fateful day in my early 20s. I got to relive the scene and re-visit my emotions. The heartache and pain of it all. It really helped to heal that wound. But we all go through it and most can relate. One can still be crazy in love and it ends up not working out.’
“Jeg Hører Deg” follows the single “Ra Rising Sun”:
Gabbarein’s inception can be traced back to a serendipitous meeting between vocalist Cecilie Hafstad and composer-producer Christopher Bono at a shamanic retreat in Vermont in 2011.
Their artistic chemistry blossomed during an impromptu session in the Arctic Circle, where the ethereal beauty of the Norwegian fjords and the symbolic appearance of a White Reindeer deeply influenced their music.
The upcoming album promises to be a journey through the tranquil and the tempestuous, with each track recorded in a single take, capturing the raw, unfiltered emotion of the moment. The duo explores themes of nature, collaboration, and emotional catharsis, offering a transcendent escape to listeners worldwide.
“Jeg Hører Deg” marks a sonic and visual ode to the complexities of human emotion, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in the duo’s profound narrative of love, loss, and the timeless quest for understanding.
