Jenny Hval has shared a new single/video, for “Freedom,” the track is off her forthcoming release, Classic Objects available March 11th via 4AD The song’s accompanying video is another collaboration from the trio of Hval, Annie Bielski, and Jenny Berger Mhyre following their work together on the ambitious “Year of Love” video.

“I don’t know what freedom is. This song doesn’t either. The lyrics are bombastic and silly, as if written by a political folk song generator. Nonetheless the song was needed on my record – I needed something short and sweet after a series of long, layered reflections.

“I imagine it being sung in a courtroom or in parliament when the debate gets too heated and everyone needs a break. In this imagined moment, everyone is singing in unison.

“This is the only way I can describe Freedom – as a kind of performative moment that breaks up the structure, language and ambivalence of the rest of the record. On its own, it seems weirdly clear and pure. I can’t really defend it. Or perhaps it is myself I can’t defend. The song is necessary. It just reminds me of the fact that I am not.” – Jenny Hval

“In 2020, like everyone else, I was just a private person,” says Hval. “No artists were allowed to perform. I was reduced to ‘just me.’” As a result, Hval questioned what “just me” could mean. As an exercise, Hval wrote straight-forward stories about life, investigating the stripped-down “just me” concept. When Hval started writing stories that eventually became this record, the pandemic hit and she remembered specific times in her life that felt completely stripped of value; like when a celiac diagnosis halted the start of her music career. Hval elaborates: “This made me want to write simple stories. My problem was that I found that the music component in the writing process made the words stray from their path and even jump into the absurd. I think it is just bound to happen when there is music involved. After all, a song isn’t just words, it has a melody, and the reason we have melodies is to step into the dark and jump off cliffs.”

Jenny Hval 2022 Tour Dates

Fri. Mar. 11 – Oslo, NO @ Munchmuseet
Thu. Mar. 17 – Bergen, NO @ Kulturhuset | Bergen
Fri. Mar. 18 – Stavanger, NO @ Tou Scene
Sat. Mar. 26 – Trondheim, NO @ Dokkhuset
Tue. Apr. 5 – Stockholm, SE @ Fasching
Wed. Apr. 6 – Copenhagen, DK @ Bremen Teater
Thu. Apr. 7 – Berlin, DE @ Columbia Theater
Sat. Apr. 9 – Den Haag, NL @ Rewire Festival
Sun. Apr. 10 – Brussels, BE @ BRDCST Festival
Mon. Apr. 11 – London, UK @ EartH
Wed. Apr. 13 – Paris, FR @ La Gaîté Lyrique
Thu. Apr. 15 – Nantes, FR @ FEstival Variations
Mon. May 9 – Boston, MA @ Arts at the Armory
Tue. May 10 – Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
Wed. May 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
Fri. May 13 – Washington, DC @ Miracle Theatre
Sat. May 14 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s
Sun. May 15 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation
Mon. May 16 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation
Tue. May 17 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Fri. May 20 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Sat. May 21 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
Tue. May 24 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
Wed. May 25 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Sat. Jun. 4 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera
Aug. 18-21 (date tbd) – Brecon Beacons, UK @ Green Man Festival

Pre-order Classic Objects by Jenny Hval HERE