Anna von Hausswolff: Difference between revisions

 

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==Early life==

==Early life==

Born in [[Gothenburg]], Sweden,<ref name=”:0“>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/23/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-review|title=Anna von Hausswolff: Dead Magic review – doomy epic from a supernatural talent|last=Richardson Andrews|first=Charlotte|date=February 23, 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref> von Hausswolff is the daughter of avant-garde [[sound art]]ist [[Carl Michael von Hausswolff]].<ref name=”SvD” /> She was a student of [[architecture]] at [[Chalmers University of Technology]].<ref name=”SvD”>{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/nyheter/lokalen-viktig-for-anna-von-hausswolff_4333257.svd|title=Lokalen viktig för Anna von Hausswolff|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|date=2010-02-27|author=Martin Hanberg|accessdate=2010-02-28|language=sv}}</ref>

Born in [[Gothenburg]], Sweden,<ref name=””>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/23/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-review|title=Anna von Hausswolff: Dead Magic review – doomy epic from a supernatural talent|last=Richardson Andrews|first=Charlotte|date=February 23, 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref> von Hausswolff is the daughter of avant-garde [[sound art]]ist [[Carl Michael von Hausswolff]].<ref name=”SvD” /> She was a student of [[architecture]] at [[Chalmers University of Technology]].<ref name=”SvD”>{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/nyheter/lokalen-viktig-for-anna-von-hausswolff_4333257.svd|title=Lokalen viktig för Anna von Hausswolff|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|date=2010-02-27|author=Martin Hanberg|accessdate=2010-02-28|language=sv}}</ref>

==Career==

==Career==

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The album received strong support from [[NPR Music|NPR]]’s Bob Boilen, who said “Von Hausswolff’s voice possesses the power to soar with those mighty pipes and still hold tight to delicate, personal emotions. I hope to find one album like Ceremony every year — a rare, thoughtful, inspiring record for a night on the couch or a candlelit evening — and now I’ve got one for 2013.”<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boilen |first=Bob |date=2013-06-30 |title=Review: Anna Von Hausswolff, ‘Ceremony’ |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/06/30/195874093/first-listen-anna-von-hausswolff-ceremony# |access-date=2025-02-19 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref> She was also featured on NPR’s ”[[Weekend Edition]]”, ”[[PRI’s The World]]”, ”[[WNYC Soundcheck]]”, ”[[the New York Times]]”, Pitchfork and more.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

The album received strong support from [[NPR Music|NPR]]’s Bob Boilen, who said “Von Hausswolff’s voice possesses the power to soar with those mighty pipes and still hold tight to delicate, personal emotions. I hope to find one album like Ceremony every year — a rare, thoughtful, inspiring record for a night on the couch or a candlelit evening — and now I’ve got one for 2013.”<ref>{{Cite news |last=Boilen |first=Bob |date=2013-06-30 |title=Review: Anna Von Hausswolff, ‘Ceremony’ |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/06/30/195874093/first-listen-anna-von-hausswolff-ceremony# |access-date=2025-02-19 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref> She was also featured on NPR’s ”[[Weekend Edition]]”, ”[[PRI’s The World]]”, ”[[WNYC Soundcheck]]”, ”[[the New York Times]]”, Pitchfork and more.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

Von Hausswolff released her fourth album, ”[[Dead Magic]]”, in March 2018. It received critical acclaim, with some calling it her “darkest, most ambitious record to date”.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Andrews |first=Charlotte Richardson |date=2018-02-23 |title=Anna von Hausswolff: Dead Magic review – doomy epic from a supernatural talent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/23/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-review |access-date=2024-06-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Von Hausswolff produced the album with [[Sunn O)))]]{{‘}}s producer [[Randall Dunn]] and was recorded on the 20th-century pipe organ at [[Copenhagen]]’s [[rococo]]-style [[Frederik’s Church|Marble Church]].<ref name=”:0” /> Von Hausswolff hoped that the album causes listeners to accept mystery and ambiguity in an “extremely materialistic society where everything needs to be explained.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/22/anna-von-hausswolff-interview-dead-magic-organ|title=Anna von Hausswolff: ‘It’s still weird to see a woman screaming her nuts out’|last=Snapes|first=Laura|date=March 22, 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>

