Juni Habel
Carvings
Basin Rock
13 January 2023
Songwriter Juni Habel writes and sings with a distinctive voice. She lives with her beloved grandmother and close-knit family in an old converted schoolhouse in the tiny village of Rakkestad in the rural hinterland of Norway some way south of Oslo – and yet there’s nothing remote-sounding about her music. It communicates immediately and draws you straightway into her world – it’s a world that’s at once conversational and other-worldly, of today and of an earlier era, familiar and new-minted. It’s hard to explain; I guess “pastoral folk” is the most convenient tag for now, but the expansive perspective from which Juni writes can be seen to reach beyond the usual confines of that sub-genre.
Starting with the sheer immediacy of Juni’s music then – her succinctness of expression (both vocal and lyrical) and deftly fingerpicked rippling guitar accompaniment may also seem deceptive in the context of her deep appreciation of elements of existence and purpose in her compelling navigation of the “personal shadows between darkness and light”. Indeed, Juni’s open-hearted “welcome to my world” gesture is utterly natural and unforced.
I only recently discovered that Juni had released her debut album, All Ears, back in the depths of lockdown in November 2020, and despite a rather wonderful review by Bob Fish here at Folk Radio, it was to remain outside of my radar and it turns out the loss was entirely mine. In fact, that debut album proved sufficiently compulsive and stimulating listening that it kept me from even placing Carvings into the player for many more days than intended! Significantly, when I eventually managed to do so, Carvings made a lot more sense.
Even so, Carvings, while clearly a continuity of thought and intent, represents a certain shift in sensibility perhaps; her latest batch of songs comprises eight delicate, gently insistent, pensive and perhaps also slightly eccentric compositions that express Juni’s inherent hope, her appreciation of and zest for life. The philosophy behind Juni’s songwriting centres on the unyielding spirit of family and nature; the songs unfold on her own terms as she pulls positivity from pain, “facing whatever mother nature decides will find its way to the top of the list”. There’s an uninhibited quality here, a true and natural expression of herself as Juni traces the issues of family, loss and grief through love and nature. Valiant speaks from the heart, with the potency of intimate conversation that invokes the spirit of Juni’s teenage sister, who died in a tragic car accident. An almost pleading quality pervades songs like Chicory and When We Awake, whereas other songs (Rhythm Of The Tides, Drifting Pounds Of The Train) are both poignant and dreamlike, their imagery carried along on a compelling and beautiful carpet with an intriguing pattern. The eerie, pared-back simplicity and chilling vocal harmonies of closing song I Carry You, My Love creates a strong impression and leaves a strange but compelling legacy.
Carvings also brings a shift in recording practice towards a deeper layering of textures, albeit still underpinned and informed by the contours of Juni’s trademark rippling fingerpicking. For this album, Juni again extended the invitation to her musical family, including her husband Emil Njgaard Petersen and experimental co-conspirator and co-producer Stian Skaaden, to realise her vision; the result is a magical blending of often unexpected sounds and techniques. As Juni says, “the joy of playing is quite fragile”, and her sonic experimentation is a brilliant match for her lyrical creativity, harking back to “the joy and fear of making things”, which formed an integral theme on her debut album and proves even more persuasive here.
Carvings is a captivating musical and poetic experience, a fearless conception that is thoroughly contemporary while almost traditional in its authenticity of expression and directness of communication. Juni is a voice that needs to be heard.
Carvings is released on 13th January via Basin Rock.
Pre-Order here: https://junihabel.bandcamp.com/album/carvings