Veronique Vaka - Erlendis (2020)

The title of Veroníque Vaka’s album Erlendis is an Icelandic word and would translate to English as a place that is foreign to you. Moving to a different country made her rethink the relation between classical music and soundscape. In this project, string ensemble, piano and field recording are at the core of her research. She explored the use of these elements, working with them as a living organism and experiencing them as a whole. The piece Hvönn was especially written for the pianist and composer Björn Pálmi Pálmason, with whom she also co-wrote the piano score of Verndari.

After a year of work, capturing sounds from her new environment and composing the scores of Erlendis, she went to the Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavik. There, she recorded string ensemble, piano and wind section with local musicians and Paul Evans as sound engineer, who later mastered the project. Veroníque Vaka teamed up with Alex Somers for the mixing of the album. Their work together quickly became part of the creative process as Alex recorded Veroníque’s voice on Minning um himinn and put a few additional instruments into the production. They kept in mind the purity and breathing of acoustic instruments and their sensibility.

Erlendis by Veroníque Vaka is a five title album of ambient and classical music, composed and recorded in Iceland during 2014. The artwork is made by Urban9, an artist from Montreal who brought the final touch to this project.

Veronique Vaka, cello, voice
Kari James Pestka, violin
Anna Soley Asmundsdöttir, violin
Sölrün Gunhardsdöttir, violin
Unruh Jonsdöttir, cello
Magnus Palsson, clarinet
Maria Jönsson, bass flute
Alex Somers, additional instruments

TRACKLIST

01. Minning um Himinn
02. Verndari
03. Hvo?nn
04. G?tni
05. Vestur