The wonderful Danish singer-songwriter, a true nymph and globetrotter, Ida Wenøe will soon release her solo debut album. Already now, you can listen to a new single announcing it: “Time of Ghosts”. Good because Danish is thrilled to share the song and its accompanying video today in an exclusive premiere!
We are charmed with Ida’s solo songs since the very beginning and the cherry on top of our adoration was her performance at our Good because Danish showcase during SPOT Festival 2015. After the release of “Death Wish (of Nicholas Urfe)” and the heart-melting performance of “Limbo Man” for Bunker Sessions, Ida Wenøe now shows us another one of her musical faces in “Time of Ghosts”. You might think – based on the title – that this will be a gloomy, spooky song. Far from it! The new single is a warm composition, both calming and uplifting at the same time.
The core of Ida Wenøe’s music are the remarkable, very characteristic vocals cuddled by the sounds of a guitar. But in “Time of Ghosts” other instruments join in and create a little crazy orchestra improvisation in the background, while our nymph shares some interesting thoughts about going back to the past, learning from experience and daring to face our ghosts – and ourselves.
When I close my eyes, “Time of Ghosts” paints an image of a vast, free space, like a field or so, where I can be alone with my thoughts and where I can see the ghosts – good and bad – from my past. The trick is to take the best I can from the meeting with them. Ida Wenøe seems to be standing next to me, encouraging and sending out good vibes with her vocals. There is something amazingly strong in “Time of Ghosts”. The song grows and grows while listening to it, until it becomes a scream of hope and motivation, to end up gently. And each time I listen to it, it leaves me with a smile on my face. We hope it will do the same with you!
The wonderful tune is accompanied by a lovely, very personal video, made by the singer herself. The video features clips and snippets of people close to her heart. As we figured that this personal project was a good chance to get to know Ida Wenøe more, not only as a musician, but also as a person, we had a little chat with her before the premiere of “Time of Ghosts”. Read the lovely interview below – and let both, Ida and her new single, charm you.
Good because Danish: What was your favorite place to hide when you were a child? The special spot where you went to when you were sad or angry? Did you have such place?
Ida Wenøe: I grew up in the countryside in a small village in Denmark, surrounded by beautiful and hilly nature. My special hide-out was a little walk from my house, down a gravel road, up a hill just next to the forest, then up to a lonely tree on the top and finding my special stone to sit on. There’s a fantastic view of a meadow, where you can see the landscape of the forest and the hills that surround you. This place had and still has a very meditative effect on me whatever state of mind I was and am in. My best childhood friend Martin has given the place the name “Ida’s place”.
What was your favorite game as a kid?
I’ve already mentioned my childhood friend Martin. There were no limits to our imagination as kids, and one of my favorite thing to do with him, was to come up with our own made up board games. I especially remember the weather game we made, with the rainbow, the cloud, the sun and so on. How the rules of the game were I can’t remember, but that wasn’t really the point of them. It was much more the making of them that was the entertaining part.
What was your dream job when you were younger? Did you pretend to be a princess, a firefighter, a teacher or was music always on the first place?
The first thing I ever wanted to be was to do voice-over for cartoons. You know that game you play as a kid where you mute the television and come up with the words yourself? I loved that, that was so much fun! So I thought to myself, that it must the greatest job in the world to get to do that everyday!
Do you remember your first live performance? Maybe for a family member as a girl or at a school play?
I only know this because my mother told me, but when I was around 4 I got a small tape recorder with a microphone and I loved to sing in front of my family with it, and after I had finished I demanded everyone to clap. Later on I went completely in the other direction, so around 11 I hid behind the other singer in our school band, and went as far to the back of the stage as I could get. The sudden feeling of self-awareness, you know?
Do the ones close to you inspire you to write songs? How do they affect your music?
They definitely do. Everyone is a mirror of your self, and then the songs become the mirrors to others. If people take my songs in, it’s because they are taking a part of themselves in and vice versa.
Who do you go to when you need advice in making life decisions?
I have some very close friends I always go to, but in the end it’s only me who can tell, and I also need to be in tune with my own intuition. Sometimes I can get even more confused consulting with others.
“Face yourself, it’s time of ghosts” – you sing in your new song. Did you have to face yourself in a way while making the solo album? Was it more scary or more exciting to stay one on one with your music, not being in a band where there are other people to make decisions?
Oh yes, I did. It has become kind of a mantra to me ever since. It’s been a scary and exciting year, but only because it feels so damn important. By facing yourself, you face your fears.
Can you tell us a bit about your plans for the future? A little bird told us that your solo debut album is ready… :)
The album is ready! It’s coming out in the beginning of September in Scandinavia, and I’m preparing a release party in Copenhagen where everyone is invited. Then I’m going to be touring Denmark, Germany and the UK in the fall, and prepare for a worldwide release.
In your opinion, what is the best way to deal with memories – so that they rather inspire us, but not make us look back with melancholy too often?
Memories are manifested in us, so there’s no reason to run away from them, as you would be running away from yourself. But now is also now, and we are always evolving, every cell in our body is changing with time. I always see my memories as paintings I can put on the wall and look at from time to time without having to re-experiencing them.
What question, that nobody ever asked you, would you like to be asked? :)
What cartoon character I would like to do the voice-over for. I think my answer would be Pocahontas, because then I could run with the river while singing “Colors of the Wind”. Haha!