- There are English subtitles for all the Swedish monologues [CC] -
This was my final high school project at Stockholms Estetiska Gymnasium in Stockholm, which was performed 9th of April, 2019.
My name is Danielle Beatrice Nilsson (I'm the one with the pink hair). This is my love letter to the album Hospice by The Antlers. I don't think I can begin to describe how much that album has affected me, since it has haunted me since I was 15. I know it's a cliché, but it does really feel like I'm a part of the album and the album is a part of me.
I don't want to sound overly-dramatic, but I've been through a hell of pain. In high school, I was going through the horrible aftermath of two abusive relationships and struggled with PTSD, depression and addiction (ironically enough, I was actually hospitalized less than a month after this performance). I also dealt with lies and social rejection. Hospice was with me all the way. I felt like it had been written by my own subconscious, because it described my experiences too well. It was a haunting and surreal thing.
Me and my friend Jens talked about this project in high school for two and half years before this performance. How cool it would be if one were to perform the entirety of Hospice and make it an experience; a form of performance art with monologues, video art and modern dance. We had both been incredibly affected by this album, of course. At Jens's graduation party in 2017 we spent a part of that night holding hands with closed eyes, singing along to 'Wake' just the two of us (still one of the most beautiful moments in my life). When I got to know my now-best-friend Moa, I recommended Hospice to her and she fell in love with it, and was equally terrified by it. She had also gone through horrible experiences in line with the themes of the album, and when we started hanging out and making original music together in 2017, we would sit on my balcony for hours talking about Hospice and quoting the lyrics to 'Two' together.
In 2018 when I decided that I really wanted to do it as my final project in high school, we spent months writing a script, assembling a band, learning all of the songs, making guitar pedal sounds, creating synthesizer patches, composing original ambient music, and rehearsing almost every single day for six-seven months. It was a gut-wrenching, but cathartic experience. It was a happy coincidence that the album turned 10 years just a couple of weeks before this performance, which I didn't think of until right before it.
This was a very emotional experience for almost everyone involved, and we were extremely nervous, so any time we mess anything up it's because of that. But hey, we are only human and that is a beautiful thing. After all, isn't that what makes it real?
I want to thank The Antlers for Hospice, and I want to thank everyone involved in this!
Credits:
Danielle Beatrice Nilsson - Vocals, Guitar, Samplers, Concept, Script, Direction & Video Art
Jens Gråhed - Monologues, Concept & Script
Moa Andersson - Vocals
Agneta Lange - Piano, Harmonies & Synthesizers
Jesper Andersson - Drums
Carl Nyström - Guitar
Eje Adevik - Bass Guitar
Nova Bursell - Harmonies, Vocals, Synthesizers & Samplers
Blenda Trygger - Synthesizers
Tuvalisa Nilsson - Dancer
Emilio Araya - Dancer
Michael Nilsson - Sound Engineer
Emma Dahlberg - Lighting Technician
© ℗ All rights reserved to The Antlers and Frenchkiss Records (2009)
10 сен 2024