Biography

“I am fascinated by the borderlessness that melody represents. Melodies, when shared disregard borders and fringes, and have a way of finding a path of their own” Singer, songwriter and hymnist Janne Mark's music is a journey in spirituality, contemplation and the jazz spirit of playfulness. With this second release on ACT she presents a kaleidoscopic travelogue from her pilgrimages in life and art. KONTINENT is a soaring departure from PILGRIM (2018) and documents the expanding collaboration with musical miracle worker Arve Henriksen. The world Janne Mark creates for herself on KONTINENT contains as diverse elements as the melodies of the northern Atlantic folk music tradition, Danish author Naja Marie Aidt’s poem from the novel When Death Takes Something From You Give It Back and the spellbinding 7th-century celtic lullaby Taladh Chriosta and they sit comfortably among the hymns and clear-cut melodies of the artist herself. The album was recorded in the Spring of 2020 in a safe haven of creation during the global state of emergency. Nils Økland (NO) weaves himself in and out of the album with his mesmerizing hardangerfele, a Norwegian violin instrument with resonant strings, somewhat reminiscent of the Shruti boxes of the Indian subcontinent. Drummer and sonic shaman Bjørn Heebøll, who is making a most welcome ACT debut and is a new collaborator in the terrain of Janne Mark. Longtime collaborators Henrik Gunde and Esben Eyermann complete the line-up.