Anna von Hausswolff – Stardust
Swedish composer Anna von Hausswolff shares “Stardust”, one of two lead singles from her upcoming album “ICONOCLASTS” (October 31 on YEAR0001). The track marks her move to a poppier sound while maintaining her signature pipe organ mastery, produced with longtime collaborator Filip Leyman.
“Stardust” features tribal drums, shimmering vocals, soaring violins, and dissonant synths. Leyman’s production brings von Hausswolff’s maximalist compositions into brighter, more optimistic territory compared to previous albums like 2020’s “All Thoughts Fly” and 2018’s “Dead Magic”. The approach feels like opening a window and letting light into whatever dark stronghold she’s been inhabiting.
Von Hausswolff describes the song as a call to “break up with basic convenience and established ideas of how to live life” and to avoid complacency “when the world is crumbling.” Her ability to extract every possible expression from the pipe organ remains impressive, though these new singles show folk-pop influences creeping into her gothic church atmospheres.
“ICONOCLASTS” features notable collaborations with Iggy Pop, Ethel Cain, Abul Mogard, and her sister Maria von Hausswolff. Swedish saxophonist Otis Sandsjö adds brass elements to expand her musical palette. The album draws partial inspiration from the Greek myth of Atlas carrying the world on his shoulders.
It’s her first studio album in five years and debut release for YEAR0001, following 2022’s “Live at Montreux Jazz Festival”. The album appears to bridge the grandiose and intimate, finding connections between the sublime and ordinary.
Tracklist:
- The Beast
- Facing Atlas
- The Iconoclast
- The Whole Woman feat. Iggy Pop
- The Mouth
- Stardust
- Aging Young Women feat. Ethel Cain
- Consensual Neglect
- Struggle With The Beast
- An Ocean Of Time feat. Abul Mogard
- Unconditional Love feat. Maria von Hausswolff
- Rising Legends
