Norwegian artist Susanna and David Wallumrød have announced the release of a live album of covers. Recorded in Oslo and Asker in 2019 and 2020 right before the pandemic hit, Live is a collaboration by the Norwegian and her cousin David, also a prolific musician, whose seeds were unknowingly sown over 20 years ago and is set for release August 13th via Susanna’s label SusannaSonata.
“We played a lot together in our childhood and youth, being cousins, growing up in the same small town Kongsberg,” says Susanna. For a short time she was singing backup vocals in a band David played in as teenagers. In some nice familial details, Hanne Hukkelberg and her sister Eli were also in this band. A couple of years later Susanna and David started to play as a duo, and after a while as a band – but this collaboration never truly saw the light of day beyond a lot of rehearsal together. In 2003 Susanna and David Wallumrød made their one and only duo-concert appearance at Café Mono in Oslo. “After being highly active musicians for many years, we decided to do a concert together in 2017, at a tiny cocktail-bar concert series in Oslo,” explains Susanna. “It was so much fun we decided to do some more shows.”
They did, and out of this came Live. The songs on Live are the same covers Susanna and David played together 20 years ago, with a few new additions. They are instantly recognisable classics by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris and Tom Waits. “We did the selection of songs back then very much based on some of the records I listened to at that time,” begins Susanna, “such as Emmylou Harris’s ‘Wrecking Ball’, The Best of Leonard Cohen from 1975, Joni Mitchell’s Blue and Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits. Now we both bring songs to the table.”
They have also shared the first track from the record, “For No One“. Listen to it below:
Live artwork & tracklist:
1. Chelsea Hotel #2 (Leonard Cohen)
2. This Flight Tonight (Joni Mitchell)
3. Gin Soaked Boy (Tom Waits)
4. Wrecking Ball (Neil Young)
5. All My Tears (Julie Miller)
6. Underground (Tom Waits)
7. For No One (Lennon-McCartney)
8. Johnsburg, Illinois (Tom Waits)