I don’t know about you but I’ve been waiting patiently for new material by Swedish artist Victoria Bergsman for a while now. Her most recent Facebook Post dates back to July 2015 and she hasn’t released an album under her moniker TAKEN BY TREES in five long years. Since this week marks the tenth anniversary of her first solo album Open Field it’s a fitting opportunity to shed some light on her previous work and maybe introduce some of you to it for the first time.
Following her departure as lead vocalist from Swedish indie pop band THE CONCRETES Bergsman released three solo albums under her new alter ego, each carried by her tender voice but also quite different in their sound and musical patterns. The 2007 debut Open Fields was a gentle piece of indie-pop with love for reduction and natural sweetness. The single Lost And Found, for example, got a really lovely chamber music vibe to itself. The follow up, 2009’s East of Eden was heavily influenced by World Music sounds and even included musicians from Pakistan, giving the album a more exotic and adventurous vibe.
The last one so far, 2012’s Other Wolds, left the field of acoustic sounds and saw Bergsman embracing electronic elements and Hawaiian instrumentation, making this one sound like a tropical fever dream. TAKEN BY TREES obviously enjoyed to play with her audience’s expectations and that’s just one reason why we desperately need her back. Open Field is a great way to get to know her charming and unique persona and will hopefully encourage you to dive a bit deeper into her back catalogue.
Bergsman got a son back in 2014 so that little fella is probably heping her a bit busy these days. Still, we’re not giving up hope regarding a new TAKEN BY TREES record. Victoria, we would love to hear from you.