With her Norwegian roots, amazingly unique covers and acoustic performances, Ane Brun took the audience to her somewhat sad but mostly peaceful musical world Friday night at Küçükçiftlik Park. This was Ane Brun’s fourth performance in Istanbul, this one sponsored by Garanti Jazz Green and Goldnights, after her concerts in Salon IKSV in 2011 and 2013.
Since Küçükçiftlik Park opens up its tent for winter shows, Ane Brun fans also got the chance to see her live in a warm, cosy tent. This was especially lucky as the weather outside was quite cold and wet. But the tent was just one minor good thing about the concert. The thing that really excited me was the question of what covers she would play. The first songs I had ever heard from her were the covers of Beyonce’s “Halo” and Alphaville’s “Big in Japan.” Also, I knew she was playing different covers in every concert. So, I was ready for to be surprised.
As an opening act, Alice Boman, a Swedish singer-songwriter, performed a few songs with her soft voice while in front of the only instrument on stage, the organ. Even though some of the concertgoers found her performance monotonous, I personally think that she has the perfect voice to enjoy on an evening spent indoors, relaxing, reading a novel, watching the snow or the rain. Boman performed a few of her own songs including “What” and “Bla Bla Bla.” Maybe the repetitive lyrics is what gave people the feeling of tedium. Still, I think her voice was flawless and took me far away to a Nordic journey.
Finally, the time for Ane Brun had come and the talented musician showed up on stage with her guitar. I always believe that if an artist opens up a show with their biggest hit, the concert always goes so well. The same was true for Ane Brun. She started with “Do You Remember,” which is her most well-known song and then she continued with her soft, sometimes gleeful, sometimes upsetting songs. As she mentioned during the concert, after 10 years on stages, in studios and all around the world, she had some difficult times trying to arrange the setlist. Since this one was an acoustic performance, her usual band was not there. No drums, no Ane Brun-ish dance moves. It seemed like she chose the perfect songs for an acoustic show. It all went by so quickly, in a nice flow and lots of *sighs* in a good and peaceful way.
In between her original pieces, she sang a Norwegian song called “Du gråter så store tåra” that reminded me of a lullaby. Still, I was waiting for the covers and finally, the first cover we heard was Alphaville’s “Big in Japan.” In Ane Brun’s words, she never expected a hit song to inspire her with its sad lyrics (which, I must say, suit Ane Brun’s style perfectly). The big surprise for me was the cover of Arcade Fire’s “Neighbourhood #1.” Ane Brun’s style of covering songs is really similar to what I like about covers. She turns the songs into a completely distinct shape. Sometimes, she makes you feel like you are listening to a totally different song; she drags you into a truly unique musical experience.
During the encore, she sang Beyonce’s “Halo” – my favourite cover of hers. I was already in another universe, but after hearing the cello intro of Halo, my excitement doubled. As I mentioned before, there was no band, but for “Halo” we saw Ane Brun’s good friend and cellist Linnea Olsson playing her cello and singing together with Ane Brun, digitally. The simplicity of the show was another fact that impressed me. Ane Brun, her guitars, an organ and visuals on the curtains which mostly reminded me of Nordic lights, were the only things on stage. Those curtains were the ones which showed us Linnea Olssen as well.
Ane Brun’s joyful mood was present during the whole concert. The jokes she made in between the songs, tiny stories she told about her songs and lots of other cute things she did were also keeping the audience’s energy on a high level, even though we were listening to slow and blue songs most of the time. The time she spent on the stage was longer than I expected and she never seemed tired. Her excitement never diminished. She left me with two things that I am really looking forward to: The first is her next album, and the second is her next concert in Istanbul, hopefully with her full band in tow.