Von Hausswolff released her fourth album, ”[[Dead Magic]]”, in March 2018. It received critical acclaim, with some calling it her “darkest, most ambitious record to date”.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Andrews |first=Charlotte Richardson |date=2018-02-23 |title=Anna von Hausswolff: Dead Magic review – doomy epic from a supernatural talent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/feb/23/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-review |access-date=2024-06-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Von Hausswolff produced the album with [[Sunn O)))]]{{‘}}s producer [[Randall Dunn]] and was recorded on the 20th-century pipe organ at [[Copenhagen]]’s [[rococo]]-style [[Frederik’s Church|Marble Church]].<ref name=”” /> Von Hausswolff hoped that the album causes listeners to accept mystery and ambiguity in an “extremely materialistic society where everything needs to be explained.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/22/anna-von-hausswolff-interview-dead-magic-organ|title=Anna von Hausswolff: ‘It’s still weird to see a woman screaming her nuts out’|last=Snapes|first=Laura|date=March 22, 2018|website=The Guardian|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>

She sang on the song “Born From the Serpent’s Eye” by [[Wolves in the Throne Room]], from their 2017 album ”[[Thrice Woven]]”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wolves In The Throne Room Blazes Through ‘Born From The Serpent’s Eye’ |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/07/17/537279535/wolves-in-the-throne-room-blazes-through-born-from-the-serpents-eye |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> Von Hausswolff and her sister Maria contributed guest vocals to [[Swans (band)|Swans]]’ 2019 album ”[[Leaving Meaning]]”.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Benitez-Eves |first=Tina |date=2019-10-25 |title=Swans Founder Michael Gira Talks Band’s 15th Album, ‘Leaving Meaning,’ And 13th Lineup: ‘This New Mutation Is Unique’ |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/swans-michael-gira-leaving-meaning-interview-8540566/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> She also appears on the [[Sunn O)))]] live album ”Metta, Benevolence”.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-17 |title=SUNN O))) Unveils Passage from “Pyroclasts F” Featuring Anna Von Hausswolff |url=https://sunn.southernlord.com/sunn-o-unveils-passage-from-pyroclasts-f-featuring-anna-von-hausswolff/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=SUNN O))) |language=en-US}}</ref>

She sang on the song “Born From the Serpent’s Eye” by [[Wolves in the Throne Room]], from their 2017 album ”[[Thrice Woven]]”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wolves In The Throne Room Blazes Through ‘Born From The Serpent’s Eye’ |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/07/17/537279535/wolves-in-the-throne-room-blazes-through-born-from-the-serpents-eye |website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> Von Hausswolff and her sister Maria contributed guest vocals to [[Swans (band)|Swans]]’ 2019 album ”[[Leaving Meaning]]”.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Benitez-Eves |first=Tina |date=2019-10-25 |title=Swans Founder Michael Gira Talks Band’s 15th Album, ‘Leaving Meaning,’ And 13th Lineup: ‘This New Mutation Is Unique’ |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/swans-michael-gira-leaving-meaning-interview-8540566/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref> She also appears on the [[Sunn O)))]] live album ”Metta, Benevolence”.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-17 |title=SUNN O))) Unveils Passage from “Pyroclasts F” Featuring Anna Von Hausswolff |url=https://sunn.southernlord.com/sunn-o-unveils-passage-from-pyroclasts-f-featuring-anna-von-hausswolff/ |access-date=2024-12-14 |website=SUNN O))) |language=en-US}}</ref>

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==Artistry==

==Artistry==

[[File:Anna von Hausswolff at Organ Reframed at the Union Chapel in Islington (52361889227).jpg|thumb|Anna von Hausswolff at “Organ Reframed” at the [[Union Chapel, Islington]] in September 2022]]

[[File:Anna von Hausswolff at Organ Reframed at the Union Chapel in Islington (52361889227).jpg|thumb|Anna von Hausswolff at “Organ Reframed” at the [[Union Chapel, Islington]] in September 2022]]

