After a week of pretty serious music we’re back on the Christmas roundabout again tonight with the single ‘Wonderland of Snow’ by Danish singer /songwriter Ane Sætterstrøm, who debuted in 2022 after renouncing her life and high level qualifications in business in favour of the recording studio and the stage and – get this – coming from a family containing no musicians or artists.
What’s more she’s self-taught and makes all her songs in her home studio before getting them re-recorded, mixed and mastered professionally.
We have encountered such people before but it’s a rare occurrence and a bit like me getting back behind the kit again except that Ane undoubtedly makes a much better fist of it than I would.
She’s had a couple of radio hits in Denmark prior to releasing this song, which is unashamedly oriented around Christmas Day activities, the folks gathered around a roaring fire swapping presents and eating and drinking more than is good for them while it blows a gale outside and the snow drift building up will keep them trapped in there until 12th Night so they’d better start conserving that turkey.
But that’s what Christmas is all about, isn’t it?
Her rulebook is simple and straight to the point: less is more and strive to create music that is warm, pleasant and relaxed, something she’s perceived today’s superficial society (and especially the Boardroom I guess) not to be.
In particular she zeroes in on falling snow and its soporific, calming effect. Well, not in a blizzard but let’s not go there! She has tried to create here a warm winter song (that is possibly an oxymoron but not if you are an adherent of climate change) and one that feels like a genuine Christmas hug. A musical reminder that it is often the simple things in life that mean the most.
She has a great love for timeless musical expressions and finds inspiration in film music, easy-listening jazz, bossa and 1960s-1970s soul. The song immediately made me think of Sinatra’s ‘White Christmas’ and of Bing Crosby in the film of the same title, and of It’s a Wonderful Life and all the other Christmas films that slot easily into this category.
And yet at the same time some of her chord progressions, lyrical choices and vocal phrasing got me thinking that this is how Fiona Apple would make a one-off serious Christmas song.
Apple and Sinatra – you can’t get a stranger coupling than that.
Here’s a thing. Ane has racked up a mountain of followers already – 34.6 thousand on Instagram alone – and I don’t think they transferred from LinkedIn.
(Continues after the Spotify link)
Ane Sætterstrøm writes and composes all her music herself and records at Medley Studios in collaboration with producer Joachim Ersgaard.
Find her on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ane_saetterstroem/
(There is a Facebook page but it appears not be in use presently).
