Sørgekåpe is Kari Rueslåtten’s first album in Norwegian since her debut-solo album Spindelsinn in 1997, a work which reached across borders despite delivery in a language spoken by only 5 million people worldwide. Listeners from all linguistic backgrounds embraced the album, finding beauty in carefully crafted songs and deftly delivered vocals which expressed emotions beyond words.
“With my new album, Sørgekåpe, [Ed. Note: Google unimaginatively translates the title to mean “Provide Cover” in English] I am really looking forward to inviting people again into my native landscape of sounds and language,” Kari Rueslåtten says, “that so many people who follow me from around the world embrace songs in my native language is wonderful. To be honest, I was not sure what people would think when I sung in Norwegian again, so this really warms my heart.”
Some will remember Kari Rueslåtten from her solid metal performances in the early years of her career, when she sung in the Norwegian prog metal band The 3rd and the Mortal. At that time, she took lessons in classical singing in the daytime, sang in metal bands in the evening – all the time inspired by Nordic and Celtic folk music. Since then she has delivered dark-edged folk-pop to a world-wide audience. Kari Rueslåtten’s groundbreaking work with The 3rd and the Mortal is said by none other than the mighty Tuomas Holopainen to be the reason why he was inspired to start the legendary Nightwish.