Von Hausswolff’s gothic-style music is described as “[[art pop]], [[Drone music|drone]], and [[post-metal]]”, with “a juxtaposition of dark and bright”. ”The Guardian” has described it as “funeral pop”.<ref name=”:0” /> Her 2015 release, ”The Miraculous,” is noted for its “gothic splendour”.<ref name=team>{{cite magazine |url=http://teamrock.com/review/2018-02-28/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-album-review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327004841/http://teamrock.com/review/2018-02-28/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-album-review |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2018 |title=Anna von Hausswolff – Dead Magic album review |magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Teamrock.com]] |first=Natasha |last=Scharf |date=1 March 2018 |accessdate=21 March 2018}}</ref> ”Dead Magic” shows a “brighter, poppier beat”. Her vocals are similar to [[Nico]], Diamanda Galás, Peruvian soprano [[Yma Sumac]], and are compared to [[Kate Bush]] and ”[[A Kiss In The Dreamhouse]]”-era [[Siouxsie Sioux]].<ref name=”team” /> Her music is associated with the [[Krautrock]] genre with odes to [[Einstürzende Neubauten]] and [[Swans (band)|Swans]].<ref name=team />

Von Hausswolff’s gothic-style music is described as “[[art pop]], [[Drone music|drone]], and [[post-metal]]”, with “a juxtaposition of dark and bright”. ”The Guardian” has described it as “funeral pop”.<ref name=”” /> Her 2015 release, ”The Miraculous,” is noted for its “gothic splendour”.<ref name=team>{{cite magazine |url=http://teamrock.com/review/2018-02-28/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-album-review |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327004841/http://teamrock.com/review/2018-02-28/anna-von-hausswolff-dead-magic-album-review |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 March 2018 |title=Anna von Hausswolff – Dead Magic album review |magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Teamrock.com]] |first=Natasha |last=Scharf |date=1 March 2018 |accessdate=21 March 2018}}</ref> ”Dead Magic” shows a “brighter, poppier beat”. Her vocals are similar to [[Nico]], Diamanda Galás, Peruvian soprano [[Yma Sumac]], and are compared to [[Kate Bush]] and ”[[A Kiss In The Dreamhouse]]”-era [[Siouxsie Sioux]].<ref name=”team” /> Her music is associated with the [[Krautrock]] genre with odes to [[Einstürzende Neubauten]] and [[Swans (band)|Swans]].<ref name=team />

The [[pipe organ]] features heavily in her work. In an interview with ”The National” about the album, she spoke to the physically demanding nature of the instrument, “You are working with your hands and feet, and you have all these stops that you are pulling in and out to make flute sounds, or maybe trumpet sounds. If you are playing fast it’s like dancing – you have to move the entire body to make it work.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/anna-von-hausswolff-s-says-new-album-dead-magic-is-a-clash-of-negative-and-positive-energies-1.709357|title=Anna von Hausswolff’s says new album Dead Magic is a ‘clash of negative and positive energies’|last=McNair|first=James|date=March 2, 2018|website=The National|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>

The [[pipe organ]] features heavily in her work. In an interview with ”The National” about the album, she spoke to the physically demanding nature of the instrument, “You are working with your hands and feet, and you have all these stops that you are pulling in and out to make flute sounds, or maybe trumpet sounds. If you are playing fast it’s like dancing – you have to move the entire body to make it work.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/music/anna-von-hausswolff-s-says-new-album-dead-magic-is-a-clash-of-negative-and-positive-energies-1.709357|title=Anna von Hausswolff’s says new album Dead Magic is a ‘clash of negative and positive energies’|last=McNair|first=James|date=March 2, 2018|website=The National|access-date=June 26, 2018}}</ref>

