Anna von Hausswolff follows the acclaimed Dead Magic from 2018 with a new album, an entirely instrumental record all of which consists of pipe organ only, yet, the first specimen off it feels very far from constraint. All Thoughts Fly arrives September 25th, 2020 through Southern Lord, and the immensely moody Sacro Bosco acquaints us with the album's wonderful idiosyncrasy.
Sacro Bosco borrows its name from a garden in Italy whose reputation is based on the grotesque mythological sculptures and the buildings overgrown with vegetation which sit in it. The place was constructed during the 16th Century, commissioned by duke Pier Francesco Orsini, legend has it in an attempt for him to get through the loss of his wife, Guilia Farnese, while another theory says that its purpose was pure creation, as Orsini was a patron of the arts. The album's cover art depicts Orcus mouth from Sacro Bosco.
"There’s a sadness and wilderness that inspired me to write this album, also a timelessness," Anna explains about the coming fll length. "I believe that this park has survived not only due to its beauty but also because of the iconography, it has been liberated from predictable ideas and ideals. The people who built this park truly set their minds and imagination free. All thoughts fly is a homage to this creation, and an effort to articulate the atmosphere and the feelings that this place evokes inside of me. It’s a very personal interpretation of a place that I lack the words to describe. I’d like to believe Orsini built this monumental park out of grief for his dead wife, and in my Sacro Bosco I used this story as a core for my own inspiration: love as a foundation for creation."
Just like the music, the accompanying visual offers its own interpretation of the garden's myth and legacy, and it was created by Gustaf and Ludvig Holtenäs.
"Sacro Bosco in Bomarzo is a creation carved out from one man’s head," Anna concludes. "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."
Artist photo by Gianluca Grasselli
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