This is a particularly interesting song for one of those oddball reasons that only rarely crop up. It almost follows on as a natural consequence from yesterday’s song, Theresa Rex’s ‘Bad Blood’ which dealt with the bloody aftermath of a ménage a trois which was never meant to happen, when her best friend stole her boyfriend from under her nose even after she had confided in the (now-ex-) friend that he was bad news and she was thinking of leaving him, to which the ex-friend gave her support.
Somewhat convoluted, to say the least.
In HunBjørn’s case there is no obvious love interest, but perhaps I’m wrong about that.
On the surface at least it’s a simple matter of a “big fight” with one of her best friends. The cause of it isn’t revealed but it’s so severe that she felt like she was involved in a break up. That’s what prompted her to write the song even they have since kissed and made up and are “in a different place now.”
They even chose to go through ‘therapy’ together.
What I found difficult to work out initially was the meaning of the title, ‘Words don’t disappear’.
Was it written at the time of the bust up or was it written since then, in a sort of tacit reminder to the friend that she hasn’t forgotten what that friend said or did and she’d better not try it again or else…?
I’ll give HunBjørn the benefit of the doubt; that it isn’t a ‘vengeance is a dish best served cold’ thing.
Whatever the case it is evident that the song is personal to her. The vocal is delivered in the way that suggests the verbal exchange has only just subsided and she’s committing that altercation to her diary in a suppressed rage while she tries to recoup her pride and dignity.
Musically, it is much more upbeat than the subject matter suggests with warm, almost triumphant sounding, swirling analog synths predominant.
It’s an honest song, honestly delivered, a perfect go-to for those who feel they’ve been wronged but lack the self-belief to handle it.
‘Words don’t disappear’ is available now and an EP, ‘In the Eye’, will follow on 17th May of this year.
Away from recording HunBjørn (it translates as ‘She Bear’ and her name is Ulla Pihl) has been keeping herself busy with the start-up and operation of the ‘Music Movement of 2019’ as one of the founding women of the industry community WeProduce (for female producers), a musician and singer in the theatre concert ‘Gasolin’ at Østre Gasværk, and she is also the producer of the track ‘SOLEN ER SEXET’, which was released in 2022 from the music collective of the same name.
This Østre Gasværk concept interests me. It is a converted gasholder in the Østerbro district of Copenhagen. In Scandinavia gas holders are built of brick rather than the metal that is common in the UK and their conversion into performance spaces is quite commonplace now. One of the early examples is in Gävle in Sweden, where there are three of them together and they are used for a variety of purposes including live gigs.
Gävle is where my Nordic music journey began, in 2009. So now you know.
Find her on:
Website: https://hunbjorn.dk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hunbjornthemusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HunbjR
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hunbjorn/
