Trille "Altid har jeg længsel" (1979)

Altid har jeg længsel

release date: 1979

format: vinyl (EXL 30.008 - gatefold)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]

producer: Trille & Anders Koppel

label: Exlibris - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: A) 1. "Trækfuglen" - 2. "Sig noget" - 3. "Altid har jeg længsel" - - B) 2. "Gi' lidt mere tid" - 4. "Under den høje himmel"

Studio album by Danish singer / songwriter Trille is with its bolder jazz rock-arrangements a more uptempo pop-version than her stripped-down tunes found on Hej søster from 1976. Trille is credited all songs but she is here accompanied by a handful of great musicians, which count guitarist Ole Fick (Burnin Red Ivanhoe), keyboardist Anders Koppel (Savage Rose, Bazaar), bassist Jens Rugsted (Savage Rose, Rugsted/Kreutzfeldt), bassist Hugo Rasmussen, and drummer Alex Riel (Alex Riel Trio, Ben Webster Quartet, Savage Rose...), in other words: a more than ordinarily solid backing band.

The album shows a much more complex Trille than her reputation allows. This is all held in a jazz rock sphere with elements from traditional rock, from a singer / songwriter and folk tradition but also from more contemporary pop / rock at times mixed with blues, with funk, or undefineable world music.

At this point of her career, I think Trille may have hoped for a better reception - it seems she was caught in a certain role as protest singer - not a pop / rock artist, and despite its obvious qualities, Altid har jeg længsel is a bit of a forgotten / neglected album, which showcase Trille as an artist with something to offer.

Trille "Hej søster" (1976)

Hej søster

release date: 1976

format: vinyl (EXL 20005)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]

producer: Philip Foss

label: Exlibris - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: A) 1. "Kom og løft mig op" - 2. "Min lille sol" - 5. "Mors lange cykeltur" - - B) 1. "Hej søster" - 2. "Der hvor lyset findes" - 3. "Sang sidst på vinteren" - 4. "Sangen om Brit"

Studio album by Danish folk artist and singer / songwriter Trille (aka Bodil Gudrun Nielsen). All songs are credited Trille except #B4 written by Kedda Madsen with music by Trille.

Trille was an often played artist throughout the 1970s. She was also famous for her music for children, but her contributions as an original songwriter is well-documented in her long discography as a soloist. She often portrayed quiet and ordinary people struggling with everyday life, as parents, as workers, and as quiet individuals. As a contemporary artist Trille was often regarded as a stable voice among the left-winged protesters calling for civil rights and defending equality for women but her legacy is undoubtedly much more varied than just that with her revivalist tone to traditional folklore. She released albums over two decades, from her debut in 1966 and up until 1986 where she released the acclaimed Indeni / udenpå after which she appeared to have put her song career to rest. I think, her stripped-down content of folk-based political and social awareness was seen as a bit of a dead-end street when first punk rock, new wave and the the whole new romantic era unfolded and showed other ways to attract attention via music in the early 80s, and Trille had no intentions in finding a new audience, which perhaps made her music stand out as out of touch with the younger generation. She did release a final album with music for children in '88, and then she sort of closed the door to a role in the spotlight. She appears to have worked for the national radio channel Danmarks Radio as producer until it was publically known that she had died in late 2016 at age 71.

Personally, her music resonates with much warmth and empathy, and first and foremost I don't think of her music as narrow-minded or as one-dimensional. It's more the fact that people lost interest but also simply that the public and critics forgot what a strong artst she actually was. Trille had an impact on my interest for music from earliest on, and I remember her various parts in TV shows for children and her music was nearly played on a daily basis when I was 6-12 years old.

Hej søster is one of her best reviewed albums, and unintentional and much to her own surprise, the album became a cornerstone in the movement of womens' rights and Trille was put in a central role as a strong protest singer.