Cisser Mæhl - Familiens Muligheder (LYD+Litteratur Plus) [Alt-Pop]

Cisser Mæhl describes her music as "quietly experimental" and it's a term I'm unashamedly going to steal, it sounds so much better than accessible experimentalism, which I used to use to describe my preferences. Mæhl is a Danish composer, producer, recorder of sounds, singer and multi-instrumentalist, who not content with the bad weather in Denmark has decided to really test her climatic resilience by moving even further north to Oslo which, being as it means she'll spend even more time time in the studio, might not be a bad thing.

I'm guessing she's fairly young, or perhaps I'm getting on a bit, but Familiens Muligheder is her second album. The first, Innemuseum appeared in 2023, the bulk of the album a beautifully crafted, somewhat shy blend of voice, instruments, electronics and field recordings that whispered, rather than shouted her arrival as a public facing recording artist. Alongside the releases she's also been making music for film, video games, theatre, performance and fine art, all natural outlets for her thoughtful, considered creations.

On Familiens Muligheder, Cisser Mæhl has put music to a series of lyrics by Danish author Ida Marie Hede, taken from her book ‘Suget Eller vasker du vores fuckfingre med dine tårer’ (2020). The eight songs on the album share the themes of motherhood, grief and love.

Mæhl samples and loops her gently sung vocals, immediately setting a quietly experimental (ooh that works so well) tone for the album on "Al hud i verden er gåsehud", as a string drone and subtle ambient details glide and flutter around in the distance, paving the way nicely for the strings of "En forestilling" to sweep through the speakers, before they, alongside some minimal piano, wrap themselves around Mæhl's beautifully delivered tale. Strings, piano and electronics are then roused in unison on, "Som at mangle uendelige arme", another fine ambient meets modern classical backdrop, but hold tight for some cultured beats that unexpectedly crash the reverie and urge the vocals higher, before fading into the electronic mists only to make a welcome reemergence during the song's finale.

A lone snare and impatient synth motif get the blood pulsing on the release's title track before morphing into a fuller bodied IDM construct, Mæhl riding the futuristic riddim in reggaeton style, holding her nerve and focus like a boss as all sorts of electronic drama unfold around her. Opening with some classical violin "Bloddonor" allows us to catch our breath whilst some crunchy, glitching trip hop beats lower the blood pressure and anchor the sweetly delivered musings. "I de varme nætter" sees Mæhl warm up with song before switching to a seductive ASMR whisper that floats over some sparse beats and warm looped strings, before fading into the ether.

"Mit klistrede lys" sees Mæhl again in beautiful voice, her delivery ringing pure and true over minimal accompaniment but it's not long before a spanner is thrown into the works, producing a distant clanking and filtering that causes Mæhl to panic momentarily, before regaining her composure. She even kindly gives us her phone number if we're ever in Norway on "888999000" - the album closer, which loops and waltzes into a rare Norwegian sunset before finally sinking into a mountain stream. Familiens Muligheder is a beautifully crafted, constantly surprising album that deserves far more attention than it's currently receiving.

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Playlist Companion

Find Mæhl in the Slow Alt-Pop Playlist.