After the Blue Foundation era, Kirstine taught herself music production, and in 2013, she released the critically acclaimed album 'Hamskifte' ('Sloughing'). As composer and producer of the entire album Kirstine expanded her artistic vision and capabilities, and ‘Hamskifte’ stands out as a personal statement with a unique sound and intriguing and poetic lyrics in her native Danish tongue.
Kirstine tells about her journey towards the creation of 'Hamskifte':
"My urge to start producing my own music and soundscapes began when I toured in Japan with Blue Foundation in 2001. On a day off from concerts, I bought a mini disc recorder and a stereo microphone, and I began to explore Tokyo and the landscapes outside the city with my recorder. I recorded all kinds of sounds; Tones from the subway and the escalators, monks singing and drumming in the streets, the cries of Shibuya's black birds, the wind in power cables, the roar of the sea from the shores of Kamakura.
These sounds were all very different from the sounds of Copenhagen. It was as if my ears opened, and I experienced a wave of inspiration and freedom. When I returned from Japan, I processed the sounds on my computer. I was inspired by the pioneer of Danish electronic music Else Marie Pade who used field recordings in her early compositions".
Several songs from 'Hamskifte' contain manipulated field recordings, not only from Japan but also from the forests of Sweden and Kirstine's own garden and house in Copenhagen.
Between feminist fragility and raw power (...) Almost out of this world
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Soundvenue
Coolness reaching completely new levels
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GAFFA
Incredibly beautiful
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Information
Insanely beautiful
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Berlingske
Excellent solo debut
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Politiken
One of the most beautiful voices
of our country. Light as a feather and filled with refined sweetness
U U U U U
Undertoner
“Hamskifte is inspired of a cyclic way of understanding creation and growth, where an end can be seen as the same as a beginning.
Symbols like the snake, the moon, the fruit- or apple tree and the changes of the seasons are all expressions of this. The snake can renew itself by slaying it's slough, when the old form does not fit any more. That is why the title of the album is 'Hamskifte'. During my work with the album I tried to understand how endings and beginnings are interconnected, and I wanted to teach my self not to be afraid of endings."
Songs such as 'Broerne Brænder', 'Levende igen', 'Under isen' and 'Hamskifte' revolves around the collapsing of the old and the empty feeling when new has yet not emerged. Other songs, like 'Drømmenes lyd' and 'Tungt er mit hår' revolves around an intense feeling of being alive and connected with the world. 'Det larmer ikke mere' is an ode to aging.
