Kate Havnevik - Melankton

If you don't know her already, I'm sure you'll recognize her if you've ever watched Grey's Anatomy. Upon my first listen of this album, I immediately likened her to Imogen Heap and her electronica sound. As it turns out, Havnevik and Heap are friends, and Kate worked with producer Guy Sigsworth, the other half of Frou Frou, and a producer with Madonna and Björk under his belt. But Havnevik has a distinct sound, setting her apart from the rest of the electronica songstresses.

Kate Havnevik is a Norwegian musician who describes Melankton, her first major U.S. release, as a "dramatic, beautiful and euphoric"--I might add, hypnotic--record. She was trained as a classical musician, and I'd have to say that much of the beauty on this record comes from the elaborate orchestral arrangments that back most of the songs. For enlightenment's sake, I'll compare her to Imogen: whereas "Immi" uses a lot more electronic samplings and much more voice manipulation to create light and catchy pop tunes (mostly-we cannot forget her hauntingly beautiful Hide and Seek), Havnevik leaves her voice as-is for the most part, and uses it over longer phrases and heavier, more flowing orchestral mixes. Perhaps the weak point of the album is that her voice tends to sound the same throughout, but it undeniably works on a few standout tracks, such as "Nowhere Warm," "You Again," and the finale "New Day," which is an incredible mixed track suggesting the influence of her part-time vocal borrowers Röyksopp and sounds like a combination of Dntel and Björk. Interestingly enough, Kate is supposedly in the studio working on an acoustic album. If that is as successful as this project, this girl's got major talent.

http://www.myspace.com/katehavnevik