Astrid Engberg’s masterful sophomore album Trust finds the Danish singer, producer, composer and DJ paying tribute to intuition and new motherhood. Spanning contemporary soul, nu jazz, electronic and more, the LP sees her collaborating with a line-up of Nordic talent as well as Los Angeles-based Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, a venerated multi-instrumentalist, conductor and composer known for works with Ray Charles, Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige as well as his esteemed orchestral reimagining of J Dilla’s back catalogue titled Suite For Ma Dukes. Trust will be released through the Danish record label Creak Inc. Records which specialises in groundbreaking Danish music.
Growing up in a household where classical music was the sole genre of choice, which influenced her musical education through music schools and choirs, it was a world revered by her parents but one Astrid couldn’t conform to. Feeling different, or in her words “an alien”, she’d find her own sanctuary in music once she discovered her library’s CD collection aged 8. She’d fervently rinse instrumental jazz and West African records, among others, and make mixtapes. This routine continued until she was 15, by which point she was becoming confident in her voice and why music was essential to her.
“The reason I make music is because it’s my best language,” Astrid candidly states, while adding that singing brought her a sense of being at home. In her debut album Tulpa, which Bandcamp Daily listed as one of its Best albums of 2020 and brought national acclaim with winning Best Vocal Release of The Year from Danish Music Award Jazz, she was able to give words to her mental and physical recovery from a head injury in her young adulthood which still impacts her everyday life over a decade later.
Her latest album follows as a means of expression, taking form five months after giving birth to her first-born, a daughter. Created with playful joy, openness and gratitude, she recalls it as being a “super smooth and fast process.” Despite all structures and practical tasks being turned upside down as a new mother, Trust was complete nine months later. "I couldn’t have long rehearsals and recording sessions, so the album was given space to emerge freely and flourish inside myself. Most of it was written inside my head, for example, while I was taking a walk with my baby or when I sang to her, and then recorded in the studio or at home during the short periods I had free.”
Astrid has long mastered utilising her time, blasting through short-burst activity. Severe headaches and neck pain are the lasting effects of her bike accident, meaning across her years making music from Paris with French beatmakers and then returning to Denmark, her routine has been a couple of intense hours followed by rest. This was largely unchanged with the arrival of her daughter, putting her a step ahead.
Intuition comes into her methods with giving herself space and pushing against our high-paced performance culture. “You need to have space in you to hear what’s happening. In the past when I’ve composed, I’d hear a melody and try to follow it by hearing what falls around it. I feel with this album it was unfolding to me, naturally arising from within. You need to trust that what you hear is the way you need to go. Trust the process. Trust that it’s ok to play around with music, to take it down in your form. I want to encourage others to trust themselves through me learning to trust myself. My hope is that those who need it can feel understood in my music, that they can lean back in the sound, the words, and the circles of melodies intertwining with each other and think, 'ah, she understands me.’"
Intuition in motherhood relates to simply doing what feels right for herself and her daughter, often going against the status quo. Throughout her pregnancy and in the first few months of her arrival, Astrid’s headaches and pains ceased. Their return was difficult. Going into the studio and having that output was essential. By putting her daughter into daycare from an early age to allow for this time, she had to trust her intuition. “I see people casting judgement on this. She’d go for 2-3 hours and she was happy. I was a better mum because I could make music and rest. But even when you think it’s a good idea, it isn’t easy. It’s not like I’m made of stone - here take my baby.” Her track ‘On Time’ zones in on this, with the melody coming to her with the lyrics “You know that I try.” She adds, “Inside I was thinking what if she starts crying and I’m not there. I had all these worries. My mind was playing tricks. I had to tell myself that she’s fine because my intuition says so. I’m gonna be there when she needs me, so trust this, my daughter.”
As with her debut album, these 11 tracks were written, composed and produced by Astrid. Appreciating the value of collaborating, she brought in a string of talented musicians, including jazz trumpeter Tobias Wiklund and saxophonist Maria Dybbroe. “I was ready to be inspired by what they’d create which I’d later arrange in the way I want,” she explains. “It’s wonderful not to stand in the way of the ego. The conversations we’d have were great for me - moments of joy, laughter and then to work.”
In valuable conversations, her connection with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson looms large. Introduced to Suite For Ma Dukes not long after its 2009 release, it was a performance and record that blew her mind and became a Holy Grail in her collection. During the pandemic she’d reach out with some of her music after he put out a call for fans interested in online sessions with him. He enjoyed her music to the extent that he proposed to connect on a one-to-one level, and they’d have their first of several Zooms. On sending him the three album tracks that he features on, she recalls being red-faced when he said it was an honour to contribute.
“I’m so grateful for these tracks and his work. He’s a representation of the music business that I want to be part of. If I can in my own way, with what I am and who I am, be a kind of representation of that world, that’s cool for me.” - Astrid Engberg
“After meeting Astrid and discovering her music, I immediately felt like I met another member of my musical family. I love how earthy and celestial her voice, compositions, and productions are. I love how uplifting her music is while still feeling authentic and coming out of the realness of what seems to me like the suffering of any awakened and caring individual has. At a time when I feel that the world desperately needs more female leaders, Astrid in my opinion is a perfect example of someone whose voice needs to be amplified and enjoyed." - Miguel Atwood-Ferguson
Tracklist:
1. Blue Rise and The Fall (feat. Tobias Wiklund)
2. On Time
3. Falling (OK Not Cool)
4. Spirits Came Told Me (feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)
5. Feelings
6. I Should Care
7. Loving Contemplation (feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)
8. Radio2200
9. Chains (feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)
10. Body Follows Body (feat. Miguel Atwood-Ferguson)
11. Adaptation (Walls)
