Since the release of her 2016 debut solo album ‘Une Meeles’, Estonian singer, violinist, experimental electronic artist and composer Maarja Nuut has continued to explore the boundaries of her music while continuing to be steeped in storytelling and influences from the past. Following her debut, she began to collaborate with Ruum (Hendrik Kaljujärv), combining electronic sounds into her creations. While the outcome of that collaboration may have initially felt unclear, a balance arose in which each was given the space to both experiment and compliment each other. The results were surprisingly natural-sounding, fuelled by curiosity and creativity. She went on to collaborate again with Ruum on ‘Muunduja’ (2018) and ‘World Inverted’ (2020). She also collaborated with LA’s psyche-experimentator Sun Araw as part of a 10-day sound residency which resulted in the release of ‘Fantasias for Violin & Guitar’ (2020).
Next month, on 20th August, Nuut is set to release her stunning third solo album ‘Hinged’. Talking about the album she touched on how the past can tell us about the future; and how, for her, myths provide connection points to the modern world and societal upheaval.
“One’s existence hinges on past generations – we are what has come before. I gradually began to grasp this thought after inheriting my grandmother’s old farm. Five generations’ worth of personal possessions; land that had sustained my forebearers. Clearing the impenetrable brush, and sorting through buildings bursting with artifacts, felt like a long ritual filled with layers, layers, and more layers. In between this physical, emotional work, I spent time in my seaside studio randomly wiring modulars, experimenting with my voice, and strumming old vermona organ, just as a spontaneous reflection of my thoughts or, at times, as an imaginary reunion of relatives. Those sessions eventually became ‘Hinged’, a record deserving of its very specific bilingual title – in Estonian, it means departed spirits and soul; in English, a link that holds things together. These songs are a thread between the two meanings, and a summation of a year spent exploring my family history and my place in it,”.
Her first single from the album is ‘Kutse tantsule / A Call for Dance’, also our Song of the Day. She tells us that “‘Kutse tantsule / A Call For Dance’ is as simple as that – a kind invitation to join me for a little dance wherever you are, stuck in your flat, bogwalking or dreaming of a tropical sea breeze. Nature is flourishing and so should we!”
There is playful air to this song which makes the invitation to dance all the warmer and affectionate.
Photo Credit: Taavi Arus