== Controversies ==

== Controversies ==

On 7 December 2021, von Hausswolff cancelled her planned concert at the [[Notre-Dame de Bon-Port]] in [[Nantes]], France, following boycott demands from fundamentalist Catholic groups. Deeming her music “[[Satanism|satanic]]”, the protestors blocked the church’s entrance.<ref name=”Le Monde”>{{Cite news|language=fr|title=Un concert annulé sous la pression de catholiques intégristes à Nantes|work=[[Le Monde]]|date=8 December 2021|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2021/12/08/un-concert-annule-sous-la-pression-de-catholiques-integristes-a-nantes_6105101_3246.html|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |title=Vade retro, satanas ! À Nantes, des catholiques intégristes bloquent un concert |url=https://www.telerama.fr/debats-reportages/vade-retro-satanas-a-nantes-des-catholiques-integristes-bloquent-un-concert-7007644.php |website=Télérama |date=8 December 2021 |access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nantes. Des catholiques intégristes empêchent la tenue d’un concert du Lieu unique |url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/nantes-des-catholiques-empechent-la-tenue-d-un-concert-2a77173c-57a2-11ec-98d9-226f24a3b94d |website=Ouest France |date=7 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |title=Concerts annulés : la communion des extrêmes droites |url=https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/anna-von-hausswolff/ep3-reseaux-catholiques/ |website=Les Jours |date=28 December 2021 |access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> Complaints against von Hausswolff include her 2009 song “Pills”, which features the lyrics “I made love with the devil”.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 December 2021 |title=Jugée “sataniste”, la musicienne Anna von Hausswolff déprogrammée à Paris après Nantes sous pression de catholiques |language=fr |work=[[Libération]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=https://www.liberation.fr/societe/religions/a-nantes-les-cathos-integristes-font-annuler-le-concert-de-la-chanteuse-anna-bon-hausswolff-20211208_DBRDZ7EU7NAOJBW3A22ZRC4W3E/ |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> However, the scheduled concerts were instrumental on organ without lyrics.<ref name=”Le Monde” /> The concert, organized by [[Le Lieu unique]],<ref name=”:4“>{{Cite web |language=fr |author=Sophian Fanen |title=Concert annulé d’Anna von Hausswolff : le public renvoie les censeurs au tribunal |url=https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/anna-von-hausswolff/ep2-plainte/ |url-access=subscription |website=Les Jours |date=19 December 2021 |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref> had been scheduled with approval from the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes]]. On 9 December 2021, a concert planned at [[Saint-Eustache, Paris|Saint-Eustache]] church in [[Paris]] was also threatened<ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |first=Adrien |last=Toffolet |title=Deux concerts d’Anna von Hausswolff annulés à Nantes et Paris, après des pressions d’extrémistes catholiques |url=https://www.franceinter.fr/societe/deux-concerts-d-anna-von-hausswolff-annules-a-nantes-et-paris-apres-des-pressions-d-extremistes-catholiques |website=www.franceinter.fr |date=8 December 2021 |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref><ref name=”:1“>{{Cite web |language=fr-FR |first=Juliette |last=Poulain |title=Après Nantes, Anna von Hausswolff est déprogrammée à Paris – Les Inrocks |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/apres-nantes-anna-von-hausswolff-est-deprogrammee-a-paris-428898-08-12-2021/ |website=[[Les Inrockuptibles]] |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> and rescheduled to the Protestant Unie de l’Etoile church, a location kept secret until the last moment except for ticket holders.<ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |title=L’artiste Anna von Hausswolff a pu finalement jouer à Paris, mais dans un lieu tenu secret |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/entry/anna-von-hausswolff-a-pu-finalement-jouer-a-paris-mais-dans-un-lieu-tenu-secret_fr_61b2fbeae4b0bb13fd054ca2 |website=Le HuffPost |date=10 December 2021 |access-date=10 December 2021}}</ref> In a press release, the priest of Saint-Eustache explained that show was cancelled due to security reasons, and not due to the content of von Hausswolff’s work.<ref>{{Cite web |language=fr-FR |title=Musique à Saint-Eustache |url=https://www.saint-eustache.org/musique-a-st-eustache/ |website=Eglise Saint Eustache |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Organisers for von Hausswolff and the Syndicat des musiques actuelles (SMA) lamented the lack of political support for the holding of the concert.<ref name=”:3“>{{Cite web |language=fr |author=Sophian Fanen |title=Anna von Hausswolff : des concerts crucifiés dans un silence de cathédrale |url=https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/anna-von-hausswolff/ep1-silence-politique/ |url-access=subscription |website=Les Jours |date=16 December 2021 |access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> The organiser and the spectators of the canceled concert in Nantes have announced intentions to file a complaint against the fundamentalists for obstructing freedom of expression.<ref name=”:4” /> Von Hausswolff has denied the accusations of Satanism.<ref name=”NYT”>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Alex |date=21 January 2022 |title=A ‘High Priestess of Satanic Art’? This Organist Can Only Laugh. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/arts/music/anna-von-hausswolff-satanist.html |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref>

