This came out of the blue so to speak, with no promo sheet, or if there was one it went missing. 'Nio systrar' is the debut album of Linnea Hjertén, from Stockholm, Sweden, who apparently does everything on this album except for some of the drums and samples. Born from the synthesis of Swedish folk melodies and ritual ambient, Linnea Hjertén's debut album 'Nio systrar' (‘Nine sisters’) is a wordless invocation of primordial energy – a psychoacoustic gateway to altered states of consciousness. It consists of nine tracks in about 35 minutes. To some extent the tracks are different, but really so much in the same vein you will have a hard time telling one from the other, as the wordless vocals do not give a clear thematic identity to any particular one.

The first comparison one is likely to make is with the Lisa Gerrard half of Dead Can Dance. There are uncanny similarities between Lisa and Linnea's vocals. The downtempo style of Linnea's vocals and (minimal) instrumental backing also supports this. The tracks are very low-key and somewhat mournful, perhaps even dirge-like. 'Nio systrar' has also been compared to the spellbinding chants of Kari Rueslåtten, and the minimalist Nordic atmosphere of Forndom. Obviously Hjertén's vocals are multi-tracked but extremely well-recorded and executed. Cold Meat Industry could have released an album like this in the '90s and it would have been a bestseller for them. It should be one now for Nordvis. Flawless and fasntastic!