Djuphjärtad (Swedish for deep-hearted) is a collaborative EP between the ambient project Ship Says Om (Jenny Gillespie Mason) and Emma Lucia. Jenny tells is that Emma, a fellow musician in the Bay Area, invited her to help shape several of her songs into a more atmospheric, exploratory form; the result is Djuphjärtad, a four-song EP. Using nature-based field recordings and samplings, along with synths and organic instrumentation, the EP showcases Emma’s strong Nordic-rooted folk sensibilities with Ship Says Om’s ambient experimental leanings. The music is described as being reminiscent of Stina Nordenstam, Sofie Birch, Cigarettes After Sex, and the Books.
Below, they talk us through the new EP which is out now via Native Cat Recordings, a label founded by Jenny in 2010, it is available via Bandcamp (as well as streaming: Tidal, Spotify and Apple).
Track-by-Track: Djuphjärtad
Introduction
Jenny (Ship Says Om): I was delighted when Emma asked me to collaborate on an EP, as it was the first instance of collaborating with someone who was a friend from my everyday life—not just a musical acquaintance. I already loved her voice and her spirit, and knew it would be a fun and enjoyable experience to work together. She initially sent me a cappella recordings as well as stripped-down recordings of just her and her guitar. I felt a lot of trust on her part and the freedom to create soundscapes around the exquisite instrument of her voice. I knew I wanted to work with a lot of organic sounds—shakers, bells, acoustic guitar and piano—as well as use nature sound samples to augment the crystalline purity of Emma’s voice that also feels quite ancient.
During the making of the EP, I felt connected to our shared Swedish lineage. I think it comes through in her music as a very noble, feminine singing style. I kept hearing the word “Sami” during the process of working with her voice, which is the Swedish indigenous people who are deeply connected to the land (I had to look up what it was!). Upon telling Emma I kept hearing this word, she agreed that her own Sami heritage was a part of her musical upbringing, and that while she mostly grew up listening to Swedish pop music, the melodies of ancient Scandinavian folk music are very much a part of her songwriting. She also told me that, as a teenager, she would ride, Sami-style, reindeer through the snow–which I could feel in the vastness and gentleness of her voice! I have strong Swedish ancestry and have traveled to Sweden, Finland, and Denmark where I felt very much at home. I think these ancestral energies were behind us in making the music.
Ditt Hjärta
Jenny: This began as an a cappella track that Emma sent me. It had a similar genesis to “Water Prayer”, which also started as an a cappella track. I wanted to build up more of an organic, textured but delicate soundscape around her beautiful voice, a voice that just felt like a beacon of light leading us to some place secret and holy. I turned first to Omnisphere; I have an interesting relationship to it, because sometimes I find some of the more ambient sounds almost cliched and overused. So it becomes like a hunt for those sounds I haven’t heard before, or even rougher or even jarring-sounding sounds, that I can somehow fold into a softer environment. I feel I found that with the almost horn-like, tender synth “Escher’s Drum”, which comes in right at the beginning and is almost like a call-and-response sort of creature throughout the song. I played around with fragmenting Emma’s vocal so that it became more of a flickering presence at the beginning and then builds into more of a mantra. I also feel the nuanced chords of the Orchid synth that come in around 1:20 provide the building of emotional heart to the song.
Emma: I originally wrote this Swedish song with a Nordic drum part, but I wanted to approach it differently when collaborating with Jenny, and I was open and curious about how she might develop it further. To me, her production, along with my melody line, feels like you’re taking a walk in the forest, surrounded by nature, with owl and birdsong, and allowing emotions to surface; it is a gentle invitation to open your heart and be held by nature. “Jag håller ditt hjärta” translates to “I am holding your heart” in Swedish.
Feel Your Eyes
Jenny: This was a longer process, as I first thought this could be a more high-energy, dancey song! I created a beat with a Volca drum machine, but I soon realized it was taking away from the gorgeous emotion of the song and Emma’s voice. I continually stripped it back until it felt more like an ambient-leaning sound-sculpture rather than a conventional pop song. The thunder sample I had been holding onto to put into something and the romantic longing of the song seemed to fit it perfectly. The little voice at the beginning that says “You got this” is my ten-year-old son, who was coming in and out of my studio while I was recording and gave me a little supportive statement! I love taking the human voices of my family and reversing them or running them through effects, as I did here. I also was able to use some great percussion toys such as “magic wands” and something called a “confetti bell.” I did use a bit of the original Volca drum machine beat at the very end as a kind of coda.
Emma: I usually start writing my songs on the guitar, and this one too began as a kind of plucking part while wanting to write a simple melody that felt like the movement of waves. Short phrases that rise and fall like the ocean to create a push-and-pull sort of feeling that I was hoping would sound like longing. The idea that even when you’re not together, you can still feel that person’s presence close by. I feel Jenny has this beautiful ability to create an immersive world that feels both intimate and powerful at the same time, with the thunder sounds rolling in like you’re close to a storm and yet safe in the softness of her mystical instrument choices. A production that has the possibility of pulling you into deep-hearted emotion, that’s open, explorative, and curious to what might unfold.
Water Prayer
Jenny: This originally started as an a cappella track of Emma’s voice. The vocals had a very noble, majestic feeling, almost like a war chant, but also very fluid. I felt it could become a watery, feminine piece. I sourced the sample of oars rowing through water, and also doubled that sample using a filter on Ableton called “Disharmonics”, so it was a little weirder. There’s also a sample of birds I recorded in Highland Park in Los Angeles on an evening walk, and a sample of a Yoruba hand drum.
Emma: Initially I wrote this vocal part trying to connect to ancient Scandinavian folk melodies—humming and oooh parts from a long time ago. Jenny was able to create a whole immersive watery world filled with subtle vocal harmonies that connect to the sea, the ocean, rivers, lakes, the water that surrounds us all, adding subtle vocal harmonies that add emotion and depth—nature and sound blending together. I actually shed a few tears when Jenny first sent this track to me. It felt peaceful, gentle and powerful all at the same time.
Keep Me
Jenny: Emma gave me this song with her vocals and acoustic guitar, and I found the performances and recording quality stunning, so I worked with those two stems. The song had a kind of Kings of Convenience vibe, but I wanted to infuse it with layers of soft drama as the lyrics are so romantic and pull you in so immediately. Like with many other pieces I’ve done, I took an organic drum sample and chopped it up—here I used a tribal drum sound I found on Freesound. I also used Omnisphere sounds such as the contracting/expanding synth throughout the whole song called “Moons of Jupiter.” I found a wonderful bass synth sound on the Arturia Minifreak, “Moon Fall” (I guess moons wanted into the song!), which was a nice propulsive element and gave the softness some edge. To build the dramatic arc more, I added chords from the Orchid synth and my own background vocals. At the end I wanted to lift the song into a release, but nothing too over the top, so I felt whistling might be a sweet, unexpected way to do so. I was surprised that it worked, as whistling doesn’t always fit into songs!
Emma: This song began with a finger-picking guitar part for me, and the melody and lyrics came soon after. I wanted to write something vulnerable lyrically. The feeling you have when your heart is wide open in a new romantic connection. There’s the possibility for deep joy and also heartache. Embarking on that journey, I love how Jenny put the rolling sound of waves at the beginning of the song because this feels so fitting. The water being a symbol for gentleness and a soothing environment, but also has the possibility of being powerful with crashing, stormy waves, just as the heart can experience this with love.
Order EP and explore previous releases here: https://shipsaysom.bandcamp.com/album/djuphj-rtad-ep