On 7 December 2021, von Hausswolff cancelled her planned concert at the [[Notre-Dame de Bon-Port]] in [[Nantes]], France, following boycott demands from fundamentalist Catholic groups. Deeming her music “[[Satanism|satanic]]”, the protestors blocked the church’s entrance.<ref name=”Le Monde”>{{Cite news|language=fr|title=Un concert annulé sous la pression de catholiques intégristes à Nantes|work=[[Le Monde]]|date=8 December 2021|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2021/12/08/un-concert-annule-sous-la-pression-de-catholiques-integristes-a-nantes_6105101_3246.html|access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |title=Vade retro, satanas ! À Nantes, des catholiques intégristes bloquent un concert |url=https://www.telerama.fr/debats-reportages/vade-retro-satanas-a-nantes-des-catholiques-integristes-bloquent-un-concert-7007644.php |website=Télérama |date=8 December 2021 |access-date=8 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nantes. Des catholiques intégristes empêchent la tenue d’un concert du Lieu unique |url=https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/nantes-44000/nantes-des-catholiques-empechent-la-tenue-d-un-concert-2a77173c-57a2-11ec-98d9-226f24a3b94d |website=Ouest France |date=7 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |title=Concerts annulés : la communion des extrêmes droites |url=https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/anna-von-hausswolff/ep3-reseaux-catholiques/ |website=Les Jours |date=28 December 2021 |access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> Complaints against von Hausswolff include her 2009 song “Pills”, which features the lyrics “I made love with the devil”.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 December 2021 |title=Jugée “sataniste”, la musicienne Anna von Hausswolff déprogrammée à Paris après Nantes sous pression de catholiques |language=fr |work=[[Libération]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=https://www.liberation.fr/societe/religions/a-nantes-les-cathos-integristes-font-annuler-le-concert-de-la-chanteuse-anna-bon-hausswolff-20211208_DBRDZ7EU7NAOJBW3A22ZRC4W3E/ |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref> However, the scheduled concerts were instrumental on organ without lyrics.<ref name=”Le Monde” /> The concert, organized by [[Le Lieu unique]],<ref name=””>{{Cite web |language=fr |author=Sophian Fanen |title=Concert annulé d’Anna von Hausswolff : le public renvoie les censeurs au tribunal |url=https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/anna-von-hausswolff/ep2-plainte/ |url-access=subscription |website=Les Jours |date=19 December 2021 |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref> had been scheduled with approval from the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes]]. On 9 December 2021, a concert planned at [[Saint-Eustache, Paris|Saint-Eustache]] church in [[Paris]] was also threatened<ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |first=Adrien |last=Toffolet |title=Deux concerts d’Anna von Hausswolff annulés à Nantes et Paris, après des pressions d’extrémistes catholiques |url=https://www.franceinter.fr/societe/deux-concerts-d-anna-von-hausswolff-annules-a-nantes-et-paris-apres-des-pressions-d-extremistes-catholiques |website=www.franceinter.fr |date=8 December 2021 |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref><ref name=””>{{Cite web |language=fr-FR |first=Juliette |last=Poulain |title=Après Nantes, Anna von Hausswolff est déprogrammée à Paris – Les Inrocks |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/apres-nantes-anna-von-hausswolff-est-deprogrammee-a-paris-428898-08-12-2021/ |website=[[Les Inrockuptibles]] |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> and rescheduled to the Protestant Unie de l’Etoile church, a location kept secret until the last moment except for ticket holders.<ref>{{Cite web |language=fr |title=L’artiste Anna von Hausswolff a pu finalement jouer à Paris, mais dans un lieu tenu secret |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/entry/anna-von-hausswolff-a-pu-finalement-jouer-a-paris-mais-dans-un-lieu-tenu-secret_fr_61b2fbeae4b0bb13fd054ca2 |website=Le HuffPost |date=10 December 2021 |access-date=10 December 2021}}</ref> In a press release, the priest of Saint-Eustache explained that show was cancelled due to security reasons, and not due to the content of von Hausswolff’s work.<ref>{{Cite web |language=fr-FR |title=Musique à Saint-Eustache |url=https://www.saint-eustache.org/musique-a-st-eustache/ |website=Eglise Saint Eustache |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> Organisers for von Hausswolff and the Syndicat des musiques actuelles (SMA) lamented the lack of political support for the holding of the concert.<ref name=””>{{Cite web |language=fr |author=Sophian Fanen |title=Anna von Hausswolff : des concerts crucifiés dans un silence de cathédrale |url=https://lesjours.fr/obsessions/anna-von-hausswolff/ep1-silence-politique/ |url-access=subscription |website=Les Jours |date=16 December 2021 |access-date=11 January 2022}}</ref> The organiser and the spectators of the canceled concert in Nantes have announced intentions to file a complaint against the fundamentalists for obstructing freedom of expression.<ref name=”” /> Von Hausswolff has denied the accusations of Satanism.<ref name=”NYT”>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Alex |date=21 January 2022 |title=A ‘High Priestess of Satanic Art’? This Organist Can Only Laugh. |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/arts/music/anna-von-hausswolff-satanist.html |access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref>

