How the song came about: Shallow River

With "Shallow River", Ida Jenshus raises expectations for what the audience can expect from her upcoming fourth album and concerts. The musical gift package for those truly interested in music this summer consists of three interconnected parts; 1) Shallow River, 2) Storms and 3) Let It Go, and clocks in at 14 minutes and 40 seconds. In other words, a song that is unlikely to be worn out on commercial radio.

Tekst: Kai Lofthus

In the modern music industry, every day is a good day to release new music. So it only makes sense that Universal Music would share Ida Jenshus' new music with the world on June 30th, just a few weeks after it was finished. Together with producer Kåre Christoffer Vestrheim, guitarist Alexander Pettersen (the South), drummer Pål Hausken (I Was A King) and bassist Tor Egil Kreken (Shining), it took just three days in May to record it. But the preparation took a little longer. The songwriting began in the wake of last year's tour, and took place in her writing basement in Trondheim and along the way on trips to Nashville, Los Angeles, Woodstock, New York and France. The lyrics were written by her, while the melody was composed together with Vestrheim, Pettersen and Kevin Salem, who are also co-songwriters.

– Actually, there were four different ideas that became that unit of three parts, says Jenshus. – The first idea and sketch, originally a long sketch with repetition of words on top of a riff, became the first part of the song (“Shallow River”). I had a vision quite early on that I wanted to make a three-part song. I also started working on a fourth part that I envisioned would be included, but it fell through. There were a number of sketches and drips of ideas that I eventually hooked together, and the magic of the song lies in the coincidence that happened along the way, that not much was planned.

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She says that she primarily sees herself as a live artist, and that the music she creates is influenced by what she does and wants to achieve on stage.
– If I had started thinking about who would like the music, where it would fit in and so on, it would be completely wrong, she explains.

The live feel is also evident in how she, the producer and the other musicians have worked on the record.
“We started recording without much planning or rehearsal. We finished nine songs in nine days, and most of it was recorded live. So the research I do on stage was able to unfold more in the studio this time,” she says.

The accompanying music video was made together with visual artist Ingunn Ystad and photographer Marthe Amanda Vannebo, with filming in Trondheim, Lofoten, Los Angeles and Nashville.

Listen to the song here:
Wimp: https://wimp.no/wweb/album/31787877
Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/4M1SzIT0OMiou73iYtyau3
beat: http://beat.no/#releases/103614194