We have a mountain of new releases which have been building up over the last few weeks, but something special landed from Finnish songwriter 'Astrid Swan' last Friday, and I wanted to feature it before we caught up on everything else
'The single 'Song of Fear' is the most powerful of tracks, the first song she wrote about her diagnosis with breast cancer in 2014. The first time I heard this I was totally mesmerised by its intensity and power. To be able to put into words such emotion of feeling, with such a brutal clarity, is fairly extraordinary. And if you've ever witnessed a loved one going through a similar experience, you will probably shudder at the memory of that daily fear and the painful truth of lines such as 'I'm afraid of my own body, because it has failed me once'.
'Song of Fear' is released ahead of Astrid Swans new album, 'From the Bed and Beyond' which is due to be released on the 3rd March - an album about being a patient, mother and about grief and hope too. I'm looking forward to listening to this album so much, even though I know parts may be challenging, I have a feeling it will be inspiring too.
Listen to the track here:
For those of you in Finland and Estonia (and I know we have readers and even an occasional contributor there...) there are also live dates. The first 3 are all in Helsinki with a residency at the WHS Teatteri Union between 9th and 11th March. Please visit her Facebook page for more details.