On 13 December 2021, a show at the [[Dominican Order]] Saint-Dominique de Bruxelles church in [[Brussels]] also received threats. The concerts, which were sold out, nonetheless took place but under police protection.<ref>{{Cite news |language=fr |work=[[Libération]] |agency=AFP |title=Après Nantes et Paris, le concert bruxellois d’Anna von Hausswolff à son tour menacé |url=https://www.liberation.fr/culture/musique/apres-nantes-et-paris-le-concert-bruxellois-danna-von-hausswolff-a-son-tour-menace-20211213_INXCMEO4CRE6XIMJOXRYYDWHUE/ |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref> Approximately 100 people turned out to protest, but were more peaceful than the protestors in France.<ref name=”NYT” />

On 13 December 2021, a show at the [[Dominican Order]] Saint-Dominique de Bruxelles church in [[Brussels]] also received threats. The concerts, which were sold out, nonetheless took place but under police protection.<ref>{{Cite news |language=fr |work=[[Libération]] |agency=AFP |title=Après Nantes et Paris, le concert bruxellois d’Anna von Hausswolff à son tour menacé |url=https://www.liberation.fr/culture/musique/apres-nantes-et-paris-le-concert-bruxellois-danna-von-hausswolff-a-son-tour-menace-20211213_INXCMEO4CRE6XIMJOXRYYDWHUE/ |access-date=20 December 2021}}</ref> Approximately 100 people turned out to protest, but were more peaceful than the protestors in France.<ref name=”NYT” />

Swedish musician (born 1986)

Musical artist

Anna Michaela Ebba Electra von Hausswolff (born 6 September 1986) is a Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and composer.^[1] She is known for her gothic-styled music, usually accompanied by the pipe organ. Von Hausswolff’s music has received praise from music critics, though it resulted in protests from Catholic fundamentalist groups.^[2][3]

Born in Gothenburg, Sweden,^[4] von Hausswolff is the daughter of avant-garde sound artist Carl Michael von Hausswolff.^[5] She was a student of architecture at Chalmers University of Technology.^[5]

Von Hausswolff released her debut single, “Track of Time”, on 5 February 2010,^[6] followed by the debut album Singing from the Grave. The album was warmly received by the Swedish press.^[7] She played the Way Out West Festival in 2009.^[5] In March 2010, she opened for Tindersticks on three occasions^[8] and toured Brazil with Taken by Trees and Taxi Taxi! Then in 2011, she opened for Lykke Li thrice, and also for M.Ward at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. She has played at several big festivals in Sweden such as Peace and Love, Storsjöyran, Way Out West, Arvika, and Made Festival.

Hausswolff is noted for her expressive voice and her live performances,^[5][8] and is sometimes compared to Diamanda Galás.

