HiFi & Musik – Ana Patan

A splendid review of Patan’s album “Spice, Gold and Tales Untold” by reputed music journalist Bengt Eriksson in the latest issue (Oct. 2023) of Swedish magazine Hifi & Musik.

A clipping of the original article (in Swedish) – pdf, new tab

An English Translation of the text (pdf, new tab)

“The electric guitar is the first thing I hear, both its sound and her way of playing it. Understated, almost quiet. Soft but with something resolute and impulsive, yes, tough. Clever and quirky with extra coloring of the chords. The next thing I hear is her voice. Also quite quiet but also highly determined. And yes, she can raise her voice and scream even more determinedly, for later bringing it down to softness again. And so also the songs. Both melodic and rhythmic, always melodic no matter how rhythmic they get. Jazz? Yes. Funk? Yes. Rock? Pop? Yes, that as well. All named genres, often at the same time, in and out of each other. A diluted heavy metal? Yes, maybe that in addition. Ana Patan grew up in Romania and came via Germany to Sweden.

She is equally good at it all: guitar playing, singing, composing. Which is actually not that usual, for example that a skilled, yes, virtuosic guitaristwould write such good, direct and accesible pieces. Some examples: On the quiet introduction of “Undeciphered” Ana lays down some electric guitar chords, and an electric bass plays – no, not just along, but actually with – the guitar. She then starts singing, precisely as I’ve described: from the calm, quiet all the way to the high, loud and determined. Observe the electric bass. Do you recognise it? I for one did. Jonas Hellborg plays bass, he does that on several tracks. His playing is so melodic and warm and at the same time powerful that it’s unmistakably him. Other musicians: Devin Townsend and Jonathan Herrera play as well bass, Jamal Evans percussion and Zoltan Csörsz drums. Further examples: Holly molly, on “The Human” she goes on to play an afro-melody/rhythm on the guitar. “21 Century Man” is actually hard rock, with a considerably rougher, fiercer guitar sound. “Hot Hot” doesn’t sound like the title but it is a layed-back ballad with beautiful chords. “How Could We Live Before” is jazz – or jazzy – both as guitar playing and singing. In the last piece we hear one more thing which is representative for Ana Patan’s guitar playing: both chords and notes. At the same time. Listen to the bright notes that sound on top of the chords.” Bengt Eriksson, HiFi & Musik, Oct. 2023