Anna Von Hausswolff has announced a new instrumental solo album, All Thoughts Fly, that will be released Friday, September 25, on the Southern Lord record label. The artist has also shared a striking video for the track, “Sacro Bosco,” which will surely prove to be a cornerstone of the ambitious effort. In addition to being a solo instrumental effort, the entire collection of songs written by Hausswolff on the album are performed on a single instrument, the pipe-organ.
The song title “Sacro Bosco,” Italian for Sacred Grove, is named for the famed garden in the central Italian town of Bomarzo. Full of grotesque sculptures of mythological figures, the garden is located under the castle of Orsini and was originally commissioned by Pier Fransesco Orsini in the 16th century.
Similar to the song itself, the video for “Sacro Bosco” represents a vivid interpretation and vision of the park, with the artist’s own twist of imagination. Impressively, the cinematography from directors Gustaf and Ludvig Holtenäs is able to match the eerie tones and sparse beauty that Von Hausswolff achieves with her pipe organ, resulting in two striking companion pieces of visual and musical art.
Discussing Sacro Bosco the place as a key inspiration for the song and overall album, Von Hausswolff says, “Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo is a creation carved out from one man’s head. A frozen thought lasting throughout time and touching people across generations. All Thoughts Fly, Ogni Pensiero Vola, is about this: the importance of sharing for surviving, creating space and evolving. Once you’ve shared your words, they are not only yours anymore.”
Von Hausswolff’s All Thoughts Fly was recorded and performed in just seven days at the Örgryte New Church, in Gothenburg, Sweden in January of this year. The album represents the fifth full-length studio effort by the musician and composer after Singing From The Grave (2010), Ceremony (2012), The Miraculous (2015) and Dead Magic (2018).
After Ceremony was released in North America by Other Music Recording Co. in 2013, the musician played her first US show. The album was lauded by critics throughout the country being featured on the likes of NPR, The New York Times and Pitchfork.