On July 9, 2013, Ceremony was released in North America by Other Music Recording Co., and Anna von Hausswolff played her debut US show on July 10 at Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn, New York.^[9]

The album received strong support from NPR‘s Bob Boilen, who said “Von Hausswolff’s voice possesses the power to soar with those mighty pipes and still hold tight to delicate, personal emotions. I hope to find one album like Ceremony every year — a rare, thoughtful, inspiring record for a night on the couch or a candlelit evening — and now I’ve got one for 2013.”^[10] She was also featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, PRI’s The World, WNYC Soundcheck, the New York Times, Pitchfork and more.^{[citation needed]}

Von Hausswolff released her fourth album, Dead Magic, in March 2018. It received critical acclaim, with some calling it her “darkest, most ambitious record to date”.^[11] Von Hausswolff produced the album with Sunn O)))‘s producer Randall Dunn and was recorded on the 20th-century pipe organ at Copenhagen‘s rococo-style Marble Church.^[4] Von Hausswolff hoped that the album causes listeners to accept mystery and ambiguity in an “extremely materialistic society where everything needs to be explained.”^[12]

She sang on the song “Born From the Serpent’s Eye” by Wolves in the Throne Room, from their 2017 album Thrice Woven.^[13] Von Hausswolff and her sister Maria contributed guest vocals to Swans‘ 2019 album Leaving Meaning.^[14] She also appears on the Sunn O))) live album Metta, Benevolence.^[15]

Her fifth album, All Thoughts Fly, was released in 2020. It was recorded using the pipe organ of Örgryte New Church in Gothenburg, which is a Swedish replica of the Arp Schnitger organ in Germany and the largest organ tuned in quarter-comma meantone temperament worldwide.^[16]

In August 2025, Hausswolff announced her sixth studio album titled Iconoclasts alongside a double single,”Stardust” and “The Whole Woman”. The album was released on October 31 and received acclaim from music critics.^[17]

Von Hausswolff’s gothic-style music is described as “art pop, drone, and post-metal“, with “a juxtaposition of dark and bright”. The Guardian has described it as “funeral pop”.^[4] Her 2015 release, The Miraculous, is noted for its “gothic splendour”.^[18] Dead Magic shows a “brighter, poppier beat”. Her vocals are similar to Nico, Diamanda Galás, Peruvian soprano Yma Sumac, and are compared to Kate Bush and A Kiss In The Dreamhouse-era Siouxsie Sioux.^[18] Her music is associated with the Krautrock genre with odes to Einstürzende Neubauten and Swans.^[18]

The pipe organ features heavily in her work. In an interview with The National about the album, she spoke to the physically demanding nature of the instrument, “You are working with your hands and feet, and you have all these stops that you are pulling in and out to make flute sounds, or maybe trumpet sounds. If you are playing fast it’s like dancing – you have to move the entire body to make it work.”^[19]

On 7 December 2021, von Hausswolff cancelled her planned concert at the Notre-Dame de Bon-Port in Nantes, France, following boycott demands from fundamentalist Catholic groups. Deeming her music “satanic“, the protestors blocked the church’s entrance.^{[20][21][22][23]} Complaints against von Hausswolff include her 2009 song “Pills”, which features the lyrics “I made love with the devil”.^[24] However, the scheduled concerts were instrumental on organ without lyrics.^[20] The concert, organized by Le Lieu unique,^[25] had been scheduled with approval from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nantes. On 9 December 2021, a concert planned at Saint-Eustache church in Paris was also threatened^[26][27] and rescheduled to the Protestant Unie de l’Etoile church, a location kept secret until the last moment except for ticket holders.^[28] In a press release, the priest of Saint-Eustache explained that show was cancelled due to security reasons, and not due to the content of von Hausswolff’s work.^[29] Organisers for von Hausswolff and the Syndicat des musiques actuelles (SMA) lamented the lack of political support for the holding of the concert.^[30] The organiser and the spectators of the canceled concert in Nantes have announced intentions to file a complaint against the fundamentalists for obstructing freedom of expression.^[25] Von Hausswolff has denied the accusations of Satanism.^[31]

On 13 December 2021, a show at the Dominican Order Saint-Dominique de Bruxelles church in Brussels also received threats. The concerts, which were sold out, nonetheless took place but under police protection.^[32] Approximately 100 people turned out to protest, but were more peaceful than the protestors in France.^[31]

In 2022 her music was performed at the Union Chapel in London on the opening night of “Organ Reframed”. The London Contemporary Orchestra played her music and that of Ipek Gorgun and Abul Mogard.^[33]

• Live at Montreux Jazz Festival (2022)

• Track of Time (2010)
• Källan (Prototype) (2014)
• Källan (Betatype) (2016)